Great Big Small

Prepared for Amy and Ed Ball Designs
3 September 2026

Google Ads Performance Review

July-August 2026

A clear look at what the campaigns are doing well, where budget can be tightened, and why September's HubSpot tracking work is the key next step.

Two-month snapshot

Figures shown in Google Ads for 1 July to 31 August 2026.

Total spend

US$3,274.55

Across Search, Brand and Display

Total clicks

361

123 Search + 238 Display

Search CTR

12.58%

Strong engagement for high-value local search

Recorded conversions

Tracking is not yet complete enough to treat this as the full lead count

What is working

The positive story is primarily about relevance, visibility and intent.

Search intent is highly relevant

The visible search terms are tightly aligned to Ed Ball Designs' core offer, including landscape architect, landscape designers near me, landscape architect Alexandria VA and landscape design Arlington VA.

Search engagement is strong

The main Search activity is producing double-digit click-through rates, with the Search total at 12.58%. This suggests the ads are matching what prospective clients are looking for.

Location-led searches show promise

Alexandria has produced a recorded conversion, while Arlington and Northern Virginia searches are generating strong engagement. This supports continuing a focused local strategy.

Brand demand is healthy

The Brand campaign shows a 51.72% CTR across July and August, which indicates that people searching specifically for Ed Ball Designs are highly likely to engage.

Audience signals also look relevantGoogle's audience insights show meaningful overlap with people in General Contracting & Remodelling Services, Recently Renovated Home and Interior Design & Decorating Services segments. That supports the view that the ads are reaching people already considering higher-value home improvement work.

Strongest visible search terms

These are the clearest examples from the Search Terms report supplied.

Search term	Clicks	CTR	Spend	Conversions	Cost / conv.
landscape architect alexandria va Recorded conversion	4	19.05%	US$107.29	1	US$107.29
landscape designers near me Recorded conversion	3	15.79%	US$77.31	1	US$77.31
landscape design arlington va	3	21.43%	US$117.21	0	-
landscape architect	6	8.22%	US$169.98	0	-
landscape architects	2	18.18%	US$33.93	0	-

What this tells usThe visible search terms do not show a widespread irrelevant-search problem. The strongest conversion signals are appearing around landscape architecture/design and location-specific intent, which is where we should continue to focus.

Competitive visibility is healthy

In the Auction Insights view supplied, Ed Ball Designs is showing at roughly 50% impression share and ahead of most of the visible competitors. Paid search visibility itself is therefore not the main gap to solve.

What needs improving

The priority is to make the same budget more accountable before increasing spend.

Hardscape is taking a large share of spend

The visible hardscape activity is generating clicks but no recorded conversions. For example, the hardscape landscaping near me keyword spent US$589.55 across the period with no recorded conversion. This area should be reviewed and tightened rather than scaled.

Conversion tracking is incomplete

Google Ads shows 3 conversions, while the lead funnel shows 4 raw leads, no qualified leads and no converted leads. The account also shows inactive/no-recent conversion statuses. This means the current numbers are not yet a reliable picture of true lead performance.

Several ads need strengthening

Some responsive search ads are rated Poor or Average by Google. We should improve headline variety, relevance and landing-page alignment, while keeping the stronger Good and Excellent ads as benchmarks.

Budget should follow lead quality, not clicks alone

Google is recommending more automation and spend, but we do not yet have enough clean qualified-lead data to justify that. September should focus on attribution first, then budget decisions.

For now, we are not recommending a simple budget increase.We would rather improve attribution, tighten weaker spend and establish which searches produce qualified opportunities before asking Ed Ball Designs to spend more.

July to August direction

A useful positive trend, with the important caveat that conversion tracking still needs correcting.

July spend

US$1,649.31

205 clicks, 1 recorded conversion

August spend

US$1,625.24

156 clicks, 2 additional recorded conversions

Main Search July

54 clicks

US$1,528.10 spend

Main Search Aug.

54 clicks

Approx. US$1,522 spend, with stronger conversion activity

Positive movementMonthly spend remained broadly level, while recorded conversions increased from 1 in July to 2 in August. The sample is still small, so this should be treated as encouraging direction rather than proof of a final return on investment.

September priorities

The aim is to make September the first month where ad performance can be judged against real lead quality.

1. Tracking

Connect the full lead journey

Complete HubSpot attribution
Confirm Google Ads source data passes into HubSpot
Track enquiry, qualified lead, proposal and signed LDP
Test forms and phone enquiries end to end

2. Optimisation

Tighten where spend goes

Review Hardscape spend
Prioritise landscape architect/designer intent
Keep strong geo terms
Improve Poor/Average responsive search ads
Add negatives only where search intent genuinely drifts

3. Reporting

Move beyond Google conversions

Report cost per enquiry
Report cost per qualified lead
Track proposals and signed LDPs
Compare keywords and locations by lead quality
Use this data to decide where to scale

The reporting goal

By October, the objective is to be able to say: “We spent X, generated X enquiries, X became qualified opportunities and X signed an LDP.”

That will give Ed Ball Designs a much more useful measure of Google Ads performance than clicks or Google's generic conversion count alone.

Overall assessment

Current position

The account is generating relevant, high-intent search traffic and showing encouraging engagement across core landscape architecture/design terms. Paid search visibility is not the main concern.

Next step

The immediate priority is to connect Google Ads activity to genuine HubSpot lead stages. Once that is working, we can make stronger decisions on budget, keywords, locations and campaign structure with confidence.

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