Why Google Charges You More Than Your Competitors
I’ve sat down with hundreds of business owners across Brisbane—from landscapers in Samford to accountants in Milton—and they all have the same complaint: "Google Ads is getting too expensive."
Most people think that to show up at the top of Google, you just have to bid the most money. They think it’s a pure auction where the deepest pockets win.
That is a lie.
Google doesn’t actually want the highest bidder to win every time. They want the best result for the person searching to win. Why? Because if people click on ads and find rubbish websites, they’ll stop using Google.
To prevent this, Google gives every single one of your ads a secret score. If your score is high, you pay less per click and show up higher. If your score is low, Google hits you with a "tax." You could be paying $15 a click for a lead that your competitor is getting for $7, simply because their website is better set up.
In this guide, I’m going to show you how to fix your website so Google rewards you with cheaper leads and more phone calls. No technical jargon, just the stuff that actually puts money back in your pocket.
The Tale of Two Brisbane Electricians
To show you how this works in the real world, let's look at two sparkies we worked with last year. We’ll call them Jack and Steve.
Jack was spending $2,000 a month on Google Ads. He sent everyone who clicked his ad to his homepage. His homepage had a big photo of his truck, a list of 20 different services, and a "Contact Us" button at the very bottom.
Steve was also spending $2,000 a month. But when someone searched for "Air Con Installation Brisbane," Steve sent them to a specific page that only talked about air conditioning. It had a "Get a Free Quote" form right at the top and pictures of happy families in cool houses.
The Result? Jack was paying about $12 per click. Steve was paying $6 per click. Because Steve’s page was exactly what the customer was looking for, Google gave him a discount. Steve got double the visitors for the same budget, and because his page was easier to use, he got triple the phone calls.
Jack was essentially throwing $1,000 a month into a hole. If you feel like your ads aren't performing, you might be wasting money on leads that never turn into jobs because your website isn't giving Google what it wants.
What Google Actually Wants to See
Google looks at three main things when deciding if they should give you a discount. If you get these right, you’ll stop competitors stealing customers who should be calling you instead.
1. Does the page match the ad?
If someone searches for "emergency plumber," your ad should say "Emergency Plumber Brisbane," and the page they land on should say "24/7 Emergency Plumbing Services."If they click an ad for a plumber and land on a page talking about bathroom renovations, they’ll leave. Google sees them leave immediately and decides your page is bad. Then, they raise your prices.
2. Is it easy to use on a phone?
Most of your customers in Brisbane are searching for you while they’re on the go, sitting on the couch, or standing in their backyard. If your website is slow to load or the buttons are too small to hit with a thumb, Google will penalise you. Your website needs to work perfectly on a phone. It’s not a luxury anymore; it’s a requirement for making money.3. Do people stay or do they run away?
Google tracks what happens after someone clicks. If someone clicks your ad, spends three minutes reading your reviews, and then clicks your phone number, Google thinks, "Great, this business is helpful!" They’ll reward you with lower costs. If people click and hit the 'back' button within two seconds, Google thinks you're a waste of time.How to Fix Your Pages (Without Being a Tech Genius)
You don't need to be a coder to improve your results. Here is the checklist I give to my mates when they ask how to fix their ads.
Stop sending people to your Homepage
This is the #1 mistake small businesses make. Your homepage is a general introduction. It’s like a foyer in an office building. If someone wants to buy a specific product or service, don't make them walk through the foyer and find the right door themselves. Take them straight to the room they asked for.If you sell lawnmowers, send them to the lawnmower page. If you provide family law services, send them to the family law page. This one change alone can often double your enquiries overnight.
Make your phone number impossible to miss
I see so many Brisbane business websites where I have to hunt for the phone number. People are lazy and they are in a rush. Put your phone number at the very top of the page in a big, bright colour. Make it a "click-to-call" button so they don't have to copy and paste it.Be fast or be forgotten
Internet speeds in some parts of Brisbane can still be a bit dodgy. If your website takes more than 3 seconds to load, you are losing half your customers. Huge photos are usually the culprit. If you’ve uploaded 5MB photos straight from your iPhone to your website, you’re killing your business. Shrink those images down.The "Trust" Factor
Google also looks for signals that you are a real, legitimate local business. This is especially important for professional services like lawyers or tradies where trust is everything.
To boost your score and get more calls, make sure your page has: Real Photos: Stop using those fake stock photos of people in hard hats who look like they’ve never seen a day of sun. Use photos of your actual team and your actual office or vans in Brisbane. People buy from people. Reviews: Show off your Google reviews right there on the page.
- An Address: Even if you don't have a shopfront, having a service area or a local Brisbane office address helps Google trust you more.
How Long Until You See a Difference?
Unlike some marketing things that take months (like SEO), fixing your landing pages shows results fast. Once you update your page and Google crawls it again (usually within a few days), you can see your "Quality Score" go up and your "Cost Per Click" go down.
I’ve seen businesses go from a 3/10 score to an 8/10 score in a single week just by making the page match the ad and speeding it up. That literally halved their bill for the same amount of traffic.
Is it Worth the Effort?
Let’s look at the math.
If you spend $1,000 a month and your ads are "okay," you might get 100 visitors and 5 phone calls. That’s $200 per phone call.
If you spend $500 to have a professional fix your landing pages, and now your ads are "great," you might get 150 visitors for that same $1,000 (because Google gave you a discount). And because the page is better, maybe 15 of those people call you.
Now you’re paying $66 per phone call. You’ve tripled your business for a one-time cost of $500.
In the long run, ignoring your website while paying for Google Ads is like trying to fill a bucket with a massive hole in the bottom. You can keep pouring more water (money) in, or you can just plug the hole.
What Should You Do First?
1. Check your own site on your phone. Does it load fast? Can you find the phone number in 2 seconds? If not, fix that first. 2. Look at where your ads go. Are you sending everyone to the homepage? If so, create specific pages for your top 3 services. 3. Check your competition. Search for your service in Brisbane. Look at the ads at the top. Click them (sorry, competitors!). See what their pages look like. If theirs are better than yours, you know why they’re winning.
If this sounds like too much work while you're trying to manage staff and jobs, that's where we come in. At Local Marketing Group, we specialise in making sure Brisbane businesses don't waste a cent on Google. We don't care about fancy reports; we care about making your phone ring.
Ready to stop wasting money and start getting more leads? Contact Local Marketing Group today and let’s get your Google Ads working as hard as you do.