Kayak Pools Midwest: Google Ads strategy, testing priorities, and growth initiatives for the 2026 season.
Google Ads is designed to support and amplify Kayak Pools' existing objectives, with overall direction and growth driven by the broader business strategy.
Everything outlined in this document represents our current strategy as of March 2026. We treat this roadmap as a living plan. If something new comes online which can genuinely drive ROI, we will recommend this for testing. Conversely, if a strategy stops working, we will pivot. The priority is always results over rigidity.
The core theme for 2026 is lead quality over lead volume (boosting 'Good Deals'). As Google pushes more AI-driven features, broad match expansion, and automated campaign types across the platform, the default trajectory is toward higher traffic volumes at the expense of lead quality. Our job is to work against that trend: focusing on strategies and campaign types that generate quality leads.
Specific tests and experiments planned for the 2026 season
Moving away from broad match to tighter keyword targeting, backed by data.
As of the March 3rd season launch, all campaigns (existing states and new state expansions) have been transitioned from broad match keywords to exact match and phrase match only. This is the primary keyword approach for now.
We conduct quarterly keyword research and reviews across all active states. This involves analyzing new search queries being used by the target audience, identifying emerging terms, and expanding keyword coverage where opportunity exists. This ensures we are capturing demand as consumer search behavior evolves throughout the season.
More qualified clicks, improved lead quality, and better alignment between search intent and ad delivery. We expect CPCs may increase slightly with tighter targeting, but cost per quality lead should decrease as wasted clicks are reduced.
Shifting the campaign mix toward what consistently generates quality leads.
In 2025, Performance Max accounted for 32% of total account spend. PMax was live and contributing leads throughout the year, informed by regular feedback and discussions with the team, along with CallRail conversion monitoring. PMax was running until the Kayak account went offline end of October 2025. Based on Kayak data and other lead gen clients, we have moved away from Performance Max in most cases, as lead quality has declined across the last 3-4 months.
Google Ads changes quickly. If PMax lead quality improves, or Google introduces meaningful controls for lead gen advertisers, we will always be open to relaunching and testing. We are monitoring this actively.
The primary driver for 2026. Tight keyword targeting with exact and phrase match, focused on capturing high-intent searches across all active states.
Active NowContinuing to protect the Kayak Pools brand with dedicated brand campaigns. These consistently deliver the strongest conversion rates and lowest CPAs in the account.
Active Now7 new state campaigns (Iowa, Kansas, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, Missouri, Arizona) launched at the start of the 2026 season. Performance will be evaluated on a state-by-state basis.
Under ReviewEach new state campaign is being given a 6-8 week testing window to accumulate enough data for meaningful evaluation. After this period, we will assess each state individually:
The biggest levers to improve performance this season
The single biggest lever for growth in the Kayak Pools account.
Since taking over Google Ads management, we have provided landing page optimization feedback and insights pro bono, and these adjustments have contributed to improved performance over time.
However, the current landing pages have been live and visible for multiple years. While incremental adjustments have helped, a complete landing page rebuild is the recommended next step to take Kayak Pools to the next level.
Increasing the search conversion rate by just 2 percentage points, from 9.33% to 11.33%, would generate approximately 2,300 additional conversions annually at current traffic levels. That is additional leads at zero incremental ad spend. This is the highest-impact lever available in the account today.
We understand there are complexities around data collection and how this integrates with Kayak Pools' internal systems, which is why we have not proceeded further with quoting at this stage. If you are keen to explore this, we can provide a quote for the landing page rebuild(s) and setup, alongside the split testing packages we offer.
Key areas of focus for the 2026 season
The core initiatives driving the Kayak Pools account this season.
Complete transition from broad match to exact and phrase match across all campaigns. This is a fundamental shift in how we target searches, prioritizing precision over volume.
Executed March 3Removing Performance Max from the campaign mix for lead generation. Search campaigns are the primary (and currently only) campaign type, giving us full control over targeting and placement.
Executed March 3The largest geographic expansion in account history. Iowa, Kansas, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, Missouri, and Arizona all have dedicated campaigns with state-specific creative.
Live, Under ReviewAfter the initial testing window, we will review state-by-state performance and recommend where to scale, adjust, or reallocate budget based on the data.
OngoingWe are tightening targeting across the board: exact and phrase match keywords, search-only campaigns, and a clear focus on lead quality over volume. Boosting landing page conversion rate, and new states testing provides the biggest growth opportunity; we will let data guide which states scale and which do not. The single largest untapped lever in the account is landing page conversion rate; a 2% improvement would deliver approximately 2,300 additional leads per year at zero extra ad spend.
We are committed to being dynamic and responsive as the season unfolds. Everything here is data-informed and subject to evolution as the Google Ads landscape changes. We look forward to continuing the partnership and building on the foundation established over the past seasons.