Insights · Original data · Google Ads

Google Maps ads or Search ads? What 3 real accounts show.

Original data from our own Google Ads accounts: a US insurance agency and two dental clinics in Islamabad. What each type of ad cost, what it brought, and the patterns we keep seeing. SEO Guru is an SEO agency and registered SEO company in Islamabad, offering SEO services, ads, websites and digital marketing for businesses in Pakistan, the UK, the US and the Gulf.

Published 17 October 20265 min read3 ad accountsPakistan and USAOriginal data

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The short version

What we found, in one paragraph.

The answer first

In the same account, Google Maps clicks cost $1.55 against $7.09 for search clicks, about 4.6 times less. Maps ads bring calls, direction requests and visits; search ads bring quote requests and form conversions. And in Pakistan, clinic ads are almost all mobile: 96% of clicks came from phones. Most local businesses do best running both and moving budget to whichever brings more customers.

The data

3 ad accounts, one table.

Every number is from the client’s own Google Ads account or Google Business Profile.

Account	Location	Period	Ads	Results
Insurance agency	Ohio, USA	Oct 2025–Oct 2026	Search, call and Google Maps ads	191 conversions at $79.23 each; 165 calls at $8.08; Maps clicks at $1.55
Dental clinic	Islamabad	3–16 Oct 2026	Search ads	245 clicks at Rs68 each; 27% impression share; 96% of clicks on mobile
Dental aesthetic clinic	DHA Phase 2, Islamabad	Jul–Sept 2026	Google Maps sponsored ads	Searches +80%, views +47.6%, 462 calls (+21.6%) on last year

What we learned

8 lessons from real ad accounts.

Google Maps clicks cost far less
In the same insurance account, a Google Maps location ad click cost $1.55, while search clicks cost $7.09 on average from August to October 2026: about 4.6 times more. Maps ads are often the cheapest way to reach people nearby.
See the full result →
Maps ads bring calls and visits; search ads bring quotes
The DHA clinic’s Maps ads period brought 462 calls and 324 direction requests in three months. The insurance agency’s search ads brought 191 conversions such as quote requests. Choose the ad type by the action you want.
See the full result →
Calls are a big part of search ads too
Call ads alone brought the insurance agency 165 calls, at $8.08 each. For many local businesses, the phone call is the lead.
See the full result →
In Pakistan, clinic ads are almost all mobile
96% of the Islamabad dental clinic’s ad clicks came from mobile phones, and 82% of the DHA clinic’s profile views were on mobile. Call buttons, fast pages and WhatsApp matter more than long forms.
See the full result →
Specific treatment searches beat general ones
“Best teeth whitening” brought 141 clicks at a 6.47% click rate, while “cosmetic dentistry near me” brought 9 clicks at 3.98%. The clinic’s own name, searched by people who already knew it, had the highest click rate of all: 19.44%.
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“Near me” searches still drive clinic leads
“Dentist islamabad near me” brought the dental clinic 84 ad clicks in two weeks, and “dentist near me” showed the DHA clinic’s profile 403 times in three months.
Impression share shows who is winning
The Islamabad dental clinic had a 27% impression share, against 14% and 12% for the next two competing clinics. If your share is low, competitors are taking the customers you are not shown to.
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Judge over weeks, not days
In the dental account, the last 7 days showed interactions down 10.08% on the week before, yet Google showed clicks as steady over 28 days. Short windows move up and down; decisions need a few weeks of data.
See the full result →

How we collected this

Our method, and its limits.

All numbers come from the clients’ own Google Ads accounts and, for the DHA clinic, its Google Business Profile reports, shared with us as screenshots. We have not changed any number.
The accounts use different currencies (US dollars and Pakistani rupees) and different periods, so compare patterns, not exact amounts.
The DHA clinic’s numbers are Business Profile numbers, which count visits from both the Maps ads and normal results.
This is 3 accounts, not a scientific study. It shows patterns we keep seeing, not rules for every business.
Client names, addresses, phone numbers and competitor names are hidden for privacy.

Written by the SEO Guru team

SEO GURU OFFICIAL, Islamabad. We manage Google Ads, local SEO and SEO for businesses in Pakistan, the UK and the USA. About us

Google Ads FAQs52 questions answered.Google Ads servicesSearch, call and Maps ads.Insurance agency case study191 conversions in a year.DHA clinic case studySearches up 80% with Maps ads.

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