Google Ads for a small business is best started with one Search campaign, one goal and one service. Add conversion tracking and a list of negative keywords before you spend any money. Below you will find the steps in order: from preparing your website, through choosing keywords and a budget, to what to check in the first weeks so you do not burn money on learning.
Table of contents
Where to start with Google Ads for a small business?
Before you open the advertising panel, pick one goal (a phone call, a form or a request for a quote) and one service you want to promote. Then the landing page. Does it answer what the customer is looking for? Does it have a clear call to action and contact details visible right away, without scrolling? Because an ad only brings traffic. What turns a visit into an inquiry is a well-built sales funnel on your website. At the start, narrow everything down: one service, one service area, one campaign. Not five at once.
Why choose a Search campaign to start with?
A Search campaign shows ads to people who are looking for a given service right now, so it is the easiest one to handle at the beginning. According to the guide to setting up a Search campaign, ads reach people actively searching for products and services, and you decide which terms you show up for. The settings also include the search partners option, meaning other search engines beyond Google. In my opinion it is better to uncheck it at the start. You then see traffic from Google only and it is easier to assess. Display, video or Performance Max? Later, once you know which queries actually bring customers.
How to choose keywords and negative keywords?
Keywords describe the queries you want to show up for, and negative keywords block the ones that only eat up your budget. Think in the customer’s language, not the language of your price list: the name of the service plus the town, and phrases that reveal an intent to buy, such as “price”, “quote” or “order”. For a service business, typical negative keywords are:
- jobs, job offers, employment,
- free, for free,
- training, course,
- do it yourself, how to,
- competitor names, if you do not want to bid on them.
Each ad group should cover one service and have several different ads, which Google recommends in the same guide. And the best protection for your money? A regular review of the search terms report. From there you add more negative keywords (and sometimes shake your head at what your ad was shown for).
How to set a Google Ads daily budget so you do not burn money?
A Google Ads daily budget is an average amount per day, not a fixed limit for each day separately. According to the Google documentation on daily budgets, on days when there may be more clicks and conversions the system will spend more, but over the month spending will average out to the amount you set. The panel suggests recommended budgets based on similar campaigns and advertisers.
You do not have to accept them, you can always enter your own value. There is also a second option: a total budget for a set campaign duration. In practice, the amount is set based on how much the company can spend on learning in the first month. Without assuming in advance what result will come out of it.
How to write an ad that matches the query?
A good ad repeats the language of the query, says what the company does and where, and gives one specific reason to click. One, not seven. Put the service and the area in the headlines, and in the descriptions a differentiator (turnaround time, warranty) plus a call to action. In the ad rotation settings you choose whether the system should show all versions evenly or show the more effective ones more often. And then there is consistency with the landing page. If the ad promises a quote on the day of the request, the page has to confirm it, otherwise the click ends in disappointment and you pay for the customer’s frustration.
Google Ads conversion tracking: without it you cannot judge a campaign
Google Ads conversion tracking shows which clicks ended in a phone call or a form. Without it you only see traffic. And that is it. In a service business, measure above all form submissions, clicks on the phone number on the website and calls made straight from the ad. Set up and test conversions before the campaign starts, not a month later, because the data from the first weeks is the most valuable. The bidding strategy depends on it too. The strategy defines what action you expect from the user, so if conversions are not measured correctly, the system simply does not know what to aim for.
What to check in the first weeks of a campaign?
In the first weeks you keep an eye on search terms, conversions and spending, and you do not rebuild the campaign every three days. Check regularly:
- the search terms report, and add new negative keywords,
- whether conversions are being recorded correctly,
- spending compared with the planned budget,
- ad copy that gets few clicks, and improve it one ad at a time.
Do not change everything at once. Do not raise the budget until you have conversion data. Oh, and one more thing: an ad gives you traffic right away, but long-term SEO for your website builds visibility without paying for every click. Businesses that operate locally also benefit from better local business visibility in Google.
Google Ads for a small business works best as a controlled experiment: one service, measured conversions, systematic negative keywords, changes made one at a time. No time to sit in the account yourself? You can hand over Google Ads campaigns for businesses to specialists who will take over the setup and ongoing monitoring.
Frequently asked questions
Can I set up my first Google Ads campaign myself?
Yes, the panel guides you through the setup step by step. Four things matter: a clearly defined goal, relevant keywords, a list of negative keywords and working conversion tracking. Do you have them ready before the start? Then running the campaign yourself is entirely doable.
Can Google spend more than my daily budget?
On individual days yes, because the daily budget is an average, not a hard limit. Over the month, however, spending averages out to the amount you set, as the Google documentation describes. If you want strict control over the whole period, consider a total campaign budget.
When should I change the settings of a new campaign?
Only once you have data from the search terms report and from conversions. Change one thing at a time so you know what moved the result. The exception is negative keywords, add those from the very first days.
