A Google Ads setup is a one-off build. I create or rebuild your account, put conversion tracking in place, write the first campaigns and then hand the whole thing to you to run. It is for UK businesses that want to manage their own advertising but would rather not learn the expensive way which of Google’s defaults to switch off.
If you want someone to keep running the account after launch, that is monthly PPC management, which is a different arrangement. If you are still deciding whether Google Ads suits your business at all, my overview of Google Ads services is the better place to begin.
What a proper setup changes
Google lets you start advertising within minutes. The quick route creates a Smart campaign, chooses keywords for you, shows ads to people who are merely interested in your area and often counts conversions loosely or not at all. Plenty of small business accounts begin that way and are never corrected, so the owner pays for months without knowing which clicks became customers.
A setup done properly leaves you with an account built in Expert Mode, in pounds and on UK time, with tracking you can trust from the first day. Each campaign has one clear job, the ads match the searches they appear for, and the settings that quietly widen your reach stay off unless you choose them. You then run something you understand, rather than something Google assembled for you.
Who it suits, and who it does not
A one-off setup makes sense when:
- you, or someone on your staff, will run the account after launch and can give it a few hours each week;
- you are starting from nothing, or the existing account is so tangled that rebuilding is quicker than repairing it;
- you are launching a new service, branch or website and want campaigns ready on the day it opens.
It is the wrong choice if nobody will look at the account once it is live. A well-built account still needs its search terms read and its budgets moved every week, and without that attention it drifts back towards waste. It is also more than you need if your account is broadly sound and you only want to know what to fix; working through my Google Ads checklist may be enough.
What the setup includes
Account, billing and access
I build the account under your own Google login, never mine, so you own it outright from the start. Currency and time zone cannot be changed once an account exists, so I set pound sterling and UK time before anything else. You add the payment method and your business details, including a VAT number if you have one, and I help with advertiser verification if Google asks for it, which means your legal name and address exactly as they appear on your registration documents. My access comes through a manager account link that you can remove when the work is finished.
Conversion tracking
Without conversion tracking, Google can only aim for clicks, and clicks are not customers. I set up the actions that matter to you, such as enquiry forms, calls from the ads and the website, and purchases with their value, then choose which of them bidding should count. Because your visitors are in the UK, tags must respect their cookie choices. I configure consent mode to work with your cookie banner, so Google receives each visitor’s choice and only uses their data for audiences and remarketing where they agreed. Deeper work, such as feeding offline sales back from a CRM, I scope separately rather than squeezing it into the setup.
Keyword research and campaign structure
I research the searches your customers make, separate those with buying intent from those looking for jobs, free advice or DIY instructions, and group the rest by the service or product they relate to. Most setups start with search campaigns, which work as described on my page about Google search ads management. Each group gets its own ad group and, where budgets need separate control, its own campaign. Searches for your business name usually sit in a campaign of their own so they do not flatter the figures for everything else.
Shared negative keyword lists go in before launch rather than after the first wasted month. To see how match types change which searches you pay for, my keyword match type tool formats a keyword list into broad, phrase and exact match.
Ads, assets and settings
Each ad group gets its own responsive search ad, with up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions that say what you do, where you do it and why someone should choose you. Every claim has to be one you can back up, because paid search ads in the UK fall under the CAP Code enforced by the ASA. I add sitelinks, callouts, a call asset limited to your opening hours and, if you have a Google Business Profile, a location asset linked to it.
Then come the settings that cost new advertisers most. Location targeting is set to people in, or regularly in, your area rather than anyone showing interest in it. The Display Network is removed from search campaigns, auto-applied recommendations are switched off, and the bid strategy is chosen for an account that has no conversion history yet.
Landing page review
The ad is only half the journey. I check each page the ads point to on a phone: whether it repeats what the ad promised, loads quickly, shows a phone number and a short form without scrolling, and records a conversion when someone uses them. You receive a short list of changes in order of importance. If a page needs rebuilding rather than adjusting, that is separate work, covered by my landing page design for ads service.
Handover
Before launch I walk you through the account. You also get a written handover covering what each campaign is for, which settings should stay as they are, what to check each week, and how to test your tracking using the steps in my guide to checking that conversion tracking works. If you want a review of the account once it has been running for a while, we agree that before work starts.
How a setup runs
- First call. We cover what you sell, your margins, the areas you serve, your monthly budget and who will run the account afterwards.
- Access. You give me access to Google Ads, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager and your website or developer. Waiting for access is usually the slowest stage.
- Tracking first. I install and test conversion tracking before any campaign spends, because an account that learns from bad data learns the wrong lessons.
- Build. Keywords, campaigns, ads, assets and settings, with the landing page notes sent alongside.
- Your approval. You sign off the ad copy, budgets and locations. Nothing goes live without your agreement.
- Launch and early checks. I launch, watch the first days for disapproved ads, unexpected search terms and tracking gaps, then hand over.
Problems that catch out new UK accounts
- Wrong currency or time zone. Accounts opened in a hurry sometimes end up in dollars or on US time, and the only remedy is a new account.
- Smart mode by default. Google’s simplified mode picks keywords for you and offers few controls. Moving to Expert Mode early saves a rebuild later.
- Conversions counting the wrong thing. A thank-you page that can be reached without sending a form, or a visit to the contact page counted as a lead, tells bidding to find more of the wrong people.
- Regulated sectors. Financial services advertisers in the UK must pass Google’s financial services verification, which checks FCA authorisation, and gambling and some healthcare categories need their own approval. Discovering this after the build delays launch.
- Tags firing before consent. A cookie banner can look correct while advertising tags still fire before anyone chooses, which puts the business at odds with PECR.
What you receive
- A Google Ads account in your name, in Expert Mode, with you as the owner.
- Tested conversion tracking, consent mode in place and Google Analytics linked.
- Search campaigns ready to run, with keywords, negative lists, ads and assets you have approved.
- Landing page notes in order of importance.
- A walkthrough of the account and a written handover document.
Setup or ongoing management?
The deciding question is who will read the account each week once it is live. If that is you, a setup gives you a sound starting point and enough understanding to keep it sound. If nobody has the time, a setup on its own buys an account that will drift, and monthly management is the better use of the money. A setup can also come first: you run the account yourself for a while and move to management later if spend grows beyond the time you have.
Price and next step
There is no fixed price list: each quote is written after a free audit or first call, in GBP, and agreed in writing before work starts. Your ad spend is paid straight to Google on your own card or invoice and never passes through me. The fee depends on how many campaigns you need, whether an existing account has to be untangled and how much tracking work your website needs.
Send me your website, the services or products you want to advertise, roughly what you plan to spend each month and who will run the account afterwards. Book a consultation about a Google Ads setup and I will reply with what the build involves and a written quote.