Running Google Ads doesn’t have to mean spending thousands a month. With the right structure, even a small budget can generate qualified leads. The key is focusing your spend where it matters most: demand generation, brand protection, and high-intent search.
Here’s how I recommend setting up three core campaigns if you’re working with a lean budget.
What a Funnel Really Is (and Why It Matters)
A marketing funnel is just a simple way to describe your buyer’s journey:
- Top of Funnel (TOFU): People who don’t know you yet. Your job is to get attention and spark interest.
- Middle of Funnel (MOFU): People who know you or are comparing options. Your job is to build trust and stay top-of-mind.
- Bottom of Funnel (BOFU): People ready to take action. Your job is to make it easy to contact you or request a quote.
In Google Ads, I map campaigns to each stage so every dollar has a purpose: Demand Gen (TOFU), Brand Search (MOFU), and Exact-match Search (BOFU).
Important: If not done so already, make sure you have conversion tracking setup and have verified it is working by testing a few form submissions in Google Tag Manager. Also consider adding micro conversions and specify a value for them. Below is an example of a conversion set for B2B company that is optimizing for lead generation. Let me know if you need help setting this up.
- View pricing or request a quote page – $10
- Form start- $20
- Filled out free resource guide form- $50
- Filled out request a quote form- $100
1) Demand Gen Campaign (Top of Funnel)
Goal: Reach new prospects and re-engage past visitors.
- Campaign type: Demand Gen
- Objective: Leads (or Website traffic if you don’t have conversions yet)
- Audiences:
- Remarketing: all site visitors (30–180 days) and YouTube viewers
- One cold segment: Custom segment built from competitor URLs or intent keywords. When creating these be only add one match type because the more you do the more dilluted the targeting. Also narrow down the age demographics and income level.
- Creative: Upload 5–10 images and at least 1 short video (10–20s). Use clear offers like “Pricing Guide,” “Buyers’ Checklist,” or “Free Consult.”
- Exclusions: Add mobile apps (if low quality), kids content, and irrelevant categories as you find them in reports.
- Networks: YouTube in Feed and Discover. Do not use shorts, gmail, display or in-stream. Too broad.
- Bidding: Start with Maximize Conversions
- Budget: $10–15/day
- Weekly check: Reports → Predefined → Where ads showed (Placements) → exclude poor channels/apps.
2) Brand Campaign (Middle of Funnel)
Goal: Own your name in search results and keep competitors from poaching your traffic.
- Campaign type: Search
- Bidding: Manual Clicks or Maximize Impression share
- Keywords: Exact keywords of your brand, product names, and common misspellings
- Ads: Emphasize trust: “Official Site,” “Talk to a Specialist,” “Local Support.”
- Assets:
- Sitelinks (Contact, Services, Pricing)
- Callouts (Fast Response, Michigan-Based)
- Structured Snippets (Services)
- Negative keywords: Add irrelevant brand terms (e.g., jobs, careers if not hiring)
- Budget: $5–10/day
- Weekly check: Impression share ≥95%, CPC stable, search terms clean.
3) Search Manual Exact Campaign (Bottom of Funnel)
Goal: Capture high-intent buyers searching for exactly what you offer.
- Campaign type: Search
- Bidding: Manual CPC
- Structure: 1–3 tightly themed ad groups, 1–5 exact-match keywords per group
- Keywords: Look at organic search traffic to your product and service pages and look for keywords you want to amplify or get more traffic for.
- Ads: 2–3 Responsive Search Ads per ad group. Lead with outcomes and specificity. Don’t fill in all the headlines or description slots. Used pinned headlines to show exactly what you want to show. You can always broaden this later. This reason is, on a small budget there is not enough data to optimize all of the variations anyways.
- Landing page: Dedicated to each theme with one clear CTA (form or call). Include logos, testimonials, or proof.
- Negatives: Add job-seekers, DIY, student terms, and irrelevant geos. Review weekly.
- Budget: 50–70% of total budget
- Weekly check: CPA/CPL trends, impression share lost to rank, keyword-level performance.
Example Budget Split ($1,000/month)
- Demand Gen: $300
- Brand: $100
- Exact-match Search: $600
Weekly Maintenance Checklist
- Placement report (Demand Gen) → exclude low-quality YouTube channels/apps
- Search terms (Exact) → add negatives, expand winners
- Shift budget to lowest CPA/CPL campaigns and ad groups
- Confirm conversions record in Google Ads (and HubSpot)
- Refresh top creatives every 4–6 weeks
Final Takeaway (and Next Step)
Small budgets thrive on focus and control. Map campaigns to the funnel, protect your brand, and put most of your money into exact-match searches that convert. If you’d like me to review your account or set this up for you, book a short consultation and I’ll outline the fastest path to qualified leads in your market.
