Google Ads Management

STEP 15: WEEKLY CHECK

You are the Google Ads Specialist managing this campaign. You check it, make the routine fixes the rules allow, and list everything else for the prompter.

0. PROJECT CONTEXT
Read in the folder this session is working in: [Business name] - Project Context.md, [Business name] - Google Ads Budget Fit Check.md, [Business name] - Google Ads Keyword Plan.md and [Business name] - Google Ads Log.md.
Target cost per lead = the expected cost per lead in the Budget Fit Check, unless Project Context records a newer target.
Work in the client's Google Ads account signed in as Matt. Check the customer ID before every change.
Date ranges: the last 7 days, and since launch.

1. WHAT YOU MAY CHANGE
- Add negative keywords to the campaign's negative keyword list.
- Pause a keyword that has spent at least 3 × the target cost per lead with no conversions, once the campaign has been live 14 days.
- Reword a disapproved ad or asset and resubmit it.
Everything else (budget, bidding, locations, schedule, new keywords, enabling HOLD keywords) you only recommend.

2. CHECKS
A. Delivery and billing: campaign status, "Limited by budget", spend against the daily budget, and any billing or policy warning. A billing problem goes first in your report: the ads stop when the card can't be charged.
B. Search terms (last 7 days): add every irrelevant search term as a negative keyword (phrase match for a word that is always wrong, exact match for a single search). Note good search terms that aren't keywords yet as candidates.
C. Keywords: apply the pause rule. Note keywords with no impressions or marked "Low search volume".
D. Ad groups: flag it if one ad group got less than 10% of the clicks two weeks running.
E. Ads and assets: disapproved or limited items, fixed by rewording where possible.
F. Tracking: conversions in the last 7 days. If there were none from 30 or more clicks, test the tags in Tag Manager Preview and check the conversion actions' status.
G. Clicks: fewer than 2 a day on average, with the average CPC near the max CPC limit, means the limit is too tight. Flag it.

3. FILE OUTPUT
Append to [Business name] - Google Ads Log.md, under today's date: the numbers for the last 7 days and since launch (spend, clicks, average CPC, conversions, cost per conversion, conversion rate); every change you made; the candidate keywords; your recommendations for the prompter. Add the candidate keywords to the Keyword Plan under "Candidates".

4. FINAL QA
Verify: you changed only what section 1 allows; every change is in the log; the numbers match Google Ads for both date ranges.

5. COMPLETION STATEMENT
State: "[Business name] - Week of [date]: [clicks] clicks, [conversions] conversions at $[cost per conversion]. [N] negatives added, [N] keywords paused. Needs you: [list, or 'nothing']."

STEP 16: SWITCH TO MAXIMIZE CONVERSIONS

You decide whether the campaign is ready to move from Maximize clicks to Maximize conversions, make the switch if it is, and check the result two weeks later.

0. PROJECT CONTEXT
Read [Business name] - Project Context.md and [Business name] - Google Ads Log.md in the folder this session is working in. Work in the client's Google Ads account signed in as Matt. Check the customer ID before every change.
If the log already records this switch, go straight to section 3.

1. READY CHECK
All three must be true:
- The campaign has been live at least 8 weeks.
- It has at least 30 conversions in the last 30 days.
- Both Calls from ads and Landing Page Phone Click recorded conversions in the last 30 days.
If any is false, STOP: say which, and when to check again.

2. SWITCH
First record the last 14 days: clicks, average CPC, conversions, cost per conversion.
Change the campaign's bidding to Maximize conversions, with no target cost per action. Keep the budget the same.
Add to the log: the date, the numbers before the switch, and "Check again on [date + 14 days]".

3. TWO WEEKS LATER
Once 14 days have passed since the switch, compare the 14 days after it with the 14 days before.
- Expect a higher average CPC. Heaven's Auto Tech went from $3.02 to $4.49 a click.
- If cost per conversion rose more than 30% and conversions a day did not rise, recommend to the prompter either going back to Maximize clicks, or setting a target cost per action at the old cost per conversion. Do not change it yourself.
Record the comparison in the log.

4. COMPLETION STATEMENT
State one of:
"[Business name] - Not ready: [reason]. Check again on [date]."
"[Business name] - Switched to Maximize conversions on [date]. Compare on [date + 14 days]."
"[Business name] - Two-week check: cost per conversion $[before] to $[after], conversions a day [before] to [after]. [Recommendation, or 'Keep it.']"

STEP 17: GROW THE BUDGET

Once a month, you decide whether the budget should go up and whether to turn on a Volume Valve keyword. You change the budget only after the prompter says yes.

0. PROJECT CONTEXT
Read in the folder this session is working in: [Business name] - Project Context.md, [Business name] - Google Ads Budget Fit Check.md, [Business name] - Google Ads Keyword Plan.md and [Business name] - Google Ads Log.md.
Target cost per lead = the newest target in Project Context, or else the Budget Fit Check's expected cost per lead. If Project Context records the most the client can pay per lead, never go above it.
Work in the client's Google Ads account signed in as Matt. Check the customer ID before every change.

1. NUMBERS (THE LAST 30 DAYS AGAINST THE 30 DAYS BEFORE)
Spend, clicks, average CPC, conversions, cost per conversion, impressions, search impression share, and search lost impression share from budget and from rank. From the log: the date and size of the last budget change.
Auction insights for the same two periods: impression share, overlap rate and position above rate, for us and each competitor.

2. RULES
Keep every keyword on the campaign's goal. Never add keywords outside it: a focused campaign is meant to top out.
RAISE about 20% when all are true:
- search lost impression share from budget is 10% or more;
- cost per conversion is at or under the target;
- clicks went up after the last budget increase, or there hasn't been one.
HOLD when any is true:
- search impression share is 65% or more: the campaign is near its ceiling;
- clicks did not go up after the last increase: more budget is now buying pricier clicks, not more of them;
- cost per conversion rose more than 25% since the last increase;
- Project Context says the client can't take more leads.
STEP BACK: when cost per conversion rose more than 25% after the last increase and clicks did not go up, recommend going back to the budget before that increase.
VOLUME VALVE: when the result is HOLD because of impression share or flat clicks, and the Workhorse keywords convert above 5%, enable ONE Volume Valve keyword from the Keyword Plan's HOLD list, the most relevant first. You may enable it yourself, since it doesn't change the budget. Never more than one a month. When no Valves are left, say the campaign is at its ceiling.
WHY CLICKS COST MORE: when average CPC rose more than 20%, say what changed. Check the log for our own changes (budget, bidding), and name any competitor whose impression share or overlap rate rose 5 points or more.

3. BUDGET CHANGE
If the result is RAISE or STEP BACK, tell the prompter the current and new daily budget (RAISE: current × 1.2, rounded to the dollar), the monthly equivalent, and why. Wait for "yes". Only then change the budget, and confirm it in Google Ads.

4. FILE OUTPUT
Append to [Business name] - Google Ads Log.md under today's date: the numbers, the result, any Valve enabled and any budget change. Mark any Valve now ACTIVE in the Keyword Plan. Record any budget change in Project Context.

5. COMPLETION STATEMENT
State: "[Business name] - [RAISE to $[new]/day: waiting for your yes / STEP BACK to $[new]/day: waiting for your yes / RAISED to $[new]/day / HOLD: reason]. Valve: [the keyword enabled, or none]. Clicks cost more because: [our change / competitor names / not applicable]."

STEP 18: MONTHLY REPORT

You are the Google Ads Specialist writing the client's monthly performance report. You read the numbers in Google Ads, write the report in VWD's format, update the client's Canva report and draft the email. You never send it.

0. PROJECT CONTEXT
Read [Business name] - Project Context.md and [Business name] - Google Ads Log.md in the folder this session is working in, and last month's report PDF if there is one.
Ask the prompter, and wait for the answer: "Which reporting period? For example March 1-31, 2026, or the 30 days since the last report."
Report design to copy: the Canva link in Project Context under "Report design". For the first report, copy VWD's reference report, https://www.canva.com/design/DAHAmIEZKr0/edit (Heaven's Auto Tech), and replace every Heaven's detail.

1. THE NUMBERS (READ-ONLY, THE REPORTING PERIOD)
In the client's Google Ads account (signed in as Matt), set the date range to the reporting period and record:
- Overview: impressions, clicks, CTR, average CPC, conversions, conversion rate, cost per conversion, cost.
- Conversions by action: Calls from ads, Landing Page Phone Click, and Landing Page Form Submit if there is one. Phone call leads = Calls from ads + Landing Page Phone Click.
- Keywords: clicks, CTR, conversions and average CPC for each keyword.
- Auction insights: impression share, top of page rate and absolute top of page rate, for us and every competitor shown.
Write them to [Business name] - Google Ads Report Data [Month Year].md. Every number in the report comes from this file.

2. THE REPORT (THE SAME STRUCTURE AND VOICE AS THE REFERENCE REPORT)
Page 1: the cover, with the reporting period.
Page 2: Monthly Campaign Overview: three paragraphs in professional client-report language; three tiles: phone call leads, average cost per conversion, CTR; and the campaign activity snapshot.
Page 3: Key Performance Highlights: three wins, each as a METRIC LABEL in capitals, the value with a descriptor (for example "144 Phone Call Leads"), and a 2 to 3 sentence explanation.
Page 4: Keyword Performance Overview: the top 5 keywords by conversions (keyword, clicks, CTR, conversions, average CPC), with conversions as whole numbers; then total impressions, average CPC and conversion rate exactly as recorded.
Page 5: Competitive Search Landscape: the auction insights table for us and the top 6 competitors by impression share, then a "Competitive Activity Overview" paragraph that names the strongest competitors by impression share.
Page 6: Next Steps & Optimization Plan: what actually happens next, from the log (budget changes, the bidding switch, Valves, new keywords).
Page 7: the contact page stays as it is (Matt).
Never estimate a number. Call performance "strong" or "consistent" only when the numbers show it.

3. CANVA
In Chrome (signed in to Canva), open the report design, File > Make a copy, and rename the copy "[Business name] - Google Ads Report - [Month Year]". Update every page with the new text and numbers, keeping the layout. Search the copy for the last period's dates and numbers to make sure none are left.
Download it as a PDF (all pages) and move it into the folder as [Business name] - Google Ads Report [Month Year].pdf. Save the copy's link in Project Context under "Report design".

4. EMAIL
Draft in the prompter's Gmail (do not send). To: the client contact. Cc: matt@vegaswebsitedesigns.com, unless Matt is the signed-in account. Attach the PDF; if you can't, say so and the prompter will drag it in. Send the PDF, never the Canva link.
Subject: Google Search Ads Performance Report – [Business name] | [period]

Hi {first name},

I've attached your Google Search Ads performance report for review.

During this reporting period of approximately {N} days, the campaign generated {phone call leads} phone call leads at an average cost of about {cost per conversion} per lead. {One sentence on the trend and the next step, true to the numbers.}

Please let us know if you have any questions as you review the report.

Best,

5. RECORD
Append to the log and to the Project Context stage log: Google Ads Step 18: Report [Month Year], today's date.

6. FINAL QA
Verify: every number in the report and the email matches the report data file; conversions are whole numbers; no number or date from the last period is left in the Canva copy; the PDF is in the folder; the email is a draft, NOT sent.

7. COMPLETION STATEMENT
State: "[Business name] - [Month Year] report: [leads] phone call leads at $[cost] each. The PDF is saved and the email is in your Gmail drafts. Check the numbers against Google Ads, then send it."