Paid advertising is the closest thing digital marketing has to a tap you can turn on and off. Need more enquiries this month? Run ads. Quiet period sorted. The trade-off is that the moment you stop paying, the traffic stops. But used correctly, paid ads are one of the most powerful tools in the kit.
This covers Google Ads (search, shopping, display) and Meta ads (Facebook and Instagram) — the two platforms that account for the vast majority of digital ad spend, and the two most relevant for most businesses.
When Paid Ads Make Sense
Paid advertising works best when:
- You need results quickly — SEO takes months; ads can drive traffic within hours of going live
- You’re testing something — a new product, a new market, a new offer. Ads give you real data fast.
- Your margins support it — if the lifetime value of a customer is high, a £30 cost per acquisition makes sense even if it feels expensive
- You have a seasonal push — Christmas, summer, end of financial year — ads let you capitalise on demand spikes you can’t predict with SEO
- You’re a new business — with no organic presence yet, ads bridge the gap while longer-term channels build
Google Ads vs Meta Ads — What’s the Difference?
These platforms work very differently, and most businesses should think about which problem they’re solving before choosing.
Google Ads captures intent. Someone searches “emergency boiler repair London” and your ad appears. They were already looking. You just need to be there.
Meta Ads create intent. You show your product or service to people who fit your target profile before they’ve thought to search for it. Better for brand awareness, reaching cold audiences, and retargeting people who’ve already shown interest.
What to Expect — Realistic Timelines
- Week 1–2: Setup, launch, initial data collection. Don’t judge results yet.
- Week 3–6: The algorithm learns. Performance often improves significantly in this window as data builds.
- Month 2–3: You should have a clear enough picture to know what’s working and what needs changing.
- Month 3+: Optimisation and scaling. This is where the return starts to genuinely improve.
Paid Ads vs Other Channels
| Google Ads | Meta Ads | SEO | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Speed to results | Days | Days | 3–12 months | Hours (if you have a list) |
| Cost structure | Pay per click | Pay per impression/click | Time + agency fees | Tool cost only |
| What happens when you stop | Traffic stops | Traffic stops | Traffic continues | Depends on list health |
| User intent | High — they searched | Low–medium — interest-based | High — they searched | Medium — they opted in |
| Scalability | High (budget dependent) | High (audience size dependent) | Limited by search volume | Limited by list size |
The Mistakes That Burn Budget
Most wasted ad spend comes from a small number of mistakes:
- Sending traffic to your homepage. Build a dedicated landing page that matches exactly what the ad promises.
- No conversion tracking. If you don’t know which campaigns are generating enquiries, you’re flying blind.
- Too broad a keyword match on Google. Broad match keywords will burn through budget on irrelevant searches. Start with phrase and exact match.
- Judging results too early. Pausing campaigns after a week because you haven’t seen bookings is how you waste the setup cost without getting the benefit.
- Ignoring negative keywords. If you’re a B2B software company, “free” and “download” should probably be on your negative list from day one.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much budget do I need to start?
For Google Ads, £500–£1,000/month gives you enough data to learn from in most industries. Below that and results are too slow and sample sizes too small to optimise properly. Meta Ads can work with smaller budgets for awareness campaigns, but for direct response you want at least £300–£500/month to test properly.
Do I need an agency or can I run ads myself?
You can learn the basics yourself — Google and Meta both have decent free training resources. For straightforward campaigns in low-competition markets, DIY is viable. For competitive industries or when significant budget is at stake, professional management usually pays for itself through better targeting, fewer wasted clicks, and faster learning cycles.
What’s a good cost per lead or cost per acquisition?
It entirely depends on your industry and what a customer is worth to you. A solicitor who earns £5,000 per case can tolerate a much higher cost per lead than a business selling £50 products. Work backwards from customer lifetime value: if acquiring a customer costs 20–30% of what they’re worth to you, that’s a healthy acquisition cost in most markets.
Google Ads or Meta first?
If you’re selling something people actively search for, start with Google — the intent is there. If you’re selling something people don’t know they need yet, or you want to target a very specific demographic, start with Meta. Most businesses eventually benefit from both, but pick the one that matches how your customers currently find solutions like yours.
How do I know if my ads are actually working?
Set up conversion tracking before you spend a penny. In Google Ads, this means tracking form submissions, phone calls, and purchases. In Meta, install the pixel and set up events. Without this, you’re measuring clicks — and clicks don’t pay the bills, customers do.
Ready to Talk?
If you want an honest audit of whether paid ads make sense for your business right now — and what a realistic budget and return might look like — get in touch.
