Where search ads sit in your lead flow
Search ads are the first step. Someone searches, sees your ad, clicks, and lands on a page with a form. What happens after the click matters as much as the ad itself, so search work usually touches two other pieces.
- The page and form people land on. A mismatch between ad and page is one of the most common problems in small accounts. See landing pages and forms.
- The tracking and follow-up behind the form, so a click can be tied to a real request in your CRM. See lead tracking and follow-up.
Search ads management covers the account itself: keywords, negatives, ads, bids, budgets and conversion actions in Google Ads or Microsoft Advertising.
Bidding, budgets and conversion actions
These three settings are linked, and most problems in small accounts come from one of them being out of step with the others.
Conversion actions come first. Each one counts an event, such as a quote form submission. Only the events you would call a lead should be marked primary, because automated bidding learns from whatever is marked primary.
Bidding can be manual or automated. Automated strategies such as Target CPA need a steady flow of conversions to work; a new account with little data often starts on manual or enhanced CPC and moves later.
Budgets are set per campaign as a daily average. Google can spend above that on a busy day and below it on a quiet one, so the manager checks spend against the month rather than the day.
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
Do I need both Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising?
No. Most accounts start with Google Ads because it carries most US search volume. Microsoft Advertising can be added later, often by importing the Google campaigns and then adjusting settings. Whether it is worth the extra upkeep depends on your buyers and budget, which the service partner can talk through with you.
What counts as a conversion?
Whatever you decide is a lead, set up as a conversion action in Google Ads. For most B2B sites that is a completed quote form. Smaller actions such as page views can be recorded but should not be marked primary, because automated bidding learns from primary conversions.
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.
Want a price for ads, landing pages or tracking? One short form covers all of it.
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LinkedIn for B2B
Targeting by job title, industry and company size, with lead gen forms that flow into your CRM instead of a spreadsheet.
Landing pages
Pages written and built to match each campaign, on a tool you can edit later, checked on mobile before traffic arrives.
Conversion tracking
Google Tag Manager, GA4, the Meta pixel and the LinkedIn Insight Tag set up, tested and documented in your accounts.