Google Ads Experts: The Norwich Founder's Real Guide

If you're a business owner in Norwich, you've probably typed something like "Google Ads management Norwich" into a search bar. It makes sense. You want local, you want someone who gets it. But here's the brutally honest truth: you're asking the wrong question, and it's probably costing you money. The best person to run your ads probably isn't based down the road on Prince of Wales Street. The best person is the one who lives and breathes your industry, understands your specific customer's nightmare, and has a proven track record of solving it, wether they're in Norwich or Newcastle.

The digital landscape has flattened the map. Proximity is irrelevant. Expertise is everything. An agency in another city with a portfolio full of businesses just like yours will run circles around a local jack-of-all-trades. This guide isn't about finding a local agency; it's about arming you with the framework to find the *right* expert for your Norwich-based business and avoid the costly mistakes most founders make when they start with paid ads.

So, is a Norwich-based agency ever the right choice?

Let's be clear. There are some talented marketing people in Norwich. But the odds that the world's leading expert on generating leads for, say, B2B software companies happens to have an office near the Cathedral are slim to none. You're limiting your talent pool massively by focusing on geography. The real question isn't "where are you based?" but "what expensive problem do you specialise in solving?".

Norwich has a unique and growing economy. You've got the world-class science at the Norwich Research Park, a thriving tech and creative scene, and a strong backbone of professional services and retail in the city centre. Each of these sectors has completely different needs.

• -> A SaaS company at the NRP needs an expert who understands Product Qualified Leads (PQLs), churn rates, and LTV to CAC ratios. They need someone who's scaled software trials before. We've worked on campaigns that generated over 5,000 software trials, and the strategy for that is worlds apart from local lead generation.
• -> A high-street solicitor needs someone who understands local search intent, call tracking, and how to turn a search like "conveyancing solicitor NR2" into a client.
• -> An eCommerce brand selling nationally from a warehouse in Norfolk needs an expert in Google Shopping and Performance Max. The goal is always a strong return on investment, and we have a track record of this; for instance, one of our campaigns for a women's apparel brand achieved a 691% return.

The expertise is in the industry, not the city. You're hiring a specific skillset, not a postcode. Once you accept that, you open yourself up to a much higher calibre of potential partners. The whole process should be remote anyway. Strategy calls, reporting, and management are all done online. Whether your account manager is in Norwich or not has zero impact on your campaign's performance.

How do you spot real expertise from a distance?

Okay, so if we're not just picking the agency with the fanciest office near the castle, what are we looking for? It boils down to evidence. You need to see proof that they've done it before, and done it well. Forget the slick sales pitch and focus on these three things.

First, their case studies are everything. But you have to know how to read them. Don't just look at the headline number like "1000% ROAS!". That's a vanity metric without context. Was that over one day? Was it for a business with 90% profit margins? It's meaningless. A good case study tells a story. It should outline the client's initial problem, the strategy the agency developed to solve it, the tactics they used (e.g., campaign types, targeting), and then the results, explaining what those results actually meant for the business.

Look for case studies that mirror your own situation. I remember one client with a home services business who was excited to see we had generated leads for a cleaning company for £5 a pop. That's relevant. If you're a B2B business, seeing we reduced a client's cost per lead by 84% on LinkedIn is a huge green light. If they can't show you detailed examples of success in a similar field, they're probably going to be learning on your dime. And that's an expensive education.

Second, the initial consultation is not a sales pitch. It's an audit. It's a two-way interview where you are assessing their brain. A real expert will ask you sharp, incisive questions about your business model, your customers, your margins, and your goals. They won't just nod and say "yes, we can do that". They'll push back, challenge your assumptions, and give you actual strategic advice right there on the call. You should walk away from that first chat with at least one or two actionable ideas you hadn't considered before. If all you get is a presentation about how great they are, they're not the one. You need a partner, not a vendor. It's also why you should learn how to properly vet an expert before you ever get on a call.

Finally, check their reviews. But again, look past the 5-star rating. Read what people are actually saying. Are the reviews detailed? Do they talk about specific results, good communication, or strategic insights? Vague reviews like "they were great to work with" are useless. You want reviews that say "they helped us understand our numbers and increased our qualified leads by 50% in three months". That's the kind of social proof that matters.

What should a Norwich business realistically expect to pay?

This is the million-dollar question, or rather, the "how many thousands of pounds" question. The cost is broken into two parts: the agency's management fee and the actual ad spend you pay to Google. Management fees in the UK vary wildly, but for a good freelancer or small, specialist agency, you're likely looking at somewhere between £500 - £2,000+ per month. Anyone charging less is probably a red flag – they simply can't afford to dedicate the time needed to properly manage your account.

The ad spend is the real variable. It depends entirely on your industry, your goals, and your market's competitiveness. Norwich is generally less competitive than London, but you're still competing on a national or even global stage for many keywords.

Here’s a rough idea of what you might expect for Cost Per Click (CPC) and Cost Per Lead (CPL) in the UK market. For a service-based business, a click might cost you anywhere from £0.50 to £1.50, and sometimes much more for hyper-competitive terms like "solicitor". If your website converts visitors into leads at a rate of 10%, your Cost Per Lead would be between £5 and £15. For a more complex B2B sale or high-ticket item, conversion rates will be lower, and costs will be higher.

I remember one campaign for childcare services achieved signups for around £10 each, while another for an HVAC company in a competitive area was seeing leads at around £60. It all depends. The best way to get a handle on it is to work backwards from your goals. Don't just pick a budget out of thin air. Use a calculator to see what's realistic.

Remember, this is just a starting point. The goal isn't just to get cheap leads; it's to get profitable customers. For a deeper dive, it's worth understanding the true cost and profitability of Google Ads in the UK, as this will set your expectations correctly from the start.

What's the right Google Ads strategy for my business type?

There's no one-size-fits-all answer. The right strategy depends entirely on your business model. What works for a tech startup will be a disaster for a local plumber. Here’s a simple way to think about it for different types of Norwich businesses.

For local service businesses, it's all about immediate intent. Someone searching "blocked drain Norwich" needs help *now*. Your ad needs to show up, promise a quick solution, and make it incredibly easy to call you. You must focus on solving customer problems with your keywords, not just listing your services. This is where Google Search and Local Service Ads are unbeatable.

For eCommerce, your location is just where you ship from. Your battlefield is the Google Shopping tab. The strategy is about optimising your product feed, managing bids for profitability (ROAS), and using Performance Max to reach customers across all of Google's channels. It's a highly technical specialism.

For B2B and SaaS, especially in the growing Norwich tech community, the game is completely different. You're not selling an impulse buy; you're selling a considered purchase. Your ads need to target keywords that reflect deep research, like "best CRM for small businesses" or "how to improve engineering workflow". The ad's job is to get a lead, not a sale. This is often done by offering something of value, like a free trial, a demo, or a helpful guide. The sales process happens after the click, which means your website and offer have to be flawless. We've seen so many tech companies fail with ads not because the ads were bad, but because their offer was weak or their website didn't build trust.

How to calculate the *real* value of a customer

Before you can judge if a £30 Cost Per Lead is 'good' or 'bad', you need to know what a customer is actually worth to you over their entire relationship with your business. This is your Lifetime Value (LTV). Most businesses don't know this number, and it's the single most important metric in paid advertising. Without it, you're flying blind.

The calculation is simpler than you think. You just need three numbers:

1. Average Revenue Per Account (ARPA): How much does a typical customer pay you each month?
2. Gross Margin %: After your cost of goods/service, what percentage of that revenue is profit?
3. Monthly Churn Rate %: What percentage of your customers do you lose each month?

Once you have those, the formula is: LTV = (ARPA * Gross Margin %) / Monthly Churn Rate

Let's say you run a subscription box service from Norwich. Your box is £30/month (ARPA), your gross margin is 60%, and you lose 5% of your subscribers each month (churn).

LTV = (£30 * 0.60) / 0.05 = £18 / 0.05 = £360

Each customer you acquire is worth £360 in gross margin. A common rule of thumb is to maintain an LTV to Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) ratio of at least 3:1. This means you can afford to spend up to £120 to acquire a new customer and still have a very healthy business. Suddenly, paying £20 or £30 for that acquisition doesn't seem so expensive, does it? It's a profitable investment. This is the maths that lets you scale aggressively and intelligently.

The final checklist: How to choose your partner

You've done the research, you understand the strategy, and you know your numbers. Now it's time to make a decision. Your goal is to find a long-term growth partner, not just a supplier. If you're struggling with this decision, our guide on finding the right agency partner for your Norwich business can help you make the final call. But here is the process I'd recommend.

Shortlist 3-4 agencies or freelancers who have strong, relevant case studies in your specific industry. At this point, completely ignore their location. Book a discovery call with each of them. Before the call, send them a brief summary of your business, your goals, and your key numbers (like the LTV you just calculated). This shows you're serious and allows them to prepare properly.

During the call, your job is to listen more than you talk. Do they sound like they've read your brief? Are they asking intelligent questions? Or are they just launching into a generic sales pitch? A good partner will be trying to understand your business, not just sell their services. Ask them directly: "Based on what you know, what would be your strategic approach for the first 90 days?". Their answer will tell you everything you need to know about their level of expertise and whether they've actually thought about your specific situation.

After the calls, you should have a clear favorite. But there's one final check: transparency and ownership. You must insist on having full administrative ownership of your Google Ads account. The agency should have management access, but the account belongs to you. If you ever part ways, you take your data and history with you. Any agency that refuses this is a massive red flag. It's a dodgy tactic used to lock clients in. Similarly, reporting should be clear, regular, and focused on the business metrics that matter (leads, sales, cost per acquisition), not just vanity metrics like clicks and impressions.

I've put together a summary table of the key things to look for and what to avoid. Think of this as your cheat sheet when you're making your final decision.

Choosing a Google Ads partner is a significant investment for your Norwich business. It's not a decision to be taken lightly. Rushing in and picking the wrong one can set you back thousands of pounds and months of wasted time. By focusing on niche expertise over geographical location and using a rigorous vetting process, you dramatically increase your chances of finding a partner who can become a genuine engine for your growth.

If you're a founder or business owner in Norwich and this process feels overwhelming, you're not alone. The world of paid advertising is complex, and it's easy to make costly mistakes. Sometimes, the fastest way to get results is to work with someone who has already navigated this landscape hundreds of times before.

We offer a completely free, no-obligation 20-minute strategy session. We can audit your existing campaigns to find missed opportunities or, if you're starting from scratch, help you build a strategic roadmap based on your specific goals and numbers. There's no hard sell, just straightforward, expert advice tailored to your business. If you'd like to book a call, feel free to get in touch.