Before you launch Google Ads: a checklist to protect your budget

Google Ads can put your business in front of people at the exact moment they search for what you sell. It can also spend your budget very quickly on clicks that were never going to buy. The difference is usually in the set-up. Run through this checklist before your campaign goes live.

1. Know what a customer is worth

Before you set a budget, work out what you can afford to pay for a lead or a sale. If an average customer is worth Ôé¼400 in profit and one in five enquiries becomes a customer, you can pay up to Ôé¼80 per enquiry and still break even. That number guides every decision that follows.

2. Set up conversion tracking first

If Google can’t see which clicks turn into enquiries, calls or sales, neither you nor its bidding can tell good keywords from bad ones. Track form submissions, phone calls from your ads and website, and purchases or bookings, and test each one before you spend anything.

3. Send clicks to the right page

The page people land on should match the ad they clicked. If the ad is about emergency plumbing, don’t send people to your home page. A good landing page loads fast on a phone, repeats the promise from the ad and makes it obvious how to get in touch.

4. Group keywords by intent

Keep each ad group to a tight theme so your ads can speak directly to what people searched. Favour keywords that show buying intent, such as “price”, “book”, “near me” or a specific service, over broad research terms.

5. Understand match types

• Exact match shows your ad for searches with the same meaning as your keyword.
• Phrase match includes searches that contain the meaning of your keyword, with words before or after it.
• Broad match reaches related searches too. It works best once you have good conversion data and use automated bidding.

With a small budget, starting with exact and phrase match keeps spending focused.

6. Add negative keywords from day one

Negative keywords stop your ads showing for searches you don’t want. Common ones are “free”, “jobs”, “salary”, “DIY”, “course” and competitors’ names if you don’t want to bid on them. Then check the search terms report every week and keep adding to the list.

7. Check your location settings

Target only the areas you actually serve. In the location options, choose to reach people who are in, or regularly in, your target area. The default can also show ads to people who are only interested in it, from anywhere in the world. In Cyprus, think about language too: many searches happen in both Greek and English.

8. Review the defaults

New Search campaigns can include Google’s search partners and the Display Network by default, and your account may apply some recommendations automatically. None of these is always wrong, but each should be a decision rather than an accident.

9. Write ads that use every asset

Write several headlines and descriptions so Google can test combinations, and add sitelinks, callouts and a call asset. They make your ad bigger and more useful at no extra cost.

10. Give it time

Automated bidding needs data to learn. Set a daily budget you can leave running for a few weeks, and avoid changing everything at once. Make one change, give it a week, then judge it.

The cheapest click is the one you never pay for: the wrong search, in the wrong place, sent to the wrong page.

Want a second pair of eyes?

Our PPC management service covers set-up, tracking, weekly optimisation and clear monthly reporting. If you already run ads, ask us for a free account review and we’ll show you where the budget is going.