When a client asks about Google Ads: what to say
A short script for web studios. Five questions to ask back, the three answers that are usually right, the one that is usually wrong, and what to hand over if the answer is yes. Free, no form, written to be forwarded.
The client is not really asking about Google Ads
“Should we do Google Ads?” almost always means one of three other things: the phone is quieter than I expected, a competitor showed up above me, or someone cold-called me and I want a second opinion. If you answer the literal question you end up giving a channel recommendation to a business you know mostly through its brand colours.
The better move is to ask a few questions back. They take two minutes, they make you look like the person who understands the business rather than the person who made the website, and they usually settle the answer without anyone guessing.
Nothing below requires you to know how Google Ads works. It requires you to know your client, which you already do.
- 1“What happened that made you think about it?” The answer tells you which of the three real questions you are dealing with.
- 2“When someone calls today, where did they hear about you?” If the client does not know, tracking is the first job, not ads.
- 3“What is one new customer worth to you, roughly?” Under a couple of hundred dollars, paid search is a hard sell. Over a thousand, it is usually worth a proper try.
- 4“Who answers the phone, and how fast?” Ads that ring a voicemail are the most common way a small business decides Google Ads “doesn’t work”.
- 5“What could you spend for two months without it hurting?” Not the budget, the comfort level. It decides whether a test is even possible.
If you only ask one, ask the second. A business that cannot say where its calls come from is not ready to buy traffic from anyone.
Three that are usually right, one that is usually wrong
Match the client to the closest one. You do not need to be sure; you need to be honest about which way you are leaning and why.
“Not yet. Fix the basics first.”
Right when they cannot say where leads come from, the Business Profile is half empty, or nobody reliably answers the phone. Ads would only make the leak more expensive. Tracking and the profile come first, and they are cheap.
“Yes, as a two-month test with a number on it.”
Right when a new customer is worth real money, the phone gets answered, and there is a budget they can lose without flinching. A defined test with a written report beats an open-ended “let’s try it”, every time.
“Probably not for you, and here is why.”
Right when the customer value is low, the market is tiny, or the competition is national brands with bottomless budgets. Saying this earns more trust than any campaign would. It is also rare enough to be worth saying clearly.
“Sure, we can run it for you.” (usually wrong)
Unless paid search is a real service line in your studio, running one client’s ads on the side is how a good web relationship turns into a monthly argument about lead quality. Hand it over instead, to someone who does one thing and will not try to become the client’s agency.
What to say, more or less word for word
Adjust the names and the tone. The structure is the useful part: acknowledge, ask, lean, hand over.
When the phone is quiet
“That is a fair thing to raise, and it is usually not a website problem or an ads problem on its own. Before anyone spends money I would want to know where your current calls come from, because right now I do not think either of us knows. Let me put you in touch with someone who sets that up properly and then tells you, honestly, whether ads are worth it for you. They do not build websites and they will not try to change yours.”
When a competitor showed up above them
“Chances are that is a paid ad, not a ranking, which is a different game with a different price. Whether it is worth playing depends on what a new customer is worth to you and how fast the phone gets answered. I know someone who will scope that in half an hour and give you a written answer, including ‘no’ if that is the right answer. They work with a few studios like ours and they stay in their lane.”
When someone cold-called them
“Be careful with anyone who promises leads before they have looked at your numbers. The thing to ask them is how they track a phone call back to an ad, and what happens to the account if you stop paying. If you want a second opinion, I can introduce you to someone we trust who will tell you what a sensible first test looks like and what it should cost, with no retainer attached.”
When you have no idea
“Honestly, I do not know, and I would rather say that than guess with your money. What I can do is get you a real answer. Give me a day and I will send you an introduction to someone who does this all day, who will scope it with you and put the recommendation in writing. Whatever they say, you will know more than you do now.”
What to hand over, and what not to promise
The hand-over should be a defined piece of work, not a “let’s see”. Ours is the Google Launch Package: tracking installed and tested, the Business Profile completed to match the site, one properly built Search campaign, and a written report at 60 days that says continue or stop. It is priced per site, the client’s ad spend goes to Google directly, and there is no retainer on the end of it unless the numbers earn one.
Whoever you hand it to, the three things worth insisting on for your client are the same: conversion tracking wired before the first dollar is spent, a budget agreed in writing that does not creep, and a written recommendation at the end that is allowed to say “stop”. Anyone who resists those is selling something other than results.
The one thing we would ask a studio not to promise is a number. Not leads per month, not a cost per lead, not a rank. You did not build those and you cannot control them. “They will tell you what happened, honestly, in 60 days” is the promise that always holds.
- Say“A two-month test with a written report.” Not “let’s try some ads”. A test has an end and a verdict; a try has neither.
- Say“Your ad spend goes to Google, the fee is separate.” Clients relax when they hear the money is not pooled with someone’s invoice.
- Say“They do not build websites.” It answers the question the client is quietly asking, which is whether the introduction is you passing them on.
- Avoid“SEO takes time.” True, and it lands as a deflection. Ask the five questions instead; they take the same two minutes and end somewhere.
Forward this page to the client if it helps. There is nothing on it we would not say to them directly.
Want a name to give them?
The package, the referral terms and the non-solicit we sign before we see anything are all on one page. Start with the client who is asking now.
See the Google Launch Package for studios