What AI actually changed in Google Ads (and what it did not)
Smart Bidding, broad match, and Performance Max in 2026. Why automated bidding still requires human negative-keyword discipline.
Blog
What the campaigns teach, written down.
Working notes from local-service accounts: the tracking mistakes that hide where money actually lands, the campaigns shops run on faith, and the number that turns an ad report into a business decision. Every piece is short enough to read before a call and useful enough to keep after it.
- 15 working notes
- I reply within 12 hours.
- Working notes, not tips
What you will find here
Short notes that answer the questions owners actually ask.
The common thread: how to know what your advertising dollars bought, and how to make them buy more. If a piece leaves you with a question, that question is worth bringing to the call.
Running Google Ads yourself vs paying someone: the honest comparison
Time, skill requirements, and budget threshold trade-offs when managing your own account versus hiring an operator.
Smart Campaigns: an honest review for local service business owners
An objective analysis of what Google Smart Campaigns handle well, where they leak budget, and when to upgrade to standard Search campaigns.
How Google Ads Quality Score affects what you actually pay
Ad Rank mechanics explained in plain language: expected CTR, ad relevance, and landing page experience.
Why I work month-to-month and what that costs me
The honest trade-offs of month-to-month agreements: why performance must keep the client, not a 12-month lock-in.
What a Profit Ledger is, and how it differs from a campaign report
The single-page monthly reconciliation: money in, money out at its verification tier, and a verdict.
The difference between tracking and reporting
Tracking records what happened; reporting is what someone chooses to show you. How the gap between them eats ad budgets.
Three questions to ask anyone who wants to manage your ad budget
The exact questions an owner should ask to separate operators accountable to revenue from managers accountable to impression reports.
Why cost per lead is the wrong metric for a local service business
Cost per lead is a reporting convenience, not a business number. The arithmetic that turns a $45.00 lead into a $229.59 paying customer.
How job value changes what you should pay for a click
Comparing roofing and HVAC replacements to detailing and cleaning. Why a $40.00 click is cheap in one vertical and ruinous in another.
Recurring service customers cost more to win and are worth it
How subscription and contract value in pest control and house cleaning alter acceptable acquisition cost targets.
Emergency vs scheduled work: why one budget cannot cover both
Why plumbers, HVAC technicians, and electricians waste money when emergency callouts share a campaign with scheduled installs.
The negative keyword checklist I run before and after every launch
The three leak classes that eat local service budgets, and the recurring checklist that keeps negative lists ahead of the bleed.
What is a booked job, and why leads are not the same thing
The difference between a lead and a booked job, why a $30.00 lead becomes a $300.00 booked job, and how that changes your P&L.
The five-minute tracking audit before launch
The quick document check I run on every account before any spend: tags, conversions, and the thank-you page.
Start here
Three numbers are enough to start.
- What the last marketing attempt cost, all-in
- What a booked job is usually worth
- How many jobs you can take on now
Send what you have. A missing number is not a blocker, working it out is part of the audit. No contracts, ever. I reply within 12 hours.
Send the numbers
What is happening with your advertising?
Spend, leads, and what you suspect is going wrong. I reply within 12 hours.