Google Ads is powerful, but unforgiving when the setup is wrong.
Google Ads is the most direct form of digital advertising available to a small business. When someone in Switzerland searches for exactly what you offer, your ad appears in front of a person who is already looking to buy.
The problem is that most accounts are set up to generate activity, not outcomes. We regularly see broken conversion tracking, irrelevant search terms, and bid strategies optimised for clicks instead of enquiries.
Every engagement starts with tracking. We connect GA4 and Google Ads, verify the conversion events, and only then build or rebuild campaigns so optimisation is based on real enquiries.
If you've run Google Ads before, you've probably seen this.
Most small businesses that come to us have already tried Google Ads - either by managing it themselves or through an agency. The experience usually looks one of a few ways.
The account was set up and then left alone. Campaigns go live, budget gets spent, and the agency sends a monthly report showing impressions and clicks. Nobody mentions that the conversion tracking was never verified. Nobody mentions that a third of the budget is going to irrelevant search terms. The account runs on autopilot and the results are mediocre, but because the reporting only shows activity - not outcomes - it takes months to notice.
Or the setup was handed to a junior account manager who treats your CHF 800/month budget the same way they treat a CHF 50,000/month account - same templates, same bid strategies, same generic ad copy. Small budgets need more careful management than large ones, not less, because there is no margin for wasted spend.
Or the agency owns the account. When you eventually leave, you find out the campaigns, the conversion data, and the keyword history all belong to them. You start from zero.
These are not edge cases. They are the standard experience for small businesses working with full-service agencies on modest budgets. Here is how we work differently:
Running Google Ads in Switzerland is not the same as running them elsewhere.
Switzerland has some of the highest cost-per-click rates in Europe. A click in a competitive Swiss market - legal services, financial advice, moving companies, medical practices - can cost CHF 5-20 or more. That makes correct setup and tight negative keyword management more important here than in larger, cheaper markets. Wasted spend is expensive.
Language targeting also requires care. Switzerland has German, French, Italian, and Romansh-speaking regions, plus a large expat population that searches in English. For most of our clients we run German and English campaigns simultaneously, with separate ad groups and copy for each - not a single campaign trying to serve both.
For clients operating across the broader DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), we structure campaigns by country rather than running a single European campaign. CPCs, competition levels, and consumer behaviour differ enough between DE, AT, and CH that lumping them together obscures performance data and makes optimisation harder.
Search, Shopping, or Performance Max - choose the structure that fits the business.
Search
For service businesses, Search is almost always the right starting point because it captures demand that already exists.
Shopping
Relevant if you sell physical products online and already have a structured product feed in place.
Performance Max
Useful once tracking is solid and the account has enough conversion data for automation to learn from.
What actually happens after you get in touch.
We start with an audit, agree the campaign plan before launch, verify tracking before ads go live, and review performance weekly once the account is running.
Where your ads land matters as much as the ads themselves.
Sending paid traffic to the homepage is one of the most expensive mistakes in Google Ads. Ad traffic needs a focused page with one clear message and one obvious action.
That is why we offer landing page design alongside campaign setup, so the ad dös not point at a general website page built for a different job.
Free audit first
We review conversion tracking, campaign structure, market fit, and wasted spend before recommending anything.
Clear launch plan
You know the keyword focus, campaign type, budget split, and success metric before a franc is spent.
Setup in 1-2 weeks
Tracking, campaigns, ad copy, and bidding are configured properly before launch.
Weekly optimisation
Search terms, bids, negatives, and ads are reviewed continuously with monthly reporting in plain language.
Everything needed for campaigns that perform.
Account & Campaign Setup
Conversion Tracking
Ongoing Management
Most visitors do not convert the first time. Remarketing brings them back.
Most people who click a Google ad are still comparing options. Without remarketing, you pay for the click and disappear from view. With remarketing, your business stays visible while they are still deciding.
For service businesses, remarketing works well on the Google Display Network and YouTube. The audiences come from your GA4 data, which is another reason proper analytics setup matters from day one.
Remarketing campaigns generally have lower cost-per-click than Search campaigns because you are reaching a warm audience who already knows who you are. They work best as a complement to Search - Search captures new demand, remarketing closes the people who did not convert the first time. We include remarketing audience setup as part of onboarding for all ongoing management clients.