Podcast Summary: The Paid Search Podcast, Episode 487

Episode Title: PPC Basics - Building Your First Campaign
Host: Chris Schaeffer, Certified Google Ads Specialist
Date: November 10, 2025

Overview

In this episode, Chris Schaeffer tackles the essentials of setting up your very first (or next “first”) Google Ads campaign. The episode serves as a practical guide for beginners and those who’ve struggled with previous campaigns, emphasizing simplicity, qualified traffic, and avoiding the all-too-common pitfall of equating increased spend with guaranteed business success. Chris offers step-by-step advice and a refreshingly honest perspective on Google’s current marketing language, aiming to demystify "investment" in Google Ads and focus on what’s truly controllable: the quality of your traffic.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Rethinking “Investment” in Google Ads (04:30–11:45)

• Chris criticizes Google’s current emphasis on “investment,” explaining that their advice to "invest more" really means "spend more."
  • “More spending in Google Ads does not mean success. Spending more, increasing your budget does not lead to success.” (06:19)
• He draws a comparison to misleading food marketing:
  • “You’re not eating a better heart, you’re not eating better cholesterol, you’re eating cereal. It’s a ridiculous leap to make.” (08:00)
• Guaranteed outcome? Only traffic—not sales, not revenue.
  • “That is not what investment leads to. Investment in Google Ads… means traffic. That's what Google Sells.” (09:02)
• Shares a client case where dramatically lowering ad spend resulted in no discernible change in sales, highlighting that more clicks do not automatically mean more profit. (10:30–12:30)

2. The True Value of Google Ads: Qualified Traffic (12:45–14:45)

• Chris urges listeners to focus on the one controllable variable—getting qualified, high-intent traffic.
  • “If you have a good business, you have a good website, you have a good product… the sales will follow.” (13:30)
• Rejects the idea that ad spend alone can fix underlying business or conversion issues.

3. Eight Steps for Building Your First (or Next) Winning Campaign (15:00–47:30)

1. Exact Match Keywords (16:00)

• Use only exact match keywords to tightly control search intent.
• "I'm going to suggest exact match because those are the most tightly regulated keywords…they will deviate the least for the kind of traffic that you need in Google Ads." (16:43)

2. Building Keywords: Word + Intent (18:10)

• Each keyword should pair what someone wants (the noun) with intent (action or qualifier).
• Examples:
  • “Skydiving instructors”
  • “Windshield repair”
  • “Appliance repair”
  • “Carpet cleaners Miami”
• Keep keywords to 2–3 words max for maximum control and relevance.

3. Ad Copy: Headlines & Pinning (22:40)

• Headline 1: Pin to first position; must repeat the "word + intent," then confirm the key value proposition (e.g., location, speed, affordability).
  • Example: “Fast Windshield Repair” or “Skydiving Instructors Las Vegas”
• Headline 2: Pin to second position; use for call to action or special offers.
  • Example: “Book an Appointment” or “Drive Yours Home Today”
• Ignore Google’s “ad strength” warnings—completeness and clarity take precedence.
  • “I don’t care what your ad strength is…Let’s get this ad running and let’s get the right intent and messaging…” (28:40)

4. Bidding: Focus on Clicks (Max Clicks) (31:15)

• Select “focus on clicks” or “max clicks.” Don’t use Max Conversions, tCPA, tROAS, etc.
• Leave bid cap blank; let Google maximize traffic for your budget.
• “Let it deal with the bidding. Get you the best quality clicks for as cheap as it can.” (32:08)

5. Geographic Targeting (34:15)

• Target by entire county, not cities or zip codes, to avoid over-segmentation.
• “Be more liberal with your geographic targeting. I would suggest a county.” (35:09)

6. Ad Scheduling (36:05)

• Stick to Monday–Friday, 8am–5pm to begin (adjust for B2C/B2B needs as relevant).
• “Let’s put the money where people typically do the most purchases—like waking hours of the day, working hours of the day.” (36:32)

7. Budget (37:30)

• Start with $25–$50/day. Don’t rush to spend more—scale up only if the campaign proves its value.
• “Remember, you can't call Google and get them to send the money back...” (38:25)

8. Assets & Extensions (39:40)

• Avoid most ad assets/extensions. Only use a call asset if you’re fine with direct calls.
• Strongly advise against site links (“No site links!”). Simplicity is prioritized for new or rebooting advertisers.
• “Just give people an option to go to the website and call you, buy from you, whatever… All the other complications come later.” (40:09)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the misleading “investment” narrative:

  • “The only real thing you can get out of Google Ads is traffic… There's no guarantee that more budget means more sales, more success, more calls…” – Chris (07:10)
  • “That’s the same as Cheerios saying your heart is now healthy, right? No, no… There’s a lot more to business than just spending money on Google.” (09:18)

• On ad simplicity:

  • “I don’t care what your ad rank…your ad strength score is—don’t care, it doesn’t matter.” (28:40)
  • “All the other complications come later. This is the way of doing a first, or doing Google Ads a second time, or a third time, you’re gonna try again…” (41:15)

• On campaign mindset:

  • “Start small and build. You can always add more budget. Remember you can’t call Google and get them to send the money back, but you can certainly withhold it for right now until it proves to be an investment worthwhile.” (38:25)

Quick Reference: Step-by-Step Campaign Setup

| Timestamp | Step | Details | |-----------|----------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16:00 | Exact Match Keywords | Use only exact match for control | | 18:10 | Keyword Construction | “Word + Intent”—keep to 2–3 words, e.g., “pool builders,” “carpet cleaners Miami”| | 22:40 | Ad Copy—Headlines & Pinning | Pin “word + intent + feature” in H1; CTA or offer in H2 | | 31:15 | Bidding - "Max Clicks" | Focus on clicks, leave bid cap blank | | 34:15 | Geographic Targeting | Target by county, not zip or city | | 36:05 | Ad Scheduling | Mon–Fri, standard business hours | | 37:30 | Budget | Start with $25–$50/day | | 39:40 | Extensions | Use call asset only; avoid site links and unnecessary assets |

Listener Q&A & Next Steps

• No Q&A in this episode, but Chris is preparing a future mailbag episode.
• Submit questions to paidsearchpodcastmail.com

Final Thoughts

Chris’s advice is clear: prioritize quality of traffic and campaign simplicity over maximizing spend or complexity. This episode is a valuable “reset” for anyone overwhelmed by Google Ads’ ever-growing features and changing advice. By focusing on what’s guaranteed (traffic), constructing intentional keywords, and starting small, you lay solid groundwork—giving your business the highest probability for Google Ads success.

Connect with Chris:

• ChrisSchaeffer.com (coaching & management options)
• Paid Search Podcast (episodes, submit questions)