If you’re running Google Ads for your local business, your landing page can make or break your entire campaign.

I’ve seen it happen countless times. Someone spends hours setting up the perfect campaign, choosing the right keywords, writing compelling ads, etc and then they send all that traffic to a poorly designed landing page (or worse, website home page) that converts at 5%.

That’s painful to watch because with a few key changes, that same traffic could be converting at 20%, 25%, or even 30%+.

Today, I’m going to walk you through the top 5 things you absolutely need on your Google Ads landing pages to maximize your conversion rate and get more leads.

Before we dive in, let me be clear: This isn’t a step-by-step guide on how to build landing pages. There are too many different landing page builders out there, and everyone’s going to be on a different platform.

So, doing step-by-step guides wouldn’t be relevant to everyone.

Instead, I’m going to cover the high-level elements that should be on every landing page, and the things that actually move the needle on your conversion rate.

You can read on below, or if you would prefer to watch my video on YouTube on the Top 5 Things You Need On Your Google Ads Landing Page you can watch above.

Don’t Overcomplicate This

Here’s the thing about landing pages: You don’t need some secret hack or magical copywriting formula to make them work.

I have pages that convert anywhere from 20% to 35%, and they’re incredibly simple. Basic copy. Basic offers like “Call for a free quote” or “Get your free estimate today.”

It doesn’t need to be complicated.

At the end of the day, people are just looking for a solution to their problem.

If someone searches for “tree service near me,” they want to find a reputable tree service company they can contact for a quote. That’s it.

They’re not looking for the most creative headline or the cleverest copy. They want to see:

1. That you do what they need
2. That you’re legitimate
3. How to contact you for a quote

Make those three things obvious and easy, and you’re 80% of the way there.

One more thing: If you build a landing page and it’s not converting well, test it. Don’t just throw your hands up and say “landing pages don’t work.”

I’m going to give you guidelines based on what’s worked for me, but every business and market is different. If something isn’t working, make adjustments and keep testing.

Now let’s get into the five essential elements.

1) A Well Built Header Section

The header section, also called “above the fold”, is the most important part of your landing page.

This is everything someone sees when they first land on your page before they start scrolling. It’s their first impression of your business, and you need to get it right.

What Makes A Good Header Section?

Keep It Simple

Don’t hit people with a massive wall of text. Keep your headline clear and concise with a few supporting bullet points or a short subheadline.

Most people are on mobile devices, and most people don’t want to read paragraphs of text. Make it scannable.

Make It Relevant

This is critical: Your headline must be relevant to what someone searched for.

If someone searches “tree services near me,” your headline should explicitly say you’re a tree service company.

Something as simple as “Dallas’s #1 Rated Tree Service Company” or “Professional Tree Services in Seattle” works perfectly.

Don’t get cute with clever slogans. Just tell people what you do.

Include A Clear Call To Action

Your header section needs a clear call to action with either a phone number to call or a form to fill out (ideally both).

On mobile, this should be a big, obvious “tap to call” button. Make it impossible to miss.

If someone sees your headline, understands you do what they need, and can immediately take action, you’re doing it right.

The Header Section Is Your Biggest Lever

If you’re going to focus your optimization efforts anywhere, focus here first.

Small changes to your header section like tweaking the headline, changing the call to action placement, making the phone button bigger, setting up a sticky header or footer, etc can all have a massive impact on your conversion rate.

This is where you’ll get the most leverage from your testing efforts.

2) Mobile Optimization

This should be obvious, but it’s not always executed well: Your landing page must be optimized for mobile devices.

Why? Because 80% of your Google Ads traffic is coming from mobile phones.

That’s very likely not going to change moving forward, so it’s best not to ignore this.

If your page doesn’t work well on mobile, you’re basically throwing away a large chunk your ad spend.

What Mobile Optimization Actually Means

Mobile optimization isn’t just about making sure your page “looks okay” when it loads on a phone.

It also means:

Fast Load Times

Your page needs to load in under 3 seconds on a mobile device.

If it takes longer, people will hit the back button and move on to your competitor.

There’s a couple of big things that I’ve seen over the years that affect load times the most.

On one hand, where your landing pages are being hosted will impact the load times.

There are some hosting companies or landing page softwares that just have slower servers. Don’t cheap out on that and you’ll get better load times.

On the other hand, the file sizes of the images on your landing pages will impact the page load times.

Make sure you compress the size of your images so that the internet browser doesn’t have to load as much stuff when pulling up your landing page.

Easy To Interact With

Everything on your page should be easy to tap and use on a phone.

Buttons should be big enough to tap easily. Forms should be simple to fill out. Phone numbers should be tap-to-call.

I’ve had some campaigns where I improved the conversion rate just by taking the phone call button, and making it obnoxiously large on the page.

Make it braindead easy for someone to call you with one tap.

Proper Display

Test your page on your actual phone. Make sure:

• Nothing is overlapping
• Text is readable without zooming
• Buttons work properly
• Forms don’t have weird formatting issues

What looks good on your desktop might look terrible on mobile. Always test on actual devices.

The easier you make it for mobile users to interact with your page, the more leads you’ll generate.

3) Clear and Easy To Use Calls To Action

This ties into mobile optimization, but it’s important enough to cover separately.

Your calls to action like phone call buttons, forms, contact options all need to be incredibly obvious and easy to use.

Every bit of friction you add to the process costs you conversions.

Remove All Friction

If someone has to scroll around looking for your phone number, that’s friction.

If your form has 15 fields they need to fill out, that’s friction.

If they have to click through to a contact page to reach you, that’s friction.

Remove all of it.

Phone Numbers:

• In the sticky header at the top of the page
• Big tap-to-call buttons in the hero section
• Repeated throughout the page
• In the footer

Forms:

• Above the fold if possible
• Simple with a few fields like name, phone number, email, message, etc
• Clear submission button (“Get My Free Quote”)

Yes, longer forms with more questions will give you slightly higher quality leads. But most people won’t fill out a 10-field form.

You’re better off with a simple form that converts at 20% than a complex form that converts at 5%.

Get the lead first, qualify them on the phone call.

Make It Obvious

I like to look at a landing page experience as literally hand-holding the potential customer through the process of becoming a lead.

Use big buttons. Use clear language. Put calls to action in multiple places on the page.

Make it so obvious and easy that a user doesn’t have to think about how to contact you.

This is one of the big problems with sending traffic to a website instead of a landing page. On websites, people have to hunt for contact information or navigate to a contact page.

On a landing page, the action you want them to take should be staring them in the face at all times.

4) Reviews and Trust Indicators

If you only add one thing to your landing page after reading this, make it reviews.

Reviews are absolutely critical for converting visitors into leads.

Why Reviews Matter

When people are deciding whether to hire you, they default to social proof.

They want to see what other people are saying about your business.

Even if everything else on your page is perfect, if you don’t have reviews, people will hesitate.

How To Easily Add Reviews

Here’s what I do on every campaign:

Take screenshots of actual Google reviews and put them directly on the landing page.

Why screenshots instead of just typing out the review text?

Because screenshots are much harder to fake.

Everyone knows what a Google review looks like. When they see that familiar format, they trust it’s real.

If you just type out review text into a template, anyone could fake that. You could ask ChatGPT to write fake reviews and copy-paste them in.

Screenshots feel authentic.

Put 3-6 reviews on your landing page. More if you have space, but at least 3.

If you don’t have Google reviews, use Yelp reviews, Facebook reviews, or any other platform where you have real reviews.

Trust Indicators & Certifications

Beyond reviews, add any relevant certifications, licenses, or credentials.

This varies by industry, but examples include:

• Industry certifications
• License numbers
• BBB accreditation
• Years in business
• Awards or recognition
• Professional associations

These “trust badges” help establish credibility immediately.

Don’t go overboard with all of this. You don’t need 20 different badges cluttering your page. But a few well-placed trust indicators can help push someone over the edge to contact you.

Bottom line: If your landing page doesn’t have reviews, add them today. This is one of the easiest ways to boost your conversion rate.

5) Personalized Photos and Content

The last element that makes a huge difference: Personalization.

This doesn’t mean personalizing the page for each individual visitor. It means making your landing page feel personal and authentic by using real photos and content that shows the human side of your business.

No Stock Photos

Read that again. DO NOT USE STOCK PHOTOS.

Stock photos make your business look fake. People can spot them instantly, and they immediately reduce trust.

Use real photos of:

• Your team
• Your trucks or equipment
• Your actual work
• Your office or shop
• The owner

These don’t need to be professionally shot. Phone photos work great. In fact, authentic phone photos often convert better than overly polished professional shots because they feel real.

Show The People Behind The Business

Here’s something that I’ve found to work well:

In your “About” section, have a personalized message from the owner with a picture either by themselves or with the team and trucks.

Make the about section feel like a message from the owner, not generic corporate speak.

Instead of: “We’ve been in business since 2005 and provide professional tree services in the Dallas area.”

Try: “Hi, I’m Mike. I started this company 20 years ago because I wanted to provide tree services the right way with fair pricing, quality work, and honest communication. My team and I take pride in every job we do.”

See the difference?

The second version has personality. It’s a human talking to another human, not a faceless corporation.

You can also use this section to have kind of a “personal guarantee” from the owner to help build more trust.

I did this for a dumpster rental Google Ads client of mine, and we were able to maintain a solid 25%+ conversion rate on the campaign year round.

Why This Works

People buy from people they know, like, and trust.

When you show your face, your team, your real business, you become more likable and trustworthy.

This is especially important for local service businesses. You’re not Amazon. You’re not a massive corporation. You’re a local business, and that’s an advantage.

Lean into it.

Especially in today’s sea of AI generated slop that people put on their websites, authenticity and human connection will go a long way.

Show that you’re real people doing real work. Show that you care about your business and your customers.

This personal touch can be the difference between someone calling you versus calling your competitor.

Putting It All Together

These five elements aren’t complicated, but they’re essential:

1. Well-built header section – Clear, relevant headline with an obvious call to action
2. Mobile optimization – Fast loading, easy to use on phones
3. Clear calls to action – Remove all friction, make it stupid simple to contact you
4. Reviews and trust indicators – Social proof is critical
5. Personalized photos and content – Real photos, real people, authentic content

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel here.

Focus on the basics. Make your page relevant, make it easy to use, build trust with reviews, and show the human side of your business.

If you do these five things well, your landing page will convert significantly better than most of your competitors.

And remember: If something isn’t working, test it. Change the headline. Move the form. Make the phone button bigger. Add more reviews.

Small changes can lead to big improvements in conversion rate, which means more leads at a lower cost.

Need Help With Your Google Ads Campaign?

If you’re a local business owner and you want help building Google Ads campaigns that actually deliver leads for your local business, I can help.

There’s a link below where you can apply for a free consultation. I’ll personally review your application and if I can help, I’ll reach out to schedule a call.

Thanks for reading, and I hope this guide helps you build better landing pages that actually convert.

Need Help Running Google Ads For Your Local Business?