Google Search Ads
Management Services
Stop paying for irrelevant clicks. Our PPC management services engineer high-intent Search campaigns with Alpha/Beta architecture that improve Quality Score to 8-10, lower CPC 30-50%, and capture buyers ready to convert.
High-Intent Traffic Only
We target bottom-funnel keywords where users are ready to buy, not just browsing.
What are Google Search Ads?
Google Search Ads (also called paid search or PPC ads) are text-based advertisements that appear at the top and bottom of Google search results when users search for specific keywords.
How Google Search Ads Work
1. Keyword Targeting: You bid on keywords relevant to your business (e.g., "hire PPC agency" or "buy running shoes").
2. Ad Auction: When someone searches, Google runs an instant auction. Your ad rank is determined by your bid amount × Quality Score.
3. Ad Display: Winning ads appear above organic results with an "Ad" or "Sponsored" label.
4. Pay Per Click: You only pay when someone clicks your ad (not for impressions). Cost varies by competition and Quality Score.
Why Search Ads Are Powerful
Search Network vs Display Network
Search Network (This Page)
- Where: Google.com search results, Google Maps, Google Shopping
- Format: Text ads (headlines + descriptions)
- Intent: High (user is actively searching)
- Best For: Lead generation, direct response, ecommerce
Display Network
- Where: 2M+ websites, YouTube, Gmail, apps
- Format: Banner ads, images, videos
- Intent: Lower (user is browsing, not searching)
- Best For: Brand awareness, remarketing
Pro Tip: Search Ads capture existing demand. Display Ads create demand. Use both for full-funnel coverage.
Is Your PPC Budget Feeding Google or Your Business?
Search Ads are the highest intent channel in marketing — people are literally searching for what you sell. But if your campaign structure is messy, you're paying a premium for those leads.
The "Set & Forget" Trap
Broad Match Bleed
Google pushes Broad Match, matching your ads to irrelevant queries. Result: High spend, low conversion. We use strategic match types to control this.
Low Quality Score
Irrelevant ad copy leads to low CTR and landing page disconnects. You pay a "Quality Score tax" on every click — sometimes 2-3x more than competitors.
Blind Smart Bidding
Using Smart Bidding without proper conversion tracking feeds the algorithm junk signals. Garbage in = garbage out.
No Negative Keywords
Without daily negative keyword mining, you waste 20-40% of budget on irrelevant searches.
Most Agencies Build Bloated Accounts
They dump 1,000+ keywords into a few ad groups, use Broad Match for "reach," and let Smart Bidding "figure it out." This creates accounts that bleed money on low-intent traffic.
We take the opposite approach: precision targeting with tightly themed ad groups, strategic match types, and constant search term refinement. This is how you lower CPC while improving conversion rates.
Cost of Poor Search Campaign Management
Scientific Search Campaign Structure
We don't just add keywords. We build a PPC campaign structure designed to filter intent, improve Quality Score, and lower costs systematically.
Single Theme Ad Groups (STAGs)
We group keywords by strict themes (max 5-10 keywords per ad group). Ad copy matches the search term exactly. This boosts CTR and Ad Relevance — two of three Quality Score factors.
STAGs FrameworkAlpha / Beta Campaigns
Beta campaigns test Broad/Phrase keywords to discover new searches. High-performers "graduate" to Alpha campaigns with Exact Match for maximum control and lower CPC.
Alpha/Beta StrategyRSA Copy Engineering
We test 15 headlines per Responsive Search Ad using behavioral psychology hooks. We find the combination that drives clicks and maximize Ad Strength to "Excellent."
Ad Copy Best PracticesOur Average Search Campaign Performance
What is Quality Score? (And How to Improve It)
Quality Score is Google's 1-10 rating of your ad's relevance. A QS of 8-10 can lower your CPC by 30-50%. A QS below 5 means you're paying 2-3x more than competitors for the same click.
1. Expected CTR
Will users click your ad when it shows? Google predicts this based on historical performance of your keyword and ad copy.
- • Write compelling headlines with emotional triggers
- • Include the exact keyword in Headline 1
- • Use numbers, questions, and CTAs
- • Test multiple RSA variations
2. Ad Relevance
How closely does your ad match the user's search query? This measures keyword-to-ad alignment.
- • Use Single Theme Ad Groups (STAGs)
- • Include keyword in headlines AND descriptions
- • Don't stuff unrelated keywords in one ad group
- • Use Dynamic Keyword Insertion sparingly
3. Landing Page Experience
Does your landing page deliver what the ad promised? Google measures relevance, speed, and mobile usability.
- • Send users to specific pages (not homepage)
- • Page load speed under 3 seconds
- • Include keyword in H1 and first paragraph
- • Mobile-optimized with clear CTA
How Quality Score Affects Your CPC
| Quality Score | CPC Impact | Example: $2.00 Bid | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10/10 | -50% | $1.00 | Excellent |
| 8-9/10 | -30% | $1.40 | Great |
| 7/10 | Baseline | $2.00 | Average |
| 5-6/10 | +25% | $2.50 | Below Average |
| 1-4/10 | +100%+ | $4.00+ | Poor |
Real Example: If your competitor has a QS of 9 and you have a QS of 5, they pay $1.40 per click while you pay $2.50 for the same position — that's 78% more expensive!
Complete Quality Score Guide5 Quick Wins to Improve Quality Score Today
Keyword Match Types Explained
Match types control how closely a user's search must match your keyword. Using the right match type is the difference between profitable campaigns and budget waste.
| Match Type | Syntax | Control | Reach | When to Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Exact Match
Most restrictive
|
[running shoes]
|
Highest | Lowest | Alpha campaigns with proven keywords. Maximum control, lowest CPC. |
|
Phrase Match
Moderate
|
"running shoes"
|
Medium | Medium | Beta campaigns for discovery. Balances reach with relevance. |
|
Broad Match
Least restrictive
|
running shoes
|
Lowest | Highest | Small Beta tests with strict negative keyword lists. High risk, high discovery. |
Real-World Match Type Examples
[running shoes]
- "running shoes"
- "shoes for running"
- "running shoe"
- "best running shoes"
- "nike running shoes"
"running shoes"
- "running shoes"
- "best running shoes"
- "cheap shoes for running"
- "shoes running brand"
- "jogging shoes"
running shoes
- "running shoes"
- "athletic footwear"
- "marathon sneakers"
- "free running shoes" ⚠️
- "running shoe repair" ⚠️
Our Match Type Strategy
✅ What We Do
- Start with Phrase Match in Beta campaigns to discover new keywords
- Graduate winners to Exact Match in Alpha campaigns for lower CPC
- Use Broad Match sparingly (10% of budget max) with aggressive negative keyword lists
- Mine search terms daily to find new Exact Match keywords
❌ What We Avoid
- Never use only Broad Match — it's Google's way to waste your budget
- Never mix match types in the same ad group — causes cannibalization
- Never forget negative keywords — they're as important as positive ones
- Never stop testing — what works today may not work next month
The Most Underrated Strategy: Negative Keywords
Negative keywords tell Google which searches to EXCLUDE. Without them, you waste 20-40% of your budget on irrelevant clicks. We add negative keywords daily based on search term reports.
Common Negatives
B2B Negatives
eCommerce Negatives
Google Ads Bidding Strategies Explained
Your bidding strategy determines how much you pay per click. Choose the wrong one and you'll either overpay or get zero traffic.
Manual CPC
You set the maximum you'll pay for each click
- • New accounts without conversion data
- • Low budgets (<$1,000/month)
- • Tight cost control needed
- • Large accounts (too time-consuming)
- • Complex bidding scenarios
- • Accounts with 50+ conversions/month
Enhanced CPC (eCPC)
Manual CPC with AI adjustments (±30%) based on conversion likelihood
- • Transitioning to Smart Bidding
- • Accounts with 10-30 conversions/month
- • Testing automation with safety net
- • Strict CPC control needed
- • Very low conversion volumes
- • Campaigns with inconsistent data
Target CPA (Cost Per Acquisition)
Google aims to get conversions at your target cost per conversion
- • Lead generation (all leads equal value)
- • 30+ conversions in last 30 days
- • Consistent conversion rates
- • eCommerce (use Target ROAS instead)
- • New campaigns without data
- • Highly seasonal businesses
If your leads are worth $100 and you set Target CPA to $25, Google aims to get 4 conversions per $100 spent.
Target ROAS (Return on Ad Spend)
Google maximizes conversion value to hit your target return percentage
- • eCommerce with varying product values
- • 50+ conversions with revenue tracking
- • Profit margin optimization
- • Lead gen (no monetary value)
- • Unstable conversion values
- • New campaigns without revenue data
Target ROAS of 400% means for every $1 spent, you want $4 in revenue. Google optimizes bids to hit this ratio.
Maximize Conversions
Google spends entire budget to get maximum conversions (no CPA control)
- • Volume campaigns (newsletter signups)
- • Testing new audiences quickly
- • When CPA doesn't matter
- • ANY campaign with budget constraints
- • Lead quality matters
- • Most businesses (risky)
This strategy will spend your ENTIRE budget every day. CPA can spike unpredictably. Use with caution.
Our Bidding Strategy Recommendation
Start: Manual CPC
New campaigns or <30 conversions/month. Build data before automation.
Transition: eCPC
Test automation with 30+ conversions. Retains some control.
Scale: Target CPA/ROAS
50+ conversions/month. Let AI optimize at scale.
RLSA: Remarketing Lists for Search Ads
RLSA lets you adjust bids or show different ads when past website visitors search on Google. This is one of the most underutilized strategies in PPC management.
How RLSA Works
Someone browses your products but doesn't buy. Google tags them with a cookie (remarketing list).
A week later, they search "best running shoes" on Google (generic query).
Because they're on your remarketing list, you can bid higher and show a personalized ad: "Welcome back! 20% off your first order."
Since they already know your brand, they're 3-5x more likely to convert than cold traffic.
Powerful RLSA Strategies
Target users who added to cart but didn't purchase. Bid +100% and show: "Your cart is waiting! Complete checkout now."
Target past buyers when they search for related products. Show complementary items: "You bought running shoes. Need running socks?"
Bid aggressively on broad keywords ONLY for past visitors. Example: Target "shoes" (normally too expensive) but only for your remarketing audience.
Segment high-LTV customers and bid +200% to ensure you capture all their future searches. Protect your best customers from competitors.
RLSA Audience Segmentation Strategy
Hot (0-7 days)
Recent visitors, cart abandoners
Warm (8-30 days)
Engaged but not converted
Cool (31-90 days)
Older traffic, lower intent
Customers
Past purchasers (cross-sell)
RLSA Setup Requirements
Technical Requirements:
- Google Ads remarketing tag on all pages
- Minimum 1,000 users in remarketing list (30 days)
- Proper conversion tracking setup
- Google Analytics 4 linked to Google Ads
Strategic Requirements:
- Sufficient traffic (500+ monthly visitors)
- Budget allocation (10-20% for RLSA campaigns)
- Different ad copy for returning visitors
- Exclusion lists (prevent duplicate targeting)
Types of Search Campaigns We Manage
We deploy specific campaign types based on your business model and goals.
Lead Generation (B2B & Service Businesses)
For lawyers, SaaS, contractors, consultants, and service providers. We target bottom-of-funnel keywords where searchers are ready to hire or request a quote. Examples: "hire PPC agency", "emergency plumber near me", "immigration lawyer consultation".
- • Standard Search (high-intent keywords)
- • Call-Only Ads (mobile users)
- • Local Services Ads (Google Guarantee)
- • RLSA for past website visitors
- • Cost per lead (CPL)
- • Phone call tracking
- • Form submission rate
- • Lead quality scores
eCommerce Search (Product Keywords)
Complement your Shopping Ads with Search campaigns. We capture brand protection keywords, competitor names, and high-intent product searches that Shopping feeds might miss. Example: "nike air max 270 black size 10" or "alternative to [competitor]".
- • Brand Search (protect your terms)
- • Competitor Bidding (capture comparison shoppers)
- • Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) for large catalogs
- • Generic Product Terms + RLSA
- • Dominate more SERP real estate
- • Capture users in different mindsets
- • Shopping = product comparison
- • Search = specific product lookup
Competitor Keyword Bidding
Capture users searching for your competitors by name. This is expensive (low Quality Score) but highly effective for stealing market share. We use comparison-focused ad copy that highlights your advantages without directly mentioning competitor names (Google policy).
We allocate 10-15% of budget to competitor terms. Focus on users searching "[Competitor] alternative" or "[Competitor] vs" — these indicate active comparison and higher conversion intent.
Brand Protection (Defensive Campaigns)
Even if you rank #1 organically for your brand name, you should still bid on it. Why? Competitors bid on YOUR brand terms to steal traffic. We set up brand campaigns with Exact Match keywords and low bids to defend your #1 position cheaply.
- • [Your Company Name]
- • [Your Company Name] + "login"
- • [Your Company Name] + "coupon"
- • Misspellings of your brand
- • Exact Match only (tight control)
- • Low manual bids ($0.50-$1.00)
- • High Quality Score (8-10) keeps CPC low
- • Sitelinks to key pages
Search Ads vs Shopping Ads vs Display Ads
Each Google Ads campaign type serves a different purpose. Here's when to use each (and why you should run all three).
| Feature | Search Ads | Shopping Ads | Display Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ad Format | Text (headlines + descriptions) | Product images + price | Banner images/videos |
| Where Ads Show | Google search results | Google Shopping tab + Search | 2M+ websites, YouTube, Gmail |
| User Intent | Highest | High | Low |
| Best For |
|
|
|
| Avg CPC |
$1 - $50 (varies by industry) |
$0.50 - $3 (lower than Search) |
$0.25 - $1 (cheapest) |
| Conversion Rate | 3-5% | 2-3% | 0.5-1% |
Our Multi-Channel Recommendation
Don't pick just one. The most successful Google Ads accounts run Search + Shopping + Display simultaneously to cover all stages of the buyer journey.
Search Ads
Bottom of funnel — capture users actively searching for solutions
Shopping Ads
Product discovery — show items to comparison shoppers
Display Ads
Remarketing — bring back past visitors who didn't convert
This allocation ensures you're capturing demand at every stage while protecting your brand and maximizing reach.
View All Google Ads ServicesFrom $12 CPA to $4.20 CPA in 60 Days
How we restructured a law firm's Search campaigns using Alpha/Beta architecture and Quality Score optimization.
The Problem
100% of keywords were Broad Match. Budget was bleeding on searches like "law school" and "lawyer jobs" — zero buying intent.
Ad groups had 50+ unrelated keywords. Ad copy was generic: "Need a lawyer? Call us." CTR was 1.2% (industry avg is 3-4%).
No negative keyword list at all. Ads showed for "free legal advice" and "pro bono lawyer" — worthless clicks.
All ads sent traffic to the homepage. Users searching "divorce lawyer" landed on a generic home page, not a divorce-specific landing page.
Before Our Takeover
The Solution
Created 15 tightly themed ad groups (STAGs). Moved proven keywords to Alpha campaigns with Exact Match. Used Phrase Match in Beta for discovery.
Wrote specific ad copy for each ad group. Example: "Divorce Lawyer in [City] | Free Consultation | 20+ Years Experience." CTR jumped to 4.8%.
Built comprehensive negative keyword list blocking informational searches, jobs, free services, and competitor names.
Built dedicated pages for divorce, personal injury, and criminal defense. Each page matched the ad promise exactly with clear CTAs.
After 60 Days
"VJ didn't just lower our cost per lead — they improved lead quality. We're closing 40% more cases from Google Ads now because the people clicking are actually looking for legal representation, not just browsing."
Search Ads Management Pricing
Transparent month-to-month pricing based on ad spend. No hidden fees, no long-term contracts.
Starter
- Search campaign setup & optimization
- Keyword research & selection
- RSA ad copy (5 variations)
- Negative keyword management
- Monthly performance reports
Growth
- Everything in Starter, plus:
- Alpha/Beta campaign structure
- RLSA campaigns (remarketing)
- Competitor keyword bidding
- Bi-weekly strategy calls
- Landing page recommendations
Scale
- Everything in Growth, plus:
- Dedicated account manager
- Advanced automation & scripts
- Multi-location campaigns
- Weekly strategy calls
- Full-funnel PPC strategy
Included in All Plans
Onboarding Timeline
Search Ads FAQ
Everything you need to know about Google Search Ads management.
Why is my CPC so high?
Should I bid on my competitor's name?
What is the difference between SEO and Search Ads?
How much should I spend on Google Search Ads?
What's the difference between Broad Match and Exact Match?
How long until I see results?
Do you guarantee a specific ROAS or CPA?
What's the Alpha/Beta campaign structure?
What is RLSA and should I use it?
Do I own my Google Ads account?
What conversion tracking do you set up?
Can you manage Google Local Services Ads?
Still have questions?
Schedule Free Consultation
Stop Wasting Spend.
Start Scaling Profitably.
Get a free audit of your Search campaigns. We'll identify wasted spend, low Quality Score keywords, and show you exactly how to lower CPA by 30-50% — in 48 hours or less.