How to Set Up a PPC Campaign (Google Ads)

What Is PPC?

PPC stands for Pay-Per-Click. It's a type of online advertising where you pay each time someone clicks your ad. When most local business owners talk about running Google Ads, they're talking about PPC.

Here's how it works at a basic level: you tell Google which search terms you want your ad to show up for, how much you're willing to pay per click, and where to send people when they click. When someone in your area searches for one of those terms, your ad shows up. If they click it, you pay. If they don't, you don't.

Done right, PPC is one of the fastest ways to put your business in front of customers who are already looking for what you offer. Done wrong, it's one of the fastest ways to burn through a budget and have nothing to show for it. The difference usually comes down to setup and ongoing management.

Step 1 — Create Your Google Ads Account

If you don't already have a Google Ads account, start here.

1. Go to ads.google.com and click Start now
2. Sign in with a Google account — ideally a business Google account, not a personal Gmail
3. Google will try to walk you through a "Smart Campaign" setup. Skip this.
4. Look for the option to switch to Expert Mode and select it
5. Select your campaign objective — for most local businesses, Leads or Website traffic is the right starting point

Step 2 — Complete Advertiser Verification

Google now requires all advertisers to verify their identity before ads can run. This catches people off guard because Google doesn't always make it obvious — your campaign can be set up and approved, and then quietly paused because verification wasn't completed.

1. In your Google Ads account, click the tools icon and go to Settings → Account Settings
2. Find the Advertiser Verification section and click Start Verification
3. Confirm your identity with a government-issued ID and your business entity information
4. Submit and wait for approval — usually a few business days

Step 3 — Define Your Goal Before You Touch the Campaign

This step happens before you touch a single setting in Google Ads — and it's the one most people skip.

Ask yourself: what does a successful outcome look like? Is it phone calls? Form submissions? Direction requests? A specific number of leads per month at a specific cost?

Your answer shapes every decision that follows — which campaign type to use, which keywords to target, how to write your ads, where to send clicks, and what to measure.

Step 4 — Keyword Research

Keywords are the search terms you want your ad to show up for. This is where most campaigns succeed or fail.

Start with what your customers actually type — not how you describe your business. A plumber doesn't search for "residential plumbing solutions." They search for "plumber near me," "leaking pipe fix," or "emergency plumber Monett."

Match Types

• Broad match — Your ad can show for searches loosely related to your keyword. This sounds useful but burns budget fast on irrelevant searches. Use sparingly.
• Phrase match — Your ad shows when the search includes your keyword phrase in order. More controlled. Good for service + location combos like "plumber in Monett."
• Exact match — Your ad only shows when someone searches your exact keyword. Most controlled. Best for your highest-value, most proven terms.

For a local business starting out, lead with phrase match and exact match.

Negative Keywords — This Is Critical

Negative keywords are just as important as your actual keywords — and you should have more of them.

Think about it: Google's job is to spend your budget. Without guardrails, it will show your ad for searches that are technically related to your keywords but have nothing to do with your actual customers.

Here's a real example. An electrician running ads for "residential electrician" could have their ad triggered by searches like "residential electrician jobs," "residential electrician salary," "how to become a residential electrician," or "residential electrician license requirements." Every one of those clicks costs money. Not one of them is a potential customer.

A well-managed campaign will typically have more negative keywords than positive ones.

Start with a negative keyword list before you launch. Common negatives for most local service businesses include: "free," "DIY," "how to," "cheap," "jobs," "careers," "hiring," "salary," "license," "school," "training," "certification," and any city or zip code outside your service area.

Step 5 — Structure Your Campaign Correctly

Good campaign structure is what separates a campaign that's easy to manage and optimize from one that becomes a mess. Here's the hierarchy:

• Campaign — Overall advertising effort with shared budget and geographic targeting
• Ad Group — A tightly focused set of keywords sharing the same search intent
• Ads — The actual ad copy, written specifically for that ad group's intent

The rule: one search intent per ad group.

Here's why this matters: "residential electrician" and "emergency electrician" are not the same search. Someone searching for a residential electrician is probably planning work on their home. Someone searching for an emergency electrician has a problem right now. Those are two completely different customers with two completely different needs.

The tighter your ad groups, the more your ads feel like they were written specifically for the person reading them.

Step 6 — Write Your Ads

Google's standard search ad format is called a Responsive Search Ad (RSA). You provide up to 15 headlines (30 characters each) and up to 4 descriptions (90 characters each), and Google automatically tests different combinations.

What makes a strong headline

• Include the keyword or service: "Emergency Plumber in Monett"
• Highlight a benefit: "Available 24/7 · Same-Day Service"
• Include a CTA: "Call Now for a Free Estimate"

What makes a strong description

• Speak to the customer's problem: "Burst pipe? Clogged drain? We're on it."
• Reinforce trust: "Licensed & insured. Serving Southwest Missouri since [year]."
• Repeat the CTA: "Call now — we'll have someone out today."

Ad Assets (Extensions) Are Not Optional

At minimum, set up:

• Call asset — adds phone number directly to the ad
• Location asset — shows address and links to Google Maps
• Sitelink assets — additional links to specific pages
• Callout assets — short trust phrases like "No Long-Term Contracts" or "Free Estimates"

Step 7 — Build a Landing Page That Converts

This is where a lot of otherwise solid campaigns fall apart. You can have perfect keywords and compelling ads — but if someone clicks and lands on a homepage that's cluttered, slow, or confusing, they leave without contacting you.

A landing page for a PPC campaign is not your homepage. It's a focused, purpose-built page that matches the ad someone just clicked and has one goal: get them to call or fill out a form.

What a good PPC landing page includes

• A clear headline that matches the ad they clicked
• A brief description of the service and why you're the right choice
• A prominent phone number at the top — large, clickable on mobile
• A short contact form (name, phone, message — nothing more)
• Social proof: reviews, star rating, number of customers served
• No distracting navigation or links pulling people away from the page

We have a full guide on building landing pages that convert. How to Make a Good Landing Page →

Step 8 — Set Your Budget and Bidding Strategy

Budget

Google Ads runs on a daily budget. Start with what you can afford to spend per day and know that results take time to accumulate. A campaign running at $20/day for 30 days gives Google far more data to work with than a campaign running at $100/day for a week.

For most local service businesses starting out, $20–$30/day is a reasonable starting point. Give it at least 30 days before drawing conclusions.

Bidding Strategy

For a new campaign with no conversion history, start with Maximize Clicks to gather data quickly. Once you have at least 30 conversions tracked, switch to Maximize Conversions or Target CPA.

Step 9 — Set Up Conversion Tracking

Conversion tracking tells Google when someone who clicked your ad actually became a lead. Without it, Google has no idea which clicks are turning into customers and which aren't. You're flying blind.

For local service businesses, set up tracking for:

• Phone calls from ads — use Google's call asset, enable call tracking, count calls over 60 seconds
• Website form submissions — add conversion action triggered when someone reaches your thank-you page
• Calls from your website — if someone clicks your ad, lands on your site, and calls the number there

Step 10 — Launch, Monitor, and Improve

Every week

• Review your Search Terms Report — add irrelevant searches to negative keyword list
• Check your budget pacing — are you spending your full daily budget?
• Review call recordings if enabled

Every month

• Review overall performance: cost per lead, lead volume, conversion rate
• Test new ad copy against current top performers
• Adjust bids on ad groups based on what's converting
• Review your landing page

The most important mindset shift: a PPC campaign is never "done." The businesses that get the best results from Google Ads are the ones that treat it as an ongoing system to improve, not a switch to flip and forget.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Want Someone to Handle This For You?

PPC can work incredibly well for local businesses — but there's a reason "I tried Google Ads and it didn't work" is something we hear constantly. Most of the time, it wasn't that the ads didn't work. It was that they weren't set up correctly.

We set up and manage Google Ads campaigns for local businesses in Southwest Missouri — including campaign structure, keyword research, ad copy, landing pages, conversion tracking, and ongoing optimization.