Google Ads managed for you, with the rules written before the first click

How the Google auction works, in plain words

Each time someone searches, Google runs an auction among the ads that could show. Your position depends on Ad Rank, which Google says is built from your bid, the quality of your ad and landing page, Ad Rank thresholds, the competitiveness of the auction, the context of the search (terms, location, device) and the expected impact of ad assets such as a phone number. Google also notes that what you actually pay is often less than your maximum bid.

Quality Score, the 1-to-10 grade you may have heard of, is described by Google as "a diagnostic tool" built from expected click-through rate, ad relevance and landing page experience — and Google states that it "is not an input in the ad auction". We use it to find weak spots, not as a target. More detail in our guide to Ad Rank.

Our rules, the same for every client

• Created paused. Every campaign is built paused. It goes live only after you have seen it and said yes.
• Capped. Every campaign has a daily budget. Google may spend up to twice the average daily budget on a given day, but never more than 30.4 times it over a month; we explain this before launch so no day surprises you.
• Stop/scale rule written first. Before launch we agree a rule of the kind "three sales or more under the target cost by day 14: increase; zero or one: stop". At day 14 we read the figures against it and apply it.
• Your account, your money. The Google Ads account, its data and its history are in your name. Ad spend is billed by Google to you; we never hold it.
• Built through the official API. We create and adjust campaigns through the official Google Ads API from our own tools, so every change is logged.

Keywords: control first, reach second

Google offers three keyword match types. With exact match, ads may show on searches with the same meaning or intent as the keyword; Google says it "gives you the most steering over who views your ad". Phrase match covers searches that include the meaning of the keyword, possibly in a more specific form. Broad match can show ads on searches merely related to the keyword.

We start narrow and widen only on evidence. Negative keywords exclude searches you do not want — but Google warns that they "don't match to close variants", so your ad can still show on close variations. That is why we review the actual search terms every week instead of trusting the negative list alone.

The ads themselves

Search ads today are responsive search ads: you supply up to 15 headlines of 30 characters and 4 descriptions of 90 characters, and Google assembles combinations. Google notes that headlines and descriptions beyond the first ones "aren't guaranteed to appear", so every line must stand on its own. We write each one from your confirmed facts — no invented discount, no "best" claim you cannot support — and point it to the page that answers that exact search (see landing pages).

What we need from you

• A Google Ads account in your name (we help you create it) with access for us
• Your target cost per sale or per enquiry, or the figures to work it out (average order, margin, closing rate)
• The daily budget ceiling you are comfortable with
• A yes before each launch, and a few minutes at day 14 for the stop/scale reading

Mistakes we avoid

• Launching before conversion tracking works, then optimising on guesses
• Sending every ad to the home page
• Letting broad match run without reading search terms
• Changing everything every two days, so nothing can be judged
• Keeping a campaign alive past its stop rule because "it might pick up"