What search ads management covers
Search ads appear when someone types a query into Google or Bing and one of your keywords matches it. Management is the ongoing work around those ads: choosing the searches you want to appear for, writing the ads, setting bids and budgets, and reading what people actually typed before they clicked.
Most small and mid-sized businesses start with Google Ads and add Microsoft Advertising later, often by importing the Google campaigns and adjusting them. The accounts stay in your name. A provider works inside them with access you grant, and you can remove that access whenever you like.
Google and Microsoft run the auctions and decide how often an ad shows. Management controls the inputs: keywords, match types, negative keywords, ad text, assets, conversion tracking and spend limits.
What search ads work usually includes
The exact scope is agreed with the service partner, but most search engagements cover these pieces:
- An audit of the existing account, or a clean build if there is none.
- Keyword research and a plan for match types by campaign.
- A starting list of negative keywords, added to every week after launch.
- Responsive search ads with several headlines and descriptions, plus sitelinks, callouts and structured snippets.
- Location, language, network and schedule settings checked one by one.
- Conversion actions set up and tested, usually through Google Tag Manager.
- Bidding and budget settings matched to how much conversion data the account has.
- A regular pass through the search terms report.
- A short written summary of changes and what to watch next.
What you hand over at the start
- Access to your Google Ads account, and Microsoft Advertising if you use it, through a manager account link or a user invite.
- Access to Google Tag Manager and GA4, or to whoever manages your website.
- A list of the services you want to advertise, with any you want left out.
- The areas you serve, if you do not cover the whole country.
- A monthly ad budget you are comfortable with.
- What counts as a lead for you: a form fill, a booked meeting, something else.
- Words and claims you want avoided, and any competitor names not to bid on.
- A contact who can answer questions and approve ad copy.
If you have no account yet, create it yourself under your company email so it belongs to you from day one.
Questions about search ads management
What are negative keywords?
Negative keywords stop your ads showing for searches you do not want, such as job searches, training courses or services you do not offer. They are added from the search terms report, which lists the real queries behind your clicks. Most managed accounts add to the negative list every week.
Who decides the ad budget?
You do. A provider can explain how daily campaign budgets work, how search volume and click prices affect spend, and how to split money between services. Ad spend is billed by Google or Microsoft to you, and you can lower or pause it in the account.
How do I know what changed in my account?
Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising both keep a change history you can open yourself. A provider should also send a plain summary of what they changed, why, and what they are watching next. If you only receive charts with no notes, ask for the reasoning behind the changes.
You keep the accounts and the data. Ask a service partner to quote the hands-on work.
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