Google Ads Agency in Bath? Read This First!

So you're based in Bath and looking to outsource your Google Ads management. It’s a logical step. You're busy running your business, and you know there's a world of customers out there searching for exactly what you offer. But here’s the brutally honest truth that most local agencies won't tell you: searching for a "Google Ads agency in Bath" is probably the worst way to start.

It sounds counterintuitive, I know. You want someone local, someone you could theoretically meet for a coffee. But in 2024, for a service that is 100% digital, geography is almost completely irrelevant. What actually matters? Niche expertise. A track record. A deep, almost obsessive understanding of your specific industry and customer. The best agency for a Bath-based software company might be in Manchester. The perfect partner for a local e-commerce brand might be in London.

Hiring the agency down the road just because they're down the road is like choosing a surgeon based on their postcode. You don't want the most convenient surgeon; you want the best one. This guide will walk you through how to find the *right* partner to manage your Google Ads, someone who can actually deliver a return, not just send you a monthly report. We'll cover how to vet them, what numbers to expect, and when (if ever) being local actually makes a blind bit of difference.

But why is looking for local help the wrong approach?

Let's get straight to the point. The skills required to get a 6x return on ad spend for a national e-commerce store are fundamentally different from those needed to get a local plumber's phone ringing. Both use Google Ads, but the strategy, targeting, keywords, and definition of success are worlds apart. When you limit your search to just Bath, you're fishing in a tiny pond, hoping a world-class specialist happens to live there.

The real currency in this game is experience. I remember one client, a B2B SaaS company, who came to us after working with a local "all-in-one" digital agency. Their ads were a mess. They were getting clicks, sure, but the leads were terrible quality. The agency didn't understand the long sales cycle, the decision-making process, or the specific pain points of their ideal customer. We came in, applied a strategy we'd honed from running dozens of B2B software campaigns, and cut their cost per qualified lead by over 80%. We never met them in person. Our expertise, not our location, was what they needed.

You need a partner who has already made the expensive mistakes in your industry on someone else's budget. Someone who knows which keywords are a waste of money, what ad copy resonates with your specific audience, and what a realistic cost per acquisition looks like. That kind of insight is rare, and you’re unlikely to find it by just searching locally. Instead, you need a framework for finding the best in the country, which you can do by focusing on a few key areas that actually matter. It's much better to find a paid ads expert who understands your business than one who just understands your city.

So what should you look for? A simple vetting framework

Alright, so if location is out, what's in? How do you actually seperate the experts from the cowboys? It comes down to a simple, repeatable process that puts the burden of proof on them, not you. Here's how you do it.

First, you become obsessed with their case studies. And I don't mean the glossy, one-page PDFs with a vague testimonial. I mean proper, detailed breakdowns of their work. A good case study should tell you three things: the client's initial problem, the strategy the agency implemented, and the tangible business results. Look for numbers. Not just clicks or impressions, but Cost Per Lead (CPL), Return On Ad Spend (ROAS), and actual revenue generated. For a software client, we once took their Cost Per Acquisition from a painful £100 down to just £7. That's a result. "Increased brand awareness" is not.

Next, get them on a call. Every decent agency will offer a free initial consultation or account review. This is not a sales call. This is your opportunity to get free advice and see how they think. Don't let them just talk about themselves. Share your screen, show them your account (if you have one), and ask them direct questions: "Based on what you see, what's the single biggest opportunity we're missing?" or "What would be your priority for the first 30 days?". A real expert will give you ideas you can use right away. Someone who just wants your money will be vague and try to push you towards a contract. If you leave the call without learning something valuable, they are not the right fit. This is the core of the founder's guide to vetting agencies.

Finally, ask about their process. How do they communicate? What does reporting look like? How often will they be optimising things? A lack of a clear, structured process is a massive red flag. It suggests they're just "winging it". You want a partner who has a system, who is proactive, and who treats your money like their own. Tbh, if someone asks us for references after we've shown them detailed case studies and given them a free, in-depth account audit, it's a sign they don't trust us, and it probably won't be a good working relationship. The proof should be in the expertise they've already demonstrated.

What results can you realistically expect in the UK market?

This is the million-dollar—or million-pound—question. And anyone who gives you a guaranteed number without knowing your business, your margins, and your website's conversion rate is lying. However, based on the hundreds of UK campaigns we've run, we can give you some realistic ballpark figures. This is crucial for planning your budget and knowing whether your agency is performing well or not.

It all starts with two key metrics: your Cost Per Click (CPC) and your landing page Conversion Rate (CVR). In the UK, for most industries on Google Search, you can expect a CPC somewhere between £0.50 and £1.50 for commercial intent keywords. Some, like legal or financial services, can be much, much higher. Your landing page should, if it's any good, convert somewhere between 10% and 30% of that traffic into a lead (like a form fill or a phone call).

Do the maths:
Worst case: £1.50 CPC / 10% CVR = £15 Cost Per Lead (CPL).
Best case: £0.50 CPC / 30% CVR = £1.67 Cost Per Lead (CPL).

Your actual CPL will likely fall somewhere in that range. For a local service business, like an electrician in Bath, a £15-£20 lead that turns into a £500 job is a fantastic return. I remember a home cleaning client we worked with who was getting leads for around £5 each. On the other hand, for a B2B software company with a £10,000 lifetime value per customer, even a £100 CPL can be wildly profitable. It's all relative. The key is to understand your own numbers so you can judge the performance properly. Many founders make the mistake of wasting money on Google Ads because they have no idea what a 'good' result even looks like for them.

Does the Bath & South West context ever matter?

I've spent this whole time saying location doesn't matter, but let's play devil's advocate for a moment. Are there any situations where having a local agency in Bath or the South West could be an advantage?

The short answer is: maybe, but only in very specific, hyper-local scenarios. If you're a restaurant in the centre of Bath, an estate agent focused on Combe Down, or a tradesperson who only serves the BA1 and BA2 postcodes, then yes, an agency with some local knowledge might write slightly more resonant ad copy. They might know that people search for "student housing near the uni" or "pubs near the Roman Baths". It's a minor advantage, a slight edge in flavouring the ads, but it's not a strategic game-changer.

However, the core mechanics of a successful Google Ads campaign—rigorous keyword research, intelligent bid management, conversion rate optimisation, negative keyword strategy—are universal principles. They are technical skills. An A-grade practitioner in Aberdeen will beat a C-grade one in Bath 10 times out of 10, even for a local campaign. The top expert will quickly learn the local nuances needed, but the local person may never learn the high-level skills needed to truly make the account profitable.

Think about the thriving tech and professional services scene in the area. These businesses aren't just competing with other companies in Bath; they're competing nationally, even globally. For them, hiring a local-only agency would be a massive strategic error. They need an agency that understands the national B2B landscape, not just the M4 corridor. The decision about whether to manage ads yourself or hire an agency is far more important than the agency's physical address.

The final step: making the decision

You’ve done your homework. You've looked beyond Bath, you've scrutinised case studies, you've had a couple of insightful consultation calls, and you have a handle on what realistic results look like. Now it’s time to make a choice. It boils down to one thing: trust. Not a blind, hopeful trust, but an earned trust based on the evidence they've presented and the expertise they've demonstrated.

The right agency for you is the one that gave you clarity, not confusion. The one that talked about your business problems, not just their services. The one that felt like a strategic partner, not a supplier. Sometimes, after doing all this research, you might even feel confident enough to try running things yourself for a while, and that's fine too. But if you want to scale, if you want to save yourself months of costly trial-and-error, then outsourcing to a true expert is the logical next step.

To help you pull this all together, I’ve detailed the main recommendations for you in a table below. Think of it as your checklist for hiring. Follow it, and you'll give yourself the best possible chance of finding a partner who can turn your Google Ads spend into a reliable engine for growth. After all, the goal isn't just to "do Google Ads"; it's to get more customers. The right partner never loses sight of that.

Choosing to outsource your Google Ads is a big step, but it's often the one that unlocks real growth. By focusing on expertise over geography and following a structured vetting process, you can find a partner that delivers a genuine return on your investment. If you're currently running ads and want a second opinion, or you're thinking of starting and want to do it right from day one, we offer a completely free, no-obligation strategy session. We can take a look at your account, discuss your goals, and give you some honest, actionable advice you can take away and use, whether you decide to work with us or not.