Paid search and paid social problems usually start before the first click. The account is set up in a hurry, the landing page does not match the ad, and nobody agrees on what counts as a good lead. The checklist below is general enough for most small businesses and can be worked through in an afternoon.
1. Agree on one primary conversion
Choose the action that matters most, such as a phone call, a form submission, a booking or a purchase, and track it before any money is spent. When several soft goals are tracked together, the ad platform tends to optimise for whichever is cheapest rather than most useful.
2. Match the landing page to the ad
If the ad promises a quick quote, the quote form should be visible without scrolling. A useful starting point is a page that leads with the offer, shows proof and asks for one action. A real-estate landing page template shows that structure: Vantage Estates — Luxury Homes & Private Viewings — Sunny Guha
3. Read the search terms before changing budgets
Before raising or cutting a budget, check which search terms, placements or audiences produced leads and which produced clicks without leads. Write down each change and its date so the next review can tell a real trend from a seasonal dip. Multi-market accounts need this discipline most, and a multi-market case study is a useful reference: $400K+/mo across US, UK, UAE & Australia — Case Study — Sunny Guha
4. Do not overlook the local listing
For a neighbourhood business, a free local profile is often overlooked in favour of paid campaigns. Check the business name, categories, opening hours and service area, and make sure they match the website. The free local channel most small businesses ignore — Sunny Guha covers the same idea in more detail.
5. Write for AI answers as well as blue links
Search results now show AI-written answers in many places, so pages need clear headings, direct answers and facts that can be quoted. SEO in the age of AI answers — Sunny Guha explains how that changes the work.
About the author
Sunny Guha is a freelance Google Ads, Meta Ads and SEO marketer based in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Freelancing since July 2012.
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