Two separate costs: clicks and management
Running search ads involves two different costs, and it helps to keep them apart when you compare offers.
Ad spend is what Google or Microsoft charges for clicks. It goes on your own card or invoice inside your own account, and you set the ceiling.
The management fee pays for the work: building or restructuring campaigns, keyword and negative keyword lists, ad copy, conversion setup, routine checks and a written summary of what changed. The provider quotes it directly.
What moves the fee is usually the number of campaigns and services, whether you run one platform or both, how much tracking needs fixing at the start, and how often you want changes and reports. A quote that bundles spend and fee into one figure makes it hard to see either.
Keyword and match-type planning
Keyword planning starts with how your buyers describe the service, not how your company describes it internally. A provider will usually pull ideas from Keyword Planner, your existing search terms if the account has history, your sales notes and competitor ads.
Match type then sets how loosely Google can interpret each keyword:
- Exact match covers the same meaning and close variants. The tightest control over what you show for.
- Phrase match allows extra words around the meaning of your phrase.
- Broad match lets Google match related searches, and it leans heavily on your conversion tracking to decide what is related.
Small budgets usually start with phrase and exact. Broad match gets tested once conversion tracking is reliable and negative lists are in place.
What you hand over at the start
- Access to your Google Ads account, and Microsoft Advertising if you use it, through a manager account link or a user invite.
- Access to Google Tag Manager and GA4, or to whoever manages your website.
- A list of the services you want to advertise, with any you want left out.
- The areas you serve, if you do not cover the whole country.
- A monthly ad budget you are comfortable with.
- What counts as a lead for you: a form fill, a booked meeting, something else.
- Words and claims you want avoided, and any competitor names not to bid on.
- A contact who can answer questions and approve ad copy.
If you have no account yet, create it yourself under your company email so it belongs to you from day one.
Questions about search ads management
Who decides the ad budget?
You do. A provider can explain how daily campaign budgets work, how search volume and click prices affect spend, and how to split money between services. Ad spend is billed by Google or Microsoft to you, and you can lower or pause it in the account.
Can you take over an account someone else built?
Yes. The work usually starts with an audit of the existing structure, keywords, negatives, conversion actions, bid strategy and settings such as search partners and location targeting. From there the partner suggests what to keep and what to rebuild. Existing history is worth keeping where it is sound.
Does sending the form commit me to anything?
No. Your request is passed to a service partner who does the work. They will ask about your accounts, services and budget, then agree scope and quote you directly. Nothing is agreed until you accept their terms. See how it works for the steps.
Send your request with a work email and a few notes about the campaigns you have in mind.
Request pricingOther services
Feed advertising
Ads in social feeds for people who were not searching yet. A partner plans the creative, audiences and tracking.
Landing page tests
Two versions of a page run against each other once there is enough traffic, with changes logged so you can see what moved.
Tracking and CRM
Measurement and lead handling set up around the tools you already use, with access kept in your name.