Stop Letting Google Guess Who Your Customers Are
If you’ve ever felt like running Google Ads is like throwing money into a black hole and hoping for the best, you aren’t alone. Most Brisbane business owners I talk to—from electricians in Coorparoo to lawyers in the CBD—feel the same way. They see the bills coming out of their account every month, but they aren't sure if those clicks are actually turning into cash.
The biggest mistake I see? Business owners treat Google Ads like a giant billboard on the side of the M1. They think if they just pay enough, the right people will see it.
But Google has changed. It’s no longer just about picking the right words (keywords). It’s about Audience Signals.
In plain English: You need to tell Google exactly what your best customers look like. If you don't, Google will guess. And when Google guesses with your credit card, they usually spend your money on people who have no intention of buying from you.
What is an Audience Signal (And Why Should You Care?)
Think of an audience signal as a 'cheat sheet' you give to Google’s computer brain.
Instead of saying, "Show my ad to anyone searching for a plumber," you’re saying, "Show my ad to people who live in Ascot, own their own home, have searched for 'emergency hot water repair' in the last 24 hours, and look exactly like the people who paid me $2,000 last week."
When you provide these signals, you aren't just buying ads; you're buying intelligence. You are pointing Google in the right direction so it stops wasting your budget on 'tyre kickers' and starts finding people ready to book.
The "Coffee Shop" Analogy
Imagine you own a high-end coffee shop. You could hire a guy to stand on the street corner handing out flyers to everyone who walks past. That’s traditional advertising. Most of those flyers end up in the bin.Now, imagine you give that guy a list of people who bought expensive espresso machines recently, people who work in the office building next door, and people who have visited your shop three times this month. Suddenly, he isn’t handing out 1,000 flyers to randoms; he’s handing out 50 flyers to people who are almost guaranteed to buy a latte.
That is what audience signals do for your Google Ads.
The Three Pillars of a Perfect Audience Signal
To make this work, you need to feed Google three specific types of information. If you skip one, the whole system gets wobbly.
1. Your Existing Customer List (The Gold Mine)
This is the most powerful tool you have, yet 90% of small businesses in Queensland aren't using it. You likely have a list of names and emails in your invoicing software or CRM.When you upload this list (securely and privately) to Google, you are saying: "These people already gave me money. Go find more people exactly like them."
Google looks at the interests, habits, and search history of your actual customers and finds the 'common threads.' It might find that your best customers all watch certain YouTube channels or shop at certain stores. It then uses that data to find new people who haven't heard of you yet but are highly likely to buy.
2. People Who Have Visited Your Website
If someone visits your website but doesn't call you, they aren't 'lost.' They are 'interested.'By tagging these visitors, you can tell Google to keep your business top-of-mind for them. We’ve seen this work incredibly well for professional services like accountants or mortgage brokers. People don't pick a mortgage broker in five minutes; they research. By showing up again while they are browsing the news or watching a video, you become the 'obvious' choice when they are finally ready to pick up the phone.
You can even get your business in front of thousands for very little cost by using video ads targeted specifically to these past visitors.
3. Custom "Intent" Groups
This is where you get to be a bit sneaky (in a good way). You can tell Google to show your ads to people who have recently searched for your competitors' names or visited your competitors' websites.If you’re a gym in Chermside, you can target people who have been searching for 'F45' or 'Anytime Fitness.' You aren't stealing their customers; you're just making sure you're an option on the table when they are looking to join a gym.
Why Most Brisbane Businesses Get This Wrong
I’ve audited hundreds of Google Ads accounts. Most of them are set to 'Automatic.'
Google loves 'Automatic' because it’s the easiest way for them to spend your money. They’ll tell you that their 'Smart' campaigns handle everything. The truth? A 'Smart' campaign is only as smart as the data you give it. If you give it zero audience signals, it spends the first $2,000 of your budget just trying to figure out who might like your business.
That’s $2,000 of your hard-earned profit gone on 'learning.'
By setting up your audience signals correctly from day one, you skip the expensive guessing game. You let Google find best customers using your data, not their trial-and-error.
Step-by-Step: How to Build Your Audience Signal
You don't need to be a tech genius to do this, but you do need to be organised. Here is the process we use for our clients at Local Marketing Group.
Step 1: Clean Up Your Data
Export your customer list from the last 12-24 months. You want as many entries as possible—ideally at least 1,000, but even a few hundred helps. You only need their email addresses. Google handles the rest by matching those emails to Google accounts.Step 2: Define Your "Interests"
Think about what your customer does when they aren't looking for you. - If you’re a high-end landscaper, your customers are likely interested in 'Luxury Travel' or 'Home Improvement.' - If you’re a 24/7 emergency plumber, your customers aren't 'interested' in plumbing; they are in 'Crisis Mode.' Their signal is their immediate search behavior.Step 3: Use "Life Events"
Google knows when people are about to get married, move house, or start a business. If your business depends on these milestones (like a removalist or a wedding photographer), these are the most valuable signals you can use. Target people 'Moving Soon' and you'll see your enquiry rate skyrocket compared to just targeting the word 'removalist.'The Cost of Getting It Right (and Wrong)
Let’s talk money.
If you run ads without audience signals, you might pay $10 per click. Out of 100 clicks ($1,000), you might get 2 phone calls. That’s $500 per lead.
If you use audience signals, your cost per click might actually go up to $12. Why? Because you're bidding on higher-quality people. But, because those people are exactly who you’re looking for, you might get 10 phone calls from those same 100 clicks. Now your cost per lead is $120.
Which would you rather? The 'cheaper' clicks or the more expensive ones that actually turn into customers?
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
1. Being Too Broad Don't tell Google your audience is "Everyone in Brisbane." That isn't a signal; it's a map. Be specific about their habits and what they've been searching for.
2. Forgetting to Exclude Just as important as telling Google who you want is telling them who you don't want. If you only do residential work, you need to block the wrong searches by telling Google to ignore anyone looking for 'commercial' or 'industrial' services.
3. Set and Forget Your customers change. Your business changes. We review audience signals for our clients monthly. If a certain group isn't resulting in phone calls, we cut it and move that budget to a group that is.
Real Results: The Northside Mechanic
We worked with a mechanic on Brisbane's Northside who was spending $3,000 a month on Google Ads. He was getting plenty of clicks, but most were for 'cheap roadworthy' or 'how to change a tyre.' He was busy on the phone but broke at the end of the month.
We implemented audience signals. We uploaded his list of customers who owned European cars (BMW, Audi, Mercedes). We told Google to find people who looked like those high-value clients and who were currently searching for 'specialist mechanic.'
His total number of clicks went down, but his revenue went up by 40% in two months. He stopped answering questions for people who wanted something for free and started booking in high-profit European car services.
Summary: Your Action Plan
If you want to stop wasting money and start seeing your phone ring with the right kind of customers, do this today:
1. Gather your data: Get your customer email list ready. 2. Identify your 'Whales': Who are the 20% of customers who give you 80% of your profit? What do they have in common? 3. Audit your current ads: Are you just targeting words, or are you targeting people?
Setting this up properly takes time and a bit of technical know-how, but it is the single most effective way to make Google Ads work for a small business in 2024.
Most agencies won't tell you this because it's easier for them to just 'set and forget' your account. At Local Marketing Group, we know that for a Brisbane small business, every dollar counts. We don't care about 'impressions' or 'click-through rates.' We care about how many times your phone rings and how much money is in your bank account at the end of the month.
If you’re tired of guessing and want a Google Ads strategy that actually delivers results, we’re here to help.
Ready to get more from your marketing budget? Contact us at Local Marketing Group and let’s talk about how we can find your best customers today.