I've run multiple small agencies over the years, each one built around a single high-converting landing page. Currently I have 3 agencies.

Never really taken Google Ads seriously. Like most, I would use the keyword planner and type in a bunch of keywords, see the CPC was £5+ and think there's no way I'm doing that.

After trial and error, including spending £90 in minutes, here's how I’m currently running Google Ads for all 3 agencies, with a lean approach:

• £25/day per campaign (enough to test with)

• Broad match keywords to start - cast a wide net early

• Extensive negative keywords at the ad group level

• 1 high-converting landing page per business

• Claude 3.7 handles all direct response copy

Most beginners avoid broad match because it can seem wild, but paired with solid negatives keywords, it gives you data you can work with. There are so many that don't even bother with negatives.

I always start with Manual CPC bidding and set a hard max CPC. Because early on, I'm not trying to scale - I'm trying to control cost per click while I collect real search data.

After a 10 days or so, I review the search terms, pull out what’s converting, and spin up tighter phrase/exact match ad groups based on what’s working.

A conversion for me is simple: name + email in a lead form. That’s it. If I get that, I can take it from there and close via video call or email.

Most campaigns fall apart cos the landing page doesn’t follow through on the promise of the ad. You can run a great headline in the ad, and then dump users on a bloated homepage with 6 CTAs and no direction.

My winning formula:

• One page.

• One offer.

• Fast load.

• Clear next step.

That's the play that consistently converts for me - across completely different industries.

Still early days on my latest campaign (my third agency is just weeks old). The beauty of this setup is it gives you fast feedback without wasting budget.

If you're just starting out get the traffic, gather the data, and iterate fast. The rest comes later.

I had a video call with the below lead this morning, not closed yet, but if it closes this will be the best 50p ever spent.