Google Ads Management
Google Ads management for small businesses, from a Google Ads consultant who's been running campaigns since 2002.
Google Ads can put you at the top of Google in days. It can also burn through your budget on people who were never going to buy. I set up and manage Google Ads for small businesses so your money goes to the searches that turn into calls.
Where the money goes
Google's own advice is built to get you spending more. Some of it is flat-out wrong for a small business. And some of the most expensive problems are settings Google changes on its own, without telling you. Here's what I find in almost every account I take over:
"Auto-apply" recommendations quietly put new keywords in your account. Some have nothing to do with what you sell.
One client's ad got a paid click from someone 440 miles outside his service area, because a location setting had flipped back to Google's default.
Under some bid strategies, the limit you set is ignored completely.
"Search Partners" is switched on by default for new campaigns. I switch it off.
Three separate automation switches let Google create headlines, descriptions and links in your name. Turning off one doesn't turn off the others.
Most accounts I inherit have no working conversion tracking, so there's no way to tell which clicks became customers.
None of this is your fault. Google changes things constantly. Keeping up with it is my job.
What you get
If you're already running ads, I check that Google isn't taking more than it should before I change anything.
I find the searches your buyers actually use. Many of them aren't what you'd expect.
I block the searches that waste money: job seekers, DIYers, bargain hunters, wrong locations.
Headlines and descriptions that give people a reason to click you instead of the next guy.
Calls and form inquiries counted, so we know what's paying off.
Location and schedule settings get checked every month, not just at setup, because Google changes them.
Call buttons, sitelinks and other assets that make your ad bigger at no extra cost.
What you spent, what you got and what I changed. In plain English, with no jargon.
Ads only work if the page they land on does its job.
A real fix
Joe Romano had been fighting his Google Ads tracking for years. Every inquiry form that came in should have been counted as a conversion. None of them were.
I dug in and found the cause: one character. The tracking was watching for a web address that ended in a slash, but his website quietly dropped the slash. The page Google was waiting for never loaded, so it never counted a thing.
I changed one setting, tested it, and his conversions started recording. While I was in there, I also found a quote form on his site that looked fine but hadn't worked in ages. Every visitor who used it was going nowhere.
That's the kind of thing that hides in a Google Ads account. Finding it is most of the job.
Every month
Every search that triggered your ads, and which of your ads people actually responded to.
New negative keywords go in. Searches that turned into customers get added as keywords.
Location, automation switches, Search Partners, bid limits.
Plain English, with the numbers that matter and what I did about them.
Results
Full disclosure: it's my wife Libby's salon, and she's the toughest client I have. Her ads target local women looking for color and styling, with every click going to one goal: a phone call.
His SEO approach increased my website and Google Ads traffic significantly.
As a professional entertainer I have been looking to partner with a one-stop person for all my digital marketing needs. Cris Johnson is that guy. Personable, responsive, available and knowledgeable.
I'm getting very regular inquiries, Cris. THANKS!
Honest answer
Ads send people to your site. If the site doesn't convince them, you're paying for clicks that leave. If your website needs work first, I'll tell you, and I'll tell you what to fix.
A budget that's too small can't gather enough data to learn from. I'll tell you honestly what makes sense for your market, even if the answer is "wait."
Start here
Start with a Google Ads Audit. I'll go through your account, show you where the money's going and give you a list of fixes, whether or not you hire me to manage it.
Get a Google Ads AuditFAQ
Don't see yours? Ask me directly. I answer every message myself.
Contact MeIt depends on your market, your area and how many customers you need. I'll give you a recommendation after our call. Your ad budget goes straight to Google. My management fee is separate.
You do. Always. I work in it as your manager, and if we ever stop working together, everything stays with you.
Ads can start bringing in clicks within days. It usually takes a few weeks of real data to fine-tune what's working.
No. I focus on Google, because that's where most of your customers are searching.
Not always. Ads bring customers now. SEO builds traffic you don't pay for per click. Many of my clients use both, and I'll tell you which makes sense for you.
Tell me about your business and whether you're already running ads. I'll tell you honestly what I'd do first.