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Google Ads, CRO and SEO for professional and B2B service firms

A buyer may fill out one form and then compare three firms for two months. The work is reaching the right companies, proving you can do the job, and tracking leads to a signature.

We count signed clients, not clicks.

Where the path leaks for professional and B2B service firms

What a free audit flags first, in the order your customer meets each step.

Fix-first list 6 issues

  1. 1The search ad

    Found: Clicks from students, job seekers and one-person shops price shopping

    Change: Service-plus-buyer keywords, negatives for jobs and courses, and the firm’s size in the ad

    Details

    Where it leaks. Broad terms like “accountant” or “IT support” bring in tax questions, career research and businesses far too small to afford you. Each of those clicks costs what a real buyer’s does, and professional-services clicks aren’t cheap.

    What we change. Keywords built around a service and a buyer, like “outsourced CFO” or “managed IT for law firms,” negatives for jobs, salaries, courses, templates and free tools, and ad copy that names who you work with, so the wrong buyer doesn’t click.

  2. 2Reaching the right company

    Found: Metro-wide ads reach homes and offices that will never buy from you

    Change: Targeting by office district, and a list of named accounts where the platform allows it

    Details

    Where it leaks. A firm that sells to mid-size companies spends across a whole metro, on people who’ll never hire it. And when only 200 companies could be a client, search alone waits for them to look.

    What we change. Location targeting around the office districts where your buyers work, and audiences built from your own account list where you have permission to use it, so a short list of companies sees your name before they need you.

  3. 3The service page

    Found: “Trusted partner” copy that could be any firm, with no people shown

    Change: One page per service, with the buyer named, the scope, real people and how pricing works

    Details

    Where it leaks. The ad goes to a home page that says “trusted partner” and “tailored solutions,” which could describe any competitor. The buyer can’t tell what’s included, who’d do the work or roughly what it costs, so they keep looking.

    What we change. One page per service that names the buyer, states the scope, shows the people who’d do the work with their credentials, explains how pricing works, and uses real client results only where the client has agreed and the claim is true.

  4. 4The first conversation

    Found: A contact form with no routing, answered days later by whoever sees it

    Change: A short qualifying form, a booked call, and a named owner for each lead

    Details

    Where it leaks. A general contact form sends good leads, vendors and job applicants to one inbox, where they wait. By the time a partner replies, the buyer has already taken a call with someone else.

    What we change. A form with one or two qualifying questions, such as company size and what’s prompting the search, a calendar to book the call right away, and a named person responsible for each lead, so nothing sits over a weekend.

  5. 5The long middle

    Found: A proposal goes out, then nothing for weeks, and the deal quietly dies

    Change: Follow-up by deal stage, with useful proof at each step and a clear next action

    Details

    Where it leaks. Sales cycles run for weeks or months, often with several people deciding. After the proposal, the firm goes quiet, and the buyer’s CFO or owner, who never saw your pitch, has nothing to read.

    What we change. Follow-up by deal stage: a recap after the first call, a one-page summary the buyer can forward, relevant proof for the person who hasn’t met you, and retargeting for visitors who came back to pricing or case-study pages.

  6. 6Measurement

    Found: Ad reports count form fills, and the CRM never tells them what closed

    Change: Qualified leads, proposals and signed clients, with value, sent back to Google Ads

    Details

    Where it leaks. The ad platform thinks every form is a win, so it finds more of whoever fills out forms. A signed $60,000 client and a student asking a question count the same, and the deal closing in three months never gets credited.

    What we change. Stages from your CRM (qualified, proposal, signed) sent back to Google Ads with deal value. Google accepts click-ID conversions for up to 90 days, so longer deals are tracked through an earlier stage like a qualified lead, and LinkedIn can take offline stages through its Conversions API or CSV uploads.

The rules your ads work within

What professional and B2B service firms can say, who the ads can reach and what a site can track.

Pre-launch check

Every ad, page and tag, before anything runs

  • FTC

    CAN-SPAM covers business email too

    There’s no B2B exception, so sales email needs a real address, an honest subject line and a working opt-out.

    Details

    The FTC’s compliance guide says CAN-SPAM makes no exception for business-to-business email. Commercial messages need accurate headers and subject lines, your physical postal address and an opt-out you honor promptly, and each separate email that breaks the rule can cost up to $53,088. Both the company advertised and the one sending the email can be held responsible, so this applies to anything an outside list vendor sends for you too.

  • FTC

    Testimonials and client results

    Client quotes must be real and typical claims true. Staff reviews and bought reviews can bring penalties.

    Details

    The FTC’s Endorsement Guides say a connection that would affect how people weigh a testimonial, such as a discount, a referral arrangement or a friendship, has to be disclosed. Its Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule, in effect since October 21, 2024, bars fake reviews, incentives tied to a positive sentiment and undisclosed reviews by officers or managers. Case studies should be accurate and used with the client’s permission, and a best-ever result shouldn’t be presented as what a typical client can expect.

  • State boards

    Licensed titles: the CPA example

    In Texas, using “CPA firm” requires a firm license, and an unlicensed entity’s ads may need a disclaimer.

    Details

    Licensed professions have their own advertising rules, so a page or ad written for one firm may not work for another. In Texas, the State Board of Public Accountancy’s Rule 501.81 says a firm can’t use the title “CPA” or “CPA Firm” without a firm license, and an ad that mentions a CPA’s designation alongside an unlicensed entity must carry a disclaimer. The board was reviewing its disclaimer language in 2026, so confirm the current text. We check your board’s rules before launch, and your compliance lead or attorney signs off on the wording.

When demand moves

Budgets and campaigns change before each swing, not after the leads dry up.

Campaign calendar

When budgets and campaigns change

  • January to April: tax season

    Accounting firms push tax work early, and pause new tax ads when capacity runs out

    Details

    Business and individual filing deadlines drive this window for accounting and bookkeeping firms, and capacity runs out before demand does. Tax-prep ads run early and pause once the calendar is full. Advisory and outsourced-finance services can run year-round, and they do well when tax work has just exposed a messy set of books.

  • October to December: next year’s budgets

    Calendar-year companies set budgets now, so reach buyers before the money is committed

    Details

    Companies on a calendar fiscal year usually settle next year’s spending in the fall. That makes it a good time for IT, consulting and outsourced-finance firms to be in front of a known list of accounts. Your own CRM history is the better guide, so we check when your signed deals actually started.

One team, five services

Each one set up for professional and B2B service firms, and built for the step after it.

  • Google Ads

    Service-plus-buyer keywords, tight office-district targeting and bidding on qualified leads, not form fills.

    Details

    High-intent keywords tied to a service and a buyer, negative lists for jobs, courses and free tools, and targeting around the districts where your buyers work. Bidding moves to qualified leads and signed clients as your CRM data comes in, which matters when clicks in these categories are expensive.

    How we run Google Ads
  • Meta ads

    Retargeting that keeps your name and proof in front of past visitors while a long decision plays out.

    Details

    Meta isn’t usually where a business buyer goes looking for a firm, so we use it for what it does well: staying in front of past visitors and your own account list during a long decision, with case studies, a partner explaining a problem on video and a clear next step. If it can’t produce qualified leads, we say so and move the budget.

    How we run Meta ads
  • Conversion rate optimization

    Pages that answer the buyer’s questions and forms that sort good leads, tested on qualified leads, not volume.

    Details

    Scope, people, proof and how pricing works on the page, plus a short form with one or two qualifying questions. A longer form often brings in fewer leads and better ones, so tests are judged on qualified leads and proposals, not how many people pressed the button.

    How we do conversion work
  • Website design

    A page per service and buyer, real team bios with credentials, and proof a buyer can forward to their boss.

    Details

    A separate page for each service and type of client, team bios with real credentials and licenses, case studies that clients have approved, and a summary page a buyer can forward internally. For firms in licensed professions, titles and disclaimers are written to your board’s rules.

    How we design websites
  • SEO

    Pages for the problems buyers search, partner bios with credentials, and a Business Profile for staffed offices.

    Details

    Google weighs relevance, distance and prominence in local results, so a staffed office gets a complete Business Profile and a steady flow of real client reviews. Beyond that, the search plan is built around the specific problems your buyers look up, with articles written or reviewed by the people who do the work, under their own names.

    How we do SEO

What your report leads with

We count signed clients, not clicks. These four numbers open every monthly report, measured the same way each time.

Monthly report

Harlow Street Advisors

Cost per qualified leadQualified by your own rule, such as company size and need, not every form that comes in
$310
Lead-to-proposal rateSeparates an ads problem from a sales problem. If it’s low, more budget won’t help
36%
Cost per signed clientWith contract value alongside, so one large client isn’t lost among smaller ones
$2,850
Days from click to signatureHow long your sales cycle runs, which sets how soon a campaign can fairly be judged
54 days

Your first 30 days

What happens after the free audit, week by week.

  1. Week 1

    We agree what a qualified lead means and review your CRM, your ads and your last 20 signed clients.

  2. Week 2

    Campaigns are rebuilt around service and buyer, with negatives and office-district targeting.

  3. Week 3

    The first service page goes live with scope, people, proof and a short qualifying form.

  4. Week 4

    CRM stages and deal value flow back into Google Ads, and every lead has a named owner.

Questions from professional and B2B service firms

Ask us anything else at [email protected]. A founder replies within one business day.

How can we judge ads if our sales cycle takes months?

By an earlier stage that’s still meaningful. We agree on a definition of a qualified lead, track it within days, and watch proposals and signed clients as they come in. Google accepts click-ID conversions up to 90 days after the click, so a qualified lead or proposal stage gives it something to learn from when a signature takes longer. Plan on at least one full sales cycle before making a final call on a campaign.

Should a professional services firm use LinkedIn or Google Ads?

Start with search if people actively look for what you sell, because they’re already looking. LinkedIn reaches job titles and companies that aren’t searching yet, and its clicks tend to cost more, so it fits firms with large contract values and a defined list of accounts. Corren’s five services focus on Google, Meta, your pages and SEO, so if LinkedIn is the right main channel for you, the free audit will say that plainly.

Do we have to publish our prices?

No, but you should say how pricing works. A buyer comparing firms wants to know if it’s fixed or hourly, what affects the number, and roughly who you’re a fit for. A starting range also screens out people who could never afford you, which saves your team calls. Some firms can’t publish a figure, and in that case an honest explanation of what sets the price still helps.

Can we use client names and results on our site?

With permission, and if the claim is true and fairly typical. Get written approval from the client, disclose anything that’d affect how people weigh the quote, such as a discount or referral fee, and don’t present your single best result as what everyone can expect. Licensed firms should also check their own board’s rules on testimonials, since some are stricter than the FTC’s.

Can we cold email the companies we want to reach?

CAN-SPAM allows it if you follow the rules, and it has no exception for B2B: accurate headers, an honest subject line, your postal address and an opt-out you honor. Other countries and some state laws can be stricter. Corren doesn’t run cold outreach, but the pages and tracking we build make those campaigns easier to measure if your team already runs them.

What does the free audit look at for a professional services firm?

Your ads and who they actually reach, your service pages, how a lead gets followed up, and whether your CRM tells the ad platforms which leads became clients. A founder records a 10- to 15-minute walkthrough and writes a one-page summary, delivered within 3 business days, with no call or login needed.

How is the work priced?

Ongoing work is one flat monthly fee, never a percentage of your ad spend, and it runs month to month. Website builds get a fixed quote in writing. After your audit, a written proposal with your fee in dollars follows within 2 business days of asking. How our pricing works.

Other industries we work with

See your fix-first list