My buddy Jake spent $847 last month on Google Ads. Got maybe three clicks. Zero sales.
Know what his problem was? He treated it like a magic button. Click, click, money appears. That’s not how this works.
Google Ads puts your business right in front of people searching for what you sell. But you’ve gotta set things up right. I’m talking real setup, not just throwing money at Google and hoping for the best.
Here’s everything you need to know. No BS, no complicated terms. Just what works.
Get These Things Ready First
Seriously, don’t open Google Ads yet. You need four things first.
Pick one clear goal. Want phone calls? Sales? Email signups? Choose one. Can’t optimize for everything at once – that’s how you waste money.
Find real keywords people use. Takes maybe 20 minutes. Google’s Keyword Planner is free. Look for terms with words like “buy,” “best,” or “near me” in them. Those are people ready to spend money.
Make sure your landing page doesn’t suck. Fast load time. Clear message. One obvious button telling people what to do. That’s it.
Know your budget. Take what you can spend monthly, divide by 30. That’s your daily number. Got $600 for the month? You’re spending about $20 per day. Google bounces around day to day but hits your monthly target.
Got all four? Cool. Let’s actually build this thing.
Your Account Setup (The Right Way)
Head to ads.google.com. Click “Start Now.” Sign in with whatever Google account you’ve got.
Now pay attention because Google’s gonna try to trick you here. They push these “Smart Campaigns” hard. Sounds great, right? Let Google handle everything?
Wrong. You want control. Look for “Switch to Expert Mode” or something like “Create account without a campaign.” That’s what you click.
Go to Tools & Settings, then Billing. Add your payment info. Credit card, debit card, bank account – whatever. Google won’t run ads without it.
Take a minute to click around. Left sidebar’s got campaigns, ads, keywords, reports. Looks like a lot, but you’ll barely touch half of it starting out. If you are still not sure about this, then you can rent a Google Ads account like other advertisers.
Building Your First Campaign
Blue “+” button at the top. Click it. Pick “New Campaign.”
Google wants to know your objective:
- Sales if you’re selling stuff online
- Leads if you want contact info
- Website Traffic if you just need visitors
Pick “Search” for campaign type. Those are the text ads showing up when people Google stuff. Simple, effective, you only pay when someone actually clicks.
Name it something useful. Not “Campaign 1” – that tells you nothing in two weeks. Try “March Plumbing Special” or “Shoe Sale Q1.” Future you will appreciate it.
Bidding Strategy (Don’t Overthink This)
Everyone gets confused here. It’s actually simple.
Choose “Maximize Clicks” to start. Google tries getting you the most clicks for your budget. Perfect when you’re new because you need data fast.
Can always change it later. Don’t stress about this part now.
Set Your Budget and Schedule
Put in your daily budget. That number from before – monthly divided by 30.
Google shows you estimated clicks and impressions. These are guesses. Your actual numbers depend on lots of factors.
End date? Leave it blank unless you’re doing a temporary sale. Otherwise your ads keep running till you stop them manually.
Ad scheduling is tempting. Like, “I’ll only run ads 9-5 because that’s business hours.” But here’s the thing – people search at all hours. Run 24/7 at first. Check your data after two weeks, then decide if certain hours waste money.
Location and Language (Easy Part)
Click location targeting. Type in where you want ads shown. Cities, states, whole countries, or just a few miles around your shop.
Here’s what matters: Under “Location options,” pick “Presence: People in or regularly in your targeted locations.” Stops random tourists from seeing your local business ads.
Language is straightforward. English for US. Spanish for Latin markets. Pick what your customers speak.
Keywords Make or Break You
This is the big one. Keywords are what people type into Google. You bid on these terms.
Start with 10-15 keywords. Can add more anytime.
Good keywords:
- Show buying intent (not just research)
- Specific to your actual service
- Match what’s on your landing page
Match types matter:
Phrase match is your friend starting out. Your ad shows when searches include your keyword phrase. Gives you control but not too tight.
Broad match shows for related searches, even different words. Can burn money fast but finds new opportunities.
Exact match is super restrictive. Only very close matches to your exact keyword.
Stick with phrase match until you know what you’re doing.
Write Ads People Click
You get 15 headline spots at 30 characters each. Plus 4 descriptions at 90 characters. Google mixes these around testing what works.
Good headlines:
- Use your main keyword
- Add a real benefit
- Create urgency
Like: “Emergency Plumber 24/7 | Brooklyn” “Running Shoes 50% Off | Ends Tonight” “Authentic Thai Food | Order Online Now”
Descriptions give more detail: “Licensed plumbers ready now. No hidden fees. 1-year warranty. Serving Brooklyn since 2009.”
Write 10+ headlines minimum. 3+ descriptions. More = better testing.
Scale Fast Without Spending Limits
Regular Google Ads accounts have these annoying daily spending caps. You finally get a campaign working, try to scale it up, and bam – spending limit kills your momentum.
UpRoas solves this with agency-level accounts. No daily spending limits. None. You can scale winning campaigns immediately without hitting walls.
They’ve got 24/7 instant top-ups so your ads never pause. The accounts have way higher trust scores with Google – means better approval rates, fewer policy issues. Oh, and 2% cashback on everything you spend. That’s $2,000 back per $100k spent.
About 1,750 advertisers run through UpRoas now. Accounts come ready to go – pre-warmed, verified, all that. Need to rent Google Ads account access without the usual restrictions? UpRoas gives you the setup to focus on making money instead of fighting account problems.
Extensions Boost Your Results
Extensions are extra stuff added to your ads. Free. Makes your ad bigger. More visible.
Go to “Ad assets” and add:
Sitelinks – Extra links to different pages on your site
Callouts – Quick benefits like “Free Shipping” or “Same-Day Service”
Call extensions – Phone number people can tap on mobile
Location extensions – Shows your address and a map
Add everything relevant. Google only shows them when they help. No downside.
Review Then Launch
Check these before publishing:
- Budget’s correct (no typo zeros)
- Location targeting’s right
- Keywords match your page content
- Spelling’s good in your ads
- Website URL works
Hit “Publish Campaign.”
Google reviews stuff before ads run. Usually 1-2 days. Sometimes just hours. You’ll get an email when it’s approved.
After You Launch
First few days: Google’s learning. Don’t freak out without instant sales. Takes time.
One week in: Check Search Terms Report. Shows what people actually typed before seeing your ad. Add irrelevant stuff as negative keywords. Selling new furniture? Add “used” and “free” as negatives.
Two weeks in: Some keywords get clicks but no sales. Give them another week. Still nothing? Pause them. Move that money to keywords actually converting.
Keep testing: Write new ads based on what’s working. Your click rate should go up each month.
Mistakes That Cost Real Money
Homepage trap. Don’t send everyone to your homepage. Someone searching “blue couches” needs to land on your blue couch page. Not your homepage. Not your about page. The actual blue couches.
Ignoring Quality Score. Google rates each keyword 1-10. Higher = cheaper clicks. Improve it by matching your ad copy to keywords and making better landing pages.
No conversion tracking. You need to know which clicks turn into actual money. Google gives you tracking code. Put it on your thank you page.
Changing stuff too fast. Wait a week before pausing keywords or messing with bids. Google needs data to work right.
Your First Month Timeline
Week 1: Let it run. Watch the numbers but don’t change much.
Week 2: Add negative keywords. Pause anything with zero clicks after 100 impressions.
Week 3: Bump up bids 10-20% on keywords making you money. Lower bids on keywords getting clicks without sales.
Week 4: Try new ad copy. Calculate your actual cost per sale. Plan next month based on what happened.
Move faster if you’ve got clear data. Slower if you’re unsure.
Just Start Already
You know how to run Google Ads now. Setup, keywords, ads, optimizing – you’ve got it.
But knowing doesn’t do anything. You gotta actually start.
Make your account today. Build your first campaign. Yeah, you’ll mess some stuff up. Everyone does. Learn from it and fix it.
Your competitors are running Google Ads right this second. Showing up when your customers search. Every day you wait is money left on the table.
Start with $10 a day if that’s all you’ve got. Teaches you what works for your business. Scale up when you’re making money.
