Google Ads. Without the waste.
Most PMax campaigns we audit have 30–50% of spend going to brand search, irrelevant placements, or low-intent audiences. We make every dollar visible — then we make it work.
Brand marks © their respective owners
Pay-per-click advertising, defined for the iOS-attribution era.
The discipline.
Google Ads (formerly AdWords) is Google's pay-per-click advertising platform — the largest paid-search network globally, with sub-products covering Search (text ads on SERPs), Performance Max (cross-channel automated buying), Shopping (product listings + Google Merchant Center), Display (image + video ads on the Google Display Network), YouTube (in-stream + bumper + discovery), and Discover. PPC (pay-per-click) is the broader umbrella covering Microsoft Ads (Bing + Yahoo + Microsoft Audience Network), Apple Search Ads (App Store), Amazon Ads, and regional networks like Yandex, Baidu, Naver.
What changed.
Performance Max became the default for most accounts and made channel-level reporting opaque by design — you cannot see Search vs Shopping vs Display vs YouTube splits in the standard interface. Google Smart Bidding shifted heavier toward automated strategies (Maximise Conversions, Target ROAS, Maximise Conversion Value), which work brilliantly with clean conversion signal and worse than manual with broken signal. iOS 14+ ATT and successive privacy updates blocked 8–18% of attributed conversions — restored only via server-side tracking (GTM Server-Side + Google Enhanced Conversions + offline conversion uploads).
What we do.
Account architecture rebuilds with brand-search separation in PMax (typical 20–35% of spend leaks to brand queries that would convert organically anyway), asset-group restructure with audience-signal cleanup, server-side conversion tracking via GTM SS + CAPI + Enhanced Conversions deployed week 1, negative-keyword + exclusion engineering that recovers 25–45% of wasted spend in the first 30 days, creative iteration (in-house static + motion + ad-copy testing), and Microsoft Ads bundling (typically 15–25% cheaper CPC than Google). We have a process-based incentive to optimise your spend, not a relationship-based incentive to grow it.
Eight productised PPC sub-services. Each retainer mixes them by your priority.
Search ads (Google + Microsoft)
Text ads on Google + Bing search results. Manual keyword targeting, query-intent matching, ad-copy testing, dayparting, geo-targeting. The most controllable + most measurable PPC surface; foundation for most B2B and commercial-intent commercial campaigns.
Performance Max (PMax)
Google's cross-channel automated buying. We restructure asset groups by intent, separate brand from non-brand, configure audience signals deliberately (not "let AI decide"), exclude search-term cannibalisation, and use scripts to expose channel-level data Google hides by default.
Shopping ads + Merchant Center
Product feed optimisation (titles, GTINs, structured data, image quality), supplemental feeds for category + custom-label data, custom labels for margin-tier bidding, inventory-level rules, brand vs non-brand asset-group separation. Strongest PMax channel for eCommerce — restructure, do not remove.
YouTube + video ads
In-stream skippable + non-skippable, bumper, discovery, masthead. Creative-led not bid-led; we direct production briefs (5–15 second cuts, hook-first structure), pair with paired Paid Social Buyer + Content Strategist for video creative when needed.
Display + Discovery + Demand Gen
Google Display Network targeting (custom audiences, in-market segments, remarketing), Discovery (cross-format buying), Demand Gen (the new GDN successor for awareness + consideration). Lower-intent surface but useful for upper-funnel + retargeting depth.
Microsoft Ads / Bing
Search + Microsoft Audience Network (Outlook + LinkedIn-data-powered display) + Shopping. Typically 15–25% cheaper CPC than Google for the same intent — a free uplift most brands skip. We bundle Microsoft Ads with Google for marginal additional management cost.
Server-side conversion tracking
GTM Server-Side deployment (Stape or self-hosted GCP) + Google Enhanced Conversions + offline conversion uploads from your CRM. Restores 8–18% of iOS-blocked attribution; required foundation for clean Smart Bidding optimisation. Deployed in week 1 of every PPC retainer.
Account audits + recovery sprints
Standalone $1,199 audit deliverable: account structure review, asset-group performance, audience-signal audit, brand-search exclusion analysis, recoverable-spend list with revenue-impact estimates. Audit fee credited toward Sprint or Retainer if you proceed within 30 days.
Why most PPC accounts have 25–45% recoverable spend.
Brands spending $10k+/mo who suspect (or know) money is leaking.
DTC + eCommerce
PMax + Shopping + Search + YouTube. Server-side conversion tracking. Audience exclusions for true incrementality.
B2B SaaS
Search + retargeting + LinkedIn (paired). Lead-form-to-CRM tracking. Hand-raiser scoring, not just MQLs.
FinTech / regulated
Compliance-aware copy, regional disclosures, restricted ad formats handled.
Local / multi-location
LSA, geo-search, location-bid mods, call tracking, multi-location campaign architecture.
Audit → restructure → iterate. Weekly creative.
Account audit
Account architecture, exclusion gaps, audience layers, creative mix, attribution review. PMax channel split (where every dollar actually goes).
Restructure proposal
90-day plan: account architecture, negative keyword + audience exclusion engineering, server-side conversion fix, creative testing system.
Restructure ships
New account architecture live. Server-side tracking via GTM SS + Enhanced Conversions. First creative iterations launched.
Weekly creative + monthly review
New creative tested every week. Bid strategy tuned monthly. Quarterly account-wide audit + re-forecast.
What runs every month.
Account management
Daily monitoring, weekly creative iteration, monthly bid strategy review.
Negative keyword engineering
Continuous exclusion list maintenance — the #1 source of recoverable spend.
PMax audit + tuning
Where each PMax dollar actually goes. Asset group restructure, audience signals.
Server-side tracking
GTM Server-Side, Enhanced Conversions, offline conversion uploads.
Creative production
Static + motion creative when needed. Or works with your in-house team.
Reporting
Looker Studio dashboard. Weekly Loom. Monthly + quarterly review.
Audit. Sprint. Or run it monthly.
Account structure, exclusions, audience layers, creative review, attribution. Where every dollar goes.
- Account audit
- PMax channel split
- Exclusion gap analysis
- Server-side review
- Prioritised fix list
Audit + restructure: account architecture, exclusion engineering, creative iteration, server-side conversion fix.
- Everything in Audit
- Account restructure
- Server-side tracking
- 30 days monitoring
Account management, weekly creative iteration, monthly reporting, quarterly account review.
- Daily monitoring
- Weekly creative iterations
- Monthly reports
- Quarterly account review
PPC questions we get most.
Do you charge a percentage of ad spend? +
On retainers, yes — base fee + 8% of Google spend (10% on paid social). Below $5k/mo retainers move to pure base fee. No hidden markups on media.
Can you fix Performance Max? +
Yes — PMax is the top reason brands hire us. We audit asset groups, exclude brand search, configure audience signals, and rebuild conversion tracking.
What's a realistic CAC improvement? +
Audit-driven sprint typically recovers 25–45% of wasted spend in 30 days. Compounding from there as creative + bidding tighten.
Do you handle Microsoft Ads / Bing? +
Yes. Often a 15–25% cheaper CPC channel that brands skip. We bundle it with Google for a small uplift.
Will you build creative? +
Yes — in-house static + motion. Or work with your existing creative team / agency.
Server-side tracking — really worth it? +
For any brand affected by iOS 14+ signal loss (everyone), yes. CAPI + Enhanced Conversions typically restore 8–18% of attributed conversions.
How much does Google Ads management cost? +
Three productised tiers in USD: Google Ads Audit $1,199 (1 week, one-off), PPC Sprint $4,999 (4 weeks, audit + restructure + server-side tracking), Monthly Retainer $1,499/mo + 8% of media spend. No hidden markups, no platform fees passed through.
How long until Google Ads shows improved results? +
Account-restructure wins land in 2–4 weeks. Server-side tracking + Enhanced Conversions take 14–21 days post-deploy to stabilise. PMax exclusion + asset-group rebuild typically recovers 25–45% of wasted spend within 30 days.
Get a free Google Ads audit.
Grant read-only access. We'll show you in 7 days exactly where your spend is leaking, what your real CPA is on incremental conversions, and the top 5 fixes ranked by recoverable revenue.