Paid search guide 15
Treat your first 90 days as a test. Check readiness, test tracking, launch one small Search campaign, review search terms weekly, and make a keep, fix, or stop decision at the end. Set the budget from estimated cost per click and how many inquiries you need, and write down in advance what would make you stop.
← All Google Ads and paid-search guidanceCheck readiness
Test tracking
Launch small
Review weekly
Make a decision
Why this matters
The first months of a Google Ads account are mostly learning: what people actually search, what a click costs in your area, whether the landing page converts, and whether leads turn into jobs. A small, focused test keeps that learning affordable. Deciding up front what would make you stop protects you from both quitting too early and spending too long.
Hypothetical example: Google's Keyword Planner estimates about $8 per click (CPC, cost per click) for your main service. You assume 1 in 10 clicks becomes an inquiry and want about 25 inquiries to judge. That's 250 clicks, or about $2,000 of ad spend over the test—roughly $22 a day for 90 days. Real prices and conversion rates will differ, so check them at week four.
Responsible practices
Work through Google Ads readiness and confirm your business owns the account. Set up conversions for delivered forms and calls over your minimum length, then send test forms and calls to make sure each records once. See Google Ads conversion tracking.
Start with one Search campaign for your most profitable service, in the area you serve best, with a few focused ad groups and matching landing pages. Use phrase or exact match to start if you want tighter control. Hold off on Performance Max until tracking is proven.
Each week, read the search terms report, add negatives for clearly unwanted searches, and check that calls and forms arrive. Answer every lead and label what happened. See keywords, search terms, and negatives.
Compare actual cost per click and inquiry rate with your estimate. If clicks cost far more or convert far less, adjust the budget, narrow the targeting, or fix the landing page. Don't restructure the whole account.
Keep labeling leads and track which became booked jobs. Review waste: wrong areas, broken pages, auto-applied changes. Hold changes to one or two at a time so you can tell what worked.
Work out cost per booked job with full costs, using paid search acquisition economics. Decide to keep, adjust, or stop. If Search works, you might test more services, Local Services Ads, or Microsoft Advertising, which can import Google Ads campaigns directly.
First 90 days plan
Complete the Google Ads readiness checklist.
Set the test budget from estimated cost per click and the inquiries you need.
Write down your stop conditions before launch.
Test every conversion with a real form and call before turning ads on.
Launch one Search campaign for your most profitable service.
Review search terms and lead outcomes every week.
At week 12, calculate cost per booked job and decide to keep, adjust, or stop.
Avoid these failures
Auctions, demand, clicks, conversion volume, lead quality, acquisition cost, booked work, margin, and revenue depend on factors outside any provider's control. Results are not guaranteed.
Questions business owners ask
Work backward from what you need to learn. Estimate cost per click in Keyword Planner, assume a conversion rate, and budget for enough clicks to get roughly 20–30 inquiries. The hypothetical example above comes to about $2,000 in ad spend, plus any management fee.
Examples: tracking breaks and can't be fixed within a week; cost per click is more than double your estimate after adjustments; no qualified leads after half the budget is spent; or you can't handle the leads you get. Write yours down before launch.
Once one Search campaign is tracked and understood. Local Services Ads suit eligible service categories and charge per lead. Microsoft Advertising can import your Google Ads campaigns so you can test Bing with little rebuild.
You're paying to learn which searches and pages work. Late conversions and unbooked leads also make recent weeks look worse. Judge the test at the end, using booked jobs.
Primary guidance
Plan the first test