Google Ads, explained plainly
Practical advice for local service businesses and the agencies that look after them: where ad money goes to waste, how to tell if your numbers are lying, and when to trust a result.
Posts
Brand vs non-brand: why mixing them hides what your Google Ads really cost
Searches for your business name convert far better than anything else. Mixed into your other campaigns, they make new-customer advertising look cheaper than it is.
Read →7 places local businesses waste money in Google Ads (and how to check each in five minutes)
Most wasted ad spend hides in the same seven places. Here's where to look in your own account, what "bad" looks like, and what to do about it.
Read →Is your conversion tracking lying to you? 6 signs your Google Ads numbers can't be trusted
Every bidding decision, budget change and report depends on conversion tracking. Here are six common ways it goes wrong, and how to spot each one.
Read →Raise the budget or fix the campaign? How to tell if more spend will bring more leads
"Limited by budget" doesn't always mean "give it more money". Four questions to answer before raising a Google Ads budget.
Read →"No conversions yet": when to pause a keyword, and when it's just bad luck
A keyword with zero conversions isn't automatically a loser. A simple way to tell real losers from unlucky ones, using numbers you already have.
Read →See what your ads are really doing
Two minutes, read-only, free. You'll know exactly where the money goes and what to fix first.