Most Google Ads accounts I audit do not have a bidding problem or a creative problem first. They have a signal problem. Google’s automation optimizes toward whatever you tell it counts as a conversion, and in many accounts that is a form fill, a page view or a call of any length. Feed the algorithm junk and it will efficiently find you more junk. I do not advise on Google Ads from the sidelines. I rebuild the account from the conversion back to the keyword.
How I work on Google Ads
Conversion tracking comes first
I set one or two primary conversion actions that reflect real business value, such as a qualified lead, a booked call or a first order at a healthy margin, and demote everything else to secondary. For lead generation, I connect your CRM so Google learns which clicks became opportunities and customers, using offline conversion imports keyed to the click ID or enhanced conversions for leads. For ecommerce, I pass accurate order values, and where margin varies widely by product, I feed margin-adjusted values so bidding favors profit over revenue.
Structure around intent and margin
Campaigns should mirror how you make money: service lines, product categories, margin bands and the difference between someone searching your brand and someone comparing options. I consolidate where data is thin so bidding has enough volume to learn, and split only where intent or economics genuinely differ. Brand, non-brand, competitor, Shopping and Performance Max each get a defined role so they are not quietly cannibalizing each other’s traffic.
Bidding, negatives and search terms
I choose bid strategies per campaign based on conversion volume and how reliable the signal is: Maximize conversions or Maximize conversion value with a target CPA or target ROAS where the data supports it, and no target, or tighter keyword control, where it does not. Broad match earns its place only when the conversion signal is clean. Search terms get reviewed on a fixed cadence, and shared negative keyword lists keep irrelevant queries out of every campaign.
Performance Max, Shopping and Demand Gen
Performance Max can work well, but left alone it will happily take credit for branded searches and returning customers. I use brand exclusions, deliberate asset groups, audience signals and the new-customer acquisition goal where it fits. Shopping and retail Performance Max campaigns only perform as well as the Merchant Center feed behind them, so titles, attributes and custom labels get fixed before budgets go up. Demand Gen builds demand on visual surfaces such as YouTube, Discover and Gmail, so I give it its own role and measure it that way instead of expecting it to convert like Search. For a deeper walkthrough, see my Performance Max campaign guide.
Landing pages that match the click
A strong campaign sending traffic to a generic homepage wastes the intent it paid for. I match each major intent cluster to a page with the same promise, relevant proof and a short path to act, then fix speed and form friction along the way.
When you need a Google Ads specialist (and when you don’t)
You likely need one when:
- Spend is growing but qualified leads or profit are not
- Google reports strong results that your CRM or your bank account does not confirm
- Performance Max or broad match took over and nobody can explain where the money goes
- Your Shopping feed has disapprovals or thin titles and you are unsure what they cost you
- Your agency reports clicks, CTR and impression share instead of pipeline or margin
You probably do not, yet, when:
- Your offer, pricing or website is the real bottleneck. More traffic will only magnify it.
- Search demand for what you sell barely exists. That is a demand creation problem, not a Google Ads problem.
- Your budget cannot produce the conversion volume automated bidding needs. Fix conversion rate first, or start with one tightly scoped campaign.
If you want to check your own account first, my Google Ads audit checklist covers the same ground I start with.
How it fits the rest of your growth system
I do not run Google Ads as an isolated channel. It sits inside a growth engagement alongside tracking, landing pages, CRO, lifecycle and, where it makes sense, other paid platforms as part of my performance marketing work. That matters because the fix for an expensive Google Ads account is often outside the account: a lead form that asks too much, a sales team that is slow to follow up on paid leads, or an email sequence that should be converting leads you already paid for. When one person owns the ads, the pages and the measurement, those problems get fixed instead of passed between vendors.
You can see this approach in the case study Home Services Company: Rebuilding Paid Search Around Qualified Leads.
What the first 30 days look like
| Week | Focus |
|---|---|
| 1 | Access and audit: tracking, structure, settings, feed and wasted spend |
| 2 | Conversion tracking fixed: primary goals, enhanced conversions, CRM imports |
| 3 | Restructure, negatives, bidding changes and feed fixes rolled out |
| 4 | Landing-page fixes live, first weekly spend report, next 60-day plan |
Some changes, especially new bid strategies, need a learning period before they can be judged fairly, so I stage them instead of changing everything at once. By day 30 you have a written audit, a cleaner account, conversion data you can trust and a prioritized plan for what comes next.
Get it built
If your Google Ads account is spending money you cannot connect to qualified leads or profit, start with a Growth Audit: $1,500 fixed, credited toward ongoing work if you continue. Tell me about your account and I will show you what I would fix first.