Agency insights
Thoughts and lessons on client selection, burnout, pricing, and modernising legacy accounts, from someone who's run a Google Ads for years.
A warning about Google Local Service Ads for doctors, lawyers and other professionals
Published October 2021. Last updated July 2026.
If you don’t know what Google Local Service Ads are go here.
I investigated using Google Local Service Ads for a law firm client. Turns out that there are some privacy issues which were of concern. They may be of concern to you too.
Let me explain…
When a potential client contacts your business via a regular Google Search Ad they fill in the form on your website or call on your phone number. The conversation goes through your infrastructure.
When a potential client contacts your business via a Local Service Ad the conversation goes through Google’s infrastructure.
Google reserves the right to record and review the calls, emails and texts between you and your potential client. (See here)
I don’t think that Google sets out to misuse this information. But, the mere existence of recordings of confidential conversations in someone else's hands might be enough to violate client confidentiality requirements.
Most Google Ads Problems Aren't Google Ads Problems
If my writing resonates with you, I'd like to give you a copy of my book, Profitable Google Ads. The book was written for business owners, but many PPC professionals have found it valuable too.
Before you download it, what describes you best?
Related articles
Advertising is expensive. Do as little of it as you can.
It is almost always cheaper to get a happy customer to return than to win another one through advertising.
Is your conversion tracking teaching Google the right lessons?
If every enquiry looks equally valuable, Google will chase quantity. Does it ever learn which leads actually become customers?
Map every route a Google Ads lead can take into your business
I trace every route from the ad to the CRM to find leads and tracking data that go missing.
Are you making Google Ads decisions with the right evidence?
The ad account says the leads are good. The sales team says they aren’t. Who has the evidence needed to decide?
How I decide which Google Ads evidence gaps matter most
Finding problems is easy. The difficult part is identifying the few evidence gaps that could materially affect leads, decisions and profitability.
What happens after a Google Ads lead arrives?
A neat sales funnel can hide where leads go missing, follow-up breaks down and the evidence needed to improve your ads gets lost.
Topics you'll find on this site
Conversion tracking
Understand what happens after someone clicks your advert. Subjects include offline conversions, CRM integration, attribution, auditability and marketing instrumentation.
Essays and thinking
Articles about marketing, engineering, AI and problem solving that don't fit neatly into the other topics. These are some of the ideas and experiences that have shaped how I think.
Getting the most from your Google Ads agency
How to choose the right Google Ads agency, set them up to succeed, judge their work fairly, and build a relationship that delivers better business results.
Google Ads for lead generation
Learn how to use Google Ads to generate profitable leads. Subjects include campaign strategy, bidding, targeting, optimisation and the challenges of running lead generation campaigns.
How to get better quality leads from Google Ads
Understand why some leads become customers while others don't. Subjects include diagnosing poor leads, qualification, filtering junk leads and improving the feedback you send to Google Ads.
Landing pages
Things I've learned about high-converting landing pages. Subjects include copywriting, page structure, forms, trust, conversion rate optimisation and user experience.
Sales Process
What happens after a lead has been generated determines if Google Ads is profitable. Subjects include first contact, follow-up, quoting, lead nurturing and turning more enquiries into customers.
© 2026 Pete Bowen