Facebook or Google — which one do you need?
Fair question, and most agencies won't answer it honestly because they want to sell you both. Here's the actual difference.
Google — for people already looking
Someone types "waterproof hiking boots" into Google. They already want it. Your job is just to be there, look trustworthy, and not overpay for the click. Sales usually come faster because nobody needs convincing.
You're reading the right page →Facebook and Instagram — for people who don't know you yet
Nobody wakes up wanting a product they've never heard of. Facebook puts it in front of them. It takes longer and needs constant fresh video, but it's how you find new customers at scale.
Facebook and Instagram ads →Most stores end up doing both. If you're starting with one, start with Google — it's usually quicker to see whether the numbers work.
Sound familiar?
“I'm getting clicks but hardly any sales.”
Usually you're showing up for the wrong searches. Someone looking for a free version of what you sell will happily click your ad and never buy.
“My competitor is always above me.”
Position isn't just about paying more. Google decides partly on how relevant your ad and page look. Paying more is the expensive way to fix it.
“Google keeps rejecting my products.”
That's a Merchant Center problem — the place Google reads your product list from. It's fixable, and it's usually something small like a missing detail on your listings.
“I don't understand what I'm paying for.”
You will. We show you what each dollar brought back, in plain numbers, every month.
On Google, the money is lost in the searches you didn't mean to pay for.
Here's the thing that surprises people. Running Google ads isn't really about writing clever ads. Google mostly decides who sees what.
The skill is in what you don't show up for.
Say you sell handmade leather wallets. Google will happily show your ad to someone searching "how to make a leather wallet", or "cheap wallets under $10", or "wallet repair near me". None of those people are buying from you. All of them cost you money when they click.
Multiply that by a few hundred clicks a month and that's where budgets quietly disappear. Not in a dramatic failure — just a slow leak nobody's watching.
So the first thing we do on any account is read what people actually typed before they clicked. Then we stop paying for the ones that were never going to buy.
It's unglamorous work. It's also where most of the money is.
Where the money usually leaks.
Searches that were never going to buy
People looking for free versions, repairs, jobs, or how-to guides. They click. You pay. They leave.
Products Google won't show
If your product list has missing or wrong details, Google quietly stops showing those items. Most store owners never find out.
Paying for your own name
People searching your brand were already coming to you. Sometimes that's worth defending, often it's not. We check rather than assume.
One budget across everything
When your bestsellers and your slow movers share a budget, the slow movers eat it. Your products should not all be treated the same.
Ads pointing at the wrong page
Someone searches for a blue jacket and lands on your homepage. Most of them leave. Every ad should land where the person expected.
Nobody checking the numbers
Accounts drift. What worked in March quietly stops working in June. Without someone watching weekly, you find out from your bank balance.
Your product list is the whole game.
This is the part nobody tells small stores, and it matters more than anything else on this page.
Google doesn't read your website to work out what you sell. It reads a list of your products — names, prices, pictures, sizes, availability. That list is what decides which searches you show up for.
If the list is thin or messy, Google guesses. It shows the wrong products to the wrong people, or stops showing some products at all. You never get told. Your sales are just quietly lower than they should be.
Fixing that list is often the single biggest win available in an account, and it's usually free — it's work, not spend.
We rewrite product names so they match how people actually search, fill in the details Google wants, fix rejected products, and make sure your bestsellers get the attention.
Whether your store runs on Shopify or WooCommerce, the list works the same way.
If the product listings themselves are your main concern, we cover that in depth on our Google Shopping page.
What we actually do.
Fix your product list
Names, details, images, and rejected items — so Google shows the right products to the right people.
Stop the wasted clicks
We read the actual searches people typed and block the ones that never buy.
Set up your campaigns properly
Bestsellers, slow movers, and brand searches kept separate, each with its own budget, so nothing gets eaten.
Show your ads to people who nearly bought
Someone who viewed a product and left is your cheapest sale. We bring them back.
Check your sales are counted
If Google can't see which clicks led to sales, it can't find more buyers. We check this before spending anything.
Tell you what happened
A short monthly report in plain numbers. What you spent, what came back, what changes next.
The numbers, explained properly.
Knowing these means nobody can blind you with jargon, including us.
Cost per click
What you pay each time someone clicks your ad. Higher isn't automatically bad — a $3 click that sells is better than a 30¢ click that doesn't.
Cost per sale
What you spent in ads to get one order. Spent $300, got 12 orders? That's $25 a sale.
Return on ad spend
For every $1 spent, how many dollars come back. Spend $1, get $4, that's a 4. Simple as that.
Break-even — the one that matters
Sell something for $60 that costs you $25 to make and ship, and you have $35. If a sale costs more than $35 in ads, you're losing money on every order — even while the sales figures look healthy.
We work this out with you in week one, before spending anything.
From first call to live ads.
- 01
We look at what you've got
Your store, your products, your margins, and any ads already running. If we think Google isn't right for you yet, we'll say so.
- 02
We fix the product list
Usually the biggest job, and the one that pays for itself. Rejected items fixed, details filled in, names rewritten to match real searches.
- 03
We make sure sales get counted
Before a single dollar goes out. Everything after this depends on it being right.
- 04
We build the campaigns
Bestsellers, everything else, and brand searches kept separate with their own budgets.
- 05
We go live and watch closely
The first few weeks are about cutting waste fast. Wrong searches blocked, budgets moved toward what sells.
- 06
We report and keep going
A monthly report you can actually read, and continuous work on the feed, the searches, and the products getting shown.
Straight answers about money.
We charge a flat monthly fee
Not a percentage of your ad spend. Percentage pricing means your agency earns more when you spend more, which is a strange thing to want from the person advising you how much to spend.
Your ad budget is separate, and it's yours
You pay Google directly from your own account. That money never touches us.
There's a point below which this doesn't work yet
Under roughly $1,000 a month in ad spend there isn't enough data to learn from, so you're paying for guesswork. If that's where you are, we'll tell you honestly rather than take the work.
Three months minimum, then month to month
The first month is mostly fixing. Leaving before month three means paying for the repairs and none of the results.
Your account stays yours
Google Ads account, Merchant Center, product list, data. If we stop working together you keep all of it and nothing breaks.
Questions.
What's included in Google Ads management services?+
Fixing your product list, building and running the campaigns, blocking searches that waste money, checking your sales are counted properly, and a monthly report. We do the work ourselves — nothing is passed to someone else.
How much do agencies charge for Google Ads management?+
Most charge a flat monthly fee or a percentage of your ad spend. We charge a flat fee agreed before we start, so it doesn't rise when your budget does.
How do I choose a Google Ads agency?+
Ask three things. Do you keep ownership of the account? Is the fee flat or a percentage of spend? Who actually does the work? Vague answers to any of those tell you what you need to know.
What are Google Shopping ads?+
The product results with a photo and price that appear at the top of Google when you search for something to buy. For an online store they're usually the best-performing thing you can run.
How do I get my products listed on Google Shopping?+
You connect your store to Google Merchant Center, which reads your product list. Getting approved is where most people get stuck — rejections are common and the reasons are rarely obvious. We handle it.
How do I connect my Shopify store to Google Shopping?+
There's an official app that links the two. Connecting it is the easy part. Getting the product details right so Google actually shows your items is the part that takes work.
How much does Google Shopping cost?+
You only pay when someone clicks. What that costs depends on what you sell and who else is bidding. What matters isn't the click price — it's whether a sale costs less than your profit on it.
How long before I see results?+
Usually faster than Facebook, because people are already searching. Expect the first weeks to be about cutting waste, with clearer results by week four to six.
Should I just run the ads myself?+
If you have the time to learn it, honestly, maybe. The platform isn't hidden knowledge. Most store owners hire someone because the weekly upkeep is what actually decides results, and that's the part that gets dropped when you're busy running a business.
Do you work with new stores?+
Yes, if you're already making some sales. With no orders at all yet, the problem usually isn't ads.
Tell us what you're selling.
Send your store and where you're at. Within 24 hours you'll get an honest read on whether Google is right for you yet, and what it would cost. No long sales call.