PPC Services

PPC Advertising for Small Business

PPC Advertising That Stops Burning Your Budget on Empty Clicks

Most small businesses try Google Ads, watch the budget disappear, and assume paid search doesn't work for them. It does when someone builds campaigns around your actual margins and tracks what turns into revenue, not just clicks.

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Outcomes & Deliverables

What PPC Looks Like With Lakeside

We deliver qualified leads on a predictable timeline with clear cost-per-lead you can actually measure -- here are the outcomes and the work behind them.

Results you can expect

Faster lead flow while SEO ramps up

Lower wasted ad spend

Higher conversion rate on paid traffic

Clear reporting tied to business outcomes

What we deliver

Account structure and targeting strategy

Keyword and negative keyword management

Ad creative and offer testing roadmap

Landing page optimization recommendations

Call and form conversion tracking setup

Bid strategy and budget pacing management

Search term and placement quality controls

Weekly optimizations with monthly strategy reviews

What to Watch Out For

Expensive Mistakes
We Help You Avoid

Most growth stalls come from preventable problems. We catch these early so you can focus on building your business, not recovering from bad marketing.

"Broad targeting with weak intent filters"

"No negative keyword discipline"

"Sending paid traffic to generic pages"

"Measuring clicks instead of booked calls"

"Set-and-forget account management"

100+

Websites Launched

$14M+

Client Revenue Tracked

5.0

Google Rating

10+

Years Experience

“Jamie developed the site exactly how we needed it. They get what we do and built us something that actually works for our operation. Couldn't ask for better.”
Dell H.
Owner, Hune Freight

5.0Google Rating

See how this plays out in your market

We built dedicated strategy pages for each city so you can see local context, competitive notes, and clear next steps.

Milwaukee PPC Advertising Chicago PPC Advertising

You tried Google Ads, watched $2,000 disappear, and decided PPC doesn't work

Sound familiar? You set up a campaign (or someone set it up for you), picked some keywords, wrote a quick ad, and pointed it at your homepage. Clicks came in. Money went out. The phone didn't ring any more than usual. So you pulled the plug and figured paid search just isn't for small businesses.

Here's the thing: it almost certainly wasn't the channel that failed. It was the setup. Broad match keywords triggering your ad for irrelevant searches. No negative keyword list. Landing pages that weren't built to convert paid traffic. No call tracking, so you couldn't even tell which clicks produced real leads.

We see this story constantly. The good news is that when PPC is set up right (tight targeting, strong landing pages, real tracking), it's one of the fastest ways to generate qualified leads for a local business. You can have calls coming in this week, not six months from now.

We build campaigns around your margins, not just your budget

Not all leads are worth the same. A $500 carpet cleaning job and a $15,000 kitchen remodel need very different PPC strategies. We start by understanding which services have the strongest margins and the best close rates, then we build campaigns around those first. That way, every dollar works harder.

We also set realistic expectations on cost per lead. In some markets, a qualified lead costs $30. In competitive spaces like legal or home services, it can be $150+. We model this out before we spend a dime so you know what to expect. You can decide if the math works for your business before committing.

This isn't about spending the most. It's about spending smart. A well-run campaign with $500/month can outperform a messy one at $3,000/month. We've seen it happen more times than we can count.

Campaign structure built around your highest-margin services
Negative keyword management to block irrelevant clicks from day one
Custom landing pages designed to convert paid traffic into real leads
Call tracking and form attribution so every lead is accounted for
Weekly optimization with monthly strategy reviews

Your landing page is where ad money is made or wasted

Sending paid traffic to your homepage is like paying for a billboard that points to a mall. People land, look around, get confused, and leave. Every PPC campaign needs a focused landing page that matches the ad's promise, answers the visitor's top questions, and gives them one clear action to take.

We build landing pages specifically for paid campaigns. Clean headline that matches the search term. Proof elements (reviews, credentials, photos) visible without scrolling. A form that's short enough to actually fill out, or a phone number that's impossible to miss. No navigation links to distract. Just the conversion path.

The difference between a good and bad landing page can easily be 2-3x in cost per lead. We've seen landing page improvements cut cost-per-lead in half without changing the ad spend at all.

We track calls, not just clicks. You'll see the difference.

Most PPC reports tell you how many clicks you got and what you spent. Ours tell you how many calls came in, how many form submissions were qualified, and what your actual cost per lead is. That's the number that matters for your business decisions.

We set up call tracking with unique numbers so every phone call from a PPC ad is logged and attributed. We track form submissions with event tags. And we review lead quality regularly. Because 50 leads that never close are worth less than 10 that become customers.

This level of tracking also helps us optimize faster. When we can see which keywords produce real conversations (not just clicks), we shift budget toward what works and cut what doesn't. Your campaigns get smarter every week.

Cost per qualified lead
Conversion rate by campaign
Search impression share on core terms
Call quality and close rate trends
Return on ad spend by service line

PPC and SEO work better together. Here's why.

The best local marketing strategies use PPC for immediate lead flow while SEO builds long-term visibility. PPC gives you data fast: which keywords convert, which messages resonate, which services get the most demand. That data feeds directly into your SEO strategy.

Over time, as your organic rankings improve, you can scale back PPC spend on terms where you already rank well. The budget shifts to new opportunities, new markets, or higher-margin services. It's a cycle that gets more efficient every quarter.

We manage both channels for many of our clients because the coordination matters. When your PPC landing page and your organic service page tell the same story with the same proof points, buyers trust you faster regardless of how they found you.

Frequently asked questions

How much should I spend on PPC per month?+

It depends on your market and goals. We've run effective campaigns starting at $500/month in ad spend. We model expected cost-per-lead before you commit so you can decide if the math works for your business.

How quickly will I see leads from PPC?+

Almost immediately. Unlike SEO, PPC can generate calls and form submissions within the first week. The first month is about tuning — getting the targeting right so lead quality improves week over week.

Why did my previous Google Ads campaigns fail?+

Usually it's broad targeting, no negative keywords, generic landing pages, and no conversion tracking. We fix all four from day one. PPC works — it just needs the right setup.

Do you build landing pages for PPC campaigns?+

Yes. We build focused landing pages that match each ad's promise with one clear action. Sending paid traffic to your homepage is one of the most expensive mistakes in PPC.

How do you track whether PPC leads actually become customers?+

We set up call tracking, form event tagging, and lead-source attribution. You'll know exactly which campaigns produce calls, which produce form fills, and what your real cost per lead is.

Can I run PPC and SEO at the same time?+

Absolutely — and we recommend it. PPC gives you instant data on which keywords convert. That data makes your SEO strategy smarter. As organic rankings grow, you can shift PPC budget to new opportunities.

Free Consultation

Ready to turn your site into your best lead source?

Tell us what you need. We'll show you what's possible, what it costs, and what to do first, straight answers, free consultation.

30-Minute Strategy CallClear Pricing & TimelineHonest Advice, No Obligation