Why I ask for feedback on every lead

When someone starts a pilot campaign with me, I ask for two things. Answer the phone quickly. And tell me how every lead went, as it comes in.

The second one sometimes gets a funny look. Isn't that my job?

Here's why I ask.

Google can count. It can't judge.

Google Ads knows that someone filled in your form or rang your number. It doesn't know if they wanted a £50 job or a £5,000 one. It doesn't know if they were in your area, if they were a customer or a competitor, or if they were trying to sell you something.

You know. Usually within a minute of speaking to them.

What I do with it

Every lead you tell me about is a clue. A run of rubbish leads from one search term tells me to block it. Good leads from one area tell me to put more budget there. Calls about a service you don't offer tell me an ad is saying the wrong thing.

Without that feedback, I'm judging the account on numbers that can look great while the business gets nothing. With it, I'm judging the account on what actually matters: customers.

It doesn't need to be complicated

I'm not asking for a report. A quick note is enough:

• Good lead, booked in
• Good lead, didn't go ahead
• Wrong area
• Wrong job
• Spam

That's it. A shared spreadsheet, a quick message, whatever works for you.

Later, Google can learn from it too

Once there's enough of it, the same information can go back into Google Ads, so Google's automated bidding learns which leads turned into customers, not just which clicks turned into form fills. That's one of the best ways to improve lead quality over time.

But it starts with someone saying "that one was good, that one was rubbish". Nobody knows your leads better than you.