Google Ads Agency Berlin: Search Campaigns Measured by Enquiries

What does a Google Ads agency do?

A Google Ads agency sets up and runs paid search campaigns, reviews them regularly and reports the results. The aim is to show your ads to people who are searching for what you offer, and to pay only for visits that have a chance of becoming enquiries.

PPC stands for pay per click, and PPC management is the regular work of keeping those campaigns efficient. In practice the work covers these tasks.

• Research into the search terms customers use, in German and, where relevant, in English.
• A campaign structure organised by service and area.
• Ad texts and landing pages that match the search.
• Negative keywords, so that unsuitable searches do not use up the budget.
• Tracking of calls and forms.
• Regular review of search terms, bids and budget, and a monthly report.

A Google Ads consultant usually advises and reviews, while a freelancer or an agency also runs the account. Digital030 does the set-up and the ongoing management, and it also reviews existing accounts. We usually start with search campaigns, because that is where people look for a service.

One service, one campaign, one landing page

Structure the account by what you sell and where you sell it. Each service gets its own campaign or ad group, and each one leads to a page about exactly that service. This keeps the search, the ad and the page saying the same thing.

As an illustration, imagine a cleaning company that offers shop window cleaning for retailers and cleaning after building work. The two services attract different searchers and have different customer values. In one campaign that points to the home page, the budget drifts toward whichever service gets more clicks. Two campaigns, each with its own page, make the costs and results of each service visible.

Areas work the same way. Show ads in the districts and towns you actually serve. An area that is too wide wastes money, and an area that is too small may show ads only rarely. Times matter as well, because ads that bring calls should run when someone answers the phone.

Negative keywords keep the budget on searches that fit

Negative keywords tell Google which searches should not trigger your ads. They are one of the quickest ways to stop money going to visitors who will never become customers.

Google may show ads for searches that are related to your keyword without being identical to it. The search terms report shows what people actually typed. Review it regularly and add the unsuitable terms to an exclusion list.

The groups to exclude depend on the business. They often include searches for jobs and training, searches for free or do-it-yourself solutions, and places you do not serve. Berlin adds one more point, which is language. A search in English and the same search in German can mean different things and have a different value for you, so check the terms in both languages and decide which ones you want.

Tracking until the enquiry, with consent

Without tracking, Google Ads can only be steered by clicks. With tracking that counts real enquiries, you can see which campaigns and search terms bring calls and forms and which only cost money.

We set up measurement for the contact routes your customers use, such as forms, phone calls, WhatsApp and booking tools. A test enquiry before launch shows whether each one is counted once and only once. The action that comes closest to a real enquiry should be the main one, and softer signals, such as a click on an email link, can be tracked separately. If you record which enquiries become customers, the report can show the cost per customer as well as the cost per enquiry.

In Germany, measurement tools that store or read information on a visitor's device generally need consent. The consent banner and the tracking set-up must therefore be built together, and what Google receives depends on what visitors accept. Some visitors will decline, so the numbers will undercount real enquiries, and your own phone and form records fill the gap. Our guide to website legal requirements in Germany covers the basics. This is not legal advice, and a data protection specialist should check the final set-up.

How do you work out a Google Ads budget backwards?

Start from the result you want and work back to the money. You need four numbers that you can estimate before the first click. They are the new customers you want each month, the share of enquiries that become customers, the share of clicks that become enquiries and the price of a click.

The numbers below are invented for illustration. They are not benchmarks for any industry and not an expectation for your business.

1. Goal of 6 new customers a month.
2. If 1 in 4 enquiries becomes a customer, you need 24 enquiries (6 divided by 0.25).
3. If 1 in 20 clicks becomes an enquiry, you need 480 clicks (24 divided by 0.05).
4. If a click costs €2.50, the ad budget is €1,200 a month (480 times €2.50).
5. That is €50 for each enquiry and €200 for each customer.

In scenario B a weaker landing page doubles the budget for the same goal, and in scenario C pricier clicks raise it. For this reason the page, the price per click and the follow-up of enquiries deserve as much attention as the budget itself. Replace each number with your own to see whether the case holds.

Our usual recommendation for performance marketing is an ad budget of at least €500 to €1,000 per month. In competitive sectors such as solar or real estate we usually recommend more, around €2,000 and above. Below that range a campaign collects data slowly, so decisions rest on very few clicks. We work through the calculation for your offer in the first call.

Ad budget and agency fee are two separate costs

Your total cost has two parts. The ad budget goes to Google for the clicks. The agency fee pays for the work of setting up, managing and reporting. Both should be stated separately in the quote, so you can see what is spent on media and what on work.

Digital030 does not publish fixed prices. The fee depends on the number of services, areas and campaigns and on how much support you need. After a free first call of 30 minutes you receive a quote.

The account itself should belong to your company. We recommend that it is created under your company and that the agency is linked to it, with at least two people on your side holding administrator access. If the account runs under the agency, you may lose its history and settings when you leave. For more questions to ask any provider, see how to choose a marketing agency in Germany.

What does an audit of an existing Google Ads account cover?

If a campaign already runs, start with an audit. It reviews the account in a fixed order and shows where money is lost before anything is changed. Digital030 begins with a free audit of existing accounts, points out potential savings and then takes over ongoing management if you want that.

• Tracking. Does each enquiry count exactly once, and is the right action the main one?
• Structure. Is there a campaign for each service and area, or one catch-all campaign?
• Search terms. Which real searches triggered ads, and were unsuitable ones excluded?
• Negative keywords. Is there a list on campaign and account level, and is it maintained?
• Ads. Do the headlines and descriptions match the page they lead to?
• Bids and budget. Does the bidding strategy fit the amount of data available?
• Landing pages. Are they fast, usable on a phone and clear about how to make contact?
• Ownership. Whose account is it, and who has administrator access?

The order matters. Tracking comes first, because without reliable counting every other decision is a guess. Search terms and exclusions often show the fastest savings, and bids and budget come last.

When Google Ads do not pay off

Google Ads are not the right tool for every business, and a good agency says so. These situations usually point to waiting or to another channel.

• Few people search for what you offer. Social ads or referrals may fit better.
• You do not know what a customer is worth or how many enquiries become customers. Without these numbers, any budget is a guess.
• Enquiries are answered slowly. Clicks cost money, and slow follow-up turns them into waste.
• There is no page that matches the offer. Build the page first.
• The service area is very small. Google may then show ads only rarely.

If you can run Google Ads yourself, we tell you that too. If you also want a stronger organic presence, read about SEO in Berlin, and keep in mind that a good website lifts both channels.

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