To set up Google Ads for a local business, create your account without the automatic campaign, set up conversion tracking, then build a Search campaign with your location set to people in your area, Search Partners and the Display Network switched off, phrase- and exact-match keywords grouped by service, negative keywords, and responsive search ads with call and location assets. We recommend at least $500–$1,000 a month in ad spend so there's enough data to learn from.
This guide walks through those steps in the order we use on new client accounts, including the settings where Google's defaults tend to waste a beginner's money. It's written for service businesses (clinics, trades, auto shops), not online stores. If you'd rather have it done for you, see our Google Ads management for local businesses.
What is pay-per-click (PPC)? Google Ads is pay-per-click advertising: your ad can show when someone searches for what you sell, and you pay only when someone clicks it. You set a daily budget and Google charges against it (Google Ads Help).
Before you start
You need five things before you open an account:
- A page that can take enquiries. Your website, or a single landing page, with your phone number, a contact or booking form, and your services clearly listed. Ads can't fix a page that doesn't convert.
- A Google account you'll keep using for the business (not a staff member's personal account).
- A monthly budget for the ads themselves, separate from any management fee. See how much management costs and what the ads cost.
- A list of your services, ideally ranked by how much each customer is worth to you.
- Your service area: the neighbourhoods, cities or radius you actually serve.
Set aside an uninterrupted block of time. Most of the work is preparation (keywords, negatives, ad copy), not clicking through settings.
Step 1: Create your account without the automatic campaign
When you sign up, Google's setup flow offers to build a campaign for you. You don't have to accept it: Google lets you create the account first and skip the campaign (Google Ads Help). We recommend doing exactly that, then building a Search campaign yourself.
The automatic option creates a Smart campaign, and Smart campaigns can only be created in Google's simplified Smart Mode (Google Ads Help). In our experience, they give you little control over which searches you pay for, which is the main thing a local business needs to control.
Step 2: Set up conversion tracking first
A conversion is an action that matters to your business: a phone call, a form, a booking. Google Ads can count calls from your ads, calls to the number on your website, actions on your site such as forms and bookings, and offline sales you upload (Google Ads Help).
The old version of this guide left tracking until the end. We now do it first, because:
- Without it, you can't tell which keywords bring customers and which only bring clicks.
- The bid strategies that optimize for customers need it. Maximize conversions, for example, can't be used without conversion tracking (Google Ads Help).
For a local service business, track at least: calls from the ad, calls from the website, and completed contact or booking forms. Count only real enquiries, not page views.
Step 3: Choose a Search campaign
For a first campaign, choose Search. Search ads show when someone types a query such as "windshield repair Toronto", so you reach people who already want the service.
Other campaign types can wait:
| Campaign type | Where ads show | For a first local campaign? |
|---|---|---|
| Search | Google search results | Yes. You choose the searches and see exactly what you paid for |
| Performance Max | Search, YouTube, Display, Maps, Gmail and more, chosen by Google | Later, once tracking is reliable and Search is profitable |
| Display | Banner ads on websites and apps | Rarely. Good for awareness and remarketing, weak for urgent local needs |
| Smart | Simplified, automated ads | We don't recommend it (see Step 1) |
Step 4: Set location targeting correctly
Location targeting decides who can see your ads. Two settings matter:
Where. Target the area you actually serve: a radius around your shop or clinic, or a list of cities, neighbourhoods or postal codes. A downtown Toronto clinic that draws clients from a few kilometres away shouldn't pay for clicks from across the GTA.
Who counts as "in" that area. Under the advanced location options, Google offers two choices (Google Ads Help):
| Option | Who it reaches |
|---|---|
| Presence or interest (Google's default and recommendation) | People in or regularly in your area, plus people who have shown interest in it, wherever they are |
| Presence | Only people who are in or regularly in your area |
Google recommends the default, and for travel or real estate it can make sense. For a local service business, we set Presence: someone in Calgary researching Toronto rarely needs a Toronto windshield repair today.
Step 5: Turn off Search Partners and the Display Network
In the campaign's Networks settings there are two boxes to check:
- Google search partners. These are other search sites that show Google's ads. When you create a Search campaign, search partners are included by default, and you can opt out at any time (Google Ads Help).
- Display Network. Ticking "Include Google Display Network" turns on Display Expansion, which spends unused Search budget on banner placements across the Display Network (Google Ads Help).
For a first campaign, untick both. You want every dollar on Google search, where you can see the searches you paid for. Once the campaign is converting, you can test search partners on their own and compare the cost per enquiry.
Step 6: Pick keywords and match types
Build one ad group per service, each with its own keywords and ads. For a windshield repair shop in Toronto, that might look like this:
| Ad group | Example keywords |
|---|---|
| Windshield replacement | "windshield replacement toronto", [windshield replacement near me], "replace windshield" |
| Chip and crack repair | "windshield chip repair", [rock chip repair toronto], "windshield crack repair" |
| Calibration | "adas calibration toronto", "windshield camera calibration" |
Match types control how closely a search must match your keyword (Google Ads Help):
- Broad match (Google's default for new keywords): ads can show on searches related to your keyword, even without its words.
- Phrase match, written in quotes, "windshield repair": searches that include the meaning of your keyword.
- Exact match, written in brackets, [windshield repair]: searches with the same meaning or intent.
For a first local campaign we start with phrase and exact match. Broad match without good conversion data and negative keywords tends to match searches you'd never pay for on purpose. Write your keywords with quotes or brackets, or they'll be added as broad match.
For a real example, see how we set up campaigns for SRG Auto Glass, which ran Google Ads alongside SEO and grew from 300 to 1,100 monthly users in three months.
Step 7: Add negative keywords before launch
Negative keywords stop your ads showing for searches you don't want (Google Ads Help). Add a starter list before launch, at the campaign level:
| Theme | Example negatives | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Jobs | jobs, hiring, salary, career | Job seekers |
| Free and DIY | free, diy, how to, kit, youtube | Not looking to hire anyone |
| Training | course, training, school, certification | Want to learn the trade |
| Wrong service | (depends on you) e.g. "home windows" for an auto glass shop | Same words, different business |
The settings we change on every new account: location option set to 'Presence', Search Partners and the Display Network off, auto-applied recommendations off, conversion tracking tested before launch, a starter negative keyword list, and an ad schedule matched to opening hours.
Step 8: Write your ads
Search ads are responsive search ads: you write up to 15 headlines (30 characters each) and up to 4 descriptions (90 characters each), and Google tests combinations. You need at least 3 headlines and 2 descriptions (Google Ads Help).
Tips for a local service:
- Put the service and the location in several headlines: "Windshield Repair in Toronto".
- Add what makes you the easier choice: same-day appointments, mobile service, years in business, your Google rating (only if true).
- Include a clear next step: "Book online", "Call for a quote".
- Write separate ads for each ad group, so the ad matches the search.
Then add assets, which make the ad bigger and give people more ways to act:
- Call asset: your phone number in the ad, with a call button on mobile (Google Ads Help).
- Location asset: your address, usually linked from your Google Business Profile (Google Ads Help).
- Sitelinks: links to specific pages, such as each service or your booking page (Google Ads Help).
Step 9: Set your budget and bidding
Budget. We recommend at least $500–$1,000 a month in ad spend for most local businesses. Google treats your daily budget as an average: it can spend up to twice the daily amount on a busy day, but not more than about 30.4 times it in a month (Google Ads Help). A $33/day budget is about $1,000 a month. To work out your own number, try our Google Ads budget calculator, and see how much Google Ads management costs if you're comparing doing it yourself with hiring help.
Bidding. The bid strategy tells Google what to optimize for (Google Ads Help):
| Strategy | What it does | When it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Manual CPC | You set the maximum you'll pay per click | Full control while you learn; more work |
| Maximize clicks | Google gets as many clicks as it can for your budget | New campaigns without conversion data yet; set a maximum cost per click |
| Maximize conversions | Google bids for the most conversions within your budget | Once conversion tracking is working and recording real enquiries |
The old version of this guide recommended Maximize clicks on its own. Clicks aren't customers, so we only use a click-based strategy as a starting point, and move to Maximize conversions once tracking is reliable. We start new local accounts on Maximize Clicks with a maximum cost-per-click cap, and switch to Maximize Conversions after about 15–30 tracked conversions.
Step 10: Launch, then check these in the first 30 days
After launch, the first month is about removing waste. Check:
- Search terms report (at least weekly): the actual searches that triggered your ads. Add irrelevant ones as negative keywords (Google Ads Help).
- Conversions: are calls and forms being recorded? Test them yourself.
- Budget pacing: is the campaign spending its budget, and is it running out early in the day?
- Disapproved ads or assets: fix and resubmit.
- Cost per enquiry by ad group: move budget toward the services that bring customers.
We check daily in the first week (spend, disapprovals, search terms), then review search terms and budgets twice a week until day 30.
Common beginner mistakes
- Accepting the automatic campaign and its defaults.
- Launching without conversion tracking, so nobody knows what worked.
- Leaving location set to "presence or interest" for a local service.
- Leaving Search Partners or the Display Network on in a first campaign.
- Using only broad match with no negative keywords.
- Sending every ad to the home page instead of the matching service page.
- Changing everything in the first week, before there's enough data.
Already running ads? Go through our Google Ads audit checklist to find what's wasting budget.
When to get help
Doing it yourself is reasonable if your budget is under about $500 a month, you serve one area with a few services, and you have time each week to check search terms. You'll learn a lot about your customers.
It's worth getting help when your budget is large enough that wasted spend hurts, you run several services or locations, or you've run ads before without knowing what they brought in. Our Google Ads management plans cover setup, tracking and ongoing optimization.
FAQ
How much does it cost to start Google Ads?
Opening an account is free. You pay for clicks, and we recommend at least $500–$1,000 a month in ad spend for a local business. If you hire someone to manage it, their fee is on top. Our guide to Google Ads management costs breaks both down.
How long until I get leads?
A well-targeted Search campaign can bring enquiries in its first days. The first month is a learning period while you add negative keywords and see which services convert, so judge results over at least one to three months rather than the first week.
Should I use Smart campaigns or Performance Max?
For a first campaign, we start with Search: you choose the searches and can see exactly what you paid for. Performance Max can work later, once conversion tracking is reliable.
Do I need a website?
You need a page people land on after clicking. A simple landing page with your services, phone number and a form is enough to start. A slow or confusing page wastes the clicks you pay for.
Can I run Google Ads without conversion tracking?
You can, but you'll be guessing. Without tracking you can't tell which keywords bring customers, and you can't use bid strategies such as Maximize conversions. Set it up before you launch.
Next step
Want an expert to check your setup before you spend more? Get a free Google Ads quote: tell us your business, area and budget. If you already have an account, we'll review it as part of the quote and tell you what we'd change.
