How Google Ads Became #1 In Inquires for a Photographer Within 30 Days

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THE CHALLENGE: “I was in survival mode with Google Ads until I met Olivia.”

Alyse Panitz has been running her San Francisco-based photography business full-time since 2021, traveling everywhere across the Bay Area for newborn and lifestyle sessions in clients’ homes.

Her lead sources? Word of mouth, repeat clients, and Google Ads.

While she does occasionally get a client off Instagram, Alyse made the deliberate choice pretty early to focus on getting clients outside social media.

“Social media’s a whole other job. That’s why I chose not to play the social media game.”

She’d been running her own Google Ads since 2021, experimenting with Instagram ads occasionally for mini sessions. But Google was where she wanted to focus since she was able to target a better audience.

The problem? She had no idea what she was doing. She’d even worked with Google Reps to try set up conversion tracking, but none of it was done properly. 

So after spending thousands in ad spend, she still didn’t have the basic pieces in place to actually track if her ads were generating real leads.

THE TURNING POINT: “Leads had started to drop off a bit. I needed someone to do it right and someone whom I can trust.”

Alyse first heard about Olivia on Colie James’ Business First Creative Podcast and instantly knew, 

“Okay, I need this woman. 

I’d tried it for a while on my own for a few years. And I had no clue what I was doing until I met her.”

So in April 2024, Alyse booked Olivia’s audit. That’s when Olivia discovered the conversion tracking wasn’t set up at all — meaning Alyse had no way of knowing if her ads were actually working. Olivia implemented Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and set up proper conversion tracking. She also recommended restructuring her campaigns, ad groups, and keyword targeting.

And Alyse continued taking care of Google Ads on her own. Which worked for the next 1.5 years until Fall ‘2025, when her leads mysteriously began dropping off.

She’d been transitioning away from wedding photography, but her Google Ads account hadn’t been structured for that kind of change. Yes, she was getting photography-related inquiries. But they weren’t the right ones. 

“I’d been trying to book more newborn sessions, but I was getting random inquiries for a surprise proposal, which wasn’t what I specialized in.

While it could’ve been attributed to something seasonal, Alyse had noticed that things had been a little off for a while. Additionally, this was happening during her busiest time of year — August through January — when she was usually slammed with work. 

When Olivia mentioned she offered an Account Tune-Up — a service Alyse didn’t know existed during their first engagement — she jumped on it.

“Leads had started to drop off a little bit. Even though I had a lot of business, I still wasn’t getting the same amount of inquiries. 

When she offered that, I was like, ‘Oh, thank God.’ I just didn’t have the time to go in to do it myself and to do it properly.”

THE PROCESS: “She will go in and do what needs to get done. You can trust her.”

After completing Alyse’s Google Ads account audit in October 2025, Olivia was able to work on the suggestions that she’d recommended, with a little bit more. There were no extra calls needed and no back-and-forth discussions — just Alyse’s account all take care of.

Google Ads Strategy & Implementation in One Day

This is where the Account Tune-Up shines for photographers like Alyse who don’t want — or have time or resources for — a high-touch retainer.

Olivia restructured her campaigns, refined her keyword targeting, cleaned up her negative keywords, and improved her ad copy and ad assets. It’s a mix of strategy, setup, and optimization all rolled into one.

The best part? Alyse didn’t have to touch a thing.

“The whole Google Ads thing is a lot. And when you don’t speak the language of Google, and you don’t know how it works entirely, it’s very intimidating.

When I go in and poke around, I’m afraid of clicking the wrong thing or deleting something that’s going to change everything.”

Olivia monitored the account and made adjustments throughout the first week. Then she sent Alyse a deliverables document with:

• • An overview of the work performed
  • A library of “how-to” videos for managing negative keywords
  • What to keep an eye on post-implementation
  • Baseline goals for reviewing keyword performance (specifically important for Alyse, since Google Ads in California is expensive).
  • Guidance on when to pause keywords that aren’t performing

30 Days of Monitoring & Support

Olivia continued monitoring the account in the support period. At the 30-day mark, she sent Alyse a check-in with:

• Keywords to watch out for due to creeping costs
• Suggestions for further refining targeting using negative keywords
• Ticketing support for any questions (with video responses)

The entire process was hands-free for Alyse. No calls. No overwhelming discussions. All she had to do was deal with the leads that come in.

THE RESULTS: “She will go in and do what needs to get done. You can trust her.”

Within just 30 days post-tune-up, Alyse saw the following results:

BETTER-FIT & HIGHER-QUALITY LEADS 

No more random engagement or proposal requests. Alyse was now getting inquiries from her ideal clients — people looking for maternity and newborn sessions who loved her style and were ready to book.

“The leads are right on target. They’re exactly who I’m looking for and they’re looking for me.

People who were ready to book for exactly what I was trying to present to them. Who actually went to my website and were my perfect client.”

FULLY BOOKED THROUGH MONTHS IN ADVANCE

By the end of November, Alyse had sessions booked all the way through March 2026.

This was a significant shift from the same time last year. For a photographer entering the typically slower post-holiday season? That’s huge.

“A lot of times after the holiday rush, you’re like, ‘Okay, need some new jobs. It’s the New Year.’ 

I have more bookings right now than I did this time last year. It feels really good having them on my calendar.”

GOOGLE ADS HAS NOW BECOME HER #1 SOURCE OF LEADS

By closing just one client from Google Ads, she’s able cover (more than) her entire ad spend.  

Before the Tune-Up, Google Ads was one of Alyse’s lead sources. 

After? It became her number one source.

“The Tune-up is totally worth the investment. She’s so fast and efficient. Olivia will just go in and do what needs to be done. Her work has really improved my business.” 

STOPPED OVERPAYING FOR HER BRAND-NAME (AND EVERYTHING ELSE)

One of the biggest discoveries during the Account Tune-up? Alyse had been overpaying for her brand name by almost 4x, roughly $5 per click for people searching for her by name.

Those clicks were now a lot less with proper campaign structure.

“I had no idea. I was in such survival mode of going through the motions of my day-to-day work that I didn’t even think to look at my ads. So I’m glad Olivia caught that.”

THE NUMBERS TELL THE REST OF THE STORY

	Before Tune-Up	After Tune-Up
Cost per Acquisition (CPA)	$100	$86 (14% decrease)
Conversion Rate	3.13%	4.06%

All of this meant that Alyse was effectively doing a lot more for the same ad spend because her account is optimized for the leads she actually wants.

For a family photographer like Alyse Panitz, the Account Tune-Up didn’t just fix her Google Ads — it gave her the breathing room to focus on her actual work while her Google Ads quietly got her new photography clients.

“This is totally worth the investment. Having Olivia’s eyes on your Google Ads is just priceless.

She is so fast and efficient. The videos and the content that she’s delivered to me — everything’s super helpful to have as a reference. I don’t know what I would be spending without her because I was overpaying a lot. I will definitely continue using her services in the future because I just feel like it’s so valuable and so necessary for my business to keep growing and keep moving forward.”

This case study was built on a conversation with this specific client, going through our work together. Anything in quotes is a word-for-word statement said by the client on a recorded call or in feedback.

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If Google Ads is eating into your budget without bringing in the leads you actually want?

Let’s fix that with an Account Tune-Up — a hands-free optimization that gets your ads working for your business, not against it.

Google Ads for photographers who want results without the retainer price tag.