Reach Customers Who Are Actively Searching for Your Services
Google Ads allows businesses to appear in front of potential customers at the moment they are searching for a product, service or solution.
Erikson Media builds Google Ads campaigns focused on generating measurable business opportunities — phone calls, quote requests and qualified leads rather than traffic alone.
Our Google Ads services form part of our broader PPC Management strategy.
What Is Google Ads?
Google Ads is Google’s advertising platform.
For service businesses, one of its most valuable capabilities is paid search advertising.
When someone searches Google for a relevant service, advertisers can compete to display an advertisement alongside the organic search results.
A typical customer journey looks like:
Google Search → Advertisement → Landing Page → Enquiry → Customer
This allows businesses to reach people who are already demonstrating intent through what they search.
Capture High-Intent Search Demand
Search advertising differs from many forms of advertising because the prospective customer initiates the interaction.
Someone searching:
“emergency plumber near me”
or:
“commercial roofing contractor”
is actively looking for a solution.
Google Ads can position a relevant business in front of that searcher at the moment demand exists.
The objective is to identify commercially valuable searches and build campaigns around them.
Google Ads Campaign Strategy
Successful campaigns begin with a clear strategy.
Before launching advertising, we define:
- Services to promote
- Target customers
- Geographic market
- Search intent
- Keyword themes
- Advertising budget
- Landing pages
- Conversion actions
- Lead tracking
- Campaign objectives
This creates a direct connection between advertising activity and the services the business actually wants to sell.
Campaign Structure
Google Ads accounts should reflect the structure of the business and its advertising objectives.
Campaigns can be separated by factors such as:
Service → Location → Customer Type → Business Priority
Within each campaign, closely related searches can be organized into focused ad groups.
A clear structure improves control over keywords, advertisements, budgets, landing pages and performance analysis.
Keyword Research
Keywords determine which searches a campaign may target.
We evaluate keywords based on factors such as:
- Search intent
- Service relevance
- Geographic relevance
- Commercial value
- Competition
- Expected lead quality
High search volume does not automatically make a keyword valuable.
A lower-volume search from someone clearly looking to hire a provider may be more valuable than a broad term generating large amounts of unfocused traffic.
Keyword Match Types
Google Ads provides different ways to control how closely a user’s search must relate to the keywords being targeted.
The appropriate match strategy depends on the campaign, available data and level of control required.
The objective is to balance reach with relevance while continuously reviewing the actual search terms triggering advertisements.
Negative Keywords
Negative keywords help prevent advertisements from appearing for searches that are unlikely to generate valuable customers.
Depending on the business, examples might include:
- Jobs
- Careers
- Courses
- Training
- DIY
- Free
- Wholesale
- Unrelated services
Negative keyword management can reduce wasted spend and improve the quality of traffic reaching the website.
Search Term Analysis
The keywords selected by an advertiser and the searches entered by users are not always identical.
Search-term analysis shows the actual queries that generated advertising activity.
Reviewing these searches can reveal:
Relevant Search → Continue or Expand
Irrelevant Search → Add Negative Keyword
New Valuable Search → Build Dedicated Targeting
This makes search-term analysis an important part of ongoing Google Ads Management.
Geographic Targeting
Local businesses generally need customers within defined service areas.
Google Ads campaigns can be structured around specific geographic markets rather than advertising indiscriminately.
This is particularly important for contractors, home-service businesses and companies operating within defined territories.
Our Local PPC Services focus specifically on geographically targeted paid search campaigns.
Write Ads Around Search Intent
An advertisement should clearly connect the searcher’s problem with the service being offered.
Strong search ads generally communicate:
- Relevant service
- Clear value proposition
- Geographic relevance where appropriate
- Useful differentiators
- Direct next step
The message should then continue onto the landing page.
A disconnect between the search, advertisement and destination page can reduce both conversion performance and lead quality.
PPC Landing Pages
Google Ads can generate traffic, but the website still needs to convert that traffic into an enquiry.
Dedicated landing pages can create a more focused customer journey:
Search → Relevant Ad → Relevant Landing Page → Call or Form
Our Landing Page Design Services build conversion-focused pages around specific services and campaigns.
Landing Page Optimization
Campaign performance can often be improved without simply increasing advertising spend.
Improving the page visitors reach after clicking an advertisement can increase the percentage who become leads.
Optimization may involve:
- Headlines
- Service messaging
- Calls to action
- Forms
- Trust signals
- Mobile usability
- Page speed
- Page structure
Our PPC Landing Page Optimization services focus on improving this post-click experience.
Google Ads Conversion Tracking
A campaign cannot be managed effectively if meaningful customer actions are not measured.
Conversion tracking can identify actions such as:
- Form submissions
- Quote requests
- Phone calls
- Appointment bookings
- Purchases
- Other defined business outcomes
Our Conversion Tracking Services establish the measurement layer needed to understand what happens after an advertisement is clicked.
Track Phone Calls From Google Ads
Many service businesses generate a significant percentage of their leads by phone.
Call tracking can help determine which campaigns and advertising interactions contribute to those calls.
The attribution chain becomes:
Google Search → Google Ad → Website → Phone Call → Lead
Our PPC Call Tracking services help connect phone enquiries with paid search activity.
Track Lead Quality
A conversion inside Google Ads does not necessarily represent a valuable sales opportunity.
One campaign might generate ten poor enquiries while another generates five strong prospects.
Our Lead Tracking Services can extend measurement beyond the initial conversion.
This allows the business to move toward:
Click → Conversion → Qualified Lead → Quote → Customer
That information provides a much stronger basis for campaign optimization.
Google Ads for Local Businesses
Google Ads can be particularly effective for businesses serving customers within a defined market.
Potential applications include:
- Contractors
- Home-service companies
- Professional services
- Local service businesses
- Companies entering new markets
- Businesses promoting high-value services
Paid search can complement Local SEO by providing immediate visibility while organic search authority develops over time.
Google Ads for Contractors
Contractors often operate in markets where a single qualified project can justify significant customer acquisition costs.
Campaigns can target specific services such as roofing, restoration, plumbing, renovations and other high-value construction work.
The broader system becomes:
Service Search → Google Ad → Landing Page → Call or Form → Qualified Project Lead
This connects naturally with our Contractor Lead Generation services.
Connect Google Ads With Lead Automation
Generating the enquiry is only the first step.
New Google Ads leads can enter an automated workflow that records their source, creates a CRM record and alerts the appropriate person.
For example:
Google Ads → Lead → Attribution → CRM → Notification → Follow-Up
Our Lead Automation Services can connect paid acquisition with the systems responsible for handling new opportunities.
Measure Cost Per Lead
One of the most useful PPC metrics is cost per lead.
Advertising Spend ÷ Leads = Cost Per Lead
But the calculation becomes more valuable when lead quality is included.
The business should ultimately work toward understanding:
Cost Per Qualified Lead
and, where tracking permits:
Customer Acquisition Cost
These metrics connect advertising spend more closely with actual business performance.
Google Ads Audits
Businesses already running campaigns may not need to rebuild everything.
A PPC Audit can identify issues with account structure, targeting, keywords, search terms, conversion tracking, landing pages and budget allocation.
The audit provides a clearer picture of what should be retained, improved or rebuilt.
Ongoing Google Ads Management
Google Ads campaigns require ongoing attention.
Search behaviour, competitors, advertising costs and campaign data continually change.
Ongoing management may involve:
Search Terms → Keywords → Negative Keywords → Ads → Budgets → Landing Pages → Conversions → Lead Quality
Each cycle provides information that can improve the next.
Businesses requiring ongoing campaign optimization can use our Google Ads Management Services.
Build a Measurable Google Ads System
Erikson Media approaches Google Ads as one component of a complete customer acquisition system.
The objective is not simply to purchase traffic.
It is to build:
Google Search → Advertising → Landing Page → Conversion → Lead → Sales Pipeline → Customer → Revenue
That makes paid search measurable against the outcome that matters most: new business.
Start a Google Ads Campaign
If your customers are already searching Google for the services you provide, paid search can create a direct path between that demand and your business.
Erikson Media can build the campaign, landing pages, conversion tracking and lead attribution required to make that acquisition channel measurable.
Explore our complete PPC Management Services or request a quote to discuss your Google Ads campaign.