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A case study from Purrple Orryx

309 conversions reported. Not one we could trace to a real person.

So we built a system that traces every one. Same market, 22% less spend, 2.6x the visibility.

Check your own accountTalk to Ankur

Google Ads report, Aug 2026

Conversions reported309
Traced to a real person0
Conversions as counted in the Google Ads account, Aug 2026: 306 taps on an email address and 3 on a WhatsApp link.
  • 22%less spend

    Google Ads spend, Oct 2026 against Aug 2026, whole account

  • 2.6xthe visibility

    Search impression share, Oct 2026 against the Aug and Sep 2026 average, search campaigns

  • 34 of 34Google Ads enquiries traced to their campaign

    Google Ads enquiries with their campaign recorded, CRM attribution board, 1 to 31 Oct 2026

Last updated 5 November 2026

What we couldn't see.

Our Google Ads report said 309 conversions in Aug 2026. I went looking for the people behind them.

  1. 01309

    A monthly report with one number in it.

    Conversions in the Google Ads account, Aug 2026.

  2. 02306 of 309

    Taps on an email address, counted the same as a person asking for a quote.

    Aug 2026. The other 3 were taps on a WhatsApp link.

  3. 0351.3%

    Of searches missed because the daily budget ran out while buyers were still searching.

    Impression share lost to budget, search campaigns, Aug 2026.

Which of them was a buyer? We couldn't say. 0 of 16 enquiries that month had a campaign on them.

The gap was the tracking, not the people running the account.

What changed when the ads moved onto our own system.

Same market, same business. The agency-run months against the months since.

InteractiveClick the options below. Switch between the two periods. The bars for that period light up.

Search impression shareHigher is better
  • 15.7%Aug
  • 12.7%Sep
  • 36.8%Oct
  • 65.9%Nov 1 to 4early

Search impression share, search campaigns, 1 Aug to 4 Nov 2026. Nov is early: 772 impressions.

Impression share lost to budgetLower is better
  • 51.3%Aug
  • 51.6%Sep
  • 0.2%Oct
  • 0%Nov 1 to 4early

Search impression share lost to budget, search campaigns, 1 Aug to 4 Nov 2026. Nov is early: four days of data.

Click-through rateHigher is better
  • 6.1%Aug
  • 5.3%Sep
  • 6.1%Oct
  • 8.2%Nov 1 to 4early

Click-through rate, search campaigns only, 1 Aug to 4 Nov 2026. Nov is early: 63 clicks.

SpendSame market
-22%Our system, against the agency-run baseline

Google Ads spend, Oct 2026 against Aug 2026, whole account.

One click, traced end to end.

Follow one search from the ad to the pipeline and back to Google Ads.

  • Aug0 of 16traced
  • Sep15 of 16traced, 12 with the keyword (from 16 Sep)
  • Oct34 of 34traced, 31 with the keyword
  • Nov 1 to 4, early3 of 3traced, 3 with the keyword

Enquiries with their Google Ads campaign recorded, CRM boards, 1 Aug to 4 Nov 2026. Aug counts every enquiry on the email board; from 16 Sep, when click-ref tracking went live, Google Ads enquiries only

  1. Step 1

    Someone searches

    A buyer types exactly what they need.

  2. Step 2

    The ad shows, and they land

    They click the ad. The page keeps the click ID and the search from that moment.

  3. Step 3

    A WhatsApp enquiry at 11:40pm

    Nobody is at a desk. The enquiry is logged anyway, with the click it came from.

  4. Step 4

    The CRM row fills itself in

    All 8 fields, the same 8 as the checklist below.

    Channel
    Google Ads
    Campaign
    Corporate events, Dubai
    Search
    corporate event companies in dubai
    Click ID
    gclid stored
    Arrived
    Tue 23:40
    Asked for
    Team offsite for 80 people in March. Wants two venue options.
    Sorted as
    Buyer
    Pipeline
    Call booked, Wed 10:00. Sent to Google Ads as a qualified lead.

  5. Step 5

    Sorted as a buyer, and the call is booked

    Suppliers, job seekers and spam are set aside. The team opens this one first.

  6. Step 6

    Google Ads hears it was a real buyer

    The qualified lead goes back to Google Ads with its click ID, so bidding learns from buyers, not clicks.

Illustrative example. Every name, company and message is invented.

8 in 10 enquiries were never going to buy. The team only opens the rest.

Every enquiry, on every channel, is sorted as it arrives: suppliers pitching us, job seekers, spam, and the ones worth a reply.

  • 44% Suppliers
  • 20% Job seekers
  • 15% Spam
  • 21% Worth a reply

Every enquiry on every channel (email, WhatsApp, website form), sorted automatically, received 1 to 31 Oct 2026. 790 enquiries.

How it runs, every weekday at 9am.

A digital performance marketing manager. It reviews the account and proposes changes. A person approves each one before it goes live.

  1. Reads yesterday

    Searches, clicks, enquiries, and where each enquiry went.

  2. Proposes changes

    Each one with the number behind it.

  3. Waits for a yes

    By email reply. No yes, no change.

  4. Applies and records

    The change goes live and the decision is written down.

From Ads review

Subject Today's proposed changes

  1. One negative keyword list for every campaign

    The same job-seeker and supplier searches were being blocked in one campaign and paid for in the others.

  2. Budget no longer runs out by lunchtime

    Half the impression share was going to budget, so the ads stopped while buyers were still searching.

  3. Landing page quality flagged

    More auctions entered, and more of them lost on ad rank. The page buyers land on is part of that score.

Reply yes to apply, or tell me what to change.

Mock email with invented content. Nothing is sent.

In progress

We now enter far more auctions, and we lose more of them on ad quality. The system flagged it first. That's the job this month.

  • 33%Aug
  • 35.7%Sep
  • 63%Oct
  • 34.1%Nov 1 to 4early

Search impression share lost to ad rank, search campaigns, 1 Aug to 4 Nov 2026. Lower is better.

Can you trace which search brought in which buyer?

Score your own account on the same 8 points. About 2 minutes, no sign-up.

InteractiveClick the options below. Answer Yes, No or Not sure for each point. Your score updates as you go.

When a lead comes in, can you see...

  1. Which channel it came from

    Without it, every enquiry looks the same, and you can't tell what you paid for from what came free.

    How to check in 2 minutes

    Open your last 10 enquiries. Does each one say where it came from (Google Ads, organic search, Instagram, a referral) without anyone guessing?

  2. Which campaign paid for it

    Budget moves between campaigns every month. Without the campaign on the lead, it moves blind.

    How to check in 2 minutes

    Pick one Google Ads enquiry from last week. Can you name the campaign that brought it in without asking anyone?

  3. The exact words they searched

    The search shows intent. A buyer's search and a job seeker's search can cost the same click.

    How to check in 2 minutes

    In Google Ads, open the search terms report. Can you match one search to one enquiry in your CRM?

  4. The Google click ID stored with the enquiry

    The click ID (gclid) is the only key that lets you tell Google which click became a real buyer.

    How to check in 2 minutes

    Open a recent web enquiry and look for a field called gclid holding a long code. If it isn't stored anywhere, the answer is No.

  5. The minute it arrived

    Reply speed decides who gets the job. Without a time, nobody sees the enquiries that wait all night.

    How to check in 2 minutes

    Check whether your CRM records the arrival time to the minute, for WhatsApp and calls as well as the form.

  6. What they asked for, in two lines

    Someone has to read every message to decide whether it's worth a reply. A short summary saves that read.

    How to check in 2 minutes

    Open your CRM list view. Can you tell what each enquiry wants without opening it?

  7. Whether it's a buyer, a supplier, a job seeker or spam

    Many enquiries were never going to buy. If they all count as leads, your cost per lead is wrong.

    How to check in 2 minutes

    Count last month's enquiries. How many were suppliers pitching you, job applications or spam? If nobody knows, the answer is No.

  8. Where it sits in your pipeline today, and whether that goes back to Google Ads as a qualified lead

    Google bids on what you tell it. If it only hears about form fills, it finds you more form fills, not more buyers.

    How to check in 2 minutes

    In Google Ads, open Goals, then Conversions. Is there an imported or offline conversion for qualified leads, updated in the last 30 days?

The checklist, and a note on your gaps.

One page with all 8 points, why each matters and how to check it. Your score is free; the checklist and the note on your gaps open here once you leave your details.

Get the checklist and my result

The one-page checklist, plus a short note on the points you answered No or Not sure.

Take the audit above first if you want your result in the note.

Prefer to talk? or book 30 minutes with Ankur.

Google Ads tracking and management, set up for your business.

The same system, set up for your account. Google Ads today, other channels later.

1

Tracking first

Search to enquiry to pipeline, so every lead shows the search and campaign that brought it in.

2

Then the daily review

Every weekday the account is reviewed and changes are proposed. You approve each one.

Check your own accountBook 30 minutes with Ankur

Questions

Do I have to leave my agency?

No. The tracking sits underneath whoever runs your ads today, agency or in-house. In our own case the gap was the tracking, not the people.

Why did our clicks go down?

80% of all clicks in August came from Performance Max and Demand Gen, which bring cheap clicks and very few buyers. Those campaigns were stopped, so total clicks fell while search visibility rose.

Who approves changes?

You do. Every weekday at 9am the system reads yesterday's numbers and proposes changes, each with the number behind it. Nothing changes in the account until a person replies yes, and every decision is recorded.

Does it work with my CRM?

Yes. Each enquiry is written into the CRM you already use, with the channel, campaign, search words and click ID on the record. Our own setup runs on monday.com. If you don't have a CRM yet, a simple board is enough to start.

What do you need from me to start?

Three things: access to your Google Ads account, access to your website (or the person who runs it) so the tracking can be added, and a list of where enquiries reach you today, such as WhatsApp, email and forms. Tracking is set up first. Then the daily review starts, and you approve each change.

A report tells you how many. The system tells you who.

Book a call with Ankur

Built by Prrowess for Purrple Orryx. See also Tina, our events coordinator.

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