Paid search that cuts the waste before it scales.
Most Google Ads accounts we audit are spending a meaningful share of budget on searches that will never buy. We find that leak, fix it, and then forecast in writing what your paid search ads should produce before we spend another dollar.
Client revenue generated through paid media
Google Ads campaigns built, audited and optimized
Search CTR on La Mesa Oktoberfest 2026
Client-owned ad accounts and data
Seven places paid search budgets quietly leak.
These are the patterns our team sees again and again when we open a new Google Ads account. Each one is fixable, and fixing them is usually the fastest ROI available.
1. Broad match with no negative keywords
Broad match can work well with smart bidding, but without a maintained negative keyword list it pays for loosely related searches such as jobs, DIY, free and competitor support queries.
2. Search Partners and Display opted in by default
New Search campaigns often include the Display Network and Search Partners. That traffic behaves very differently, and should be tested on its own budget, not mixed in.
3. “Presence or interest” location targeting
The default setting can show ads to people who are interested in your area but are not in it. For local service businesses we usually target presence only.
4. Broken or inflated conversion tracking
If page views, duplicate form fires or 10-second calls count as conversions, smart bidding optimizes toward the wrong thing. We verify tracking by hand before launch.
5. Ad-to-landing-page mismatch
Sending every ad to the homepage lowers Quality Score, raises cost per click and drops conversion rate. Each ad group gets a page that answers the exact search.
6. Budgets past the point of diminishing returns
The last 20% of a budget often costs far more per lead than the first 80%. We model that curve and move money to where the next dollar works hardest.
7. Slow lead follow-up
Paid clicks lose value by the minute. We set up instant alerts and text-back so leads are contacted in minutes, not tomorrow.
Where a leaky budget goes, and where it goes after we fix it.
Toggle to see how a typical audit reallocates the same monthly spend away from waste and toward searches that convert.
Illustrative example of a typical audit pattern, not a specific client account.
Full paid search management, built around one number.
Google Search Ads
Keyword research by intent, tightly themed ad groups, responsive search ads tested on buyer-psychology angles, and daily search-term hygiene.
Performance Max
Asset groups, audience signals and brand exclusions configured so PMax adds incremental conversions instead of cannibalizing search.
Shopping & Feeds
Product feed optimization, margin-based segmentation and ROAS targets by product tier for e-commerce and Amazon sellers.
Local & Call Campaigns
Location assets, call tracking and presence-only geo targeting for service areas, franchises and multi-location brands.
Google Ads Scripts
Custom scripts that flag budget overspend, zero-conversion search terms, broken landing pages and Quality Score drops every day.
Landing Pages & CRO
Message-matched landing pages, speed fixes and A/B tests, because the cheapest lead comes from a click you already paid for.
We don’t guess. We do the math, then we write it down.
Every paid search engagement starts with a projection built from your market’s real search volume, competitive cost per click and expected conversion rates, refined by Cheeky Merlin’s buyer-intent scoring.
Every month, we report what we predicted next to what actually happened. When reality moves, the model recalibrates, and so does your budget.
From audit to scale in four phases.
Audit
We review search terms, settings, tracking and landing pages, and quantify wasted spend in dollars, not opinions.
Predict
We build your written projection: leads, cost per lead, revenue and the budget where returns flatten.
Rebuild
Negative keyword architecture, intent-based campaign structure, verified conversions and message-matched pages.
Optimize & scale
Weekly search-term reviews, daily scripts, bid strategy tuning, and budget scaled only where the forecast supports it.
How we compare to a typical PPC agency.
blended ROAS for La Mesa Oktoberfest 2026. Google Search caught people searching for things to do and sent them straight to the ticket page, with a 23% click-through rate.
Net ticket revenue
Google Ads spend
Tickets sold
Ad cost per ticket
Paid search advertising questions, answered.
What does a paid search advertising agency do?
A paid search agency researches keywords, builds and manages ads on Google and other search engines, sets bids and budgets, tracks conversions and improves landing pages. Black X Marketing adds a written performance forecast before launch and reports actual results against it every month.
How much does paid search management cost?
Costs vary by account size and scope. New qualified clients can start with our Free 30-Day Sprint, which has a $0 agency fee; you pay only the ad spend, with a $1,500 minimum. After 30 days you decide whether to continue.
How much should I spend on Google Ads?
Start from your goal: the number of leads or sales you need, divided by your expected conversion rate, multiplied by your average cost per click. Our free Google Ads budget calculator does this for you.
What is a good ROAS for Google Ads?
It depends on your margins. A business with 50% gross margin needs at least 2x ROAS to break even on ad spend, while a 25% margin business needs 4x. Use our ROAS calculator to find your break-even point.
How do you reduce wasted spend in Google Ads?
We review search terms and add negative keywords, separate Search from Display and Search Partners, tighten location settings, fix conversion tracking, match ads to landing pages, and run daily Google Ads scripts that alert us to anomalies.
Do you use Performance Max?
Yes, when it fits. We configure brand exclusions, audience signals and clean conversion goals so Performance Max adds incremental results, and we compare it against Search to make sure it isn’t just taking credit for branded demand.
How long until paid search shows results?
Ads can generate leads within days. Expect the first 30 days to focus on removing waste and validating the forecast, with steadier improvement over 60 to 90 days as smart bidding learns from clean conversion data.
What is Cheeky Merlin’s role in paid search?
Cheeky Merlin, the predictive platform our team built, scores buyer intent and channel fit to predict conversion rates before budget is committed, then recalibrates as actual results come in. It informs where we forecast, bid and allocate spend.
Find out what your Google Ads should produce.
Send us your market and budget. We’ll return a written projection and a list of the biggest waste we expect to find, free.