Question 1

What does a Google Ads agency do?

Accepted Answer

A Google Ads agency plans, builds and manages your paid search campaigns. That covers keyword and competitor research, account structure, writing ads, setting up conversion tracking, choosing bid strategies, adding negative keywords, reviewing search terms and reporting results. A good agency also looks beyond the account, at your landing pages and lead quality, because that is usually where profit is won or lost.

Question 2

Should we hire a Google Ads agency or a freelance consultant?

Accepted Answer

A freelance Google Ads consultant can be a good fit for a single, simple account. An agency gives you more cover for holidays and sick days, and adds skills such as landing pages, tracking and creative. What matters most is who actually works on your account, how often they look at it, and whether they report on leads and sales rather than clicks. Ask to meet that person.

Question 3

Why use Google Ads rather than Bing or social ads?

Accepted Answer

Because that's where UK searching happens. StatCounter puts Google at just over 91% of UK search engine use, with Bing at around 6%. For services people actively look for, Google Ads is usually the first channel. Microsoft Ads can be worth adding once Google works, and social ads do a different job: reaching people before they search.

Question 4

How quickly does Google Ads bring results?

Accepted Answer

Ads can show and bring clicks as soon as they're approved, often within a day. Useful optimisation takes longer, because you need enough clicks and conversions to separate signal from noise, and smart bidding needs a learning period. For most accounts we expect clear direction within the first month and a noticeably healthier account within two to three months.

Question 5

What is Google Ads and how does it work?

Accepted Answer

Google Ads is Google's advertising platform, known as AdWords until 2018. You choose the searches you want to appear for, write ads and set a budget. Each time someone searches, an auction decides which ads appear and in what order, based on your bid and how relevant the ad and landing page are. On search campaigns you normally pay only when someone clicks, which is why it's often called PPC.

Question 6

Can we run Google Ads ourselves?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Any UK business can open a Google Ads account and run its own campaigns. The usual mistakes are letting broad match and Google's default settings buy irrelevant clicks, running without working conversion tracking, and sending searchers to a page that doesn't match what they searched for. If someone can review search terms every week, you can do well yourself. If nobody has that time, Google Ads management by an agency or consultant is often worth it.

Question 7

How much should we spend on Google Ads?

Accepted Answer

There is no single right number: the budget depends on your market. We look at expected cost per click, search volume, conversion rate and what a customer is worth, then work out how much spend you need to get enough data to make decisions. The calculator above is a good starting point. A budget that's too thin spreads clicks so widely that nothing can be learned.

Question 8

Can you take over our existing Google Ads account?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We start by auditing tracking, search terms, campaign overlap, negatives, bidding and conversion quality before making bigger changes. Account history is valuable, so we don't reset an account just to make it look tidy. If an agency set it up for you, we check that you have admin access and that billing is in your company's name.

Question 9

Do you use smart bidding and Performance Max?

Accepted Answer

Yes, when the account has clear goals and enough reliable conversion data. Automated bidding can set bids far faster than a person, and Performance Max can work well for e-commerce with a good product feed. But automation can't fix poor tracking, mixed intent or the wrong conversion goal, so we fix those first and keep a close eye on what it spends.

Question 10

Do negative keywords still matter in 2026?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Reviewing search terms is still the best way to see what your account is really paying for, especially with broader match types. Negative keywords keep out irrelevant searches such as jobs, free or DIY queries. They need care, though: adding them too aggressively can block searches that would have turned into customers, so we review them against conversion data.

Question 11

Do we need dedicated landing pages for Google Ads?

Accepted Answer

Not for every campaign, but the page after the click must keep the promise made in the search and the ad. Sending everyone to the home page is one of the most common reasons for a poor conversion rate. Your most valuable searches usually deserve focused landing pages with the right proof, offer and a clear next step, which our web team can build.

Question 12

How much does Google Ads cost in the UK?

Accepted Answer

There are two costs: your ad spend, which goes straight to Google, and the management fee for whoever runs the account. The cost per click is set in the auction and varies with industry, competition, location and ad quality, so the same budget buys far more clicks in some sectors than in others. We charge a fixed monthly fee, not a percentage of spend, and suggest a starting budget and fee after the first call.

Question 13

What is Performance Max, and is it right for us?

Accepted Answer

Performance Max is a Google Ads campaign type that runs a single campaign across Search, Shopping, YouTube, Display, Gmail and Maps, with Google deciding where the budget goes. It tends to suit online shops with a clean product feed and reliable conversion data. The trade-off is less visibility and control than standard search campaigns, so we use it when the conditions are right and judge it on sales and profit, not on Google's own reporting.

Question 14

Who owns the Google Ads account?

Accepted Answer

You do. We work in an account registered to your business, billed to your own card or invoice, with your team as administrators. Campaign structure, tracking decisions and major changes are documented, so if you ever move on, you take the full history with you and someone else can pick it up without starting again.

Question 15

How do you report on Google Ads performance?

Accepted Answer

We report the numbers you need to make decisions: qualified conversions, cost per lead or sale, conversion value, how search terms are developing and where the budget is going. Clicks and click-through rate are diagnostic metrics, not the goal. You get a live dashboard and a monthly review where we explain what changed and what we'll do next.

Question 16

How often do you optimise campaigns?

Accepted Answer

We check accounts continuously, but we make changes when there's enough data to justify them. Some things need immediate action, such as broken tracking or a sudden jump in costs. Bidding and structural decisions often need a few weeks of data first, because changing them too often resets the learning and makes the account harder to read.

Question 17

How do we choose the right Google Ads agency?

Accepted Answer

Ask who will actually manage your account and how often they'll look at it. Check that the account and billing will be in your company's name, that reporting covers leads and sales rather than clicks, and that the fee doesn't rise with your ad spend. A good Google Ads agency or consultant should also look at tracking and landing pages, and shouldn't need a long lock-in contract to prove its worth.

Question 18

Our Google Ads isn't working. Where do we start?

Accepted Answer

Start with an audit of the account before changing anything, so you know whether the problem is tracking, keywords, bidding, the ads or the landing page. Our free ad X-ray does exactly that: you give us read-only access, we review the account and, in a 30-minute call, show you where budget is leaking and what we'd fix first. You keep the findings and decide whether to act on them yourself or with us.

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Measurement

Reporting & attribution

How our Google Ads management works

A Google Ads account you can understand and improve

What is a click worth to your business?

Best when people already search for what you sell

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Local services with valuable enquiries

E-commerce with measurable margins

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