Marketing Strategy + Planning

Spending on Google Ads Without a Strategy Is Just Burning Budget

Google Ads is one of the most powerful tools in digital marketing — and one of the most expensive to get wrong. Most businesses start running ads before they’ve answered the questions that determine whether those ads will succeed: Who are we targeting? What do we say? How much should we bid? Where do we send traffic? The Paid Ads Strategy Session answers all of those questions before you spend a dollar.

Why Strategy Comes Before Spend

What Does a Paid Ads Strategy Session Actually Produce?

Most Google Ads failures aren’t platform failures — they’re strategy failures. Campaigns get launched without clear keyword strategy, landing pages that convert, defined audience targeting, or realistic budget allocation. The result is clicks without conversions and monthly spend reports that make no sense.

The Paid Ads Strategy Session is a focused working session that addresses all of that before a single campaign goes live. We assess your goals, audiences, content assets, and budget — then map out exactly what kind of campaigns make sense, which Google Ads campaign types to prioritize (Search, Performance Max, Local Services Ads, Display, or YouTube), how to structure your ad groups, and where to direct traffic for the highest conversion probability.

You leave the session with a clear, platform-specific paid media strategy — whether you’re running campaigns in-house or handing them off to LGX for management through our Google Ads Management service. If Meta or social ads are also on your radar, the Meta/Social Ads Kickoff covers that separately — see the pricing section below.

Paid Ads Strategy Options + Pricing

Start With Strategy. Execute With Confidence.

Both options below are one-time strategy engagements. They are designed to be immediately actionable — whether you execute in-house or move into managed services with LGX.

Paid Ads Strategy SessionGoogle Ads Focus$450one-time

A focused working session that maps your goals, audiences, budget, and competitive landscape — then delivers a clear Google Ads strategy with campaign structure, keyword direction, and conversion path recommendations.

  • Goals, audience, and budget assessment
  • Platform recommendation: Google Search, Performance Max, LSAs, Display, or YouTube
  • Campaign structure and ad group logic
  • Keyword strategy direction and match type guidance
  • Landing page and conversion path review
  • Clear next steps whether you execute in-house or with LGX

Ideal for: Businesses ready to run Google Ads who want a strategy-first foundation before spending a dollar on campaigns

Meta/Social Ads Kickoff & Strategy$300one-time

A strategy and setup session focused on Meta platforms (Facebook and Instagram). We define goals, audiences, and creative direction — and handle account access and ad tracking setup so campaigns are ready to launch.

  • Goal definition and audience targeting strategy for Meta platforms
  • Ad account access and tracking setup
  • Campaign type and creative direction recommendations
  • Designed to feed directly into ongoing social ads management

Ideal for: Businesses adding social advertising to their mix — see full details on our Social & Meta Ads page

Honest Qualification

Is a Paid Ads Strategy Session the Right Investment for Your Business?

Paid advertising only makes sense when certain foundational elements are in place. Here’s an honest look at who will get the most out of a strategy session — and who should wait.

✓ This Is For You If…

  • You’re ready to invest in Google Ads or Meta advertising and want a strategy-first foundation before your first dollar is spent
  • You’ve run paid ads before and they underperformed — a strategy session can identify what went wrong and rebuild from the right foundation
  • You’re managing campaigns in-house and want an expert review of your current structure, targeting, and keyword strategy
  • You’re about to hand ad management to LGX and want a dedicated strategy session to ensure the first campaigns are set up correctly from day one
  • You want to understand which platforms (Google vs. Meta vs. others) make the most sense for your business before committing budget

→ Consider Starting Elsewhere If…

  • Your website doesn’t convert yet — sending paid traffic to a site with poor UX, unclear messaging, or no clear call to action is burning budget; fix the conversion foundation first
  • You don’t have a minimum of $1,000/month to commit as ad spend — below that threshold, Google Ads typically can’t generate enough data to optimize effectively; other channels may offer better ROI at lower budgets
  • Your brand positioning and audience aren’t defined yet — paid ads require clear targeting and messaging; establish those foundations first through brand strategy and persona work

Why LGX

What Makes LGX the Right Team for Your Paid Ads Strategy?

We Think About the Full Conversion Path, Not Just the Ad

An ad that drives clicks to a landing page that doesn’t convert is just expensive traffic. LGX assesses your entire conversion path — from keyword or audience targeting through to the landing page experience — and builds a strategy that optimizes every step, not just the campaign structure.

We Won’t Recommend a Platform That Doesn’t Fit Your Goals

Not every business should run Google Search campaigns. Not every business should be on Meta. LGX assesses your goals, budget, and audience first — and recommends the platforms and campaign types that actually make sense for your situation, even if that means telling you to hold off on paid ads entirely until other foundations are in place.

We Speak Both Google and Meta

LGX works across Google Ads (Search, Performance Max, LSAs, Display, YouTube) and Meta/social platforms. Whether you need a Google-focused paid search strategy, a social ads kickoff, or a combined multi-platform approach, we can build strategy across both ecosystems — and help you understand how they work together.

Strategy Feeds Directly Into Managed Execution

If you want LGX to move from strategy into campaign management, the transition is seamless. The Paid Ads Strategy Session produces the exact framework our Google Ads Management team builds from — there’s no knowledge transfer gap, no brief to rewrite, and no ramp-up time lost.

Trusted by Businesses Since 2010

What Do LGX Clients Say?

“I love working with you guys because you’re smart and you respond.”

Jody Strauch-Lundberg – Out of the Box

Commonly Paired With

Related Services

Your Paid Ads Questions, Answered

What Do People Ask Before Booking a Paid Ads Strategy Session With LGX?

Because the most common Google Ads failure mode isn’t a bad platform — it’s a bad setup. Campaigns that launch without a clear keyword strategy, a defined audience, a realistic budget, and a landing page that converts will waste money regardless of how much you spend. The strategy session costs $450 and can save thousands in wasted ad spend by answering the critical questions before you turn on campaigns.

Yes. The Paid Ads Strategy Session is designed to feed directly into LGX’s Google Ads Management service if you want full managed execution. You can also take the strategy document and run campaigns in-house — the output is designed to be actionable regardless of who executes. If you’re ready to discuss ongoing management, the discovery call is the right place to start.

LGX works with Google Search campaigns, Performance Max campaigns, Local Services Ads (LSAs), Google Display Network, and YouTube ads. The strategy session determines which types are most appropriate for your goals, budget, and competitive landscape — not all businesses should run all campaign types, and the session helps you avoid running the wrong ones.

The Paid Ads Strategy Session is focused on Google and paid search — campaign structure, keyword strategy, budget allocation, and conversion path optimization for search intent traffic. The Meta/Social Ads Kickoff ($300) is focused on Facebook and Instagram — audience targeting, creative direction, and account setup for social platform advertising. They address different platforms with different intent models, and many businesses benefit from both.

That depends on your market, industry, and goals — and it’s one of the primary things we assess in the strategy session. LGX requires a minimum client-paid Google Ads budget of $1,000/month for managed campaigns. For businesses with less than that to invest, the strategy session can help you determine whether Google Ads is the right channel at your current stage or whether other channels offer better ROI at your budget level.

Yes — and many businesses do both. If you’re planning to run ads on Google and Meta simultaneously, tackling both strategy sessions upfront gives you a complete paid media picture before any budget is committed. Ask about this during your discovery call and we’ll scope it accordingly.

Stop Spending Before You Have a Strategy.

Ready to Build a Paid Ads Strategy That Makes Every Dollar Count?

One strategy session prevents months of wasted ad spend. Whether you plan to run campaigns yourself or work with LGX for ongoing management, building the right foundation first is the highest-leverage step you can take before your first dollar goes to Google.