This article shows the process we use to set up new Google Ads lead generation accounts. The published update above reflects the latest version.
For help applying this to your business, see Google Ads or start on the contact page.
The Goal in a New Account
In a new Google Ads account, the first goal is to give Google reliable signals tied to real business outcomes.
The account should be judged by lead-intent actions, not impressions and clicks.
In a brand-new account, major conversions are sometimes too sparse at the start. If the account does not have enough signal, Google takes longer to learn. That is where microconversions become useful.
Before Launch, We Get the Basics in Place
Before launch, the website, Local SEO, and tracking foundations need to be aligned.
That means making sure we have:
- a clear offer
- a clear service area
- landing pages or service pages that match search intent
- obvious ways to call, schedule, or leave a message
- conversion tracking installed correctly
- a plan for evaluating lead quality after leads start coming in
If these pieces are weak, it becomes harder to tell whether the problem is the ads, the offer, or the website.
We Treat the Website and the Ads as One System
Another advantage is running ads on custom-coded web design projects.
A custom website gives us more control over speed, page structure, and custom tracking. That makes it easier to remove friction, measure the right actions, and build tracking around the actual lead path instead of settling for a shallow setup.
When those pieces are built together, the account has a better chance of producing profitable results.
How We Set Up Tracking
Major conversions
These are the actions we ultimately want the account to produce most consistently.
Examples include:
- phone calls
- lead form submissions
- booked calls
- other direct contact actions that usually turn into real sales opportunities
Microconversions
These are the smaller actions that help show intent before a major conversion happens.
In Google Ads, some of these microconversions need to be set as primary early so Smart Bidding can learn from them, even though we still treat them as support signals rather than the main goal.
Examples from our own setup include actions like:
- clicking to schedule a call
- loading a booking widget
- starting a message form
- clicking to leave a message
How We Decide What Counts as a Microconversion
Microconversions can help an account learn faster, but if they are set up too loosely they can push Google to optimize toward the wrong things.
If Google is fed too many optional actions or low-intent interactions, it can start optimizing toward activity that looks useful in the platform but does not lead to real business.
We only use microconversions that represent required steps on the way to a real lead, not optional actions that show little intent to contact or buy.
For example, if a phone call or form fill usually requires clicking into a booking flow, opening a contact path, or starting a message form first, those actions can make sense as supporting signals. Metrics like time on page, scroll depth, or visits to non-required pages usually do not make sense for the way we set accounts up.
Microconversions and Smart Bidding
Part of what shaped this approach was Jyll Saskin Gales’ Inside Google Ads course. She worked at Google for 6 years and has helped optimize more than 10,000 Google Ads accounts. Her course and article Should you use Maximize Conversions or Manual CPC bidding in Google Ads? reinforced the shift away from Manual CPC and Maximize Clicks in most lead generation accounts and toward Smart Bidding instead.
Her course and articles also helped us see that if an account is not generating more than roughly 30 conversions per month, the answer is not to fall back to manual bidding. The better answer is to give Smart Bidding better inputs through carefully chosen microconversions.
While some people believe it is better to optimize only for the final conversion and not use microconversions at all, that view makes more sense once an account has enough real conversion volume to put more weight on those primary conversions. In a newer account that is not bringing in enough conversions yet, Google’s AI starts guessing off expensive clicks and weak signals. It still does not know how people respond to the specific offer, pricing, and landing page in that account, so it does not always read those signals well on its own.
These happen more often than major conversions in newer accounts and help Google learn faster, but they get low values so Google does not treat them the same as real conversions. The values can then be adjusted over time based on lead quality.
Why We Use Microconversions Early
A newer account needs enough conversion data for Google to optimize well.
A practical benchmark is 50 or more conversions per month because more conversion data usually helps the algorithm learn faster and optimize more confidently.
Accounts generating more than 51 conversions per month show much stronger ROAS (return on ad spend) than lower-volume accounts. Microconversions are useful early, then more optimization weight can shift toward major conversions as the account becomes more stable.
Source: Optmyzr, The Impact of PPC Bidding Strategies.
Using Conversion Values
We want the account to learn from lead value, not treat every lead the same. That makes bidding strategies like Maximize Conversion Value and Target ROAS useful once the account has enough quality data.
In the same Optmyzr study of 14,584 Google Ads accounts, those bidding strategies delivered the strongest overall ROAS.
Source: Optmyzr, The Impact of PPC Bidding Strategies.
What the First 30 Days After Launch Should Tell Us
Before Launch: Build and Verify the Foundation
Website preparation is separate from the campaign’s 30-day evaluation period. Before ad spend begins, we build or improve the landing pages, set up tracking, and make sure the offer, service area, and lead path are clear.
If an existing website is ready, the campaign can launch sooner. If the site needs a custom rebuild, preparation may take longer, but we do not count those preparation days as campaign performance days.
Weak pages or incomplete tracking make it difficult to tell whether the problem is the ads, the website, or the offer itself.
Days 1–14: Launch and Get Clean Data
Once the campaign launches, we verify that live calls, forms, bookings, or purchases are being measured correctly. Google begins learning from real traffic while we watch the searches, leads, costs, and landing-page behavior closely.
1) We Review Lead Quality With the Business Owner
We review lead quality with the business owner. If the wrong kinds of leads are coming in, the account needs correction.
2) Add Negative Keywords
Early in the campaign, we review search terms and block irrelevant traffic.
If the ads are showing for low-intent or wrong-intent queries, we add negative keywords to reduce waste and improve lead quality.
3) Tighten the Message and Landing Page Experience
Sometimes the campaign issue is not only keyword quality. Sometimes the page or message needs to be clearer.
Having control over the website helps here. We can improve the conversion flow, strengthen calls to action, and remove friction instead of treating the landing page as untouchable.
Days 15–30: Improve the Signals and Evaluate the Economics
The second half of the month should turn the early traffic into a clearer business decision. We continue improving search quality and the landing experience while comparing ad spend with qualified leads, sale value, and revenue.
4) Adjust Microconversion Values
As stronger correlations between behavior and real leads become clear, we adjust values so the account learns from better signals.
5) Let Google Gather Signal and Keep Optimizing
Google is usually testing things like:
- headlines
- keywords
- search terms
- time of day
- devices
- audience patterns
- placements, depending on the campaign type
The account is not left alone while Google learns. We keep tightening it around lead quality and relevance while allowing enough clean data to reveal useful patterns.
6) Make the 30-Day Decision
By the end of the first 30 days after launch, we should be able to answer:
- Are the ads already profitable?
- If not, are they clearly trending in the right direction?
- Are the leads the right kind of leads?
If the campaign is profitable or clearly moving toward profitability, we continue improving it. If the evidence is weak, we adjust the approach or stop before poor performance consumes additional budget. Low-volume markets and longer sales cycles can require more time, but they should still produce measurable evidence that supports continuing.
What Continues After the First 30 Days
Keep Adding Negative Keywords
Search-term cleanup does not stop after the first month. We keep blocking low-intent and wrong-intent queries so more of the budget goes toward searches that are producing results.
Make Minor Conversion Value Adjustments
As the campaign gathers more qualified leads and sales, smaller conversion-value adjustments can direct more bidding weight toward completed leads and sales and less toward supporting actions.
What Businesses Are the Best Fit for This Approach
This approach is a better fit for businesses that:
- have clear services people already search for
- can respond to leads quickly
- are willing to invest in ads
If the business is slow to answer leads, unclear about its offer, or unwilling to invest enough for the ads to perform, Google Ads becomes much harder to make work.
Final Thought
Good Google Ads setups align the offer, landing pages, tracking, follow-up process, and optimization strategy so the account can learn from the right signals.
If you want that kind of setup, see Google Ads or start on the contact page.