The short answer
Help them with their research, without getting in the way. The ad offers exactly what they’re looking for, the page builds trust, and only at the end do you invite them to talk. The ad is still selling a click. The click just happens to be help with their research.
How do you know what they’re researching?
One of my clients is a clinic that treats chronic conditions like Long COVID, chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia. While working through the Google Ads search terms report, I started noticing a pattern: a lot of people weren’t searching for treatment. They were searching for symptoms, like “long covid heart palpitations”.
Keep in mind that this report shows only part of the picture. Since 2020, Google only shows terms that enough people searched, so the long queries from people doing in-depth research barely show up. You have to spot the pattern in the short terms.
And the pattern was clear: people in the research stage, still trying to figure out what’s happening to them.
What did the ad offer?
If people are looking into symptoms, there’s no point offering them treatment. The ad offered exactly what they were searching for: “Discover Long COVID Symptoms”. No promise, no price, no clinic. Just help understanding.
How is a page like this built?
The page is mostly about symptoms: heart palpitations, brain fog, chronic fatigue, shortness of breath. It’s written with a lot of empathy, because whoever lands on it has probably been suffering for a long time and is looking for answers.
Only at the end does the question come up: what do you do when you’re feeling these symptoms? And the answer doesn’t try to sell: we suggest you talk to your doctor, and we’re always here for a free consultation.
That’s the whole idea: meet people in the middle of their research, help them, and stay out of the way. Only once trust is built can you invite them to leave their details. And someone who leaves their details after reading “talk to your doctor” probably really means it.
The same principle works in other industries too. At ARTZONE, we launched a simulator that shows people their own living room with a stretch ceiling, in exchange for just an email address, with no commitment to a sales call. More on that in the post on interactive tools on your website.
What happened to the leads?
In the months that followed, the campaign brought in roughly 10% more leads per month. Not a dramatic number, and we didn’t try to make it one. What matters more is who left their details: people who had already read about the symptoms, recognized themselves in them, and had talked or were planning to talk to their doctor. By the time they got on a call with the clinic, they were much further along.
But here too, lead count isn’t the test. The test is how many of those leads became patients, and how much revenue they brought in relative to ad spend. That’s what I call the revenue test, and it’s how every campaign should be judged, including one aimed at people in the research stage.
There’s another gain that’s harder to measure: some of the people who read the page didn’t leave their details that day. They may come back a month from now, after talking to their doctor, and remember who helped them understand what was going on.
FAQ
Isn’t it a waste of budget to advertise to people who aren’t ready to buy yet?
Not necessarily. If most people searching in your field are still researching, and only a few are searching for the service itself, a campaign aimed only at those few is competing for a small, expensive group. Reaching people in the research stage widens your audience, as long as the page actually helps them and doesn’t try to close the deal too early.
What’s the difference between a page like this and a blog post?
A blog post is written to explain and to rank the site in search results. A landing page like this is written to explain and move the reader one step forward. It starts with what the person searched for, stays there most of the time, and only at the end offers the option to leave their details.
How do I know what people in my field are researching?
Start with the search terms report in Google Ads. It doesn’t show everything, but it does reveal patterns. If you see lots of searches for symptoms, questions or comparisons, and few searches for the name of the service, your audience is probably still in the research stage.
How long does it take for someone in the research stage to become a customer?
It varies by industry, and sometimes by person. In medical fields, for example, the decision usually goes through a conversation with a doctor, so it takes time. Measure the campaign over a long enough period, and don’t judge it after a week.
