When The Ash Counselling first got in touch with us, they had a good practice, a strong reputation in their local area, and a caseload that was nowhere near full. They were relying almost entirely on word of mouth and a Psychology Today listing — both of which were generating a trickle of enquiries, but nothing close to what they needed to grow.
They'd looked at Google Ads before but hadn't moved forward with it. The setup felt complicated, the costs were unclear, and they weren't sure whether it would actually work for a counselling practice. They also had a modest budget — under £700 per month for ad spend — and weren't sure that was enough to make a meaningful difference.
Four months later, they had generated £32,000 in new client revenue. Here's exactly how it happened.
The starting point
The Ash Counselling had a professional website and a clear niche — they specialise in anxiety, depression, and trauma. Their therapists are well-qualified and experienced. The practice had good reviews from existing clients. On paper, everything was in place.
The problem was visibility. People searching for a counsellor in their area weren't finding them. Their website ranked on page two or three of Google for most relevant searches — which, in practice, means almost no one sees it. And without paid advertising, they had no way to get in front of people who were actively looking for help right now.
Their monthly enquiry volume from all sources was around 4–6 per month. With a conversion rate from enquiry to booking of around 60%, that translated to roughly 3–4 new clients per month — enough to maintain the practice, but not enough to grow it.
What we built
A dedicated landing page
The first thing we did was build a dedicated landing page — separate from their main website — specifically designed to convert visitors from Google Ads into enquiries. The page was written to speak directly to someone experiencing anxiety or depression who is ready to take the step of reaching out to a therapist.
The page included: a clear headline that acknowledged the problem, a brief explanation of what working with The Ash Counselling looks like, anonymised client outcomes, a simple enquiry form, and a clear call to action. No navigation, no distractions.
A Google Ads campaign targeting high-intent searches
We built a Google Ads campaign targeting people searching for counsellors and therapists in their local area. The campaign was structured around their core specialities — anxiety, depression, and trauma — with separate ad groups for each, and ad copy written specifically for each audience.
We also built a comprehensive negative keyword list to ensure the budget wasn't wasted on irrelevant searches — people looking for free NHS therapy, online therapy platforms, or therapy training courses.
CRM and automated follow-up
One of the most important parts of the system we built was the automated follow-up sequence. When someone submits an enquiry, they receive an immediate email acknowledging their message and setting expectations for next steps. If they don't hear back within 24 hours, a follow-up is triggered automatically.
This sounds simple, but it made a significant difference. Before implementing this, enquiries that weren't followed up within a few hours often went cold — the person had moved on and contacted another practice. With the automated sequence in place, the conversion rate from enquiry to booking improved substantially.
The results
Within the first month, the campaign was generating enquiries. By month two, the system was running smoothly and the volume was building. By month four, the numbers looked like this:
- 49 enquiries generated through the landing page
- 32 bookings made (65% enquiry-to-booking rate)
- 19 new ongoing clients retained beyond the initial sessions
- £32,000 in new revenue generated over the four-month period
- Total ad spend: under £2,800 (under £700/month)
That's a return of over 11× on their ad spend — before accounting for the ongoing value of the 19 clients who continued beyond the initial sessions.
"We were sceptical about whether Google Ads would work for us on our budget, but the results have been remarkable. We now have a consistent flow of new clients and we're not worried about where the next client is coming from."
What made the difference
Several factors contributed to the results, but the most important were:
The landing page. Sending traffic to a dedicated conversion page rather than the main website was the single biggest lever. The landing page converted at approximately 7.2% — compared to the 1–2% typical of a main website homepage.
The targeting. By focusing exclusively on high-intent searches — people actively looking for a counsellor in their area — we avoided wasting budget on people who were just browsing or researching.
The follow-up system. The automated CRM sequence ensured that no enquiry went cold. Every person who submitted their details received an immediate, personalised response — which significantly improved the conversion rate from enquiry to booking.
The budget discipline. Staying under £700/month in ad spend required careful management of bids, keywords, and campaign settings. But it proved that you don't need a large budget to get meaningful results — you need a well-structured campaign.
Is this typical?
The specific numbers will vary depending on your location, your speciality, your session rate, and your local competition. A practice in central London will face higher cost-per-click than one in a smaller city. A practice with a highly specific niche may have lower search volume but higher conversion rates.
What is consistent across the practices we work with is the underlying dynamic: when you combine targeted Google Ads with a dedicated landing page and a proper follow-up system, the results are dramatically better than any of those elements in isolation.
If you'd like to understand what this could look like for your practice specifically, you can use our free ROI calculator to get a projection based on your location and budget. Or, if you'd prefer to talk it through, book a free strategy call and we'll give you an honest assessment of what's achievable.
About TheraFlow Systems: We're a done-for-you marketing agency working exclusively with therapists and private practice owners in the US, UK, and Australia. We build the Google Ads campaigns, landing pages, and client management systems that bring a steady stream of ideal clients to your practice.