Google Ads for accountants and CPA firms, run from the firm's own account
Google Ads puts a paid result above the ordinary ones when someone searches. We manage Google Ads for accounting firms by building one campaign for each line of work the firm wants more of, and by keeping the ads away from job seekers, students and software shoppers.
The account, the card and the monthly budget belong to the firm. We prepare and manage the campaigns, and Google bills the clicks directly.
Paid search
Where a paid result sits beside the Maps listing and the pages
Someone typing tax preparation near me
or bookkeeping services for small businesses
may see a paid result at the top of the page, a Maps result below it and the ordinary results after that. Our Maps entry and town pages aims at the second and third; Google Ads covers the first, and the owner can run one without the other.
The owner picks the lines of work and the towns. We write the keyword list, draft the ads and send the set for approval before anything runs. A click lands on the landing page for that line of work, so the visitor arrives at the page that matches the search. Calls and forms from that page are logged for lead generation purposes, as inquiries and nothing more.
Google publishes its own policies for advertisers in financial fields. Those rules, and the rules on how an accounting firm may advertise itself, are the owner's to read, and we write to whatever the owner tells us to say or leave out. The same lines of work can also run on Bing Ads (Microsoft Advertising) or Meta Ads (Facebook and Instagram) under the broader paid ads plans.
What goes into a campaign
- Campaigns
One campaign for each line of work
Tax preparation, bookkeeping, payroll and business advisory each get their own campaign, so a call or form can be read against the line it came from.
- Word lists
Search terms drawn from the owner's list
We start from the lines of work and the towns served, write the word list, and send it for approval before any ad runs.
- Negatives
Searches the ads turn away
Words that point to job seekers, students, exam courses, software shoppers and do-it-yourself filers go on a negative list, and we add to it as new search terms appear.
- Ad text
Wording the owner has read
Each ad says what the firm does and where. Every line goes to the owner before it is submitted, and a line the owner dislikes is rewritten.
Who is searching, which campaign meets them and where the click lands
| Search in the box | Campaign it meets | Landing page |
|---|---|---|
| A household looking for a tax preparer near home | The tax preparation campaign | The tax preparation page for that town |
| A shop owner who wants the books kept by someone else | The bookkeeping campaign | The bookkeeping page for that town |
| A small company looking for outsourced payroll help | The payroll campaign | The firm's payroll page |
| An owner weighing a new entity or a startup | The startup and entity campaign | The firm's startup page |
| A job seeker, a student or a software shopper | The negative list, no campaign | None, because the ad is not shown |
How a campaign is opened, run and closed out
Put the account under the firm's name
The firm owns the Google Ads account and pays from its own card. Our name is added to the account as manager.
Draft before anything spends
Ad text, word lists and call-tracking numbers are written and approved while the campaign is still switched off.
Switch on one campaign at a time
We start with the line of work the owner names first, then add the next, so each campaign has its own page in the books.
Go through what people really typed
The search terms report shows the words behind each click. Anything off target goes on the negative list, and the month-end sheet lines up spend, calls and form messages.
What the owner settles before the first ad runs
- The lines of work to advertise, and any to leave out
- The towns or the distance from the office where ads may show
- A monthly spend the owner is comfortable with, billed by Google to the firm's card
- Who answers a call from an ad and who reads a form message
- How the firm describes itself, after the owner reads Google's policies for financial fields
- Wording that stays out of ads altogether
- That no client names, figures or tax details appear in an ad, a form or a tracking tag
The owner can change any item between months, and the next sheet shows the change.
Three beliefs about paid search, set straight
Said at the partners meetingPaying more for clicks buys better inquiries.
What the ledger showsSpend sets how often the ads can show. It does not set who is typing. The negative list and the campaign split do that work.
Said at the partners meetingAn ad that sends people to the home page is enough.
What the ledger showsThe click should land on the page for the line of work that was searched. A bookkeeping ad that lands on a general page leaves the reader to hunt, so each campaign gets its own landing page.
Said at the partners meetingThe agency should hold the account.
What the ledger showsThe account belongs to the firm. The owner decides who is listed as manager, and our name sits there for as long as the owner wants it to.
Google Ads inside the ad plans
Inside each of the three ad plans
- The ad account is owned by the firm, and our name is added to it as manager
- Ad copy, keyword lists and call-tracking numbers get prepared in advance of any ad running
- Negative keywords turn away job seekers, students and software shoppers
- Clicks are paid for by your card, platform by platform, and no click money ever flows through our invoice
- Each month a summary lines up spend, calls and forms on one sheet
One ad platform
$895/month
Pick one from Google Ads, Bing Ads (Microsoft Advertising) and Meta Ads (Facebook and Instagram), and the plan covers it.
Two ad platforms
$1,595/month
Two of the three platforms, Google Ads, Bing Ads (Microsoft Advertising) and Meta Ads (Facebook and Instagram), share one report.
Three ad platforms
$2,295/month
Google Ads, Bing Ads (Microsoft Advertising) and Meta Ads (Facebook and Instagram) all running under a single summary.
Plans are entered month by month. Tell us before the month is closed and the next entry never gets made.
Questions about running Google Ads for a firm
Whose card does Google charge for clicks?
Will the ads mention fees or results?
What do you log from each campaign?
Can the ads run in only some of our towns?
What about Google's rules for financial fields?
Name the line of work the ads are for
Tell us the one or two lines of work the firm wants more of, and the towns where an ad should appear. If a call is easier, choose a time slot and the CEO rings then.
Which lines of work get the first pages?
Name the kinds of work the firm wants more of, the towns its clients come from and the referral partners who send people over. Leave out every client name and every figure from any return or statement.
Ready to post the first entry?
Book a call with the CEO by choosing a weekday and a time of day, or tell us which work the firm wants more of. Please keep client names and figures out of the note.
The pencil and its double rule are drawn for show. They forecast nothing.