The Client
Diligent Delivery Systems is a Houston-based courier and logistics company serving businesses nationwide. We run their Google Ads, which grew real leads from 88 in the first month to more than 1,500 a month.
Diligent offers hot shot and same-day delivery, dedicated drivers and outsourced fleet management, a regional warehouse and distribution network, over-the-road trucking, white glove final-mile delivery and healthcare courier service, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
We took over their Google Ads in April 2022.
88 leads in April 2022. 1,567 in February 2026.
The Challenge
Google Ads for courier companies is a fight against the wrong kind of "delivery" search:
- Consumer noise. "Delivery" and "shipping" searches are flooded with package tracking, food delivery and people sending a single box.
- Job seekers. Driver and owner-operator job searches look a lot like fleet and driver-outsourcing searches, and they convert to nothing.
- Big-name competition. National carriers own brand recognition, so a regional player has to win on the specific service query.
- Urgent, high-value buyers. A dispatcher who needs a hot shot run today calls the first credible company. Missing that search can mean missing a recurring account.
What We Built
1. One Search Campaign per Service Line
We rebuilt the account around the three services that bring in business accounts: hot shot delivery, driver outsourcing and fleet management, and warehouse and distribution. Each campaign has its own budget, keywords and ads, so a fleet manager and a dispatcher never see the same message.
2. A Supplemental Campaign for Everything Else
A supplemental Search campaign catches related service searches without diluting the budgets of the core three.
3. Built for the Phone
Most logistics buyers call. Call assets and call tracking mean every call from an ad is counted, and bidding optimizes toward conversations. Since April 2022: 15,763 calls from ads and the website.
4. Quote Forms Tracked as Leads
Quote requests and contact forms are tracked as conversions too: 4,985 submissions. Visits to the quote page are not counted, only completed forms.
5. Controlled A/B Tests
We ran A/B test campaigns beside the main structure, including a warehouse and distribution test that ran for more than two years, to find the bidding and match-type settings worth scaling.
6. Daily Optimization via Ad Campaign Concierge™
Every campaign is reviewed daily through our proprietary Ad Campaign Concierge™ system: negative keywords against package tracking, consumer shipping and driver-job searches, bid and budget adjustments, and budget moved to the service lines producing calls.
The Results
- 2022 (April to December): 1,466 leads
- 2023: 2,714 leads
- 2025: 5,703 leads, when we scaled the budget in the second half of the year
- 2026 so far: 8,830 leads from January to September, already more than any full year before
- Leads a month: from 88 in April 2022 to about 320 in early 2023, then 1,514 in December 2025 and 1,567 in February 2026
Cheaper Leads at Six Times the Budget
In the first three months, a lead cost $12.59. From January to June 2026 it cost $8.49, while the monthly budget was more than six times higher. Scaling usually makes leads more expensive. Tight service-line structure and daily negative-keyword work are why it didn't here.
Every Lead Since We Took Over
20,748 calls and quote forms since April 2022, at an average of $8.87 per lead, for a business where one new shipping account can mean years of recurring deliveries.
Key Takeaways
- Structure by service line. Hot shot, fleet and warehouse buyers search differently. Separate campaigns let each one get the right message and budget.
- Logistics leads call. Three out of four leads were phone calls. Call tracking is not optional in this industry.
- Negatives are the strategy. Package tracking, consumer shipping and driver-job searches are the biggest waste in courier advertising. Blocking them daily is what kept leads under $9.
- Scale when the structure is ready. Budget went up more than six times and the cost per lead went down.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much should a courier company spend on Google Ads?
Diligent Delivery Systems started at about $1,800 a month in 2022 and scaled to $10,000 to $15,000 a month from November 2025 to June 2026. At the higher budget, leads went from about 150 to 1,100 to 1,570 a month.
What does a lead cost for a logistics company on Google Ads?
Across 20,748 calls and quote forms since April 2022, Diligent paid $8.87 per lead. In the first three months it was $12.59. From January to June 2026 it was $8.49, on more than six times the monthly budget.
Do courier customers call or fill out a quote form?
Both, but mostly they call. Of Diligent's 20,748 leads, 15,763 were phone calls and 4,985 were quote and contact form submissions.
Which delivery services should a courier company advertise?
Diligent's account runs separate Search campaigns for hot shot delivery, driver outsourcing and fleet management, and warehouse and distribution, plus a supplemental campaign. Each has its own budget, ads and keywords because each buyer searches differently.
About This Campaign
This account is managed daily through Ad Campaign Concierge™, our proprietary optimization system for lead generation.
Industry: Courier & Logistics Platforms: Google Ads (Search) Location: Houston, TX, serving businesses nationwide Account Duration: April 2022 to present (ongoing)
Leads are calls from ads, calls from the website, and quote and contact form submissions as tracked in Google Ads. Quote-page visits and other page views are excluded. Amounts in US dollars.