That’s why landing pages matter. Not in a fluffy “make it pretty” way — in a cold, practical way: your landing page decides whether that £3 click turns into a £300 enquiry, or a bounce.
At Totally Digital, we tend to see the same pattern across service businesses: the ads are “fine”, the targeting is “fine”, but the landing page is doing one of 3 things:
- it’s trying to be the website homepage,
- it’s talking like a brochure,
- or it’s leaking conversions through avoidable friction.
This guide is your CRO checklist for PPC landing pages built for service businesses: agencies, consultancies, professional services, clinics, home services, B2B providers — anyone selling a conversation, a quote, a call, or a booked appointment.
What “converting” actually means for service PPC
Before you change anything, define what a conversion is — because service businesses don’t have one clean “checkout” moment.
Most service landing pages have 1 (or more) of these conversion types:
- Lead form (quote request / consultation / eligibility check)
- Phone call (click-to-call or dialled)
- Calendar booking (discovery call / site survey / consultation)
- Live chat (often turns into a lead later)
- Download (guide / checklist) that feeds a nurture sequence
The mistake is optimising for the easiest conversion (e.g., “download a PDF”) when you actually need the best conversion (qualified enquiries that become revenue).
So your first decision is: what action most reliably produces revenue — and what is it worth?
Even a rough number helps.
Example (keep it simple):
- Average job value: £2,500
- Close rate from qualified lead: 20%
- Target cost per lead: £100 (because £100 / 0.2 = £500 cost per sale, which might be fine)
Now your landing page has a job: produce qualified leads at a sustainable £/lead.
The 80/20 principle: message match beats design tweaks
If your ad says “Emergency boiler repair in Bristol – 60-minute response” and the landing page headline says “Welcome to ABC Heating”, you’ve broken the flow.
Message match is the fastest CRO win for PPC because it reduces confusion and hesitation.
Checklist: message match (above the fold)
- Your headline repeats the core promise from the ad (same wording, not “similar” wording)
- Your subheading clarifies who it’s for (location, service type, urgency, industry)
- Your primary CTA matches the intent (e.g., “Get a quote”, “Book a call”, “Check availability”)
- Your first screen shows proof you’re legit (reviews, accreditations, recognisable clients, results)
You’re not trying to be clever. You’re trying to be obvious.
Your offer needs to feel “safe” in 5 seconds
For service businesses, the landing page is often selling a next step, not the full service.
People are asking themselves:
- “Is this for me?”
- “Can they actually help?”
- “What happens after I submit?”
- “Is this going to be a hard sell?”
- “How much is this going to cost me?”
So you reduce perceived risk.
Offer checklist (keep it service-business friendly)
- Define the outcome, not the deliverable
Bad: “We provide SEO.”
Better: “Increase qualified leads without wasting budget on broad keywords.” - Add a time or effort anchor
“30-minute call”, “same-day response”, “quote in 24 hours” - Explain the process in 3 steps
People love predictability. - Include a “no pressure” line (if true)
It sounds small, but it removes friction.
Above-the-fold structure that works (for leads)
You don’t need a “perfect layout”. You need a layout that answers questions in the right order.
A strong service PPC above-the-fold usually includes:
- Clear headline (what you do + who it’s for)
- Supporting line (result, timeframe, location, constraints)
- Primary CTA (1 action, not 4)
- Trust proof (reviews, numbers, accreditations, client logos)
- A visual that reinforces credibility (real people, real work, simple graphic)
If you want a reference point for how we think about joined-up performance (strategy → execution → measurement), look at the Insight & Strategy approach.
Speed is conversion rate (especially on mobile)
You can’t CRO a slow landing page into profitability.
Google has shared research showing bounce probability increases 32% when load time goes from 1 second to 3 seconds.
That’s before someone even reads your headline.
Speed checklist (practical, not theoretical)
- Compress images (and don’t load a 2,000px hero image on mobile)
- Remove heavy sliders, background video, and “animation for animation’s sake”
- Cut third-party scripts (every extra widget has a cost)
- If you must track everything, use a clean tag setup via Google Tag Manager
If your landing pages are part of a broader rebuild, your conversion rate will live or die on execution quality — which is why service brands often connect CRO with Website Design & Development instead of treating it as a bolt-on.
The “friction audit”: remove what slows the yes
Service landing pages usually underperform for one reason: they ask for too much, too early.
Common friction points
- Long forms (10–15 fields) when you’ve earned 10 seconds of attention
- Vague CTAs (“Submit”, “Enquire”, “Send”) that feel like a black hole
- No clarity on what happens next
- Weak proof (“We’re passionate about customer service”)
- Pop-ups fighting the CTA
- Cookie banners covering the form on mobile
Friction checklist (quick wins)
- Reduce to 3–6 fields for initial enquiry
- Use smart defaults (dropdowns, conditional fields)
- Add microcopy under the button:
“We’ll reply within 1 business day. No spam.” - Offer 2 paths only if intent differs:
“Book a call” (high intent) vs “Request a quote” (mid intent) - Put your phone number where it’s easy to find (and track calls properly)
Form design for service leads: quality beats quantity
It’s tempting to optimise for “more leads”. But if sales teams hate the leads, you haven’t won — you’ve created an admin.
For service businesses, the form should do light qualification without scaring people off.
The “just enough” qualification model
Use a short form, then qualify with:
- A single qualifying question (dropdown works well)
“What best describes your situation?” - A budget range (optional if sensitive)
- A timeframe question
“Looking to start in: ASAP / 1–3 months / 3+ months”
If you’re struggling with lead quality, this is where analytics matters — and it’s exactly why teams pair landing pages with a clean measurement foundation from a Data & Analytics Agency.
Trust signals that actually move the needle (service edition)
Trust is the currency of service businesses. You’re asking for a conversation, a home visit, access to financial info, or a strategic decision. You need proof.
Trust checklist (use what you genuinely have)
- Google reviews / Trustpilot / industry platforms (with dates if possible)
- Client logos (but only if recognisable)
- Short case study blocks (problem → approach → result)
- Before/after (works well for home services, clinics, repairs)
- Accreditations & memberships (trade bodies, certifications)
- Team visibility (photos + names can outperform generic stock imagery)
If you can show outcomes, do it. Even a simple line like:
“Typical response time: under 2 hours during business hours”
can beat a paragraph of brand fluff.
For an example of how we reference performance outcomes, see the M&C Saatchi Performance case study.
The content stack: the order your persuasion should appear
Most landing pages dump everything in one long wall of text. You’ll convert more when the page earns the ask.
A high-performing service PPC landing page often follows this structure:
- Outcome + audience fit (headline + subhead)
- How you help (3 bullets)
- Proof (reviews, stats, client logos)
- Your process (3 steps)
- What you deliver (specifics, not jargon)
- Objections (pricing approach, timelines, “is this right for me?”)
- FAQ (short, direct)
- CTA repeat (same action, repeated naturally)
If you’re already running campaigns, connect the landing page to your broader account strategy — ad groups, keywords, audiences, negatives, and reporting should all feed the same goal. That’s the thinking behind our Paid Advertising Agency London work.
CTA strategy: 1 primary action, repeated at the right moments
Service PPC landing pages fail when they offer too many exits:
- “Call us”
- “Email us”
- “Live chat”
- “Download brochure”
- “View services”
- “Read our blog”
- “Follow us on LinkedIn”
Pick one primary action per page.
Then repeat it:
- Above the fold
- After proof
- After process
- After FAQs
CTA checklist
- Button text describes the outcome (“Get my quote”, “Book a consultation”)
- CTA appears every ~1–2 scroll lengths (not spammy, just present)
- Secondary CTA only exists if it serves a different intent level
Tracking checklist: if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it
CRO without tracking becomes opinion. And PPC landing pages need feedback loops.
Minimum viable tracking for service PPC
- GA4 conversion event for form submit (and ideally form start too)
- Call tracking (unique numbers per channel/campaign where possible)
- Calendar booking tracked as a conversion
- Thank-you page or event-based confirmation (not “click on button” tracking)
If your GA4 setup feels messy, these 2 Totally Digital resources are useful:
- GA4 + Search Console SEO Audit (the mindset is “fix-first actions”, which applies to CRO too)
- Key Events report gone from GA4? (handy if you’re trying to sanity-check GA4 reporting)
And if you want the broader “performance mindset” that ties UX, measurement, and results together, browse the SEO Performance Agency page — it’s not just about SEO, it’s about the habit of optimising based on data.
The PPC landing page CRO checklist (copy/paste friendly)
Use this as your quick audit.
Relevance & clarity
- Headline matches the ad promise (same language)
- Page clearly states who it’s for (industry, location, type of need)
- You’ve removed generic intro copy
Offer & next step
- CTA is clear and outcome-focused
- You explain what happens after the conversion
- You reduce perceived risk (“no obligation”, response time, etc.)
Trust & proof
- You show reviews/testimonials with specificity
- You show credible proof (results, accreditations, recognisable logos)
- You include a short “how it works” section
Friction & UX
- Form is short (3–6 fields) unless you truly need more
- Mobile experience is clean (no banners covering key elements)
- Speed is decent (especially on 4G)
Measurement
- Form submits tracked properly in GA4
- Calls tracked and attributed
- Booking conversions tracked
- Lead quality reviewed weekly (not “end of month”)
What “good” looks like (benchmarks you can use without obsessing)
Benchmarks are always contextual, but they stop you guessing.
- Unbounce reports an overall median landing page conversion rate of around 6.6% (Q4 2024).
- Google’s research shows bounce risk rises fast as load time increases (1s → 3s = +32% bounce probability).
Use benchmarks as a sense check, not a target. For service PPC, “good” is whatever produces profitable, qualified enquiries at a £/lead that works for your margins.
Next steps
If you want a second set of eyes on your PPC landing pages — not a generic CRO audit, but a practical checklist tied to your ads, tracking, and lead quality — speak to Totally Digital.
Start here: Contact Totally Digital and share:
- your top campaign,
- the landing page URL,
- what a lead is worth to you (even a rough £ figure),
- and what you think is going wrong.
You’ll get clear feedback, quick wins first, and a plan you can actually implement.
If you’re tired of traffic that doesn’t convert, Totally Digital is here to help. Start with technical seo and a detailed seo audit to fix performance issues, indexing problems, and lost visibility. Next, scale sustainably with organic marketing and accelerate results with targeted paid ads. Get in touch today and we’ll show you where the quickest wins are.