Blog
Notes from the desk.
What's worth saying about paid search this month.
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Lead Generation
Google Ads for lead generation: why ecommerce tactics fall flat
Most Google Ads advice is written for ecommerce: ROAS, Shopping feeds, Performance Max. If you run a service business chasing enquiries, that advice will quietly waste your money. Lead gen is a different game. You are optimising for qualified enquiries, not transactions, and the account has to be built around that from the ground up.
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Lead Generation
What is a good cost per lead in Google Ads?
There is no single number. A good cost per lead for a law firm chasing £10,000 cases looks nothing like a good cost per lead for a boiler engineer. The honest answer depends on what a customer is worth to you and how many leads turn into customers. Here is how to work out your own number instead of chasing someone else’s.
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Lead Generation
Why your Google Ads leads are rubbish (and how to fix it)
Plenty of lead-gen accounts look great until you ask the sales team. The dashboard says leads are up and cost per lead is down, while the people fielding the calls are drowning in time-wasters. If your Google Ads are generating volume but your phone is full of the wrong people, the account is optimising for the wrong thing.
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Lead Generation
Google Ads for tradespeople: how to win local jobs
For a plumber, electrician or builder, Google Ads can be the difference between a quiet week and a full diary. But trades accounts waste money faster than most, because the searches that look relevant often are not. Done right, you show up the moment someone needs you, in your area, ready to pay.
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Lead Generation
Google Ads for dental practices and private clinics
Private dentistry and clinic treatments are some of the most valuable leads in lead gen, and some of the most competitive. A single implant or cosmetic case can be worth thousands, which means rivals will pay handsomely for the click. Winning is less about outbidding them and more about targeting the right patient and proving you are worth the trip.
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Lead Generation
Google Ads for law firms: high-value leads in a brutal auction
Legal is one of the most expensive auctions in Google Ads. Clicks for terms like personal injury solicitor or divorce lawyer can run into tens of pounds each, because a single case is worth a fortune. That makes legal unforgiving: waste is expensive and fast. But the firms that target precisely and convert well make it pay handsomely.
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BUYER'S GUIDE
In-house vs agency: who should actually run your PPC?
For most businesses spending between £1,000 and £50,000 a month on Google Ads, a specialist agency beats an in-house hire, right up until you are big enough to employ a genuinely senior person and keep them busy. The decision is not really about cost. It is about whether one salaried person can give you the range of skill the platform now demands. Here is how to think it through.
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BUYER'S GUIDE
What should PPC management actually cost?
Most UK SMEs pay between £500 and £2,500 a month to have their Google Ads managed. But the number on the invoice tells you almost nothing on its own. A low fee that buys you a junior and a set-and-forget Performance Max campaign is dear at any price. A higher fee that finds and cuts the waste pays for itself. Here is how PPC pricing actually works, what each model quietly rewards, and what your money should buy.
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STRATEGY
How to choose a PPC agency: the questions that actually matter
Most questions people ask a PPC agency do not matter. Are you a Google Partner? Everyone is. The questions that tell you whether an agency will make you money are the ones they would rather you skipped. Here are four worth asking.
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