Know what the campaign is meant to do
Paid search works best when the audience, offer, landing page, budget, account responsibilities and conversion measures are agreed before spend begins.
What the service covers
PPC management is planned around the advertising objective, account structure, targeting, creative requirements, media spend and reporting needs.
Keep costs clear
Management work, advertising spend, creative production and third-party costs should be distinguished in the agreed scope.
Measurement without promises
Campaign measures and review points should be agreed before work begins. Clicks, leads, sales and return are not promised.
Campaign foundations
Start with the offer, audience and route after the click
PPC can create immediate visibility for selected searches, but the advert is only one part of the journey. The campaign needs a relevant offer, clear targeting, suitable landing page and a defined action to measure.
- Define the campaign objective and priority services
- Identify search intent, locations and exclusions
- Match adverts with relevant landing pages
- Agree what counts as a useful conversion
Budget clarity
Separate media spend from management work
The amount paid to an advertising platform is different from the work required to plan, build, monitor and report on campaigns. Creative production, landing-page changes, tracking and third-party tools may also sit outside either figure.
- Advertising budget paid to the platform
- Management scope and review frequency
- Tracking, creative and landing-page responsibilities
- Approval, billing and additional-cost boundaries
Control and transparency
Agree account access and responsibilities before launch
Business owners repeatedly raise concerns about account ownership, hidden spend and reports they cannot audit. The proposal should state who controls the advertising account, billing, analytics access, campaign changes and retained data.
- Who owns and administers the advertising account
- Who can view billing, change history and conversion data
- What happens to campaigns and data if management ends
- How work, spend and performance are distinguished in reporting
Review decisions
Use campaign data to decide what changes next
Clicks and impressions do not prove commercial value on their own. Reviews should consider search terms, spend, landing-page behaviour and agreed conversions while recognising that results are affected by the market, offer, website and sales process.
- Search terms and excluded traffic
- Spend, bids and budget distribution
- Conversion tracking and landing-page issues
- Tests, observed changes and the next decision
Campaign management
Build the account around useful search intent
Keyword research, negative keywords, audience targeting and location settings help focus the campaign. Ad groups, ad copywriting, assets and landing pages should express the same offer. Bid management, ad scheduling and budget management are then reviewed against conversion data—not adjusted simply to create more clicks.
- Google Ads or other agreed advertising platforms
- Search, display, remarketing or social advertising where scoped
- Ad copy, extensions and quality-score considerations
- Negative keywords, bidding, scheduling and budget controls
Testing and optimisation
Use controlled changes to learn what improves the journey
A/B testing can compare meaningful variations in adverts or landing pages when there is enough data to interpret the result. Conversion-rate optimisation considers the connection between the search, promise, page and action. Tests are documented so a short-term movement is not presented as proof of a universal result.
Reporting
Relate spend and performance to the agreed objective
Reporting can include impressions, click-through rate, search terms, cost, tracked conversions and landing-page behaviour. Return on investment can only be assessed when reliable revenue or value data is available. The report separates platform spend from the PPC management fee and explains what changed, why and what decision follows.
Before appointing a PPC manager
The account, costs and evidence should be understandable before advertising spend is committed.
Is advertising spend included in the management fee?
Not automatically. Media spend, management work, creative production, tracking and landing-page work should be itemised clearly in the agreed scope.
Who should own the Google Ads account?
Account ownership, administrator access, billing and retained data should be agreed in writing. The business should understand what access it keeps if the management relationship ends.
How is a PPC campaign measured?
Measurement should follow the campaign objective. Useful checks may include relevant search traffic, spend, conversion actions and landing-page behaviour—not clicks alone.
Can PPC guarantee leads or sales?
No. Advertising can buy selected visibility, but leads, sales, revenue and return depend on the market, offer, targeting, website and customer decision.
What PPC budget should a small business start with?
The budget depends on the market, click costs, locations, objectives and the amount needed to gather useful data. A recommendation follows keyword and campaign research; a larger budget does not repair a weak offer or landing page.
How do I know whether PPC campaigns are working?
Define a conversion and its value before launch, then review relevant search traffic, spend and the actions completed after the click. Tracking gaps and offline sales processes must be considered.
Am I locked into a PPC contract?
Contract length, notice, account access and handover are stated in the specific proposal and consultancy terms. Red Kite SEO does not imply a universal cancellation arrangement on this page.
Can I manage Google Ads myself?
Yes, if the business has time to learn the platform, maintain tracking and inspect search terms, budgets and landing pages. Management support is useful when specialist setup, ongoing review and accountable reporting are required.
Experience and accountability
Guidance from Pete Hogg
Pete Hogg is the author of the Red Kite SEO guides and an SEO consultant based in Sheffield. He explains the work in plain language, keeps the scope visible and links each service to its supporting guidance.
Read Pete Hogg’s author profile →A practical starting point