# PPC (Pay-Per-Click) Service — Playbook

**Tier scope:** PPC Starter ($497/mo mgmt) · PPC Growth ($997/mo) · PPC Pro ($1,997/mo)
**Ad spend:** Paid directly by customer to Google/Meta. NOT through us. Recommended minimums: $500 (Starter), $1,000 (Growth), $2,000 (Pro).

**Time budget per month per tier:**
- Starter: ~8-10 person-hours/mo (1 Google campaign, weekly optimization)
- Growth: ~16-20 person-hours/mo (2 campaigns, 2x/week optimization, LP recos)
- Pro: ~32-40 person-hours/mo (3 campaigns, daily optimization, CRO test, live dashboard)

**Owner:** Offshore team lead
**US reviewer:** PPC specialist (Google Ads certified)
**Customer-facing SLA:**
- First campaign live within 5 business days of intake + ad account access
- Reporting cadence per tier (Starter monthly, Growth bi-weekly, Pro weekly + live dashboard)

## Required intake fields

Section A, **Section C-6 (questions 49-55)**. Hard blocks:

- Q49 ad account access (or signed authorization to create new accounts under their billing)
- Q51 monthly ad spend budget
- Q52 keywords/services
- Q53 geographic targeting
- Q54 conversion goal

Customer MUST have direct billing relationship with Google/Meta (their credit card). We never pay ad spend.

## Cadence overview

| Tier | Campaigns | Ad copy | Optimization | Reporting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | 1 Google Ads | 3 ads/campaign | Weekly | Monthly |
| Growth | 2 (Google + Meta or 2x Google) | 5 ads + A/B | 2x/week | Bi-weekly + dashboard |
| Pro | 3 (Google + Meta + Retargeting/YouTube) | 10 ads + multivariate | Daily | Weekly + live dashboard |

## Step-by-step execution

### Month 1 — Onboarding (first 5 business days)
- **Day 1:** Confirm access to Google Ads + Meta (or create with customer billing); verify pixel / GA4 / conversion tracking
- **Day 2:** Kickoff with US PPC specialist; lock keywords (Q52), geo (Q53), conversion goal (Q54), landing page (Q55)
- **Day 3:** Keyword research (Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs); build ad groups; draft ad variants using ChatGPT-4
- **Day 4:** Build campaign in Google Ads / Meta Ads Manager; set conversion tracking; configure call tracking (Growth/Pro); set daily budget caps
- **Day 5:** US PPC specialist review → customer written approval of ad copy + targeting → launch

### Ongoing optimization cadence
- **Starter:** Weekly check — pause underperforming keywords, adjust bids, swap weak ads
- **Growth:** 2x/week — same + audience expansion testing + LP recommendations once a month
- **Pro:** Daily review — same + multivariate test management + 1 CRO test per quarter on the LP

### Conversion tracking
- All tiers: GA4 + Google Ads conversion import, phone-click tracking
- Growth: + call tracking (CallRail or equivalent)
- Pro: + offline conversion import (CRM-to-Google Ads pipe)

### Reporting
- Starter: Monthly PDF — spend, clicks, CPC, conversions, CPA, top keywords, recommendations
- Growth: Bi-weekly PDF + always-on Google Data Studio (Looker Studio) dashboard link
- Pro: Weekly PDF + live Looker Studio dashboard + monthly strategy synthesis

## Internal QA checklist (before launch and after every major change)

- [ ] Ad copy customer-approved in writing (email/Slack screenshot in tracker)
- [ ] Targeting reviewed: geo (Q53), demographics, keywords — no obvious miss
- [ ] Conversion tracking installed AND tested with a test conversion event (verify it fires)
- [ ] Daily budget caps set (no runaway spend)
- [ ] Customer billing relationship with Google/Meta confirmed — we are NOT the billing entity
- [ ] Negative keyword list in place (Starter: ~50; Growth/Pro: maintained list)
- [ ] Landing page loads fast (≥ 70 PageSpeed mobile) — flag if not
- [ ] No "AI-written" or tool names in customer-facing reports

## AI tools used (INTERNAL — never mention to customer)

- ChatGPT-4 or Claude — ad copy variants, headline brainstorming, ad description writing
- Google Keyword Planner + Ahrefs Keywords Explorer — keyword research
- Google Ads native AI smart bidding — bid optimization (all tiers)
- Google Ads Performance Max — Pro tier where appropriate
- Looker Studio (Google Data Studio) — dashboards
- CallRail — call tracking (Growth/Pro)

## Common gotchas

- **Customer doesn't have conversion tracking installed** — block launch until installed; offer 1-hour setup as part of onboarding
- **Customer wants us to pay ad spend** — politely refuse; explain billing model in writing; never accept
- **Ad accounts get policy-flagged** — common with HVAC/legal/healthcare; have backup ad copy variants ready
- **Customer LP is terrible** — Starter: note in report and pitch LP mockup tripwire; Growth/Pro: include LP recommendations
- **Customer keeps changing the offer** — lock the offer in writing during kickoff; changes mid-month = pause + reset
- **Daily spend overruns** — daily budget cap is a Google soft limit (can spend 2x in a day); educate customer on the monthly average
- **5-day onboarding SLA at risk** — escalate immediately

## Deliverable spec (per spec §5.3)

### Starter — $497/mo mgmt
- 1 Google Ads campaign
- 3 ads/campaign
- Keyword + geo targeting
- AI-recommended manual bidding
- Basic conversion tracking
- Weekly optimization
- Monthly report
- Email support

### Growth — $997/mo mgmt
- 2 campaigns (Google + Meta, or 2x Google)
- 5 ads + A/B testing per campaign
- + Demographics + interests + custom audiences
- AI smart bidding
- Full funnel + call tracking
- 1 LP recommendations doc
- 2x/week optimization
- Bi-weekly report + dashboard
- 30-min monthly strategy call

### Pro — $1,997/mo mgmt
- 3 campaigns (Google + Meta + Retargeting/YouTube)
- 10 ads + multivariate testing
- + Lookalikes + behavioral + custom intent
- AI smart bidding + portfolio strategy
- Full funnel + offline conversion import
- 1 LP review + 1 CRO test/quarter
- Daily optimization
- Weekly report + live dashboard
- 60-min bi-weekly strategy call

Cross-checked against spec §5.3: matches.