Google Ads Conversion Tracking: A Setup Guide for 2026
If I could fix only one thing in the average Google Ads account, it would be Google Ads conversion tracking. Not the keywords, not the ads. Tracking. Every bidding decision Google makes is based on what you tell it a conversion is. Tell it the wrong thing and it will chase the wrong thing, very […]
Google Ads for Tradesmen: A UK Guide That Gets Calls
If you’re a plumber, electrician, locksmith, roofer or gas engineer, you don’t need clicks. You need your phone to ring with jobs in your area, at times you can answer. That’s a different goal from most of the Google Ads advice online, which is written for online shops. This guide to Google Ads for tradesmen […]
Google Ads Audit Checklist: What I Check First
I’ve run my Google Ads audit checklist on a lot of accounts. Some had been running for years, some for a few weeks, and some had been handed between three agencies. The problems are surprisingly similar. This is the Google Ads audit checklist I actually use, in the order I use it. The order matters. […]
Performance Max vs Search for Lead Generation
Performance Max has been around long enough now that most business owners have either been sold on it or burned by it. I get asked about it every week: “Should we switch everything to PMax?” For e-commerce, PMax is often a strong option. For lead generation, it’s more complicated. Here’s how I think about Performance […]
Google Ads Not Converting? 9 Reasons and How to Fix Them
The message usually goes something like this: “We’re getting clicks, the budget’s going out every day, but the phone isn’t ringing.” If you’ve got Google Ads not converting into leads, it’s rarely one big disaster. It’s normally three or four small problems stacked on top of each other. Here are the nine causes of Google […]
How Much Does Google Ads Cost in the UK? (2026 Guide)
“How much should I spend on Google Ads?” is the first question almost every business owner asks me on a discovery call. Fair enough. Nobody wants to guess at Google Ads cost without knowing what comes back. The honest answer is that Google Ads costs whatever you let it cost. There’s no minimum spend and […]
Google Ads Consultant vs Agency: Which Should You Hire?
I’ve worked on both sides of this. I’ve managed accounts inside an agency, and I run accounts directly for clients as an independent consultant. So when a business owner asks me about Google Ads consultant vs agency, I don’t think the answer is obvious either way. In the Google Ads consultant vs agency debate, both […]
Google Ads Negative Keywords: Stop Paying for Junk Clicks
Open the search terms report on almost any cleaning company’s account and there’s a good chance you’ll find “cleaning jobs near me” somewhere near the top. That’s money spent on people who want to work for the business, not hire it. That’s what missing Google Ads negative keywords look like. Not a dramatic failure, just […]
Microsoft Ads vs Google Ads: Is Bing Worth It in the UK?
Most UK businesses I speak to have never run Microsoft Ads. Many assume nobody uses Bing. Fair enough on the surface: Google dominates UK search, and that’s where most of your budget should go. But “most” isn’t “all”. For the right business, Microsoft Ads brings in leads that Google simply never sees, often at a […]
How to Stop Spam and Fake Leads From Google Ads
Few things annoy a business owner more than this: Google Ads says you got 40 leads this week, and half of them are gibberish emails, fake names or phone numbers that don’t exist. Google Ads spam leads waste your team’s time, but the bigger damage is hidden. If Google counts them as conversions, its bidding […]