Resources · Google Ads

What a landing page is, and why your Google Ads shouldn't point at your homepage

By Francis Valente, Navaro Systems · Updated 17 October 2026

Short answer: A landing page is simply the page someone lands on after clicking your ad. For Google Ads it should match the ad they clicked, say in the first screen what you do and where, show a phone number and a short form without scrolling, and load fast on a phone. Your homepage usually fails that test because it was written for everyone. Google also rates landing page experience as part of Quality Score, so a weak page costs you twice: fewer enquiries, and a higher price per click.

Key points

  • The page should answer the exact search that triggered the ad, in the first screen.
  • One job per page: one service, one area, one thing to do next.
  • Google measures landing page experience and it feeds Quality Score, which affects your ad position and what you pay.
  • Phone number and a short form visible without scrolling, on a phone.
  • Judge it with a stopwatch and a phone, not opinions.

What a landing page is

Any page can be a landing page. The term just means the page a visitor arrives on. In paid advertising it has come to mean a page built for one purpose: to turn a click you paid for into an enquiry. It can live on your normal website. It doesn't need a special tool.

Why the homepage usually fails

Someone searches for blocked drain Reservoir, clicks your ad, and lands on a homepage that opens with a slogan, a slider and a menu of eleven services. They have to find the drains page themselves, then find the phone number. Most won't. You paid for the click either way.

A page built for that search says Blocked drains in Reservoir at the top, gives the phone number and a three-field form before the fold, shows a couple of reviews and a photo of the van, and says what happens when they ring. Nothing else.

What Google looks for

Google scores every keyword's landing page experience as one of the three parts of Quality Score, alongside expected click-through rate and ad relevance. A better score can mean a higher position for the same bid, or the same position for less.

Landing page experience is Google Ads' measure of how well your website gives people what they're looking for when they click your ad.

Google Ads Help, Understanding landing page experience (source)

Google's own list of what improves it: relevant, useful and original content; transparency about who you are; easy navigation; fast loading; and a page that works on mobile.

The checklist

  1. The headline repeats the search. If the ad group is about hot water repairs in Preston, so is the headline.
  2. First screen on a phone: what you do, where, a tappable phone number, and a form with no more than three fields.
  3. Proof just below: two or three real reviews, a photo of you or the vehicle, your licence number if your trade has one.
  4. A price, a from-price or how pricing works. People searching with intent want to know before they ring.
  5. Remove the distractions. For paid traffic, a smaller menu or none at all keeps people on the one job.
  6. Speed. Run the page through PageSpeed Insights on mobile and fix the big items: oversized images, slow scripts, fonts that block rendering.
  7. The form goes to an inbox someone actually reads, and sends a thank-you page so the conversion can be tracked.
  8. Call tracking or a tel: link that fires a conversion, so phone enquiries count too.

One page per service that gets real spend

You don't need a page for every keyword. You need one for every service or offer that gets a meaningful share of the budget, each matched to its own ad group. For most local businesses that's three to eight pages, and they double as the service pages that help you rank in unpaid search.

How to tell if it's working

Conversion rate is enquiries divided by clicks. Compare it page by page in Google Ads once conversion tracking counts real enquiries. A page that converts twice as well halves your cost per enquiry without touching the budget, which is why landing pages are usually the cheapest improvement in an account.

Navaro's free waste audit includes a look at where your ads are sending people. It's free whether you sign up or not. Ring Francis on 0426 951 399.

Questions people ask

Do I need a separate landing page tool?

No. A page on your existing website does the job as long as it loads fast and you can lay it out for the one purpose. Dedicated tools help if your site builder makes that hard, or if you want to test variations quickly.

Should I remove the menu from a landing page?

For paid traffic, often yes, or cut it to the essentials. The page has one job and every other link is a way to leave without enquiring. Keep a link to your privacy policy and a way home.

How many landing pages do I need?

One for each service or offer that gets real budget, matched to its own ad group. Three to eight covers most local businesses.

What's a good conversion rate for a landing page?

It varies too much by industry and offer for a single number to be useful. Measure your own, improve it page by page, and judge the result by cost per enquiry.

Sources

Free 60-second website read at navaro.com.au, no sign-up. Or ring Francis Valente on 0426 951 399.