Step 1: Create Your Google Ads Account
- Go to ads.google.com.
- Click Start Now and sign in with your Google account. If you don’t have one, you’ll need to create it.
- Google will ask you a few basic setup questions:
- Billing country → Choose where your business is located.
- Time zone → Use your local time zone.
- Currency → Usually USD if you’re in the U.S. (this matters because your ad costs will be billed in this currency).
- Enter your payment method (credit card, debit card, or bank account). Google only charges you after your ads run, so you’re not paying upfront for the whole budget.
✅ At this point, you’ve created your account and linked billing. Now you’re ready to set up a campaign.
Step 2: Choose Campaign Goals
When you click New Campaign, Google will ask about your objective.
- If you’re a moving company, choose Leads. This tells Google you want people to call, fill out a form, or request a quote (not just visit your website).
- Next, choose your Campaign Type. For movers, the best option is Search Ads — these are the text ads that show up when someone searches things like “movers near me” or “Wilmington moving company.”
Ignore Display, Video, and Shopping for now — those are more advanced.
Step 3: Set Campaign Settings
Here’s where you tell Google exactly how and where you want ads to run.
- Campaign Name: Make this descriptive (example: “Wilmington Movers – Search”).
- Networks: Uncheck Display Network. You only want Search ads for now (this avoids wasting budget on random sites).
- Location Targeting:
- Enter your service area — city, specific zip codes, or radius around your base.
- Example: “Wilmington, NC” + 20 miles.
- Language: English (unless you’re targeting another group).
- Budget: Decide your daily budget. A safe starting point is $20/day (~$600/month). You can raise or lower this later.
- Bidding Strategy:
- If you have conversion tracking set up (Step 4), use Maximize Conversions.
- If you’re brand new and don’t have tracking yet, start with Maximize Clicks so Google just tries to send people to your site.
Step 4: Set Up Conversions (Super Important)
Without this, you’re paying for clicks without knowing if they turn into leads.
- Go to Tools & Settings → Conversions.
- Add a new conversion action:
- Phone calls → Track when someone calls from your ad directly.
- Website calls → Track if someone clicks to call from your site.
- Forms → Track when someone fills out your quote form.
- Google will give you a piece of tracking code (a “tag”) that goes on your website. If you don’t know how, ask your web developer or use Google Tag Manager.
✅ Now you’ll be able to see which clicks actually turned into leads.
Step 5: Do Keyword Research & Create Ad Groups
This is where you choose what searches will trigger your ads.
- Use Google Keyword Planner (inside Ads) or a tool like SEMrush.
- Think about what your customers actually type in when looking for movers.
Example Ad Groups:
- Local Movers → “movers near me,” “moving companies Wilmington NC.”
- Long Distance Movers → “long distance moving company,” “cross country movers.”
- Apartment Movers → “apartment movers Wilmington,” “small move movers.”
Match Types:
- Exact Match: [movers near me] (only shows if someone types that exact phrase).
- Phrase Match: “moving companies Wilmington” (shows for searches containing that phrase).
- Broad Match: too risky for beginners — avoid at first, or use very carefully.
Add Negative Keywords to block junk searches. Examples:
- jobs, careers, free, DIY, cheap, truck rental, U-Haul.
This keeps your budget from being wasted.
Step 6: Write Your Ads
Each Ad Group should have 2–3 ads.
Headlines (up to 30 characters each):
- “Trusted Wilmington Movers”
- “Get a Free Moving Quote”
- “Fast, Reliable Moving Service”
Descriptions (up to 90 characters each):
- “Licensed & insured movers. Affordable rates. Book your move today.”
- “Local & long distance moving experts. Call now for a free quote.”
Ad Extensions: (these boost click-through rates)
- Call Extensions → add your phone number.
- Sitelink Extensions → link to “About Us,” “Get a Quote,” “Reviews.”
- Callout Extensions → short trust builders like “No Hidden Fees,” “Family-Owned.”
- Structured Snippets → list services like “Local, Long Distance, Packing, Storage.”
✅ More extensions = bigger ad on the search page = better results.
Step 7: Landing Page Setup
Never send people to your homepage. Always use a dedicated landing page designed for leads.
Your landing page should have:
- Clear headline: “Your Wilmington Moving Experts.”
- Trust signals: Reviews, testimonials, licenses, BBB rating.
- Strong Call-to-Action: “Call Now for a Free Quote” or “Request a Free Estimate.”
- Mobile-Friendly Design (most movers’ leads come from mobile).
- Fast load speed (slow pages lose leads).
If you don’t have a landing page builder, you can still make a focused service page on your site.
Step 8: Review & Launch
Before you hit publish, double-check:
- ✅ Billing info is set.
- ✅ Conversion tracking is working.
- ✅ Location targeting is correct.
- ✅ Ads are approved.
Click Publish — and you’re live!
Step 9: Monitor & Optimize
Your ads aren’t “set it and forget it.” They need attention.
- Check daily:
- Go to Search Terms Report and see what people typed in before clicking your ad. If you see irrelevant terms (like “moving truck rental”), add them as negative keywords.
- CTR (Click-Through Rate): If below 3–5%, rewrite your ads to be more compelling.
- Cost per Conversion: Watch how much each lead costs. If it’s too high, adjust keywords, targeting, or ads.
- A/B Test: Try different headlines, descriptions, and landing page layouts to see what works best.
👉 By following these steps, you’ll have your first live Google Ads campaign up and running — and you’ll know how to track and improve it so you’re not wasting money.
If all of this feels overwhelming, head over to our contact page and schedule a meeting — we’ll take the heavy lifting off your hands and run the ads for you.
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