Be the answer when they search.
Google Ads management for South African businesses — built to capture people who are already looking for what you sell, and measured on enquiries rather than clicks.
Why Google Ads rather than social media?
Because the intent is already there. Someone typing "burst geyser Benoni" is not browsing — they have a problem now and are choosing who to call. Social media has to interrupt people and build interest; Google Ads only has to be present at the moment somebody is already looking.
They're already searching
You are not convincing someone they have a need. You are answering a question they have just typed, which is a far shorter distance to a sale.
It works quickly
Campaigns can produce enquiries in the first week, where organic social and SEO take months to compound.
You can turn it up or off
Busy month? Pause it. Quiet quarter? Increase it. Few marketing channels give you a tap you can actually control.
Why do Google Ads campaigns waste so much money?
Four reasons, and Google's default settings cause three of them: ads shown for searches that will never buy, no negative keywords filtering the rubbish out, traffic landing on a page that cannot convert, and no conversion tracking to reveal any of it. The account still reports plenty of clicks throughout.
Paying for the wrong searches
Broad matching shows your ad to people looking for "free", "DIY" or "jobs". They click, you pay, and they were never going to buy.
No negative keywords
The unglamorous work of listing what you do not want to appear for is what separates a controlled budget from a leaking one.
Sent to the wrong page
An ad for one service pointing at a homepage offering eight. You paid for the click and then made the visitor go looking.
No conversion tracking
Without it, Google optimises for clicks because clicks are all it can see. You get traffic, and no idea which of it turned into work.
What does Google Ads management include?
Setting the account up so it can only spend well, then keeping it that way: keyword and negative keyword research, ad writing, conversion tracking, and ongoing adjustment based on which searches actually produce enquiries. Campaigns are not set-and-forget — the ones left alone are the ones that quietly drain budget.
Keyword research, both ways
The searches worth appearing for, and just as importantly the ones worth blocking. Both lists get revisited as real search data comes in.
Ads written to qualify
Ad copy that states what you do, where you do it and roughly what it costs, so the wrong people scroll past instead of clicking.
Conversion tracking first
Calls, forms and WhatsApp messages tracked before the first rand is spent, so Google optimises toward enquiries rather than clicks.
Managed, not parked
Search terms reviewed, wasteful ones blocked, budget moved toward what is working. That ongoing pruning is most of the value.
Which kind of campaign do I need?
For most service businesses, Search is the whole answer. If you sell products online, Shopping puts them in front of buyers with prices attached. Retargeting is worth adding once there is enough traffic to retarget — not before.
Search
Text ads against what people type. The workhorse for trades, professional services and anyone solving an urgent problem.
Shopping
Product listings with image and price, pulled from your online store. Buyers compare before clicking, so the clicks you pay for are better qualified.
Retargeting
Bringing back people who visited and left without enquiring. Cheap per click, but only worth running once traffic justifies it.
How does a campaign get set up?
Tracking before traffic, always. The first month is partly a learning period — real search data tells us which terms produce enquiries and which need blocking, and the account gets meaningfully better once that data exists.
Find the searches
What your buyers actually type, what those clicks cost, and whether the numbers can work at your job value. If they cannot, we say so before you spend.
Set up properly
Campaigns, ad groups, ads and negative keyword lists built from that research — in your own account, not one we keep.
Wire up conversions
Calls, forms and messages tracked and tested before launch, so the first month produces real numbers rather than click counts.
Prune and adjust
Search terms reviewed regularly, waste blocked, and budget shifted toward the campaigns producing enquiries. Reported monthly.
What does Google Ads management cost?
Management starts at R3 500 a month, and every price below is excluding ad spend — your budget goes straight to Google and we take none of it. What moves up the range is how many campaigns and keywords are being run, and how much ad spend the plan manages.
Basic Google Ads
Start Google Ads fast, built for smaller budgets, tracking real leads.
- 1 campaign (search / display)
- 10–12 core keywords
- Up to 4 ad variations
- Budget management: up to R5 000
- Conversion tracking setup
- Monthly report + actions
Standard Google Ads
For steady lead flow, with more testing, control and optimisation.
- Up to 3 campaigns
- 20+ keywords + negatives
- 6–8 ad variations
- Budget management: up to R10 000
- A/B testing (top ads)
- Detailed monthly report
Premium Google Ads
For scaling businesses: full strategy and scaling to improve ROI.
- Up to 5 campaigns
- 50+ keywords + long-tail
- 10+ ads + extensions
- Budget management: up to R20 000
- Remarketing + CRO input
- Report + competitor notes
Google Ads questions we get asked most.
Enough that the campaign can gather data rather than trickle. Work backwards from your numbers: what a job is worth, and how many enquiries become jobs. Our plans are built around managing ad budgets up to R5 000, R10 000 and R20 000 a month respectively, so the plan follows the budget rather than the other way round. If a click in your industry costs more than your maths can carry, we will tell you that before you spend, not after.
No. Your budget goes directly to Google and we take none of it. Our fee is separate and quoted upfront, so we have no incentive to push you toward spending more than the results justify.
Yours. The account is set up in your name with us given access, so the campaign history, conversion data and audiences stay with you if we part ways. Agencies keeping clients' ad accounts is common and worth asking any agency about.
Often in the first week, since the demand already exists. The first month is still partly a learning period though — real search data shows which terms to keep and which to block, and the account gets noticeably more efficient after that.
Their representatives are helpful but they work for Google, and their suggestions tend toward broader matching and higher budgets. That grows spend reliably; it does not always grow enquiries. Take the call, but check any recommendation against your own conversion data before applying it.
We can, but you would be paying twice — once for the click and again for the visitor who leaves. If the audit shows the page is the problem, we will point you at a landing page or the website first, even though that delays the ads work.
Yes. We are based in Gauteng and run Google Ads for businesses across South Africa, including Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban. Campaigns are targeted to wherever you actually serve.
Already running ads and unsure they're working?
Give us access and we'll go through the account: what you're paying for, which searches are wasting money, and whether conversions are being tracked at all. No charge, and you keep the findings whether or not you use us.