Paid Search Performance Review
Search campaign deep dive
Every Google Search campaign that ran January 1 – June 25, 2026 — campaign-by-campaign, with what worked, what we’d change, and the full keyword and negative-keyword detail behind each one.
What worked — and what we’d change
What worked- The geo × modality structure (one campaign per state, one ad group per modality) is sound and reads cleanly.
- Local-intent broad terms — “emdr therapy near me”, “dbt therapy near me”, “couples therapy [city]” — are the conversion engine.
- Virginia and Maryland ran efficiently ($474 and $424 / conv) and should be the templates.
- The DSA “Top Blogs” campaign produced the cheapest conversions in the account ($59) on tiny spend.
What we’d change- $28K (a third of keyword spend) converted nothing. Concentrated in the IFS / internal-family-systems cluster, generic “online therapy near me”, and statewide-broad EMDR with no geo qualifier.
- Exact match is the costliest per conversion ($698) — counter-intuitively worse than broad ($477). The exact set skews to expensive head terms.
- Negatives are uneven and thin — FL-Boca has none; the big block-lists sit on a paused campaign, not the live ones.
- A few terms are over-funded (NJ “dbt counseling” $2,012; FL statewide EMDR ~$2K) — cap per-term spend.
- Validate conversion tracking — page-view micro-conversions inflate all-conversions and shouldn’t feed a Max-Conversion-Value bid strategy.
All search campaigns at a glance
| Campaign | Status | Spend | Impr | Clicks | CTR% | CPC | Conv | Cost / conv | Detail |
|---|
| New York (NYC metro) | Paused | $23,056 | 69,654 | 3,654 | 5.25% | $6 | 37.9 | $608 | breakdown → |
| Virginia | Paused | $20,160 | 28,287 | 2,329 | 8.23% | $9 | 42.0 | $480 | breakdown → |
| Maryland | Paused | $16,056 | 37,171 | 2,856 | 7.68% | $6 | 38.3 | $419 | breakdown → |
| New Jersey | Paused | $14,151 | 30,975 | 2,485 | 8.02% | $6 | 17.0 | $832 | breakdown → |
| Washington D.C. | Paused | $9,994 | 18,394 | 1,009 | 5.49% | $10 | 15.5 | $645 | breakdown → |
| Boca Raton, FL — EMDR | Paused | $7,742 | 16,881 | 925 | 5.48% | $8 | 8.0 | $968 | breakdown → |
| DSA — Top Blogs (All Geos) | Paused | $205 | 34,365 | 1,585 | 4.61% | $0 | 3.5 | $59 | no keywords (dynamic) |
Campaign-by-campaign
Each campaign below links straight to its full breakdown — keywords, ad copy, landing pages & funnel, and negatives, all on one page per campaign.
$23,056spend
37.9conversions
$608cost / conv
5.25%CTR
$6.31avg CPC
$10,578 (46%)zero-conv spend
What worked- Largest market by volume (69.7K impressions, $21.2K spend) — the demand is real and broad.
- Local-intent broad terms carried conversions: emdr therapy near me (8 conv), dbt therapy near me (6.5), marriage counseling nyc (5.4).
- EMDR and couples/marriage clusters are the dependable performers.
What we’d change- 49% of spend ($10.6K) produced zero primary conversions. Biggest leaks: ifs therapist near me (exact, $1,232), relationship therapy nyc ($1,093 at a weak 3.3% CTR), cbt sessions ($753).
- Lowest CTR of the major states (5.4%) — too many loosely-relevant terms diluting the ad set.
- Cut the entire IFS cluster and generic relationship therapy / cbt terms; concentrate budget on EMDR, DBT and couples.
$20,160spend
42.0conversions
$480cost / conv
8.23%CTR
$8.66avg CPC
$5,882 (29%)zero-conv spend
What worked- Best-run state campaign. Highest CTR in the account (8.3%) and lowest waste (30%).
- couples therapy arlington va converted at $76/conv — the single most efficient keyword in the account.
- Healthy spread of winners: EMDR near-me (10 conv), relationship therapy virginia (5.5), Gottman/marriage terms.
What we’d change- Trim exact-match trauma terms that didn't convert: trauma therapy emdr ($983), dbt treatment program ($754), trauma specialist near me ($693).
- Direct negative list is thin (only 6 terms) — promote the account-standard negatives here.
- Use VA as the template for rebuilding the other states' structure.
$16,056spend
38.3conversions
$419cost / conv
7.68%CTR
$5.62avg CPC
$7,689 (48%)zero-conv spend
What worked- Cheapest conversions in the account — $424 each.
- Local trauma and parent/EMDR terms led: trauma therapist maryland (6 conv), parent therapy (4), emdr therapist maryland (3).
- Strong 7.8% CTR shows good ad-to-term relevance.
What we’d change- Still 49% wasted spend ($7.7K). Family terms underperform: Family therapy Maryland ($1,100, 0 conv), couples therapy maryland ($761), emdr therapy maryland exact ($700).
- Pause or rework the family-therapy cluster; lean into trauma/EMDR/parent intent that already works.
$14,151spend
17.0conversions
$832cost / conv
8.02%CTR
$5.69avg CPC
$7,930 (56%)zero-conv spend
What worked- Good CTR (8.3%) and a couple of reliable winners — dbt counseling and Gottman/marriage terms.
- Largest direct negative list of any campaign (47 terms) — clear effort on exclusions.
What we’d change- Worst efficiency of the big four — only 17 conv on $13.3K ($784/conv), 59% wasted.
- Over-funded single terms: dbt counseling spent $2,012 for 6 conv ($335 each); relationship therapy new jersey $1,703 for just 2.
- Despite the biggest negative list, leakage is highest — the problem is term/landing-page intent, not missing negatives. Cap per-term spend and reallocate to proven modalities.
$9,994spend
15.5conversions
$645cost / conv
5.49%CTR
$9.90avg CPC
$6,230 (62%)zero-conv spend
What worked- trauma therapist dc was excellent — 8 conv at ~$98 each.
- washington dc couples therapy (exact) added 4 conv.
What we’d change- Highest CPC in the account ($10.01) and worst waste (65%). Lowest CTR (5.6%) signals weak relevance in a small, expensive market.
- Geo-less broad terms bleed money: online therapist near me ($881), emdr therapy near me ($879), dbt therapy near me ($641) — all 0 conv.
- Restrict to geo-qualified exact/phrase terms (“... dc”, “... washington dc”); drop bare “near me” broad.
$7,742spend
8.0conversions
$968cost / conv
5.48%CTR
$8.37avg CPC
$4,196 (54%)zero-conv spend
What worked- Tight single-modality, single-metro test (EMDR / Boca Raton).
- EMDR Boca Raton branded-local term drove 5 of the 7 conversions.
What we’d change- Worst cost/conv in the account — $1,011. Statewide emdr therapist in florida (broad) spent ~$2K for 2 conv.
- Thinnest build (40 keywords, 30 served) and zero direct negatives — add the account-standard negative list immediately.
- Either commit to Boca-local exact terms or pause; broad statewide FL terms don't convert at acceptable cost.
Want the underlying detail? Each campaign has a complete breakdown page (keywords, ad copy, landing pages, negatives). The
All keywords page ranks every served term across the account, and
Negative keywords lists every exclusion, direct and shared.