The Google Ads Mistake That Makes Bad Campaigns Look Successful
The Digital Slice Podcast is brought to you by The Friedman Group, LLC
Still hearing “trust the process” while your ad budget disappears? It’s time to ask what results you’re actually buying.
Your Google Ads dashboard may look busy, but clicks and reported conversions mean little if they aren’t helping you win customers. Are you measuring business growth—or just paying for activity?
Join Brad Friedman and Jeff Coleman as they discuss why Google Ads campaigns underperform, how to build a reliable lead engine, and which metrics deserve your attention so you can attract better prospects and make more informed decisions about your advertising budget.
Jeff Coleman has been building results-driven Google Ads campaigns since 2004. As paid search has matured and Google has evolved, he has focused on helping businesses generate meaningful results rather than simply spending more and trusting the process.
Through Factor Four Marketing, Jeff and his small team help service businesses and vocational education providers generate the leads they need to grow. Their work centers on Google Ads and Microsoft Ads, with an emphasis on clear conversion goals, relevant targeting, effective landing pages, and long-term client relationships.
In this Episode:
- Jeff explains how tracking the wrong conversions can steer Google Ads toward activity that does not bring in new customers.
- Jeff outlines how to align keywords, ad copy, and landing pages with the customers you actually want to reach.
- Jeff walks through his lead engine approach, connecting conversion goals, business differentiation, customer personas, and follow-up.
- Jeff explains why a focused landing page can serve paid search prospects better than a general website page.
- Jeff shares how retargeting and email newsletters create additional opportunities to build trust and convert prospects.
- Jeff emphasizes the campaign fundamentals business owners should expect their advertising partners to get right.
Quotes from this Episode:
- [00:05:04] "And so, you know, we see a lot of that kind of thing where it isn't really the conversion they want, it's just one of the conversions that Google offers." – Jeff Coleman
- [00:08:10] "The second piece is really being clear what's different about your business." – Jeff Coleman
- [00:08:55] "Then you actually need a landing page that is designed to convert." – Jeff Coleman
- [00:09:11] "But a landing page really should be focused on how can you convert the folks who are coming in, the right kind of, uh, prospects to fill in your lead form, to make the phone call, maybe even make a purchase." – Jeff Coleman
- [00:16:25] "I mean, at the end of the day, it's your cost per conversion that you should really be focused on." – Jeff Coleman
- [00:18:18] "Of course, the real conversion is when someone starts working with you." – Jeff Coleman
Today’s Guest:
Jeff Coleman:
- Factor Four Marketing: https://factorfour.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffcoleman21/
Connect with Brad
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Books
- “Brad Friedman on Digital Marketing,” by Brad Friedman
- “The Small Business Owner’s Guide To Inbound Marketing,” by Brad Friedman
- “100 Livestreaming & Digital Media Predictions,” by Ross Brand with a chapter by Brad Friedman
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