Hi there,
Thanks for getting in touch. I saw your post and it's good you're thinking carefully about how to approach Google Ads for your tax relief company. It's a smart move. Happy to give you some initial thoughts and guidance based on my experience, hope it helps you figure out the best path forward.
Your idea of managing the account yourself but getting periodic paid audits is actually a really sensible one, especially as you mention you're fairly competent technically. Let's break down a few areas you'll need to consider.
We'll need to look at your approach: DIY vs. Freelancer
You've hit on a common crossroads for businesses starting with paid ads. You mentioned agencies reccomended a freelancer, and you're weighing that against doing it yourself.
My honest take? I'd be a bit wary of jumping straight to a freelancer. I've seen it quite a few times where a business, especially one with some in-house skill, ends up spending more time and energy managing the freelancer and trying to get them up to speed on the business than it would have taken to learn the fundamentals themselves. Not always the case, of course, there are some great freelancers out there. But it's a risk. If you get a bad one, they can burn through your budget fast with very little to show for it.
Doing it yourself, with your technical background, is definately viable. The biggest challenge is knowing what you don't know. It's easy to set up a campaign that spends money, but much harder to set up one that's efficient and profitable from the get-go. This is where your idea of paid audits comes in. Getting an expert to look over your shoulder, so to speak, is a brilliant way to de-risk the DIY approach. They can give you a solid starting strategy, point out any costly mistakes before they happen, and then check in periodically to make sure you're still on the right track. It's a great way to learn while doing, without flying completely blind.
I'd say you're looking at the right ad platform
Choosing Google Ads is spot on for a tax relief company. Your potential clients aren't casually scrolling through social media thinking about their tax problems. They have a very specific, often urgent, problem and they are actively searching for a solution right now. This is what we call 'high-intent' traffic.
Google Search Ads are designed perfectly for this. You're not trying to create demand; you're just placing your service directly in the path of people who are already looking for it. This is far more effective and cost-efficient for a service like yours than, say, Facebook or LinkedIn ads, where you'd be trying to interrupt people who aren't in problem-solving mode.
For services like yours, the goal is usually to get qualified leads. People searching on Google are ready to take action – to call, to fill out a form, to get help. That's exactly the kind of traffic you want.
You probably should set realistic cost expectations
You mentioned a flexible budget, which is great, but it's important to have an idea of what a lead might cost. For professional services on Google Ads, the cost per lead (CPL) can vary massively based on how competative your area is.
Just to give you some perspective from campaigns I've managed for other service businesses, I remember we're currently running a campaign for an HVAC company in a competitive market, and they're seeing a CPL of around $60. On the other end, I've run ads for childcare services where the CPL was closer to $10. For a high-value, specialised service like tax relief, you're likely to be in the middle-to-higher end of that range. I'd probably budget for something between $30 - $80 per lead to be safe when you're starting out. It could be less, but it's better to be realistic.
This is why starting with a controlled budget is a good idea. I usually reccomend a new campaign starts with at least $1,000-$2,000 a month in ad spend. This gives you enough data to see what's working without risking a huge amount. Once you find a sucessful formula, you can scale the budget up.
Here's a simple way to think about it:
| Monthly Ad Spend | Estimated Cost Per Lead (CPL) | Estimated Number of Leads |
|---|---|---|
| $2,000 | $50 | 40 |
| $5,000 | $50 | 100 |
You can see how tweaking the numbers helps you plan. The key is to know your numbers: what's a lead worth to you, and what percentage of leads do you close into customers? Once you know that, you can work out a profitable CPL.
You'll need a website that converts
This is probably the single most overlooked part of paid advertising. You can have the best ads in the world, but if they send people to a website that doesn't work, you're just throwing money away. Your website is your digital salesperson, and for a financial service, it needs to build trust instantly.
Before you spend a single penny on ads, ask yourself these questions about your website:
-> What is the one action I want a visitor to take? Is it to fill out a 'Free Consultation' form? Call a number? Schedule a meeting? This Call To Action (CTA) needs to be obvious and compelling on your homepage and landing pages.
-> Does my website look trustworthy? For tax relief, trust is everything. Your site needs to look professional. This means high-quality design, but also trust signals. Things like client testimonials, case studies (anonymised if needed), reviews, and any accreditations or 'as seen in' logos you have are massive for building confidence.
-> Is the copy persuasive? Does it speak directly to the visitor's pain points (stress, worry, confusion about tax) and clearly explain how you solve that problem? Some professional sales copy could make a huge difference here.
A poor website will give you a very low conversion rate, which means a very high cost per lead. Fixing this first will make your ad budget go so much further.
You'll need to target the right keywords
Once your website is ready to turn visitors into leads, you need to get the right people there. In Google Ads, this is all about the keywords you bid on. You want to target keywords that show someone is looking to hire a professional, not just looking for information.
Here are some examples of the kind of keywords you should be thinking about, split by intent:
| Keyword Type | Example Keywords | User Intent |
|---|---|---|
| High Commercial Intent | "tax relief company near me", "hmrc debt help expert", "hire tax professional", "emergency tax advisor" | Ready to buy/hire. These should be your top priority. |
| Problem/Solution Aware | "help with back taxes", "how to settle tax debt", "options for tax arrears" | Looking for a solution, good leads but might need more convincing. |
| Informational (Avoid at first) | "what is tax relief", "how does tax debt work", "free tax advice" | Just researching. They will click your ad, cost you money, and not convert. |
Focus your budget on those high commercial intent keywords first. You should also make sure to enable phone call extensions in your ads. A lot of people in a stressful tax situation will prefer to pick up the phone and speak to a human right away.
I've detailed my main recommendations for you below:
| Action Item | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Initial Approach | Start with the DIY approach. Get an initial 'setup audit' from an expert to build the campaigns correctly from day one. Then manage it yourself for 1-2 months before a follow-up audit. |
| Website & Funnel | Before launching ads, ensure your website has a single, clear call-to-action (e.g., "Request a Free Assessment") and is packed with trust signals like testimonials and accreditations. |
| Budgeting | Start with a test budget of $1k-$2k per month. Expect a CPL of $30-$80. Don't scale until you have a profitable and repeatable process. |
| Keyword Strategy | Focus 80% of your budget on high-commercial-intent keywords (e.g., "tax relief company"). Avoid broad, informational keywords that waste money. |
| Ad Setup | Always run at least two different ad copy versions to test what message works best. Enable call extensions so people can phone you directly from the ad. |
As you can see, there's a lot to it. While going it alone is certainly an option, the learning curve can be steep and costly. The difference between a poorly managed account and a professionally optimised one isn't just a few percent here or there; it can be the difference between burning cash and generating a steady stream of profitable new clients for your firm.
An expert can help you navigate this complexity, implement a proven strategy from the start, and free you up to focus on what you do best – helping your clients with their tax issues.
If you'd like to chat through this in more detail and see how we might be able to help you get set up for success, we offer a free initial consultation where we can look at your specific situation. Feel free to book one in if you think it would be helpful.
Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh
