Google Ads

Get in front of your customers FAST

TLDR: Google Ads puts your business in front of people who are actively searching for what you offer – right now, today. Unlike SEO, which builds over time, Ads can generate leads from the moment your campaign goes live. But your results depend heavily on the quality of your website and how well your campaign is set up and managed. This page explains exactly how it works, what it costs, and what to expect.

Why Google Ads?

(When Done Right)

Most advertising interrupts people. A billboard, a Facebook ad, a radio spot – these reach people who weren’t looking for you and may have no interest in what you sell.

Google Ads is different. It puts your business in front of people who are already searching for exactly what you offer. Someone types “emergency plumber Johannesburg” or “best accountant for small business” and your ad appears at the top of Google before any organic results.

That’s intent-based marketing. The person is already in buying mode. You’re just making it easy for them to find you first.

Your Website Needs to Be Ready First

This is the most important thing you need to know and most Google Ads providers won’t tell you.

Your website is your ad’s landing page. When someone clicks your ad, they land on your site. If that site is slow, unclear, or not set up correctly, two things happen:

1. Google could charge you more. Google assigns every ad a Quality Score – a rating based on how relevant and useful your landing page is to the person who clicked. A poorly optimised site gets a low Quality Score, which drives up your cost-per-click. You pay more for the same traffic.

2. Clicks don’t convert into leads. A person clicks your ad, lands on a confusingm, low quality or untrustworthy website, and leaves. You’ve paid for that click and got nothing back. This is why we primarily run Google Ads for clients whose websites we’ve built. We know the site is technically sound, properly optimised, and built to convert visitors into enquiries.

If you come to us with an existing website, we’ll be honest with you about whether it’s ready and if it isn’t – we’ll recommend building a new one first. We don’t patch or tweak other people’s websites.

When we build, we build from scratch to ensure the site is set up correctly for both SEO and paid ads from day one.

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The Right Expectations

Google Ads is not a guaranteed lead machine.

Results depend on your industry, your location, your competition, how much you’re spending, and critically – the quality of your website and landing pages.

What we can tell you:

Campaigns typically need 4–8 weeks to gather enough data to optimise properly
The first month is often about learning – finding what works and cutting what doesn’t
A well-managed campaign in a local service niche can deliver strong, consistent leads at a low cost-per-click
More ad spend = more data = faster optimisation

Nobody can ethically promise you a specific cost-per-lead or number of enquiries. Anyone who does is guessing or lying. What we promise is transparent management, honest reporting, and a campaign that’s continuously improved based on real data.

How it works

Google Ads in 5 Simple Steps

Step 1

Google Account

When we build your website, we create a dedicated Google account for your business as part of our Foundational SEO process. Your Google Ads account lives inside that same account so there's no setup friction when you're ready to run ads.

Step 2

build campaign

We research the keywords your ideal customers are searching, write the ad copy, configure the targeting, and set your daily budget. For local service businesses, we run Search ads - text ads that appear when someone searches on Google. For online stores, we run Shopping ads that display your products with images and pricing directly in Google search results.

Step 3

Ad Spend

Your ad spend goes directly to Google - not through us. You add your payment details inside your Google Ads account and Google charges you directly, usually at the end of each month. We recommend starting at R50/day (roughly R1,500/month) to gather enough data to see what's working. You control this budget and can adjust it at any time.

Step 4

conversion tracking

Before your campaign goes live, we configure conversion tracking via Google Tag Manager - already installed on your site as part of Foundational SEO. This tracks the actions that matter: contact form submissions, phone number clicks, quote requests. Without conversion tracking, you only know how many people clicked your ad. With it, you know how many of those clicks became actual leads. This is what allows us to optimise your campaign around real results, not just traffic.

Step 5

manage and optimise

Every month we review your search term report and add negative keywords to stop irrelevant searches triggering your ad. We adjust bids based on what's performing. We monitor your Quality Score and flag any landing page issues affecting your cost-per-click. Tweak ad copy and test headlines when performance needs improving. Send you a plain-language monthly stats report so you know exactly what your money is doing - including how many leads your ads generated

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What does it cost?

Management fee: R2,000/month

Ad spend: R50/day recommended (you decide the budget) – You pay Google directly

No setup fee
No long-term contract
Cancel with 2 weeks’ notice

Your total monthly investment at the recommended starting budget is approximately R3,500/month (R2,000 management + R1,500 ad spend).

NB: As your campaign matures (or if required due to your cost per click) increasing your ad spend typically increases your results proportionally.

Google Ads Works Best Alongside SEO

SEO builds your long-term organic presence on Google – but it takes time, often months. Google Ads gives you visibility immediately while your SEO gains traction. Many of our clients run both: ads to generate leads now, SEO to reduce their dependence on paid traffic over time. Once your organic rankings are strong enough, you can scale back or stop ads entirely. That’s the goal.

Frequently Asked Questions

For questions not answered below: info@aligndesigns.co.za

How much does Google Ads cost?

There are two separate costs. Our management fee is R2,000/month – this covers campaign setup, monthly optimisation, and reporting. Your ad spend is paid directly to Google and is completely separate.

We recommend starting at R50/day (around R1,500/month) to generate enough data to optimise your campaign. You’re in control of that budget and can increase or decrease it at any time.

Do I sign a long-term contract?

No. Google Ads management is month-to-month. You can cancel with 2 weeks’ notice before your next billing cycle. There are no refunds on the current month’s management fee.

Is my Google ad spend paid to you?

No. Your ad spend goes directly to Google. You add your payment details inside your own Google Ads account and Google charges you separately – usually at the end of the month. We never touch your ad budget unless you approve it.

What types of ads do you run?

For local service businesses (plumbers, electricians, medical practices, contractors, etc.) we run Search ads - text ads that appear at the top of Google when someone searches for your service. For online stores, we run Shopping ads that display your products with images and pricing directly in Google search results.

Will Google Ads work for my business?

Google Ads works well when someone is actively searching for your product or service and there’s a clear intent to buy or enquire. It works best for local service businesses, professional services, and e-commerce. It’s less effective for very low-margin products, businesses with a low average transaction value, or highly niche services with very low search volume in your area.

What if I already have a website built by someone else?

We’ll take an honest look at your existing site. If it’s technically sound, properly optimised, and built to convert visitors, we can discuss running ads. In most cases, websites not built with SEO and ads in mind result in higher costs per click and lower conversion rates. In those cases, we’ll recommend building a new website first – not to upsell you for the sake of it, but because a poor landing page actively costs you money on every single click.

Why do you only build websites from scratch?

We don’t edit or patch existing websites built by other developers because we can’t verify how they were built or whether they meet the technical standards needed for SEO and Google Ads performance. When we build, we control the entire foundation: hosting, speed, on-page SEO, conversion structure, so we can stand behind the results.

How long before I see results from Google Ads?

Your ads can go live within days of setup. However, Google’s algorithm needs time to learn which searches, times of day, and audiences perform best for your campaign. The first 4–8 weeks are typically an optimisation phase. Most clients start seeing consistent, quality leads from month 2 onwards, though this varies by industry and ad spend.

Can you guarantee results?

No, and be cautious of anyone who says they can. Results depend on factors that no agency fully controls: your industry’s competition level, your ad spend, your website quality, and Google’s algorithm. What we guarantee is a well-structured campaign, honest monthly reporting, and ongoing management that gets better over time.

What’s the difference between Google Ads and SEO?

SEO builds your organic presence on Google over months and years. Google Ads puts you at the top of Google immediately, but you pay for every click. SEO is the long game – Google Ads bridges the gap while you wait for organic rankings to build. Used together, they create a complete Google presence: paid traffic now, organic traffic growing in the background.