The small business owner’s dilemma…
You’ve finally thrown your last few marketing pennies at Google Ads, hoping for some miracle where the internet smiles down upon you and sends customers through the digital door.
But here’s the kicker—just because you’ve set up your Google Ads campaign doesn’t mean you can set it and forget it.
No, no. You need to monitor it.
Constantly.
Like a hawk.
Even if your ad spend looks like lunch money compared to the big players in your industry.
Is the cost of monitoring higher than your ad spend?
Of course.
But let’s face it, nothing says “small business success” quite like spending more on oversight than on the thing you’re overseeing.
Look, just because you’re not spending millions on Google Ads doesn’t mean your campaign doesn’t need a watchful eye.
In fact, your tiny ad budget probably needs more monitoring than the giants.
Why?
Because when you’ve got limited funds, every single click counts.
And let’s be honest, those clicks aren’t free.
A poorly managed campaign can burn through your entire budget faster than you can say “Was that a conversion?”
Google Ads is like a high-maintenance pet—it needs to be fed constantly, requires daily attention, and if left alone for too long, it’ll destroy your house.
Or in this case, your wallet.
Even if your campaign looks good at a glance, that doesn’t mean everything is fine behind the scenes.
It could be quietly siphoning your money in ways you hadn’t even considered.
Without proper monitoring, your ads might be attracting the wrong kind of attention.
Imagine running a local bakery in Doral, and you discover half your clicks are coming from a teenager in Wisconsin who thinks “artisan bread” is a TikTok trend.
It’s not their fault they clicked—they just didn’t know better.
But now you’ve paid for that click.
You’re welcome, Google.
Ah yes, the infamous broad keyword.
You thought adding “local bakery” would bring you all the bread-loving patrons within a 5-mile radius.
What you didn’t know is that Google thinks someone searching for “local bar” is basically the same thing.
Now your ad budget is funding the click of someone looking for happy hour, not a sourdough starter.
Optimization sounds like a luxury, right?
Something you’ll do once the business is thriving.
But no, optimization isn’t just for the wealthy.
It’s for everyone, especially for you.
Because in the game of Google Ads, you’re either optimizing or you’re throwing your money into a black hole.
Let’s explore why that is.
You’ve done it.
You’ve created a Google Ads campaign, set up your keywords, written the perfect ad copy, and pressed “launch”.
Now you can relax, right?
Wrong.
The minute you turn your back on it, that campaign is going rogue.
Google Ads is not a slow cooker.
You can’t just “set it and forget it”.
Unless you want to “forget” your budget too.
Here’s the funny thing about optimization: even the smallest tweaks can make a massive difference.
Maybe that’s reducing your bids for certain keywords, or refining your targeting to avoid those Wisconsin teenagers.
Whatever the case, those little changes can stretch your budget further than you think.
But of course, you won’t know what to change unless you’re monitoring your campaigns like a hawk on a caffeine high.
Sure, you could argue that spending more on monitoring than on ads seems like overkill.
But consider the alternative: letting your campaigns run wild, unchecked, and watching as your budget evaporates before your eyes.
Suddenly, investing in proper oversight doesn’t seem so crazy, does it?
When your budget is small, you can’t afford to waste even a single click.
Monitoring helps you focus on ad quality over quantity.
You might not be able to plaster your ads across the internet like Coca-Cola, but you can ensure the ads you do run are laser-targeted and high-quality.
That’s what will get you results—and monitoring is how you make sure that happens.
With regular monitoring, you can make adjustments on the fly.
Something not working?
Switch it up.
Keywords underperforming?
Change them out.
Notice a surge of interest from a specific demographic?
Double down on it.
Monitoring gives you the flexibility to respond to what’s actually happening in your campaign, instead of guessing and hoping for the best.
People love to talk about how difficult and unnecessary it is to monitor Google Ads.
They’ll tell you it’s too complicated, too time-consuming, and ultimately not worth it—especially for a small business.
These people are wrong, but they mean well.
So let’s address some of these common misconceptions.
Let’s be honest—you probably don’t have the time.
But that’s what tools, automation, and third-party services are for.
You don’t have to personally check on your Google Ads campaigns every hour like some sort of digital watchman.
There are plenty of ways to automate the process, get alerts when performance changes, or even hire someone to handle it for you.
It’s tempting to think that only big businesses need to invest in constant monitoring.
After all, they’ve got the budget for it, right?
But here’s the reality: the smaller your budget, the more important monitoring becomes.
Large corporations can absorb the cost of a poorly performing campaign, but you can’t afford that luxury.
Monitoring ensures your small budget is working as efficiently as possible.
Let me guess—you’ve looked at the cost of hiring someone to monitor your ads and had a heart attack.
Fair.
But what’s more expensive?
Paying a bit to ensure your campaigns are running efficiently or watching your entire ad budget go up in smoke because no one was there to make a small adjustment when things started going sideways?
Perspective, my friend.
At the end of the day, monitoring your Google Ads campaigns is not just a “nice to have”—it’s essential.
Whether you’re spending $100 a month or $10,000, the principle is the same: without proper oversight, you’re throwing money into the void and hoping for the best.
Monitoring allows you to ensure that every penny of your hard-earned ad spend is working for you, not against you.
Sure, your ad budget might be small, and the cost of monitoring might seem disproportionate.
But the truth is, constant oversight is what’s going to make or break your campaign.
Monitoring and optimization aren’t luxuries—they’re necessities.
In the world of Google Ads, it’s not about how much you’re spending, it’s about how wisely you’re spending it.
So, keep an eye on those ads and make sure your investment is delivering real value.
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Ivan is a professional digital marketer and advertiser.
He’s been doing this forever and there are few people that know the ins-and-outs like he does at the strategic, technical, and optimizational / practical level.
Whether you’re thinking about advertising for the first time, or looking for help identifying issues and / or correcting current campaigns, Ivan will make the process a truly simple one.
He does not speak computer geek.
He discusses with you in plain and easy terms exactly what we need to do (and never tries to sell you on unneeded extras).
He cares deeply about creating useful and effective campaigns that highlight your brand — and he can be as much or as little involved as you need; from sharing insights with your trafficking team to actually being your team.
Contact Ivan with your digital advertising or marketing related concerns.
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