Search strategy
Researched five regional U.S. service categories and compared national demand for AI receptionist, PPC management and CRM automation using Keyword Planner forecasts.
01 / Business problem & my role
Find qualified demand without treating every conversion as a lead.
The client is a U.S.-based business services firm offering marketing, CRM automation, websites and AI receptionist solutions. The assignment was to compare paid-search opportunities, investigate the existing campaign and establish whether a booking could be attributed to an ad click before requesting new spend.
Campaign diagnostics
Reviewed Search terms, negative-keyword opportunities, Auction Insights, ad relevance, Quality Scores, impression-share losses and landing-page alignment.
Measurement QA
Investigated Google Ads conversion actions, GTM and GA4 events, GHL direct-booking behavior, referral parameters and CRM-to-Ads reporting gaps.
02 / Audit methodology
Follow the entire journey from search intent to a verified appointment.
Search term / ad click
Landing page
GTM / GA4 event
GHL booking
Qualified lead
Attributable customer
Each step needs its own evidence. A button click or GA4 event is not proof of a completed appointment; a CRM stage is not proof of collected revenue. Full click-to-customer attribution remains unverified.
03 / Research & technical findings
What I investigated and what the evidence showed.
Keyword Planner / Forecasts
Local versus national opportunity
Compared regional and US-wide search demand and forecast assumptions across the client's service lines. AI receptionist service became the leading candidate for a limited national pilot, subject to offer economics, budget and owner approval. Forecasts were treated as estimates, not guaranteed leads.
Existing Search campaign
Query quality, competition and ad relevance
Reviewed campaign performance alongside actual search-query themes, existing negatives, Auction Insights, impression-share constraints, Quality Scores and landing-page experience. The analysis helped frame whether improving the existing campaign or testing a separate service-specific campaign would be more appropriate.
GTM Preview / GA4 DebugView
A booking-intent event was observed
Confirmed Google Ads auto-tagging and the Ads-to-GA4 account link, then observed the book_discovery_call event in GTM Preview and GA4 DebugView. This verified an event path, not that an appointment was actually booked or attributed to a Google ad.
GHL Direct Booking
The calendar path worked; attribution still had gaps
Checked AI receptionist booking CTAs, the direct GHL calendar, booking form, staff assignment, notifications and confirmation routing. The CTAs reached the intended booking flow, but passing ad identifiers and UTM parameters into that external calendar and tying events to completed appointments still required a validated fix.
Google Ads / CRM conversions
Tag and offline-conversion integrity needed repair
Reviewed GTM tag coverage, legacy booking-event behavior and CRM-to-Google Ads conversion diagnostics. The audit identified configuration and deduplication risks. API events reported as sent were not treated as accepted, matched or attributable Google Ads conversions.
AI receptionist landing page / Mobile
Booking UX and mobile presentation
Worked on the AI receptionist landing experience, including mobile video playback and responsive presentation, and verified updated booking redirects. Performance and end-to-end conversion reliability still needed additional QA before campaign activation.
04 / Deliverables & remaining work
A documented recommendation and a concrete pre-launch QA list.
Completed or observed
- Local and national keyword forecasts and service-intent comparisons.
- Existing Search campaign, Search terms, negatives, Auction Insights and ad-quality review.
- Ads auto-tagging and GA4 link checks; event observation in GTM Preview and GA4 DebugView.
- GHL direct-booking CTA and calendar settings QA, plus AI receptionist mobile experience improvements.
- Client-facing proposal comparing existing Search optimization with a conditional AI receptionist pilot.
Pending validation / approval
- Reliable GCLID/UTM transfer from the landing page to direct GHL booking.
- Appointment-level event validation, legacy conversion safeguards and deduplication.
- Offline CRM-to-Google Ads conversion configuration and acceptance checks.
- Approved offer economics, spend cap and explicit campaign go/no-go decision.
- Any new campaign launch, post-launch lead results, customer acquisition or ROAS claim.
05 / Value of the work
The outcome was clearer decisions and fewer measurement assumptions.
The project produced a research-backed campaign direction, an audit of the current Search setup and a prioritized list of conversion-tracking issues that should be resolved before optimizing for bookings. Rather than reporting hypothetical revenue or mixing clicks with qualified leads, the proposal kept observed account data, forecast scenarios and unverified attribution separate.
Marketing & analytics skills
Google Ads Search, Keyword Planner, search-query analysis, Auction Insights, campaign diagnostics, GTM, GA4, event QA and landing-page conversion review.
CRM & systems skills
GoHighLevel direct booking, lead-source continuity, CRM conversion mapping, Voice AI intake, appointment validation, attribution boundaries and safe pre-launch QA.
This is a research and pre-launch QA case study, not a claim that a new campaign generated leads or revenue. Account credentials, customer information and restricted operational details are intentionally omitted.
Discuss your lead-to-booking system
Need Google Ads research that also checks what happens after the click?
I can help investigate search intent and campaign diagnostics, review GTM/GA4 conversion signals, and trace the booking handoff into your CRM. Recommendations are based on what the account and tests actually support.