Updated: Apr 15, 2025
Author: Tony Waldegrave
There’s a lot of hype, unsolicited pitches, and mixed stories relating to the pros and cons of advertising on Google Ads (known as AdWords). All this noise can make it hard for small business owners to know what to do, who’s advice to trust and how to best go about advertising their business online.
In our 18+ years experience of managing online advertising campaigns, we’d recommend that Google Ads (AdWords) be at the top of the advertising must do list for most small businesses in NZ.
Well because most audiences will typically go to Google to find out their best options when considering purchasing a product or a service. A search on Google is the default place that we mostly all go to as consumers to find out about things, and to help inform our research into deciding our best options in regards to a prospective purchase. And this is unlikely to change in the near future with Google now being our no 1. on the go mobile digital assistant.
Targeting this relevant consumer activity in Google search provides a relatively simple way of connecting with customers that are in the market, right now and at that very moment that they are about to make an enquiry or purchase. This is the main benefit of advertising with Google Ads (AdWords).
In many ways, Adwords advertising is akin to why businesses use to advertise in the yellow pages directories in the past. It was once the default reference point for consumers looking for suppliers and thus represented an essential way to place your business offering in front of an enquiring market.
Of course, Google is now the online tool we use daily in NZ and, accordingly, Adwords is at the top of the must advertise-on list for many businesses and this is also largely why Google has grown to become the most successful and largest advertising provider in the world today.
The Google Ads platform is very flexible and has become quite sophisticated allowing a wide range of targeting options so you can target prospective customers by location, language, age, device, day of the week and time of the day and by those keywords that are most relevant to your business.
If you are away or you going through a busy period, you can pause the advertising and restart it as and when required.
There are multiple types of targeting strategies for the GDN including:
We often recommend running Remarketing ads in conjunction with search campaigns as this tends to improve the overall volume of enquiry generation and reduces the average cost per enquiry.
It costs nothing to set up yourself and you then pay on a click basis. How much you spend every day is limited by the daily maximum budget that you set. Google states that you will not spend more than the daily budget over the course of a month. Because Google smoothes your budget over a month there may be days when you underspend and days when you overspend the daily budget.
Click costs can vary considerably and differ by keyword and targeting variables like location and ad position. Click costs are determined primarily by the level of competition for that particular keyword.
Typically $5 per day is the minimum but practically you should start at $10 or $15 per day and some campaigns may need more than this.
Your ads will stop showing once your daily budget is spent and then the advertising will reset for the next day.
First off make sure that your website is up to standard. Ideally, it should be fully browser responsive so that it's optimal for viewing on mobiles and desktops.
It should lay out the content about your products and / or services in a clear and easy-to-navigate manner and overall impart a good user experience.
You can then start by setting up a Google Account and then an Google Ads account. Then complete the following summarised steps:
You can manage Adwords yourself but often the time required and the lack of knowledge will result in an advertising campaign that is far less effective than we managed by experts in this field.
A good third party Adwords management company will expertly manage and continue to optimise your campaign for you and the benefits should exceed the cost of the management.
It’s best to select a local management company with a good reputation and one that will manage “your” account rather than your campaign within “their” account. This then gives you the flexibility to assign management back to yourself and or reassign to an alternative manager and the learnings and associated data remain within your account. It also means that management fees will be more easily distinguishable from click and media costs.
Your Google Ads (AdWords) campaign will likely be your top driver of leads and enquiries. The competition within Google Ads is increasing all the time, so it is imperative that your Adwords strategy is optimal and the campaign assets are properly managed.
For assistance and advice with your Google Ads (AdWords) advertising strategy, contact Adhesion.
"We have been working with Ricki-lee from Adhesion with our online marketing for a while now and I can tell you she is full of great ideas for getting people interested and contacting our business. In fact, Ricki-lee is now a very important part of our team, and I can't recommend her, and the team behind her, highly enough."
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★★★★★ Oksana Fediuk May 2025
"We've been with Adhesion for a couple of years now, and they've consistently provided prompt and reliable support. Thanks a lot team for your expert advice and exceptional service throughout this time. Our Google Ads have been performing much better in recent months, thanks to your hard work and dedication. Our recent experiences with Ricki-Lee and Jennifer have been fantastic—it’s such a relief to know that we can be in contact anytime we need. It truly feels personal. Thanks again, ladies! 😊"
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"I have been with Adhesion for a couple of years and I am very confident that they are working in my best interest. Peter Volkov communicates well with me and picks up concepts about my business quickly. I am doing well in my business as a result of Adhesion's commitment to their client. I previously had an unfortunate experience of working with a large company who promised the world, charged the earth and delivered nothing of value. The difference now is outstanding."
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"Peter has done a great job running my google ads - highly recommended."
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"Working with Adhesion I have found them to not only be very helpful but also reasonable and fair on pricing"
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"After years of watching clients get burned by faceless agencies and one-person marketers who vanish overnight, finding Phillippa at Adhesion felt like a revelation."
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"Ricki-Lee was an amazing account manager. Always pro-active and looking for improvements to my campaign. Would highly recommend!"
★★★★★ Chris April 2025
"A huge thank you to Adhesion, and especially to Ricki-lee, for being an absolute rockstar with my ad campaigns! From the very start, she’s been incredibly responsive—always quick to answer any questions and on top of everything to make sure my ads are running smoothly. I love how creative she is, the way she puts the ads together is just perfect! She continuously monitors and optimizes them, making sure they perform at their best. If you're looking for someone who truly cares about your success and delivers amazing results, Ricki-lee is the one!"
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"I've had the pleasure of working with the Adhesion team for years, and they have consistently provided professional and valuable services. The entire team is fantastic to work with, and Courteney, in particular, stands out for her attentiveness and responsiveness. Her keen attention to detail and dedication to delivering top-quality service have greatly benefited our projects. I highly recommend Adhesion for their expertise, reliability, and outstanding customer support."
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"Adhesion, Jen & Court have taken our online marketing strategy from strength to strength over the many years we have been using them for Gordon Harris. Courteney is an absolute star! Their knowledge is deep and broad, keeping us up to date with the latest opportunities to make our campaigns work better. Highly recommend."
★★★★★ Laura Budd January 2025
"I worked with Reuben @ Adhesion through a previous business which was sold and a new start up business of mine. Very prompt at setting up new campaigns, sorting issues and implementing changes. Nothing was ever an issue and all campaigns delivered acceptable results. Would recommend to any small business owner looking for a more personal agency."
★★★★★ Kyle Simpson December 2024
"We love working with the team at Adhesion, they did an outstanding job with our website—The Lodge at 58 North. Not only did they understand our unique needs as small business owners, but they also perfectly blended creativity and functionality, crafting a site that captures the spirit of our lodge while providing an intuitive, user-friendly experience for our guests. The team's attention to detail and expertise brought our vision to life, showcasing our lodge's unique charm and commitment to authentic experiences.The whole team is professional, highly responsive, and genuinely invested in our success—making us feel supported every step of the way. The result is a beautiful, functional website that reflects our lodge and makes it easy for visitors to explore, book, and get excited about their stay.We highly recommend the Adhesion Team—it's a joy to work with them!"
★★★★★ Administrative Assistant October 2024
"I would like to say that Reuben Nel from Adhesion has been of excellent assistance with our google words campaign. He has excellent knowledge and insight and could communicate that in an easy and understandable way. I would certainly recommend Reuben to you"
★★★★★ Leave Calendar October 2024
"We've been working with Courteney from Adhesion for a year now and it's one of the best business decisions we've made. The growth in online sales, as well as in-store referrals, is testament to Courteney’s expertise. Her communication is superb, she offers practical advice, and nothing is a problem. Highly recommend!"
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"I have been using adhesion for about 2 months now and my ads and revenue has increased significantly, not too mention there customer service is 5 star. I will carry on working with this company and Rueben Thank you for great work. I highly recommend after using many different agency’s over the last 2 years in NZ and AU. Thanks Again James Roberts SPORTZONE"
★★★★★ James August 2024
