In our last two posts, we walked through choosing the right campaign goals and setting up campaign settings. Now it’s time for one of the most important — and most overlooked — steps in running successful Google Ads: setting up conversions.
If you skip this part, you’re basically flying blind. Google can get you clicks all day, but unless you tell it what a “lead” looks like, it has no way to optimize for the people who are actually ready to book a move.
What Are Conversions?
A “conversion” is any meaningful action someone takes on your website or directly from your ad. For moving companies, that usually means:
- Phone calls (from the ad itself or after clicking through to your site).
- Contact form submissions (like “Request a Quote” or “Get Estimate”).
- Quote request forms (specific lead forms tied to moving details).
These are the moments that matter — they’re how you know an ad spend is working.
How to Set Up Conversions in Google Ads
- Go to Tools & Settings → Conversions in your Google Ads account.
- Click + New Conversion Action.
- Choose your type:
- Phone Calls → Set up call tracking for calls from ads and calls from your site.
- Website Actions → Track when someone fills out a form or clicks a “Call Now” button.
- Google will give you a small snippet of code (called a “tag”).
- Install this on your website’s header, or use Google Tag Manager to place it without touching code.
- Test it — make sure when you submit a form or click the call button, it registers in your Google Ads dashboard.
Phone Call Tracking: A Must for Movers
Most moving companies live and die by the phone. Google Ads lets you:
- Track click-to-call actions on mobile.
- Forward calls through a Google forwarding number so you can measure how many leads came directly from your ads.
This helps you see which campaigns, keywords, and ads are actually making your phone ring.
Why Conversions Matter
Without conversion tracking, you’re paying for traffic and hoping it turns into jobs. With conversion tracking, you can:
- See which keywords bring in the most leads.
- Optimize your budget toward the ads that drive calls and form fills.
- Cut wasted spend on clicks that don’t lead anywhere.
Think of it this way: clicks are like people browsing past your moving truck parked on the street. Conversions are the ones who actually book you for moving day.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Only tracking clicks, not calls or forms.
- Forgetting to test your conversion setup before running ads.
- Tracking too many “soft” actions (like page views) that don’t actually equal leads.
Wrapping Up
Getting conversions set up takes a little extra work, but it’s the difference between running ads that burn money and ads that print money.
✅ Next in the series: we’ll dive into Keyword Research & Ad Groups (Step 4), where we start targeting the exact search terms your ideal customers use when they’re ready to move.
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