Google Ads management for mortgage brokers
Mortgage ads often pay for people checking today's rates out of curiosity, researching general mortgage terms, or looking for a job in lending rather than applying for a loan. An audit checks whether spend reaches people ready to apply.
Get my free planWhich searches waste money for mortgage brokers?
Rate-checking, general research and career searches are the usual leaks.
- Rate-checking searches with no application intent: current mortgage rates today, rate trends.
- General definition searches: what is an APR, how does escrow work.
- Job and career searches: mortgage loan officer jobs, how to become a loan officer.
- Loan types you don't offer, such as commercial or reverse mortgages if you focus on conventional residential loans.
- Searches for an existing borrower's account service or payment issue.
Common tracking problems for mortgage brokers
Applications usually start with a form or call, and the real outcome to track is a funded loan, not just a submitted application.
Check whether a submitted application is what fires the conversion, and whether that's distinguished from someone just requesting a rate quote.
If your loan origination system can mark which applications actually close, compare the close rate by campaign against the raw lead count reported in Google Ads.
Want Google Ads done for you?
You approve your plan. Claritad builds your account, ads and tracking, then optimizes within agreed limits. No contract, cancel anytime. You pay Google directly for clicks.
$299$49/month launch offer
Launch offer: $49/month (regularly $299/month). Locked in for as long as you stay. Ends Dec 31, 2026.
58 days :10 hours :37 minutes
Ends Dec 31, 2026 at 11:59 PM Eastern
No contract, cancel anytime. You pay Google directly for clicks.
The plan preview is free, no card needed. Managed has a flat monthly fee; cancel anytime.
What does a good cost per lead look like?
Judge cost per funded loan, not cost per application, since application-to-close rates vary by loan type and credit profile.
A conventional purchase loan and a refinance carry different commission value and different close rates. Track cost per funded loan separately by loan type rather than using one blended figure.
Note that mortgage and financial advertising can be subject to Google Ads policies on financial services; check current policy requirements and licensing rules for the states you serve.
What should a mortgage broker check first?
Search terms by cost, application-to-close tracking, and whether loan types are separated by campaign.
- Exclude rate-checking and job-seeker searches
- Track application-to-close rate by campaign where possible
- Separate loan types into their own campaigns
- Check location targeting against states where you're licensed
Frequently asked questions
Why do I get a lot of rate-checking traffic but few applications?
General rate searches often lack application intent. Reviewing search terms and adjusting keywords toward application-intent phrases usually helps.
Should purchase and refinance loans run in separate campaigns?
Usually yes, since they attract different searches and close at different rates, making performance easier to judge.
Will Claritad change my mortgage ad account?
Managed builds and runs your ads after you approve the plan, then optimizes within agreed limits. Budget increases require your OK. The free diagnostic does not change your ads.
Want Google Ads done for you?
You approve your plan. Claritad builds your account, ads and tracking, then optimizes within agreed limits. No contract, cancel anytime. You pay Google directly for clicks.
$299$49/month launch offer
Launch offer: $49/month (regularly $299/month). Locked in for as long as you stay. Ends Dec 31, 2026.
58 days :10 hours :37 minutes
Ends Dec 31, 2026 at 11:59 PM Eastern
No contract, cancel anytime. You pay Google directly for clicks.
The plan preview is free, no card needed. Managed has a flat monthly fee; cancel anytime.
Related guides and tools
- How to audit a Google Ads account — A step-by-step checklist, in business language.
- How to find wasted spend in Google Ads — Where money leaks and how to check each place.
- Which Google Ads search terms are wasting your money — How to find the search terms wasting your Google Ads budget, group them into patterns, and exclude them with negative keywords without blocking real customers..
- How much should Google Ads cost per lead — There's no universal good cost per lead.
Sources
- Google Ads Help — About the search terms report
- Google Ads Help — About conversion measurement
- Google Ads Help — About negative keywords
Last updated · Written by the Claritad team (Kyle Edward Gilligan LLC). Claritad is independent software and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Google.