Match types — should I use broad, phrase, or exact?

In 2026 the honest answer is a mix, and the ratio depends on your data volume and risk tolerance. Broad match plus Smart Bidding works on accounts with enough conversion data. Phrase match is still the safe middle ground for most SMBs. Exact match is mostly reserved for protected brand terms and high-converting long-tails. We recalibrate the mix every month as the account's data depth changes.

How big should my negative-keyword list be?

It grows forever. A healthy account adds 5–30 new negatives per week from the search-term report. Shared negative lists across campaigns (for generic junk: "free", "jobs", "training" where irrelevant) are the backbone. Campaign-specific negatives handle the edge cases.

What quality score should I aim for?

An average quality score of 7+ across your head-term keywords. 10 on critical terms is achievable but diminishing returns — going from 8 to 10 on a long-tail is rarely worth the ad-group restructure it usually requires.

Should I use Search with or without display?

Always split. Running Search and Display in the same campaign blurs the data and lets Display eat budget with lower-quality traffic. Even with Performance Max in the picture, keeping Search separate protects the cleanest intent signal.

How do you test ad copy?

Responsive Search Ads let Google rotate assets, but within each ad we still run human-designed tests: one RSA variant with a benefit-first headline, one with a price-first headline, one with a guarantee-first. Asset-level reports plus click-share tells us which themes win within 2–4 weeks of sufficient volume.

Can I run Search Ads without a website?

Yes, but not well. Google requires a landing page that matches the ad promise. We can point to a Facebook page, Google Business Profile, or booking tool for smallest cases, but quality score and conversion rate will always trail a real landing page. Our AI-Powered Website Development service exists partly to close this gap quickly.

Paid Platforms

Search Ads

High-intent keyword campaigns with quality-score optimization and negative-keyword hygiene.

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Overview

Search Ads are the cleanest, highest-intent paid channel on the internet — a user types a problem, your ad appears, and a well-built landing page converts them. Everything else in Google Ads (Performance Max, Display, YouTube) is downstream of how well your search foundation is built. We structure search campaigns around intent clusters, not product catalogs, and we obsess over the unglamorous work — quality score, negative lists, and ad copy tested against real click-through data, not design intuition.

What's included

The work, itemized

Every engagement ships with the same operational stack — you see exactly what we will do.

Intent-clustered campaign and ad-group architecture
Keyword research with match-type strategy per cluster
Negative-keyword seed list plus weekly search-term hygiene
Responsive Search Ads with asset-level performance tracking
Ad extension coverage (sitelink, callout, structured snippet, price, promotion)
Quality-score diagnosis and improvement plan
Landing-page feedback tied to CTR and conversion data
Bid-strategy selection (Max Conversions, Target CPA, Manual CPC) based on data volume
Competitor auction insight monitoring and response
Monthly ad-copy A/B testing with statistical-significance thresholds

Week 1

Keyword + intent map delivered

Weekly

Search-term + negative-keyword audit

Monthly

Ad-copy A/B test cycle

Why it matters

Outcomes this unlocks

Highest purchase intent

Search users are actively looking for what you sell. When campaigns are structured and tracked correctly, Search consistently delivers the lowest cost per acquired customer of any paid channel.

Transparent cost control

Unlike Performance Max, Search Ads give you keyword-level visibility and control. You see exactly which query brought each conversion, and you can react the same day.

Scales with quality score

Quality score improvements compound: higher QS means lower CPC, more impressions for the same budget, and better ad positions without raising spend.

Foundation for the rest

Search performance data informs Performance Max audience signals, Shopping campaign priorities, and remarketing list quality. Getting Search right lifts everything else.

How it runs

A repeatable, written-down process

No mystery, no bespoke agency spin. The same structure on every engagement.

Week 1 — Keyword and intent map
We cluster your target queries by intent (informational, commercial, transactional, brand) and map each cluster to an ad group. No catch-all campaigns.
Week 2 — Campaign build
Campaigns, ad groups, keywords, negatives, and 3–4 Responsive Search Ads per group. Extensions connected and pinned where needed.
Week 3-4 — Learning phase protection
Hands-off period to let Smart Bidding collect signal. Only emergency interventions (budget runaway, disapproved ads) — no cosmetic tweaks.
Month 2+ — Optimization rhythm
Weekly search-term audit (add negatives, promote winners). Bi-weekly ad copy tests. Monthly structural review and budget reallocation.
Ongoing — Written summaries
Monday morning: 1-page performance summary. First Monday of the month: 3-page strategic review with next-month focus.

Why intent clustering beats product-based campaign structure

The old playbook — one campaign per product or service category — made sense when keyword match types were strict and bids were manual. In 2026, with Smart Bidding reading signals from the entire session, campaign structure should match how buyers actually think: by intent. A researcher typing "best HVAC brands 2026" and a buyer typing "HVAC installation cost near me" are not in the same ad group even if they are both interested in the same product. Intent-clustered campaigns give Smart Bidding cleaner training data, let you write ad copy that matches buyer stage, and make budget allocation decisions obvious — you put more money on the clusters that convert fastest.

The economics of quality score at $10 CPC

In high-CPC verticals — legal, dental, insurance, B2B SaaS — the average click costs between $5 and $25. At those prices, a quality-score improvement from 5 to 8 can drop your effective CPC by 40%, which in a $3,000 monthly budget is roughly 200 extra clicks per month at the same spend. Quality score is a function of expected CTR, ad relevance, and landing page experience. The first two are won with tight ad-group themes and ad copy discipline. The third is won with landing-page work — the same page that worked for SEO will not automatically be a good landing page for paid, and treating them as interchangeable is one of the most common mistakes we untangle in audits.

Where it fits

Industries this works for

These are common fits, not a complete list — if your industry is not here, start with a free audit and we will tell you honestly whether it maps.

Emergency and urgent services

Plumbers, locksmiths, 24/7 restoration — searches where intent is immediate and conversion windows are minutes, not days.

High-consideration B2B

Enterprise SaaS, professional services — where Search captures the research-phase high-intent query before the long sales cycle starts.

Healthcare and legal

High-CPC verticals where quality score and landing page discipline determine whether the economics work at all.

Local service franchises

Multi-location brands where geo-targeted Search campaigns protect each franchise from being out-bid by aggregators.

FAQ

Common questions about Search Ads

Anything unresolved goes into the free audit — we will answer every question in writing.

Want a free audit focused on Search Ads?

Send us your domain and a line about your goals. You will have a detailed written analysis in your inbox within 24 business hours. No sales call, no credit card.

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Search Ads

The work, itemized

Outcomes this unlocks

Highest purchase intent

Transparent cost control

Scales with quality score

Foundation for the rest

A repeatable, written-down process

Week 1 — Keyword and intent map

Week 2 — Campaign build

Week 3-4 — Learning phase protection

Month 2+ — Optimization rhythm

Ongoing — Written summaries

Why intent clustering beats product-based campaign structure

The economics of quality score at $10 CPC

Industries this works for

Emergency and urgent services

High-consideration B2B

Healthcare and legal

Local service franchises

Common questions about Search Ads

Services that pair well with this one

Google Ads Management

Performance Max

Conversion Rate Optimization

Want a free audit focused on Search Ads?