PPC Peterborough

Plan paid search around your customer

Pay-per-click means you pay when someone clicks your ad. In Google Ads you set a maximum cost-per-click bid, the highest amount you’re willing to pay for a click, and a click won’t cost you more than that (Google Ads Help). So the real question is whether the click becomes an enquiry.

Start with the customer. Someone searching “emergency plumber peterborough” late at night wants a fast answer. Someone searching “payroll software peterborough” is comparing options. Same channel, different ad, different page. Write down who you want to reach, what they’re searching for and what you want them to do next, then build from there.

Where your ads can appear

Google Ads is one place to run paid search. Google’s Search campaign setup guidance covers campaign settings, ad groups, keywords, ads and a final URL, which is the page someone lands on when they click your ad.

Microsoft Advertising is a separate platform with its own account. Microsoft says its advertising covers Bing and Edge, plus partners including Ecosia, DuckDuckGo and Yahoo. Whether it’s worth adding depends on your customers and your budget, so compare it with Google before you commit.

Social platforms are a separate job from search. Our social media Peterborough page covers the social side.

What to review before changing a paid search account

Before recommending campaign changes, look at the route from search to enquiry. A useful account review connects the target customer, the search, the advert and the page they reach.

• Customer and location: who should see the campaign, and which places can the business serve?
• Searches: what do the search terms suggest people are trying to find? Which searches should be excluded?
• Landing page: does the page continue the advert’s promise and make the next step clear?
• Enquiry tracking: which calls, forms or purchases matter, and how are those actions recorded?
• Account history: what’s already been tested, changed or flagged for review?

This checklist helps a team work out what it can assess with the information it has.

Where PPC campaigns go wrong

Four places to look first.

Targeting too broadly

“Peterborough” as a location and “plumber” as a keyword is a thin brief. Google Ads Help says broad match is the default match type assigned to your keywords, so check which match types you’re using and which searches your ads actually appeared for. Check your location settings, too. Google says location targeting lets your ads appear in the locations you select, including areas within a country or a radius around a location.

Specific, intent-driven keywords like “emergency plumber peterborough city centre” or “boiler repair near PE1” tell you more about what the searcher wants.

Sending traffic to your homepage

Say someone searches “wedding photographer peterborough” and clicks your ad. They should land on a page about your wedding photography, with the details they need and a clear way to get in touch, not a homepage that tries to cover everything. In Google Ads the final URL decides where that click goes, so choose it deliberately.

Skipping negative keywords

Negative keywords let you exclude search terms from your campaigns. Without them, an ad for “peterborough accountant” could show for searches like “peterborough accountant jobs” or “accountant salary peterborough”, and you could pay for clicks from people who’ll never hire you.

Not tracking conversions

Google defines a conversion action as a specific customer activity that is valuable to your business. For a local business that’s usually a call, a form or a purchase. If you haven’t set up tracking for the ones that matter, you can’t tell which ads or keywords produced them.

Separate media budget from management scope

When comparing proposals, ask which costs cover media and which cover planning, campaign work, creative or reporting. Ask what’s included, how changes are approved and who pays the platform directly. The answer depends on the arrangement, so get responsibilities in writing before work begins.

If someone else manages the account, ask what access is needed and how you’ll keep visibility of activity under the agreed terms. You can also discuss whether the landing page needs attention. Our Peterborough web design page covers the website side.

What a good PPC process looks like

However it’s run, a sound paid search process has the same building blocks.

1. Account review. With an existing account, check what’s been tested, changed or flagged. Starting fresh? Research the market, the searches and the competitors before spending anything.
2. Campaign structure. Group keywords by service and location, and match each group to its own advert and page.
3. Landing pages. Check the pages ads send people to, or build new ones that continue the advert’s promise.
4. Ongoing management. Review searches, bids, adverts and tracking against the goal you set.
5. Reporting. Ask for a report that shows spend, enquiries and what’s changing next.

PPC or SEO: do you need both?

They do different jobs. With PPC you pay for each click, and with organic results you don’t buy your position: Google says it doesn’t accept payment to rank pages higher. You can use both, with paid search for the searches you want to reach now and SEO work on the pages behind them. Our SEO Peterborough page covers the organic side.

Why work with a Peterborough agency?

We’re based at Allia Business Centre in Peterborough (PE2 8AN), so you can talk it through in person. Paid search isn’t always the right answer, and a good proposal should say so when it isn’t.

Start with the questions you need answered

For a first conversation, bring your target locations, the service you want to promote, any current campaign information and your questions about budget or measurement. You can then discuss whether paid search is a sensible fit for the task.

Contact Hummingbird to discuss a Peterborough paid search brief. Share the goal and account context you’re comfortable discussing, and the team can outline a relevant next step.