Mid-Funnel Ads: Nurture Leads in 2026

So what are consideration ads? They’re the stuff you show to people who are aware of you but aren’t ready to buy yet. These campaigns are all about engagement and building trust by giving potential buyers more information, not shoving a “buy now” button in their face. Your goal is to turn those casual browsers into informed leads who are actually ready to talk, which you do by showing them you understand their needs and have something of value. I’ve seen it a hundred times: if you don’t have a solid mid-funnel strategy, all the money you spent on top-of-funnel brand awareness just evaporates.

Step 1: Define Your Consideration Audience and Goals in Google Ads

Before you spend a dime, you have to know exactly who you’re targeting and what you want them to do. For consideration ads in Google, this means picking the right campaign settings. I find that a lot of people get excited and skip this planning phase, which just leads to unfocused spending and poor results.

1.1 Select Campaign Objective and Type

First, get into Google Ads Manager. In the left-hand menu, click Campaigns, then hit that blue plus icon and select New Campaign. For a mid-funnel play, you’ll almost always want to choose Leads or Website traffic, it just depends on whether you’re trying to get a form fill or just pull them deeper into your site. Then, choose Search for your campaign type. Yes, Display and Video have their place, but Search lets you get right in front of people who are typing their problems into the search bar which is perfect for this stage.

Pro Tip: I know it’s tempting to select the “Sales” objective, but you have to resist unless your sales cycle is incredibly short. This stage is about providing information so they’re ready for a sales call. A HubSpot report found that 60% of buyers are fine discussing price on the first call, but only after they actually get how the product works. Your ads need to get them there.

1.2 Refine Keyword Strategy and Match Types

After setting your objective, it’s time for keywords. For the consideration phase, you want to be using mid-tail keywords and long-tail keywords that show someone is doing their homework. Think phrases like “best accounting software for small business,” “CRM comparison,” or “benefits of cloud computing.” You want to avoid super broad terms that are more top-of-funnel and also avoid bottom-funnel terms that are hyper-specific about buying. Use phrase match and exact match almost exclusively to keep your targeting tight and avoid wasting money. Broad match is usually too sloppy for this, bringing in all sorts of irrelevant searches. For example, if you sell project management software, targeting “project management tools review” with phrase match is great. Targeting “project management” with broad match is a recipe for disaster.

Common Mistake: Relying on broad match. Seriously, don’t do it here. You’ll get a ton of clicks from people who aren’t really in the consideration phase, which just jacks up your cost per click (CPC) without actually moving anyone down the funnel.

1.3 Configure Audience Targeting

Inside your Google Ads campaign settings, go to Audiences. This is where you can layer on more targeting to get really specific. Start with In-market audiences for your product category, since these are users Google already thinks are actively shopping around. Then, build out Custom Segments based on search terms. This is a powerful way to target users who’ve searched for specific things that show they’re in the consideration phase, even if those terms aren’t on your main keyword list. For example, if your tool integrates with a popular platform, you could target people who have searched for that platform’s alternatives.

Expected Outcome: When you’re done, you’ll have a Google Ads campaign that’s actually structured to attract people who are weighing their options, because you’re using specific keywords and audience layers to make sure your ads get to the right people at the right moment.

Step 2: Craft Compelling Ad Copy and Landing Pages

Getting in front of the right audience is only half the job. Your ad has to deliver a message that actually connects with them and shows them what to do next. This comes down to writing good ad copy and building a relevant landing page.

2.1 Develop Engaging Ad Copy

For consideration campaigns, your ad copy needs to educate, inform, and build your authority. When you’re building Responsive Search Ads in Google Ads, write headlines that call out common pain points and hint at the solution. Use the description fields to talk about your features, benefits, and what makes you different. Instead of a generic “Buy Our Software Now,” try something like “Simplify Your Workflow with [Product Name] – See How We Compare” or “Award-Winning [Service] – Read Our Case Studies.” Your call to action (CTA) should also match this goal, so use things like “Learn More,” “Download Guide,” or “Compare Features.”

Pro Tip: Use sitelink extensions and point them to specific pages on your site, like comparison charts, whitepapers, or feature breakdowns. These give people immediate value and show you’re willing to educate them, which is exactly what you need to do to move them through this phase. Google’s own documentation on ad extensions confirms that sitelinks can give your click-through rates a nice boost.

2.2 Design High-Converting Landing Pages

The landing page your ad sends people to is just as important as the ad itself. It has to deliver on the promise you made in the ad copy, period. If your ad mentions a “Comparison Guide,” that guide should be the first thing they see on the page, maybe with a simple email capture. If you promised “Case Studies,” then the page should be a collection of your best success stories. Keep the page design clean, easy to read, and mobile-friendly. You have to remove distractions and make the next step, whether it’s downloading a file, watching a video, or requesting info, stupidly obvious.

Editorial Aside: I see so many marketers light money on fire by spending a fortune on ad clicks only to dump all that traffic on their generic homepage. It’s an enormous waste. Your landing page is the other half of the conversation your ad started. If it’s not tailored to that conversation, you’re making your prospects do all the work, and they just won’t.

2.3 Implement Retargeting Campaigns (Meta Ads)

For everyone who hit your landing page but didn’t take the next step, you need to retarget them. Jump into the Meta Ads Manager (Meta Business Help Center) and set up a new campaign with a Traffic or Engagement objective. In the Audience section, create a Custom Audience based on “Website Visitors” or “Video Viewers.” You should get more granular by segmenting these audiences based on which pages they visited (e.g., people who saw the pricing page are a different beast than people who read a blog post) or how much of a video they watched (e.g., “watched 75% of demo video”). Your retargeting ads can then offer something a little different, like a free trial or a personalized demo, to keep your brand in front of them.

Expected Outcome: By dialing in your ad copy and your landing pages, you’ll see your click-through rates (CTR) and other engagement metrics climb, which tells you that users are finding the info they need to move forward.

Step 3: Monitor Performance and Optimize Iteratively

Getting your consideration ads live is just the beginning. The real work is in the constant monitoring and optimization required to make sure your campaigns are actually delivering a positive return.

3.1 Track Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

You need to be in your Google Ads and Meta Ads managers regularly, looking at the numbers. Focus on the KPIs that matter for this part of the funnel:

1. Click-Through Rate (CTR): A good CTR tells you that your ad copy and targeting are hitting the mark. For consideration-phase Search ads, I’m generally looking for something over 2%, and for Display or Social, over 0.5% is a decent starting point, though this will vary a lot by industry.
2. Cost Per Click (CPC): Keep an eye on your CPC to make sure you aren’t just buying expensive, low-value clicks. If your CPC is creeping up, it might mean your keywords are too competitive or your ad relevance is poor.
3. Landing Page Engagement: Metrics from Google Analytics like bounce rate, time on page, and pages per session tell you what people are doing after they click. A high bounce rate and low time on page is a classic sign that your ad’s promise doesn’t match your landing page’s reality.
4. Micro-Conversions: You need to track smaller actions that show interest, like “PDF downloads,” “video views,” “email newsletter sign-ups,” or just viewing the demo request form. These are the breadcrumbs of genuine intent.

I always tell clients to look beyond the click. A click means they were curious. What they do on the landing page tells you if they’re actually interested.

3.2 Conduct A/B Testing

You absolutely must set aside budget for ongoing A/B testing, I recommend about 20-30% of your mid-funnel spend. Test everything: different headlines, descriptions, CTAs, and landing page designs. You could test an ad that talks about a feature against one that talks about solving a problem. On your landing pages, test your main image, your value prop statement, or the offer itself. Use the built-in testing tools in Google Ads (Drafts & Experiments) and Meta Ads (A/B Test) to do this properly. Just make sure you let your tests run long enough to get statistically significant data before you call a winner and make a change.

Pro Tip: Don’t try to test ten things at once. Pick one or two elements for each test so you can clearly see what caused the change in performance. A common mistake is changing the headline, description, and image all at the same time, which makes it impossible to know which change actually worked.

3.3 Adjust Bids and Budget Allocation

Let the performance data guide your spending. If some of your keyword groups or audience segments are doing really well (high CTR, lots of engagement), then give them more budget or increase their bids. For the elements that are underperforming, you should reduce their bids or just pause them. Once you have enough conversion data flowing, you can start using Google Ads’ Smart Bidding strategies like “Maximize Conversions” or “Target CPA.” Just remember to set realistic CPA targets for your micro-conversions, not just your final sales. As the IAB reports on attribution always show, you have to understand the whole customer journey to allocate your budget effectively.

Expected Outcome: With consistent monitoring and optimization, your consideration ads get more and more efficient. You’ll see your cost per micro-conversion go down while the number of qualified leads heading into your sales funnel goes up.

Nurturing buyers with consideration ads is a strategic game. It’s about education and engagement, not a quick sale. If you define your audience carefully, write messaging that’s actually relevant, and never stop optimizing, you can successfully guide people to the point where they are ready to make a purchase.