9 Questions to Ask Before Running Google Ads for the First Time

Last updated: 28 August 2026

Google Ads can generate leads fast, or burn through budget fast, and the difference usually comes down to groundwork done before the first campaign goes live. Here are nine questions worth answering honestly first.

1. Does my website actually convert visitors already?

Paid traffic to a website that doesn't convert organic visitors won't magically convert any better, it'll just be more expensive click for click. Ads amplify what's already there, good or bad. Check with our free website review tool first.

Answer: If your organic conversion rate is poor, fix the website first, ads will only expose the problem faster and more expensively.

2. Do I know my actual cost per enquiry target?

Without knowing what you can afford to pay for a lead and still be profitable, there's no way to judge whether a campaign is working or quietly losing money. Part of Test & Measure.

Answer: Work out your maximum viable cost per enquiry from your margins before setting a daily budget.

3. Have I got tracking set up to see which ads actually lead to sales?

Click and impression numbers from the ad platform itself look good by design. Only proper tracking back to your CRM and real enquiries and sales tells you the truth.

Answer: Set up conversion tracking that connects clicks all the way through to a genuine enquiry or sale before spending anything.

4. Am I bidding on keywords people actually use to buy, not just describe my industry?

Broad industry terms often attract browsers and researchers, not buyers. Specific, intent-driven keywords cost more per click but convert far better, worth checking against your SEO keyword research too.

Answer: Start narrow on high-intent keywords and expand only once you know what converts.

5. Is my budget enough to actually learn anything?

A budget too small to generate meaningful data just produces noise, a handful of clicks tells you almost nothing reliable about what's working in paid ads.

Answer: Set a minimum test budget you're comfortable spending for at least a month before judging results.

6. Do I understand what happens to a lead after they click?

An ad that generates a call nobody answers, or a form that sits unread for three days, wastes every pound spent getting that click in the first place, a Lead Generation gap hiding behind an ads problem.

Answer: Map out exactly what happens the moment someone clicks or enquires, and fix any gap before launch.

7. Have I checked what my competitors are actually doing in this space?

Bidding blind against competitors who've been refining their Google Ads for years is expensive. A quick look at what they're running tells you what you're up against.

Answer: Search your own target terms and see what ads and offers competitors are already running.

8. Am I prepared to let a campaign run long enough to actually judge it?

Google's own algorithm needs a learning period, and pulling a campaign after three days because it "isn't working" usually just means it never had the chance to.

Answer: Commit to a minimum fair trial period, usually 4-6 weeks, before deciding whether a campaign is genuinely underperforming.

9. Do I have someone who'll actually manage and adjust it, not just switch it on?

Google Ads left entirely on autopilot after setup tends to drift toward waste. The businesses that do well check in and adjust regularly, they don't set and forget, whatever your arrangement looks like.

Answer: Decide upfront who's responsible for reviewing and adjusting the campaign weekly, even if that's an agency, not just who switches it on.

What to do with this list

We run this exact checklist with every client before their first Google Ads campaign goes live. It's a lot cheaper to answer these questions than to learn them from a burned budget.

See how we approach paid ads →
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