SEO & paid

Google Ads on a small budget.

A lot of small businesses try Google Ads once, spend a few thousand rand, get a handful of clicks and decide it does not work. Usually the problem is not the budget. It is the setup.

26 September 20264 min readBy Ikonik Studio
Ikonik Field notes illustration

Small budgets work when they are focused: a few tightly chosen search terms, one area, one clear offer, and a landing page built to convert. Spread the same money across broad keywords and the whole country, and it disappears by lunchtime.

Three quick wins this week

  1. Target intent, not topics. Bid on searches like "emergency plumber Fourways", not just "plumbing".
  2. Add negative keywords. Exclude words like "free", "jobs" and "DIY" so you stop paying for clicks that will never buy.
  3. Track calls and forms. If you cannot see which clicks became leads, you cannot tell what is working.

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