Josiah Roche — Google Ads + SEO Training

Your website can load for you while Google refuses to run your ads.

If the rejection says "Destination not working", opening the homepage isn't much of a test.

Google's ad checker may be getting an error you never see.

Or it could be following a broken tracking link before it reaches the page.

So ask your ads person for the exact error and the full link Google checked.

That link can include tracking added to your landing page address.

Give both to your web developer, rather than just saying the website works.

They can check whether the problem's a broken redirect, a server failure or a security rule blocking Google's request.

If it's a security rule, fix that specific block instead of switching off the site's protection.

Then have them repeat Google's check on desktop and mobile before appealing the rejection.

A successful test still needs Google's review, so check the ad's status afterward.

Keep your ads person involved until it's approved to run again.

Otherwise, the developer can finish their fix while the affected ads stay off.

#GoogleAds

support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16428019

1 hour ago | [YT] | 0

Josiah Roche — Google Ads + SEO Training

More Black Friday sales don't automatically mean Google Ads should pay more for each click.

Sales can go up because more people are shopping, while the proportion of visitors who buy stays the same.

That's the distinction to check before adding a seasonality adjustment.

The setting tells Google's bidding system to expect a temporary change in how often clicks turn into sales or enquiries.

Google already accounts for normal seasonal events, so the date alone isn't enough reason to add one.

Ask your agency what evidence supports the increase they're entering.

Have similar offers previously made a bigger share of visitors buy, or did they mostly bring more people to the site?

And are they applying that expectation only to the campaigns promoting the offer?

A short clearance sale could justify an adjustment if you've got a sound reason to expect a big change in buying behaviour.

Google recommends the tool for short events, usually one to seven days.

Then compare what actually happened with what you told Google to expect, allowing time for the sales to be recorded.

Keep that result for the next promotion, so the same optimistic estimate doesn't get copied into every sale.

#GoogleAds

support.google.com/google-ads/answer/10369906

1 day ago | [YT] | 0

Josiah Roche — Google Ads + SEO Training

If you increase your Performance Max budget to get more Google Search leads, some of that extra money could go to YouTube.

Performance Max can run ads across both, alongside other Google platforms.

And Google's new channel priority controls don't give Search its own priority setting within that campaign.

Search, YouTube, Maps, Gmail and Discover sit together in a group called "Google channels".

So putting that group first doesn't tell Google to favour Search over YouTube.

You can give the whole group priority over Search partners and the Display Network, but that's a different decision.

If you want to reach more people actively searching for your service, ask your agency to show you a Search campaign plan, including the searches, ads and pages they'd use.

They might still have a good reason to recommend Performance Max alongside it.

But ask what job each campaign is meant to do before agreeing how to divide the budget.

#GoogleAds

support.google.com/google-ads/answer/18385152

2 days ago | [YT] | 0

Josiah Roche — Google Ads + SEO Training

If your team can quote and deliver the job in Spanish, why are all your Google Ads in English?

You could be testing another language in the area you already serve.

Google's AI translation tool can turn an eligible English (US) Search campaign into a separate Spanish campaign.

It's still a beta, but it gives you a starting point for the ads and keywords, with an option to translate the landing page too.

I'd put that draft in front of the person who speaks to your Spanish-speaking customers.

Ask whether those are the words customers actually use when they ask for the service.

Then have them go through the page, send an enquiry and check the reply.

The ad might sound natural while the booking confirmation arrives in English.

And check who answers the phone when your Spanish-speaking team member's busy.

Sort that out before paying to bring people through it.

Start with one service your team can handle in Spanish and give it a separate test budget.

Google copies the original campaign's budget, so check that amount before switching the new one on.

Then review the enquiries with that same team member.

If the right people are calling but aren't buying, listen to where the conversation gets stuck before changing the ads again.

#GoogleAds

support.google.com/google-ads/answer/17218209

3 days ago | [YT] | 2

Josiah Roche — Google Ads + SEO Training

You could be advertising a discount you never put in Google Ads.

Google can pull an offer straight from your website and add it to eligible ads.

The feature's called Automated promotions.

It covers Search and Performance Max campaigns using location assets to show your business address, where no manual promotion is running.

So the person changing offers on your website needs to talk to whoever runs your ads.

Agree on what the discount covers, who qualifies and when it ends before putting it on the site.

Then check what Google has added under Promotion in the Assets report, labelled Google AI.

If you need to choose the exact offer and its dates, set up a manual promotion instead.

Google skips campaigns that already have one running.

Or switch off Automated promotions in the account-level automated asset settings if you don't want Google sourcing offers from your site.

I'm happy for Google to help more people see a good offer.

But the business should choose which offer it wants to pay to promote.

And ending it needs to include the website, because Google can re-enable a sourced promotion while it can still verify the offer there.

Give one person responsibility for ending the promotion across the site and the ads, so customers don't have to find out from your sales team that the deal's over.

support.google.com/google-ads/answer/18057626

#GoogleAds

4 days ago | [YT] | 0

Josiah Roche — Google Ads + SEO Training

Your Google Ads lead booked a call.

Now give them more reason to turn up than another calendar reminder.

They might still be comparing you with someone else.

So use the page after booking to answer something that could hold up their decision.

Start with the questions your sales team keeps having to explain.

Pick one and record a short answer, with evidence they can see.

If customers worry about disruption, show how you manage it during an actual job.

A customer explaining how you handled it beats another "great service" review.

Put that answer below the appointment details, where someone can watch it straight away.

Then send the relevant video before the call, based on what they told you when booking.

Don't bury it in a whole library they have to work through.

Keep the reminders, but test whether this also gets more people attending and buying.

If the same concern keeps coming up, ask what the video didn't answer.

The call can then focus on their situation, rather than repeat the explanation from every other call.

jeremyhaynes.com/backend-selling-system-to-increase-show-rates-close-rates-and-sales-call-quality/

5 days ago | [YT] | 0

Josiah Roche — Google Ads + SEO Training

Don't approve a $200 Google Ads budget test unless you're comfortable with a $400 day.

Google treats that $200 as an average daily budget.

For most campaigns using that budget type, Google can charge up to twice the amount in a day.

And lowering the budget again doesn't undo the higher limit for that day.

If you raise it from $50 to $200, then put it back to $50, the daily limit can still be $400.

The lower budget still changes how Google serves your ads, but that higher limit can remain.

That doesn't mean Google will spend $400, and your monthly spending limit still applies.

But "we'll put it back if it doesn't work" isn't enough to limit what that test could cost.

So work backwards from the most you're willing to be charged that day.

For those campaigns, if $200 is your maximum, don't set the daily budget above $100.

support.google.com/google-ads/answer/10487143

6 days ago | [YT] | 0

Josiah Roche — Google Ads + SEO Training

Someone asking for a free quote isn't asking for a free kitchen.

If you sell kitchens, that difference is worth keeping in your Google Ads.

A broad-match negative for "free" blocks both "free kitchen quote" and "free kitchen units".

Google applies the exclusion to the word, not to what the person wants for free.

I'd ask one question before keeping that exclusion.

Are we trying to avoid giving free quotes, or giving away products?

If quotes are part of your offer, blocking those requests before you've tested them could mean excluding customers you actually want.

Instead, replace the blanket "free" exclusion with an exact-match negative for the unwanted full search, such as "free kitchen units".

That removes that particular search without excluding "free kitchen quote" as well.

You might still find the quote enquiries aren't worth what they cost.

If they don't turn into worthwhile jobs, you've got a reason to stop paying for them.

The quote is free for the customer, not for you.

Count your quoting time as well as the ad spend when you decide whether those jobs are worth winning.

support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2453972

1 week ago | [YT] | 0

Josiah Roche — Google Ads + SEO Training

You can fill all 15 Google Ads headline slots and still give people no reason to choose you.

Search for your main service and read the ads next to yours.

If everyone's saying "Trusted Local Experts", "Your Trusted Local Team" isn't going to help you stand out.

You're competing for the same person's attention with almost the same words.

So before writing another version, look for proof your competitors aren't putting in their ads.

For a kitchen installer, that could be "300+ Kitchens Installed" or "480+ Happy Homeowners", provided those claims are backed up.

Now you're showing experience delivering the thing someone's about to spend their money on.

That's a stronger reason to click than another business calling itself trusted.

Or if you agree the price before starting a job, try "Fixed Price Before We Start".

That's a different promise from "Affordable Quality Service".

You're giving someone a reason to notice your ad and an expectation of what they'll get after clicking.

Use numbers and stronger words to make that promise specific, not to dress up the same generic claim.

And only use promises your business can keep.

If the ad says the price is fixed before work starts, the page and sales conversation need to back that up.

Then test whether the different wording brings in the enquiries you actually want, rather than judging it on clicks alone.

Getting noticed is the first job, but you still want people clicking for the right reason.

Give your copywriter the competitors' ads alongside yours, not just a request for 15 more headlines.

They need to see what your ad has to compete with, not just how many empty boxes are left.

support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7684791

1 week ago | [YT] | 1

Josiah Roche — Google Ads + SEO Training

If you're booked out for a month, stop paying for people who need you tomorrow.

Someone needing an urgent repair could be a perfectly good customer for your business.

But if you can't get there when they need you, neither of you gets much from the enquiry.

That doesn't mean every Google Ads campaign needs switching off until you're quiet again.

Separate the work people need immediately from the work they book in advance.

A planned project gives someone time to compare quotes and organise the job before it starts.

You can still advertise that work while you're busy, provided you're upfront about when you can take it on.

Put your actual availability in the ad and on the page, rather than waiting until someone calls to tell them.

And stop promising a same-day service when the diary says otherwise.

When the dates you're advertising fill up, update the offer or reduce the spend for that work.

Keep whoever runs your ads in the loop, because they can't see your job calendar from Google Ads.

That gives them something more useful to act on than "we're busy, turn everything off".

The question becomes which jobs you still want to book, and for when.

Then you're paying to fill the gaps ahead, instead of paying for conversations that end with "sorry, we can't help".

support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/15937063

1 week ago | [YT] | 0