There’s a monthly circus show I like to attend in the island where I live.

I love it because it brings together people from the local community.

At the entrance, I’m always greeted by Sarah, who also happens to be the show host and the main star of the aerial performance. Is there anything she can’t do?

Sometimes I feel a bit like Sarah. I wear multiple hats for this newsletter: I’m the website developer, content marketing manager, social media manager, main editor, and writer. The only thing I’m missing is my own trapeze act!

As a small entrepreneur, you’re likely juggling many roles too. Not only do you have to build your product or provide your service, but you’ve also probably had to learn how to promote it effectively. And let’s be honest, that can be just as challenging, if not more so, than the service or product itself.

Today, I’m analyzing one of the trickiest paid promotion channels: Google Ads.

If there are so many things to do, why bother with Google Ads?

The Google Ads topic is controversial among IndieHackers:

Who should you listen to?

The thought of losing so much money in an instant is scary.

On top of that, starting with Google Ads can be confusing. You might end up with more questions than when you started: Is this a good conversion rate? Can I manage this myself? Am I doing this right?

Even though it’s not easy and hated by many, Google Ads is still one of the most effective paid channels.

Here’s why:

• Google handles more than 8.5 billion searches per day. (Google, 2023)
• Google Ads reaches 90% of internet users worldwide. (Google, 2023)
• 65% of all high-intent searches result in an ad click. (WebFX, 2024)

If you’re thinking about experimenting with Google Ads but don’t know where to start, keep reading.

Here are six actionable Google Ads tips given by successful entrepreneurs.

1. Audit your search terms frequently

​Stagetimer​ is a remote-controlled countdown timer that’s grown to ​$10k+ MRR​ thanks to Liz and Lukas Hermann. About 50% of their users find them through Google Ads or organic search.

To avoid paying for clicks that have nothing to do with your product, Liz recommends regularly auditing your search terms. Check the average cost of search terms to see the most expensive queries your ads have been served to. Create a universal negative keyword list, apply it to all your campaigns, and update it weekly to exclude terms that bring in irrelevant traffic.

2. Start as soon as possible

​Upsum​ is an AI text summarizer tool built by Zoltan Kovacs. It reached $50 MRR and 800+ users in 3 months, mainly through Google Ads.

Zoltan started using Google Ads one month after the MVP was ready, which he outsourced to a developer for $1.3K. In just 3 months, Upsum got 800+ free users and 10 paying customers with a small Google Ads budget of $10/day.

3. Observe users’ actions

​UXsniff​ is a SaaS created by Pei Yong that detects and reports abnormal user behavior. They hit $26.4K revenue in 2023 and have spent ​more than $120K on Google Ads​.

Pei advises avoiding junk conversions by uncovering the true reasons behind your traffic. They tracked users who arrived from the term “website analytics” and, after analyzing 200+ website session recordings, realized most weren’t their target customers. So, they removed this keyword, leading to better results.

4. Set a target CPA limit

​Howuku​ is a website heatmap and behavior analytics platform. Donald Ng ​grew it to over 3,000 paid users​ using Google Ads as a key driver.

Donald’s strategy—bidding for competitor and intent-specific keywords—drove significant traffic to their platform. However, he made mistakes along the way. He ​shares on X​: “If you’re running ads bidding on Maximize Conversions always set a Target CPA limit. That is if you don’t want Google to charge you $200 for 9 clicks. (Based on true story)”

5. Focus on high value keywords

Nick Freiling is the non-tech founder of ​PeopleFish​, a website for building and launching surveys. He grew it to ​$1.6M revenue​ within his first five years.

Nick focuses on keywords that yield high-value clients, not just a high volume of clients. He spent significant time identifying the customer segment and messaging that resonated with high-purchase intent customers. After many iterations, he reported a ​Google Ads ROI of 183%​.

6. Target competitor brands

​AZLabels​ is a software that sends your labels straight to thermal printers. Its creator, Eric Turner, grew it to ​$4K MRR​.

Eric ran Google Ads targeting competitor brands that offered lower quality products than his. His ad headlines emphasized AZLabels as a trustworthy alternative, leveraging competitors’ weaknesses. While the traffic was low, these ads had a high conversion rate.

If you’re just starting out with Google Ads, think more like a cautious scientist than a circus performer. Set up small, controlled experiments, collect data, extract learnings, and iterate.

It’s not easy, but it’s doable. Just be careful. Don’t make big mistakes like choosing the total budget instead of the daily budget.

And don’t give up too quickly! As you saw above, even small or unfinished products can achieve success with Google Ads, even if you aren’t experienced.

Give it a try. You might see no results… or you might get a bunch of new users.