How to Do PPC: Set Up Your First Google Ads Campaign

To do PPC, open a Google Ads account, set up conversion tracking first, then build one Search campaign around a single service: tightly themed keywords, two responsive search ads per ad group, a landing page that matches, and a daily budget you can afford for at least a month. Then read the search terms every week and cut what does not convert.

That is the short version. Below is the long one, written for UK business owners and in-house marketers running their first campaign. Platform details come from Google Ads Help and the UK price rules from the CAP Code, checked in November 2026. Where we use numbers in examples, they are illustrations, not results from a client account.

Key takeaways

• PPC (pay-per-click) is advertising where you pay each time someone clicks your ad. For most UK businesses, that means Google Ads Search campaigns first.
• Set up conversion tracking before you spend a pound. Without it you cannot tell a good keyword from an expensive one.
• Start narrow: one campaign, one service, a handful of ad groups. Broaden only once you have data.
• Your real monthly ceiling is the daily budget multiplied by 30.4, and a single day can cost up to twice the daily figure.
• Consumer-facing ads that quote prices must normally include VAT under the CAP Code.

What do you need before you start PPC?

You need four things in place before launching: a page worth sending paid traffic to, a way to measure enquiries or sales, a clear idea of what a customer is worth to you, and a budget you can leave running long enough to learn from.

The landing page matters more than most first-timers expect. If the page is slow, vague or asks for too much, every click costs the same and returns less. A page built around one service, with the price or price range, proof and a short form near the top, gives the campaign a fair chance. If your current site cannot do that, fix the page first; our website team builds pages with paid traffic in mind.

Then do the maths on customer value. If an average job is worth £600 in profit and roughly one in four qualified enquiries turns into a job, you can afford to pay up to £150 per enquiry and still break even. That figure becomes your target when you later move to conversion-based bidding.

How do you do PPC step by step?

The setup follows the same order every time: account, tracking, research, structure, ads, settings, launch, review. Skipping ahead to the ads is the most common mistake we see when we audit accounts that were set up in a hurry.

1. Create the account. New users go through Google’s guided sign-up, which asks for business details, a campaign goal and budget, then payment details. The guided flow recommends a campaign for you; read each screen rather than accepting the suggestions on autopilot, because you want a Search campaign you can control.
2. Set up conversion tracking. Create conversion actions for form submissions, calls and purchases. You can tag your site directly or import key events from GA4. Google notes that after linking accounts or marking a key event, it can take 24 to 48 hours before the import option appears in Google Ads.
3. Research keywords. Use Keyword Planner (in the Tools menu) to get search volume and forecasts for the phrases your customers use. Very low-volume keywords may not show data at all, which is normal for niche B2B terms.
4. Group keywords into ad groups. One ad group per tight theme, such as “boiler repair” and “boiler installation” kept apart, so each ad and landing page can speak to one need.
5. Write responsive search ads. Each ad takes up to 15 headlines of 30 characters and up to 4 descriptions of 90 characters, with a minimum of three headlines. Google mixes them, so every line must make sense on its own.
6. Choose the settings. Location, language, networks, ad schedule, bidding and budget. Each is covered below.
7. Add negative keywords. Before launch, exclude the obvious mismatches: jobs, courses, free, DIY, or competitor names you do not want to pay for.
8. Launch and leave it alone for a week or two. New campaigns go through a learning phase, and Google advises against significant changes to targeting, ads or bidding during that period.

How should you structure your first Google Ads campaign?

Keep the first campaign small: one Search campaign for your most profitable service, three to five ad groups, and 5 to 20 keywords per ad group. A small structure gathers data faster because the budget is not spread across dozens of themes.

Here is an example for a fictional plumbing firm with a £20 daily budget. It shows the shape, not a template to copy word for word.

Notice what is missing: no Display, no brand campaign, no Performance Max. Those can come later. If you want a fuller tour of campaign formats before you choose, our guide to the different kinds of PPC campaigns compares them side by side.

Which keyword match types should a beginner use?

Start with phrase and exact match on your core terms, and add broad match only once conversion tracking is working and you are ready to let Smart Bidding steer it. Broad match is Google’s default, so you have to choose otherwise on purpose.

• Broad match (typed plainly, e.g. boiler repair): ads can show on related searches, including ones that do not contain your words.
• Phrase match (in quotes, e.g. “boiler repair”): ads show on searches that include the meaning of your keyword.
• Exact match (in square brackets, e.g. [boiler repair]): ads show on searches with the same meaning or intent.

Smart Bidding uses Google AI to set a bid in each auction based on the likelihood of a conversion. On a brand new account with no conversions recorded, broad match plus Smart Bidding has little to learn from, which is why we usually begin tighter and loosen up over time.

Which campaign settings matter most?

Location, networks, bidding and budget decide where your money goes, so check them before you write a single ad. The defaults are built for reach, not for a small business protecting its budget.

Location

By default, Google targets people in, regularly in, or showing interest in your chosen locations (“Presence or Interest”). If you only serve people physically in your area, review the advanced location options and consider “Presence” instead. Exclude areas you cannot serve.

Networks

Search campaigns can also show on Google’s search partner sites. Leave them on or off as a deliberate choice, then judge them later on their own conversion data in the segment report.

Bidding

Google says most people start with Maximise Clicks or Manual CPC. Maximise Clicks is the simplest automated option; Manual CPC lets you set maximum bids yourself. Once you have steady conversions, move to Maximise Conversions or Target CPA. Google states that Smart Bidding strategies need a 7 to 14-day learning phase to stabilise.

Budget

Google can spend up to twice your average daily budget on a busy day, but over a billing period you will not be charged more than 30.4 times the daily figure. So a £20 daily budget means up to £40 on any one day and a ceiling of £608 a month. Google’s bid and budget help page explains the rule in full. For a realistic view of what UK businesses spend on clicks and management, see our breakdown of PPC costs in the UK.

How do you write PPC ads that get clicked?

Write headlines that repeat the searcher’s need, state a concrete reason to choose you, and give a clear next step. Generic claims like “best service” or “high quality” tell the searcher nothing and blend in with every other ad on the page.

Practical rules we follow when writing responsive search ads:

• Use your keywords in the headlines, as Google recommends, so the ad visibly matches the search.
• Give each headline a different job: the service, the proof, the offer, the area, the action.
• Use specifics you can back up: response times, opening hours, accreditations you actually hold, guarantees you honour.
• Pin headlines sparingly. Pinning limits the combinations Google can test.
• Match the landing page. If the ad says “fixed price”, the page must show the price.

UK rules apply to ads too. Under rule 3.18 of the CAP Code, quoted prices must include non-optional taxes, so consumer ads should show VAT-inclusive prices. VAT-exclusive prices are allowed only when everyone the ad addresses can recover VAT or pays none, and even then the VAT amount or rate must be stated prominently.

What should you check in the first 30 days?

Check spend and search terms within the first two days, then review weekly. Early checks catch broken tracking and wasted searches before they eat the month’s budget.

Our separate list of Google Ads checks ranked by priority goes deeper on ongoing management once the first month is behind you.

Should you run PPC yourself or hand it over?

Run it yourself if you have a few hours a week, a modest budget and one or two services to promote. Hand it over when the account grows past what you can review weekly, or when spend is high enough that small inefficiencies cost more than a management fee.

Use this checklist to decide:

• Can you commit two to three hours every week to reviewing search terms, bids and ads?
• Is conversion tracking set up and tested, including calls if the phone matters?
• Do you know your break-even cost per enquiry or sale?
• Are you comfortable reading the search terms report and adding negatives?
• Is your monthly spend small enough that a 10 to 20 percent waste would not hurt?

Five yeses: run it yourself and revisit in three months. Two or more noes: get help, at least for setup. ProntX manages Google Ads from £450 a month plus VAT, with ad spend paid straight to Google, a rolling monthly contract, and the account kept in your name. If you would rather have the whole setup and weekly management handled, see how our Google Ads management works.

How does ProntX approach a first campaign?

We start with measurement, not ads. ProntX sets up and tests conversion tracking, builds a small Search campaign around the service with the best margin, and reviews search terms weekly from day one. Nothing broadens until the data supports it.

Every account stays yours: if you stop working with ProntX, you keep the campaigns, the history and the tracking. If you already run PPC and want a second opinion before spending more, our PPC audit looks at settings, tracking and wasted spend.

Ready to get started properly? Talk to ProntX about managing your Google Ads campaigns, or ask for a free growth audit and we will record a short personal video review of where your spend is going.