Solved: Choosing Between Socials and Website for Google Ads

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out!

Happy to give you some initial thoughts on your situation. It's a common crossroads for people starting out in paid ads, and it’s easy to get bogged down in the 'website vs socials' debate. To be honest, I think you might be asking the slightly wrong question. The real challenge isn't *where* you showcase your skills, but *what* skills you showcase and *how* you prove your value to a potential employer when you don't have a budget or a client list. The good news is, you don't need either of those things to stand out.

Let's unpack a different way of thinking about this. It's less about broadcasting what you're learning and more about demonstrating how you think. That's what gets you hired.

The Real Problem Isn't Your Platform, It's Your Proposition

Right, let's get this out of the way. The whole website vs social media thing is a distraction at this stage. A website is great, but it's an empty shop without traffic, and you've correctly identified you don't have the cash to run ads to it. Social media is free, but it's incredibly noisy. You'll be one of a thousand other "newbie marketers" posting "5 tips for better headlines". It's a hard way to get noticed.

Hiring managers, especially at good agencies, aren't looking for another person who can recite the different campaign types from memory. That information is free on Google's own Skillshop. They're not even primarily looking for someone who has managed a million-pound budget before for an entry-level role. What they are desperate for is someone who demonstrates commercial acumen. Someone who thinks about the client's business first, and the ad platform second.

They want someone who understands that a client doesn't want "Google Ads", they want more customers. They want their phone to ring. They want to solve a payroll problem. They want to sleep at night without worrying about where the next sale is coming from. Your job is to connect their business problem to a solution using the tools of paid advertising. Most beginners miss this completly. They talk about CTRs and Quality Score. You need to talk about Cost Per Lead and Customer Lifetime Value.

Forget the sterile, demographic-based profiles. "People aged 25-45 living in Manchester" tells you nothing of value. You need to become an expert in a customer's specific, urgent, expensive nightmare. Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) isn't a demographic; it's a problem state. Once you can show you understand this, you're already in the top 10% of applicants, I garantee it.

We'll need to look at how you can build a 'Portfolio of One'

So, how do you prove this kind of thinking without clients or a budget? You stop broadcasting and start building. Forget the idea of "posting whatever I learn on a consistent basis". It's low-value. It positions you as a student, not a practitioner-in-waiting. It’s like a chef posting a photo of a raw onion every day with the caption "Learning about chopping". It doesn't prove you can cook a meal.

I want you to build a "Portfolio of One".

This is a single, incredibly detailed, strategic breakdown of a paid advertising strategy for one specific, hypothetical (or real) small business. This becomes your secret weapon. It's a document—a PDF, a Google Slides deck, a simple webpage—that you attach to every job application. It immediately elevates you from the pile of identikit CVs. It's a testament to your thinking, not your spending.

Here’s the process:

1. Pick a Business. Don't pick something massive like Nike. Choose a business type that is easy to understand and common. A local service business is perfect. Think: an emergency plumber, a private dentist, a roofing company, a locksmith. These businesses often live or die by the leads they generate online.
2. Do the Research. Spend a few hours being their potential customer. Look at their real-life competitors' websites. What do they do well? What do they do badly? What are their customers *really* buying? (Hint: The plumber isn't selling pipe repairs; they're selling a return to a warm, dry, stress-free home).
3. Build the Strategy. This is where you create your masterpiece. You'll outline the entire Google Ads strategy from the ground up, based not on theory, but on the specific commercial reality of that business.

This approach bypasses your lack of budget entirely. It shifts the focus from "Look, I spent money" to "Look how I *think* about spending money". This is infinitely more valuable to an employer.

I'd say you need to define the 'Customer Nightmare'

Let's stick with the emergency plumber example. This is a brilliant model because the customer's need is urgent and acute. This is where you start your analysis. You must define their 'nightmare scenario'.

The customer's problem isn't "my tap is dripping". That's a low-intent, non-urgent issue. The nightmare is "It's 3 AM, water is pouring through my ceiling, I can hear it dripping on my new laptop, and I have no idea who to call. I'm terrified of getting ripped off by some cowboy who'll charge me a fortune and do a shoddy job."

Do you see the difference? The second scenario is drenched in emotion: fear, urgency, stress, distrust. Your ad strategy must be built to solve *that* emotional state, not just the practical problem. Understanding this is the foundation of all good direct response advertising.

This 'Nightmare Analysis' then directly informs your entire strategy: your keyword selection, your ad copy, your landing page recommendations, even the ad extensions you use. You're no longer just targeting keywords; you're targeting a state of mind.

Here’s how that thinking process flows from the abstract to the concrete:

Based on this, you can start building out keyword lists that are far more intelligent than a generic list from a keyword tool. You'd structure your campaign into ad groups based on intent:

This structure allows you to write incredibly specific ad copy for each 'nightmare' and bid more aggressively on the keywords that signal a customer is in maximum pain (and therefore most likely to convert immediately).

You probably should focus on the maths that matters

Here's the next step that will put you head and shoulders above other entry-level candidates. You need to show you can think about profitability. The real question isn't "How low can I get the Cost Per Click?" but "How high a Cost Per Lead can this business *afford* to pay and still be wildly profitable?" The answer lies in its counterpart: Customer Lifetime Value (LTV).

If you can walk into an interview and explain this concept, you're not just a Google Ads technician anymore; you're a potential growth partner. You're showing them you understand the mechanics of the business itself.

Let's work through it for our plumber. We have to make some educated guesses, which is fine—the point is to demonstrate the thinking process.

• Average Annual Customer Value: An emergency call-out might be £150, but a new boiler install could be £2,000. Considering repeat business like annual servicing, let's assume a new customer is worth an average of £400 in revenue per year.
• Gross Margin: After parts, fuel, and other direct costs, let's assume the plumber has a 60% gross margin.
• Customer Lifespan: People don't move house that often. A happy customer might stick with their plumber for 5 years on average.

Now, we can calculate a simple LTV. The logic is to multiply the annual profit from a customer by the number of years they are likely to remain a customer.

Annual Profit Per Customer: £400 (annual value) * 60% margin = £240 profit

Total LTV (Gross Margin): £240 (annual profit) * 5 years = £1,200

This means that, over five years, each new customer is worth £1,200 in gross profit to the business. Suddenly, paying £50 or even £100 for a qualified lead doesn't seem so expensive, does it? It looks like an incredible investment. This is the maths that unlocks growth.

To make this tangible, I've built a little calculator for you. You can plug in your own assumptions for whatever business you choose for your 'Portfolio of One'. This is the kind of tool that makes a hiring manager sit up and pay attention.

You'll need a message they can't ignore

Now that you understand the customer's nightmare and the business's economics, you can finally write ad copy that actually works. Most beginners write feature-based copy: "Qualified Plumbers", "Fast Service", "Fair Prices". It's boring, generic, and invisible.

You need to write copy that enters the conversation already happening in the customer's head. You use the 'Problem-Agitate-Solve' framework. It's as old as the hills because it works.

1. Problem: State the nightmare they are experiencing right now. ("Burst pipe flooding your kitchen?")
2. Agitate: Poke the bruise. Remind them of the consequences. ("Don't let water damage ruin your home.")
3. Solve: Present your service as the fast, reliable, and safe solution. ("Get a 24/7 Leeds plumber there in under 60 mins.")

Here’s how this would look in the form of actual Google Search Ads for the different ad groups we identified earlier. Notice how the messaging changes based on the user's specific intent. This is somthing you should definately include in your portfolio piece.

The first ad is all about speed, reassurance, and stopping the pain. The language is urgent ("Stop the damage now"). The offer is built around trust ("fixed price upfront"). The second ad is slower-paced. It's about value, long-term benefits ("Save on your energy bills"), and making an informed decision ("Free, no-obligation quote"). Two different customers, two completly different messages.

This is the main advice I have for you:

So, let's tie this all together into an actionable plan. Your goal isn't just to get *a* job; it's to get a good job where you can learn and grow. This plan is designed to make you the most compelling candidate, even with zero practical experience.

I've detailed my main recommendations for you below:

So, to wrap up...

Stop thinking like a student who needs to show off their homework. Start thinking like a consultant who solves business problems. This single shift in mindset is more valuable than any technical certification.

The path you're on is tough, and it's competitive. But almost everyone else is following the same playbook: get certified, post on LinkedIn, hope for the best. By creating a 'Portfolio of One', you're not just showing you know the theory of Google Ads; you're proving you can apply it to a real-world commercial problem. You're showing strategic depth, commercial awareness, and initiative. Frankly, these are the traits we look for when we hire.

This approach takes more effort than posting a daily tip on social media, but the payoff is exponentially higher. It will get you noticed by the right people and land you a job where you're valued for your brain, not just your ability to click buttons.

If you put in this work, you'll be well on your way. This is the kind of deep, strategic thinking that is required to actually get results for clients. It's not easy, but it is what separates the average from the excellent in this field. If you ever want to chat through your 'Portfolio of One' or get another perspective, we offer a free 20-minute strategy session where we could go through it.

Hope this helps!

Regards,

Team @ Lukas Holschuh