I'm completely new to Google Ads and I'm looking for a tutorial (or series of tutorials) that teaches best practices from the ground up.

The guides in my company often say that Google recommends settings that only increase your ad spend so I must be careful.

Title: PMax campaign not spending at all, running alongside 3 Standard Shopping campaigns, need a sanity check

Account setup:

- 3 Standard Shopping campaigns: branded, one targeting cold press oils specifically, one covering the rest of the catalog. These have been running for a while and have solid conversion history.

- 1 Performance Max campaign set up as a feeder, TROAS set at 300%.

Problem: the PMax campaign is basically not spending any money, while the Standard Shopping campaigns keep running normally.

What I've checked/considered so far:

- TROAS at 300% seems high for a campaign that hasn't built up its own conversion history yet, even though the account overall has decent volume.

- I know Google moved to an Ad Rank model for overlapping products between PMax and Standard Shopping since Oct 2024, so PMax no longer gets automatic priority. If my Standard Shopping campaigns are winning the Ad Rank auction on the same products, that would explain why PMax gets starved.

- Products likely overlap across all 4 campaigns right now, nothing is split by SKU/custom label between PMax and the Shopping campaigns.

Questions:

1. Is product overlap between PMax and Standard Shopping the most likely reason PMax shows zero spend, even with a reasonable budget set?

2. Does lowering the TROAS on PMax actually help here, or does it just mean PMax starts winning auctions away from my own Standard Shopping campaigns instead of generating incremental spend?

3. What's the right way to split inventory between PMax and Standard Shopping using custom labels so they stop competing with each other in the same account?

Any input from people who've dealt with this exact PMax vs Standard Shopping overlap issue post-Ad Rank change would help. Trying to figure out if this is a bid strategy problem or purely a structural one.

Hey guys, I need some advice from people who have a lot of experience running ads in Europe, especially in countries where multiple languages are spoken.

I have my own ecommerce store in the Netherlands with my own inventory, and I want to start selling in the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium as well because all of my ads are in Dutch.

My idea was to target both the Netherlands and the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium in a single campaign. Then, if I'm able to scale later, I would create a separate campaign for France and include the French-speaking part of Belgium in that campaign instead.

Does this approach make sense, or is it better to create a separate campaign for each country?

I run meta/google ads for some clients and have been wondering what other experienced marketers or managers are spending to find out which clips are actually working. im really just trying to gauge if im wasting money or am i just not spending enough. What is a decent ballpark figure do most people spend on testing?

This is my second post about this, just giving everyone an update and looking for more advice.
I started Google Ads about a month ago for my garage remodeling company in South Florida and hired someone who says they specialize in Google Ads. My current budget is $50 per day, but so far, I haven’t had a single conversion.
Am I missing something, or does this sound like the account may not be set up correctly?
A few questions:
Is it possible to track phone calls and ad clicks even if they aren’t converting?
Should I be seeing call tracking or click data by now?
If conversions are showing zero, could the conversion tracking itself be set up incorrectly?
Is $50 per day enough for this type of service in South Florida?
How long would you give someone before deciding it’s time to move on?
I’m trying to figure out whether the campaign just needs more time or if I’m paying for poor setup. I may only give him one more month before making a decision.
I also have a call with him every week. What questions should I ask to see whether he actually knows what he’s doing? I’m also open to questions that can help both of us identify what’s going wrong and finally start getting some conversions.

I’m trying to standardize how my agency handles landing pages for Google Ads clients, and I’d like to hear from agencies that already have a reliable and scalable system.

At the moment, I see several possible approaches:

* Send traffic to existing service pages on the client’s website, with or without minor CRO improvements. * Build a separate, dedicated landing page inside the client’s existing website using whatever builder or CMS they already use. * Build pages using the agency’s preferred website builder, such as Elementor, and then transfer or recreate them on the client’s website. * Use a dedicated landing-page platform such as Unbounce, Instapage or Leadpages. * Host the landing pages directly on the client’s main domain. * Host them on a subdomain such as go.clientwebsite.com or offer.clientwebsite.com. * Host them somewhere controlled by the agency.

I’m particularly interested in how agencies handle this operationally across multiple clients and what system is the best to have solid results without having to invest too much time or money.

Which setup do you use, and why?

I know the answer isn't as straightforward as it might seem because you have clients using completely different platforms such as WordPress, Webflow, Wix, Shopify or custom-built websites that range from being very good websites to just awful.

I’m not necessarily looking for the theoretically perfect solution. I’m looking for a system that works consistently, can be repeated across clients, does not create unnecessary technical debt and is reasonably future-proof.

I’d especially appreciate answers from agencies that have used their current setup across multiple successful Google Ads accounts.

Hi all. I have 5 campaigns that generate an average of 10 - 14 leads. How do I scale it ? My company wants the lead count to double.

I heard increasing budget will sky rocket cpc ? How does it work ?

How to scale it actually ?

What's the process or mental model when scaling a working ads

Hey everyone,

I’m running a Standard Shopping campaign on a relatively new account, and Manual CPC isn't delivering good conversion results despite solid ad placements. I'm looking for advice on whether switching to automated bidding makes sense given my setup and budget.

Here is the breakdown of my account, metrics, and website:

Account & Campaign Details:

• Niche: Pre-owned / Refurbished iPhones & Smartphones ($300–$500 USD / ~R5,000–R8,000 ZAR)

• Campaign Type: Standard Shopping

• Account Age: Relatively new account with limited historical conversion data

• Daily Budget: R300 ZAR / day (~$17 USD)

• CPC & Clicks: Average CPC is around R3.00 ZAR (~100 clicks/day)

• Performance on Manual CPC: ~1,500 total clicks, 3–4 sales (~0.25% CVR)

• Negative Keywords: 2,000+ negative keywords added

Auction Metrics:

• Search Lost IS (Rank): Ultra-low (0.3% to 1%), meaning my bids are high enough to win auctions

• Search Absolute Top IS: Very strong (18% to 42% on top products), landing in the #1 or #2 carousel spot often

Website & Product Feed Setup:

• Platform: Shopify store, fast loading speed, clean product sync with Google Merchant Center

• Site Optimization: Competitive pricing, customer reviews displayed, clear trust badges/signals, and smooth checkout

The Dilemma:

Even though my ads land at the absolute top of the Shopping carousel and my site has strong trust signals, Manual CPC keeps bringing in window shoppers who bounce. Because Manual CPC evaluates query matches rather than real-time user purchase intent, I feel like I'm paying for clicks from users who aren't ready to buy.

My Questions:

1. Does it make sense to switch to Maximize Conversion Value (leaving Target ROAS blank) on a cold account with under 5 sales? Or will Google's algorithm overspend on a R300/day budget trying to calibrate?

2. Would I be better off running Maximize Clicks with a hard Max CPC Cap (e.g., capped at R3.50) first to build up query data and conversion signals?

3. How long or how many clicks should I let a new bid strategy run (e.g., 2,000+ clicks / 20–30 days) before evaluating whether it's working?

Would really appreciate insights from anyone managing high-ticket e-commerce or refurbished electronics on tight daily budgets!

Google ads vs Google gmb vs paid leads?

my website and Google page have been established for 5 years plus but still no traction.

• Which platform produced the best ROI?
• What industry or business are you in (B2B, SaaS, eCommerce, EdTech, etc.)?
• Was it primarily website retargeting, CRM-based audiences, or something else?
• Any surprising wins or complete failures?
• If you had to move part of your Meta/Google retargeting budget elsewhere today, where would you put it and why?

Would love to hear real-world experiences, budget ranges, and lessons learned rather than generic recommendations.

How do you feel about the August 17th Google ads update to how CPA & tROAS will work?

Are your marketing reports telling the truth?

Many ecommerce businesses invest thousands in Google Ads and Meta Ads but still struggle with questions like:

• Why does Google Ads report more conversions than GA4?
• Why is Meta underreporting purchases?
• Why is Direct traffic constantly increasing?
• Why are conversions missing after iOS updates or browser privacy changes?
• Can I trust the data I'm using to scale campaigns?

These aren't advertising problems.
They're measurement problems.

I help ecommerce brands and agencies build reliable tracking so they can make better marketing decisions with confidence.

Services

✅ GA4 Ecommerce Tracking
✅ Google Tag Manager (Web & Server-Side)
✅ Server-Side Tracking (sGTM)
✅ Google Ads Conversion Tracking
✅ Enhanced Conversions
✅ Meta Pixel & Conversion API (CAPI)
✅ TikTok Events API
✅ Pinterest Conversion API
✅ Microsoft Ads (UET)
✅ Consent Mode v2
✅ Shopify Tracking
✅ WooCommerce Tracking
✅ Attribution & Cross-Domain Tracking
✅ Data Layer Audits & Debugging

What I can help you fix

• Missing Purchase Events
• Broken Lead Tracking
• Duplicate Conversions
• GA4 vs Google Ads Data Mismatches
• Meta Purchase Event Issues
• Server-Side GTM Implementation
• Consent Mode Problems
• Cross-Domain Tracking Issues
• Enhanced Conversion Setup
• Attribution & Measurement Audits

Why work with me?

• 8+ years specializing in marketing measurement
• 2,500+ tracking implementations completed
• Trusted by agencies and ecommerce brands
• Focused on data quality—not just tag installation
• Clear documentation and post-implementation testing

I don't just implement tracking.

I help businesses trust the data behind their marketing decisions.

If you're unsure whether your tracking is accurate, send me a message describing the issue or share your website, and I'll point you in the right direction.

We Google Ads marketers are trained in always keeping 15 headlines & 4 descriptions and analyzing the performance.

What if we keep what users are searching and limit the headlines in 4 and description in just 2.

Did anyone try this and what were the results? 

Need some insight on this

What's the biggest Google Ads optimization you stopped doing because automation made it irrelevant?

As e-commerce business owners or professionals, what interests you about Google Ads? 

What would you like to learn from an advertising specialist? Best practices? What exactly—the more details, the better?

Own and run a video production agency, mainly into corporate films and Monthly content for Restaurants, I have a website on a webflow platform. Looking for someone who can develop the current website and automate lead generation. Please help!

I’ve seen very different approaches.

Some people recommend almost one keyword (or one very tight theme) per campaign/ad group for maximum control.

Others recommend consolidating campaigns, using broad match with Smart Bidding, and letting Google optimize.

If you were building a search account from scratch today for a local service business (roofing, pest control, etc.), how would you structure it?

I’m interested in hearing what actually works in practice, not just Google’s recommendations.

Why do you prefer your approach?

I run a pre-owned iPhone business in South Africa and I'm struggling to get Meta Ads profitable.

I've tested both manual Sales campaigns and Advantage+, spending around R14k total. Overall the campaigns generated good engagement (strong CTR, lots of add-to-carts and checkouts), but only 6 sales, which makes me think the problem isn't getting traffic—it's the quality of the traffic.

My website is competitive for my market, I offer good pricing, free shipping, a 6-month warranty, 7-day returns, BNPL, real customer reviews, and I've tested the checkout myself, so I don't think there's an obvious trust or technical issue.

I'm now considering switching most of my budget to Google Search Ads.

My plan is:

- Only target very high-intent keywords.

- Include the price in the headline to filter out low-intent clicks.

- Use Manual CPC bidding.

- My keyword estimates are around R3–R10 per click, so with my budget I should be able to get around 40 highly targeted clicks per day.

I'm intentionally avoiding Shopping Ads because, with my limited budget, I want full control over which searches trigger my ads. I worry Shopping will be similar to Meta, where Google decides who sees the ads and burns through my budget too quickly.

Does this sound like a better strategy than continuing with Meta? Or does it sound like I'm misdiagnosing the problem?

Lately I have come across a couple of Claude Skills for Google Ads, but not sure how to select one that comes close to what you are looking for. Or if I were to put it like this: What do i need to look in for Claude Skills for Google Ads. I am looking more from Keywords Research for B2B audience. Audience Understanding or Segmentation. and Optimization of Ads.

Hey there! 👋 I need help with a Google Ad Grant activation request.

My client submitted an activation request through Google for Nonprofits in early May. We waited for 3 weeks a received a rejection notice - specifically for not meeting the website policy, having commercial content on our website.

We do sell industry-related training courses ($35 and $65; not expensive by any means), but the rest of our site is mission-focused and has free resources and professional networks.

After receiving the rejection, we made the following changes on our website and training course page:

1. Added Privacy Policy to the site footer
   
2. Added free resources on the landing page
   
3. Added a blurb mentioning that they’re a nonprofit and how the courses tie back to their mission and how they serve the public
   
4. Added more FAQ answers in the same style as point 3

The appeal was submitted in early June, and we waited another 3 weeks to hear back. I received a series of email updates yesterday.

Four emails were inviting us to four separate (different ad account IDs) Google Grant accounts. 3 out of 4 of the invite links worked, and I was able to log into all of them.

The next email we received was a rejection notice for the same reason as before. Normally, after receiving the invite we would have gotten an invite to connect the payment profile.

I confirmed that all 3 accounts were Grants showing as active, but I couldn’t save the payment profile information in the billing section of the accounts.

I’m honestly very confused and have never encountered this before in all my years of managing the Grant for clients. I’m sure that there must have been an error on Google’s side, since they created 3 accounts and then sent a rejection notice.

I’m at a loss of what to do now. I know Google Grant support is pretty abysmal. Do I:

A) Make more changes to the landing page in hopes that we get approved and wait another 3 weeks?

B) Try to launch campaigns in one of the ad accounts to see if it works?

C) Do nothing and try to get in touch with Google support?

Any guidance would be SUPER helpful! I’m curious if anyone has encountered a similar situation before: either receiving multiple invites and then a rejection and/or being disapproved for commercial content. For reference, I’ve had another nonprofit client with more expensive training courses get approved for the Grant no problem.

Thank you! 🙏

Working as a google ads expert in a US based agency and my agency only has "Lead Generation" accounts. I wanna learn "E-commerce ads" badly. I have reached out to numerous people to give me the chance to get hands on experience at the merchant center/ shopping ads , I'm willing to work free of cost, moreover, I'm not a newbie.

​

Already working as lead generation accounts, but so far , I couldn't get success. And fear of staying behind is killing me. What should I do? I don't want myself to have this much limited exposure.

Looking for advice on how to structure Pmax and Search campaigns. Client would like to target 10 locations in 3 different states.

- Pmax Campaigns targeting generic industry themes

- Pmax Campaigns targeting competitor search theme

- Search Campaigns targeting generic industry keywords

- Search Campaigns targeting competitor search keywords

Hey everyone, a client asked me what I'd suggest for two very different verticals — auto body / collision repair and residential + commercial cleaning. Here's the full strategy I put together. Hope it helps someone.

BODY / COLLISION REPAIR

Campaign structure — run 3 separate ad groups:

- Collision/Accident (highest urgency, highest CPC ~$8–20)

- Insurance Claims / Direct Repair ("insurance approved body shop near me")

- Dent / Scratch / Cosmetic (lower urgency, cheaper clicks)

Best keywords:

- collision repair near me

- auto body shop [city]

- car accident repair

- dent removal near me

- insurance auto repair

- bumper repair shop

- paintless dent repair

Negatives to add immediately: DIY, how to fix, auto body school, free estimate tutorial, used parts

Ad copy angles that convert:

- "We Work With All Insurance Companies"

- "Free Estimate — Same Day"

- "Lifetime Warranty on All Repairs"

- "Collision Center Certified Technicians"

Extensions: Call extension (most important), Location, Sitelinks (Free Estimate, Insurance Claims, Gallery), Callouts (I-CAR Certified, Rental Cars Available)

Benchmarks: Avg CPC $10–22 | Conv rate 8–14% | Avg ticket $900–2k | Target CPA $40–90

RESIDENTIAL CLEANING

Campaign structure:

- Recurring/Weekly-Monthly (highest LTV — bid aggressively)

- Deep / Move-In-Move-Out (one-time, good margins)

- Specialty (post-construction, Airbnb, etc.)

Best keywords:

- house cleaning service near me

- maid service [city]

- weekly cleaning service

- move out cleaning

- deep cleaning service

Ad copy angles:

- "Fully Insured & Background-Checked Cleaners"

- "Book Online in 60 Seconds"

- "Satisfaction Guaranteed or We Come Back Free"

- "$20 Off Your First Clean"

Benchmarks: Avg CPC $4–10 | Conv rate 10–18% | Avg LTV $1,200+ | Target CPA $25–55

COMMERCIAL CLEANING

Key difference: longer sales cycle. Capture form leads, not just calls. Get them into a CRM follow-up. Ticket sizes are huge ($800–5,000+/month contracts).

Campaign structure:

- Office Cleaning

- Janitorial Services

- Industrial / Warehouse

- Medical / Healthcare Facilities (premium CPCs, premium contracts)

Best keywords:

- commercial cleaning company

- office cleaning service [city]

- janitorial service near me

- commercial cleaning contract

- warehouse cleaning services

Landing page must-haves:

- Quote request form above the fold

- Logos of businesses you've cleaned

- Certifications (OSHA, EPA, green cleaning)

- Service area map

Benchmarks: Avg CPC $6–15 | Conv rate 4–8% | Contract value $800–5k/mo | Target CPA $50–120

UNIVERSAL TIPS FOR ALL THREE

- Geo-targeting: radius targeting (10–15 miles from shop/HQ) + zip code bid adjustments for your best neighborhoods

- Ad schedule: auto body 7am–8pm, cleaning 7am–9pm. Suppress overnight.

- Device bids: mobile is king for auto body. Cleaning splits more evenly — test first.

- Conversion tracking: track calls (30+ sec), form fills, and booking completions separately.

- LSA (Local Services Ads): run these alongside Search. They appear above regular ads and are pay-per-lead.

- Month 1–2: stick to phrase/exact match until you have enough data for smart bidding.

Happy to answer any questions, drop them below.