# Why Does Your Google Search Campaign Generate Clicks & Traffic but No Leads? URL: https://gogodigital.co.il/en/why-does-your-google-search-campaign-get-clicks-but-no-leads/ The short answer Most likely because most people searching on Google aren’t ready to buy yet. Search is now used for research too, and my estimate is that in lead gen, only about 20% of searches have purchase intent. An ad that speaks to everyone the same way gets curious clicks and fewer inquiries. ## What’s changed in search? A lot of what people say about the Search Network used to be true. Back then, someone searching on Google was almost always close to buying. Today, readiness to convert keeps dropping. Say someone searches for an insurance agent. Before they even see the three or four ads, Google’s AI gives them an answer on how to choose the right agent. Below the ads are the organic results. Many people are simply doing research. And that changes things. A 2025 Pew Research study found that when an AI summary appears in the results, users click a link in only 8% of visits, compared with 15% when there’s no summary. Some questions get answered before the searcher ever reaches an ad. ## Who’s actually clicking your ad? There’s no way to measure this precisely, so here’s my estimate from working on campaigns: in lead gen, about 20% of searches have purchase intent, and about 80% are still in the research phase. That explains a lot. People who are still researching click happily, read a bit, and move on to the next result. They don’t submit a lead, because they’re not there yet. In your report, that looks like a campaign that drives clicks but no leads. One more thing worth knowing: since 2020, the search terms report in Google Ads only shows queries that enough people searched. The long, detailed searches from people doing in-depth research barely show up there. You have to spot the pattern in the short queries. ## So what should a search ad look like? Short and to the point. Someone searching for something should get exactly what they searched for, without a backstory or a list of reasons that confuses them. The assumption that users read every headline and description and choose carefully is wrong from the start. Back in 1997, Nielsen Norman Group found that 79% of users scan a new page and only 16% read word by word. People skim, and the decision on what to click happens in a second. People click the result that best matches what they have in mind, not necessarily the words they typed. So the key question when writing an ad isn’t which words they typed, but what they’re really looking for. ## What about the landing page? When a Google Ads campaign underperforms, the first instinct is to fix the campaign itself: adjust the budget, add keywords, change the bid strategy. In the process, the landing page often gets forgotten, and that’s a shame. On the Search Network, the landing page is the main player. The ad gives people very little information, so the whole decision to leave their details happens there. Three things to check: 1. The look. Nobody enjoys browsing a site that looks like it was built in 2012, even if it’s perfectly mobile-friendly. An old design signals an outdated business, and who wants to leave their details there? Landing pages have trends too, so it’s worth refreshing the design every two years or so. 1. The amount of text. Only 16% of users read word by word, so a text-heavy page simply doesn’t get read. Clear headings and short paragraphs make it easier for people who skim. 1. The tone. Write at eye level, without superlatives like “the best,” “a smart investment,” or “a work of art.” Words like these get lost in the noise, and sometimes they even push people away. More on this in the post [What does a landing page need to bring in quality leads?](/landing-page-quality-leads/). ## What about the 80% still researching? You can look at that number and say 80% of searches just aren’t relevant. Or you can look at it differently: there’s a lot to work with here, you just need to figure out how. Someone researching today could be next month’s deal. The way to reach them is to help with their research without getting in the way: offer exactly what they’re researching in the ad, build trust on the page, and only then invite them to talk. More on this in the post [How do you reach people who are still researching?](/reaching-researchers/). ## Common questions If most searchers are still researching, is search advertising even worth it? Yes. The Search Network is where you’ll find the warmest customers, the ones near the end of the process. You just need to know they’re not alone, and build your ads and pages accordingly. Does this mean my ad is bad? Not necessarily. Clicks without inquiries can also come from a landing page that doesn’t follow through on what the ad promised, or from tracking that doesn’t count phone calls that actually happened. It’s worth checking both. ## Sources - [Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears – Pew Research Center (2025)](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/07/22/google-users-are-less-likely-to-click-on-links-when-an-ai-summary-appears-in-the-results/) - [How Users Read on the Web – Nielsen Norman Group](https://www.nngroup.com/articles/how-users-read-on-the-web/) - [Google Search Terms Report Changes – WordStream (2020)](https://wordstream.com/blog/ws/2020/09/03/google-search-terms-report-changes)