Fix Your Landing Page Before You Run Google Ads
Paid ads can bring visitors quickly, but every click lands on one page of your website. If that page is slow, confusing or hides the phone number, you pay for the click and lose the customer anyway. Conqueror Capital checks the landing page before a campaign goes live. Here is what Google says about landing pages and the checks to run first.
AT A GLANCE
By Conqueror Capital · Published
The short answer: Before you spend, make sure the page the ad sends people to matches what the ad promises, loads properly on a phone, and lets someone call or book in one tap. Google Ads rates landing page experience as part of ad quality, and Google says higher ad quality generally leads to better ad positions and lower cost.
WHAT GOOGLE SAYS
Google Ads describes ad quality as an estimate of the experience people have when they see your ad "and the quality of their experience once they reach your landing page." It says "higher ad quality generally leads to better performance, including better ad positions and lower cost," and that high quality ads and landing pages are more likely to lead to clicks and conversions.1
Quality Score, the 1 to 10 diagnostic in your account, is built from three parts: expected clickthrough rate, ad relevance and landing page experience. Google is clear that Quality Score itself is a diagnostic tool, not an input in the auction.2 Landing page experience is rated above average, average or below average, and Google says pages with higher ratings "are usually well organized and have text that relates to a person's search terms."3
FIVE CHECKS BEFORE YOU SPEND
- Does the page match the ad? An ad for drain cleaning should land on a drain cleaning page, not the homepage.
- Can someone call or book in one tap? A visible phone button and booking link near the top, on mobile. Our post on one clear next step on every page shows how.
- Is it obvious where you work? Name the towns or area you serve, so people outside it do not call and people inside it know they are in the right place.
- Does it load quickly on a phone? Test on mobile data, not office Wi-Fi. Our guide to website speed and Core Web Vitals covers how to measure it.
- Can you tell which calls came from the ad? Set up conversion tracking before launch. Our guide to tracking phone calls from Google walks through it.
PAGES GOOGLE WON'T SEND ADS TO
Some landing page problems do more than waste clicks. Google's destination requirements say ad destinations must work on common browsers and devices, and destinations that return an HTTP error can be disapproved. Destinations that are "unnecessarily difficult or frustrating to navigate" break the destination experience rule, and pages that exist only to send users elsewhere or say they offer no services count as insufficient original content.4
Before launch, click every ad's final URL yourself on a phone and a computer. A page that was moved, renamed or left as a placeholder is the most common cause we see.
SMALL, MID-SIZE AND ENTERPRISE
Small businesses: one good page per service you advertise is usually enough. Fix the page first, then start with a small daily budget and look at the calls.
Mid-size businesses: check the landing page experience status for your main keywords in the account, and fix the pages marked below average before raising budgets.
Multi-location and enterprise brands: send location campaigns to that location's own page, with its own phone number, hours and area, not to a store finder. Review final URLs in one pass every time pages are renamed or a location changes. See how we work with enterprise teams, and our guide to Google Ads for local businesses covers the campaign settings.
FAQ
Does my landing page affect what I pay for Google Ads?
Google says landing page experience is part of ad quality, and higher ad quality generally leads to better ad positions and lower cost.
What is landing page experience in Google Ads?
It is Google's measure of how relevant and useful your landing page is likely to be to people who click your ad. It is rated above average, average or below average for each keyword.
Is Quality Score used in the ad auction?
No. Google says Quality Score is a diagnostic tool, not an input in the auction. Its three parts, including landing page experience, are what matter.
Should my Google Ads send people to my homepage?
Usually not. Send each ad to the page that matches what the ad promises, such as the page for that service or that location.
Can a broken landing page stop my ads?
Yes. Google's destination requirements say destinations that don't work or return an HTTP error can be disapproved.
SOURCES
- Google Ads Help, About ad quality.
- Google Ads Help, About Quality Score for Search campaigns.
- Google Ads Help, Landing page experience: Definition.
- Advertising Policies Help, Destination requirements.
Platforms change often. Check the sources for the current version before acting.
KEEP READING
BOOK A STRATEGY CALL
Planning a campaign? Book a 15-minute call and we will look at the landing page with you first, or ask for a free Google listing and website check.