How to Run Google Ads for Mortgage Brokers

Track the inquiry, then the application, then the closed loan

Google's bidding chases what it can see. A broker's lead takes weeks to become a loan, so if all Google sees is "a form was sent", it treats a curious reader and a pre-approved buyer the same.

A conversion is the action you want from a click. Start with the first step: a call or an inquiry form.

1. In Google Ads, open Goals, then Conversions, and create a new conversion action.
2. Add one for calls from your ads and one for calls from your website, with a minimum call length.
3. Add one for your inquiry form, counted when it is sent.
4. Mark these as primary, so bidding uses them. Mark calculator use, page views and downloads as secondary. They are not leads.
5. Send a test form and make a test call. Check they appear in Google Ads within a day.

Then track the later steps yourself. In your CRM or a simple list, mark each inquiry: real borrower or not, options sent, application started, loan closed, and the loan amount if you want to. Once you have steady volume, upload the qualified and closed ones to Google Ads. Bidding then learns which searches produce loans, not just forms.

Google may also ask financial advertisers to verify the business before ads can run, depending on the country. If your account shows that request, complete it first.

Settings that keep a broker's budget on borrowers

Fix three settings before any ad goes live.

1. Search only. In campaign settings, open Networks. Untick Search Partners and untick the Display Network. You want your ad on Google Search when someone types "mortgage broker near me".
2. People who are in your area. Open Locations and add the cities you are licensed and willing to work in, or a radius around your office. In some countries Google limits targeting for credit ads, so zip codes may not be offered. Then open Location options and choose "Presence: people in or regularly in your included locations".
3. Auto-apply off. Open Recommendations, find Auto-apply and turn off every box. Otherwise Google can add keywords and change bidding without asking.

Check your licensing against your locations. A click from a state where you can't write a loan is wasted.

How to structure a mortgage campaign: one loan type per ad group

An ad group is a set of keywords that share the same ads. Keep one loan type in each, with its own landing page. A homeowner refinancing and a first-time buyer have different questions.

Build only the loan types you write and want more of. If you don't do car loans, personal loans or reverse mortgages, leave them out and block those words.

If refinance is your main business, give it a separate campaign with its own budget. Then a surge in refinance searches can't use up the money meant for home buyers.

Keywords a borrower types

A keyword is the phrase you give Google. A search term is what the person typed. You pay for the search term, so watch the gap.

Borrowers who are ready to talk name the loan or ask for a broker:

• mortgage broker near me
• refinance mortgage
• mortgage pre approval
• first time home buyer loan
• investment property loan
• home loan broker

Add your city to several. Keep each ad group to a few close phrases.

Match types control how loosely Google matches:

• Exact match shows your ad for that search or one with the same meaning.
• Phrase match shows your ad when the search contains the meaning of your phrase, with other words around it.
• Broad match shows your ad for anything Google thinks is related. With mortgage words, that means definitions, calculators and news. Leave it off.

Start with phrase and exact match. Every week, see which search terms became real conversations, and add those as exact match keywords in the right ad group.

Searches a broker should block from day one

A negative keyword is a word you block. Add these at the account level before the ads start:

• Careers: jobs, salary, hiring, how to become.
• Students: course, training, license, exam, certification.
• Readers: what is, meaning, definition, explained, vs.
• Tool users: calculator, amortization, spreadsheet.
• Existing customers of a lender: login, payment, customer service, phone number.
• Loans you don't write: for example car loan, personal loan, student loan, payday.
• Lender and bank names, unless you want those comparisons.

"What is" blocks searches such as "what is pmi" and "what is an escrow account". Those people are reading. They may borrow one day, but you would be paying a borrower's click price for a reader.

Add each as a phrase match negative, trimmed to the core word. "Calculator" covers every calculator search.

Then check the search terms. Every day or two for the first two weeks, then weekly:

1. Open the search terms report under Insights and reports.
2. Sort by cost, highest first.
3. For each search, ask: is this someone who wants a loan arranged?
4. If not, block the core word.

Writing ads for a mortgage broker

A responsive search ad takes up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions. Google mixes them. Fill in as many as you can.

• Name the loan: "Refinance Your Mortgage", "First-Time Buyer Loans".
• Name the place: your city or region.
• Say what a broker offers that a single bank doesn't, if true: compare many lenders, one person from start to closing, evening calls.
• End each description with the next step: "Call or send your details for a free review."

Leave specific rates out unless you are sure you can show them correctly. Finance advertising is regulated, so check your own regulator's advertising rules, and include any license details you are required to show.

One ad per ad group, written about that loan type. After a few weeks, add a second and let them compete.

Then add the extras, called assets:

• Call asset: your number on the ad, tap to call.
• Sitelinks: at least four, such as "Refinance", "First-Time Buyers", "Get Pre-Approved" and "Client Reviews".
• Callouts: short facts such as "Compare Multiple Lenders", "Licensed Broker" and "No Obligation Review".

A landing page for each kind of loan

The page should feel like the start of a conversation, not an application.

• The headline matches the search. A "refinance mortgage" ad lands on a page headed refinance your mortgage.
• Phone number at the top, tap to call.
• A short inquiry form visible without scrolling: name, phone, loan type and rough amount. Save the documents for later.
• Your photo, name and license details. People want to know who will have their finances in front of them.
• Reviews from past clients, near the top.
• Three plain steps: a call, your options, the application.
• Any disclosures your rules require.
• No menu and no links that lead away.
• Fast and clear on a phone.

Google scores how well keyword, ad and page match. A closer match earns a higher score, and that lowers the price of the same position.

Budget and bidding on a long sales cycle

Set the budget from your own numbers. How many closed loans do you want from ads each month? Roughly how many inquiries does it take to close one? What can you afford to pay for an inquiry? Multiply it through and fund it for at least a couple of months, since loans close slowly.

Bidding moves in stages:

1. Maximize Conversions from the start. With tracking working, launch on this. Google bids toward calls and forms. Give it two or three weeks.
2. If a new account won't spend. Use Maximize Clicks with a cap on the bid per click as a fallback. Return to Maximize Conversions once inquiries arrive.
3. A target cost per lead. After about 30 conversions in 30 days, set a target, which Google calls Target CPA. Start it 15 to 20 percent above what an inquiry has been costing. Too tight a target makes Google stop spending. Tighten it a little each month while inquiries hold.

Never bid by hand. And don't judge the account on closed loans in month one. The loans from this month's clicks close later.

How to run Google Ads for mortgage brokers week by week

Every week:

• Check the search terms. Block careers, readers and calculator searches.
• Add searches that became real conversations as exact match keywords.
• Update each inquiry: qualified, options sent, application, closed or junk.
• Call back new inquiries fast. A borrower often speaks to more than one broker, and the first good conversation tends to win.

Every month:

• Compare cost per qualified inquiry by loan type.
• Look back at inquiries from 60 to 90 days ago. Which ad groups produced closed loans?
• Pause an ad group that spends and never produces an application.
• Test the form and the phone number.
• Review the budget and the bidding stage.

Rates, seasons and timing

Mortgage demand moves with rates and with the housing calendar.

• When rates move: refinance searches jump, sometimes within days. Have the refinance ad group built and ready so you only need to raise its budget.
• Spring and summer: the main home buying season in most markets. Pre-approval and first-time buyer searches rise before it.
• Start of the year: people act on plans to buy or to tidy up their finances.
• Year end: quieter, apart from investors.

Many people research loans in the evening. If your form converts at night, keep the ads on and call first thing the next day.

Or have software do all of this

That is how to run Google Ads for mortgage brokers by hand: count each inquiry and follow it to a closed loan, lock the settings, keep one loan type per ad group, block the readers every week, and step the bidding up as the data grows. It works, and it takes steady attention.

If you would rather spend that time with borrowers, Local Service Ads AI does these steps every morning. Budget changes always wait for your OK. See Google Ads for mortgage brokers.