# Google Ads concept: German clients at low cost

Status: draft for the owner's review. Nothing has been created in the Ads account, and no API call has been made.
Wording and prices come from the website's German texts (`apps/web/src/content/de.ts`). Search volumes and click prices are **not** in
this document: they have to come from the Keyword Planner once API access works (section 7).

## 1. Goal and principle

Goal: enquiries by email from German companies, for the two services a layperson searches for:
a website, and process automation. Small budget, so every euro goes to people who are already looking.

- **Search ads first.** Someone who types "Website erstellen lassen" has a need today. Video and display ads
  reach people who do not, and cost more per enquiry.
- **Narrow, then widen.** Few exact search terms, one country, business hours. Widen only what produces enquiries.
- **Measure enquiries, not clicks.** Without counting email clicks per search term, nothing can be steered.
- The videos (`apps/video`) are for LinkedIn posts and, later, for showing to people who already visited the site.

## 2. Before the first euro is spent

| # | Prerequisite | Why | State |
| - | :----------- | :-- | :---- |
| 1 | German landing page | German ad, German page. | Done: German is the main language of the site since 2026-10-04. Ads lead to the homepage, to the section of the service. Own pages per campaign would convert better, but the site is one page by decision |
| 2 | Count email clicks | `EmailLink` does not record a click today. Umami is on the site and needs no cookie banner. | Open: add an event, e.g. `contact_email_click`, with the campaign from the URL |
| 3 | Campaign tagging | Every ad URL carries `utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=<name>&utm_term={keyword}` so Umami shows which search term led to an email click. | With the ads |
| 4 | Developer token and customer number | The Ads API rejects every call without them. `gcloud` login with the Ads scope and the enabled API exist (project `mintelme-402610`). | Open: owner provides both |
| 5 | Payment method and billing country in the Ads account | Cannot be checked from here. | Open: owner |

On prerequisite 2: Google's own conversion tag would let Google optimise bids by itself, but it sets cookies and
needs a consent banner. Recommendation: start without it, judge by Umami, and decide about the tag after the
first month.

## 3. Account structure

Two search campaigns at the start, one ad group each, so that budget and results stay readable.

| Setting | Value | Reason |
| :------ | :---- | :----- |
| Networks | Google Search only; search partners and Display off | Partners and Display bring cheap clicks that rarely enquire |
| Location | Germany, "presence" only (people who are there, not people interested in it) | Default setting includes people abroad |
| Language | German | |
| Schedule | Monday to Friday, 7:00 to 19:00 | Business owners search during working hours; review after two weeks |
| Match types | Phrase and exact only, no broad match | Broad match spends a small budget on unrelated searches |
| Bidding | Maximise clicks with a click-price cap | There is no conversion data yet for automatic bidding |
| Budget | A fixed daily amount per campaign, set by the owner | See section 6 |

## 4. Campaign "Website"

Landing page: the German homepage, services section, case "website".

Search terms (phrase and exact):

- website erstellen lassen
- homepage erstellen lassen
- firmenwebsite erstellen lassen
- webseite erstellen lassen kosten
- website für unternehmen erstellen lassen
- webdesigner freelancer
- webentwickler freelancer

Excluded terms: kostenlos, gratis, selbst, selber, baukasten, wix, jimdo, squarespace, wordpress, shopify,
onlineshop, vorlage, template, kurs, lernen, ausbildung, studium, job, jobs, stellenangebot, gehalt, praktikum.

Responsive search ad. Headlines (at most 30 characters each):

- H: Website erstellen lassen
- H: Firmenwebsite vom Entwickler
- H: Ab 3.800 € netto
- H: 15 Jahre Web-Erfahrung
- H: Design, Bau und Hosting
- H: Änderungen per E-Mail
- H: Kein Baukasten nötig
- H: Erstgespräch: 20 Minuten
- H: Freelancer statt Agentur
- H: Passt auf Handy und Desktop
- H: Marc Mintel, Webentwickler
- H: Individuelles Design

Descriptions (at most 90 characters each):

- D: Sie sagen, was Ihr Unternehmen macht. Ich gestalte, baue und betreue Ihre Website.
- D: Ein Design für Ihr Unternehmen statt einer Vorlage. Auf Handy, Tablet und Desktop.
- D: Um das Hosting kümmere ich mich. Änderungen schicken Sie mir einfach per E-Mail.
- D: Schätzung nach dem ersten Gespräch. Eine typische Firmenwebsite ab 3.800 € netto.

Sitelinks: "So läuft es ab", "Was es kostet", "Meine Arbeiten", "Kontakt".

## 5. Campaign "Automatisierung"

Landing page: the German homepage, services section, case "automation".

Search terms (phrase and exact):

- prozesse automatisieren
- geschäftsprozesse automatisieren
- prozessautomatisierung unternehmen
- schnittstelle programmieren lassen
- api anbindung programmieren lassen
- rechnungen automatisch erfassen
- systeme verbinden schnittstelle

Excluded terms: definition, beispiele, bachelorarbeit, masterarbeit, studium, kurs, schulung, zertifizierung,
job, jobs, stellenangebot, gehalt, kostenlos, sap, uipath, power automate, zapier, make.

The last four are tool names. People searching for them want the tool, not a developer. Review after two weeks:
"zapier" or "make" plus "einrichten lassen" could be worth an own ad group.

Responsive search ad. Headlines:

- H: Prozesse automatisieren
- H: Systeme verbinden lassen
- H: Schluss mit Copy-and-paste
- H: Schnittstellen vom Entwickler
- H: Rechnungen automatisch lesen
- H: Von Bestellung bis Rechnung
- H: 100 € pro Stunde, netto
- H: Erst Schätzung, dann Budget
- H: Erstgespräch: 20 Minuten
- H: 15 Jahre Web-Erfahrung
- H: Ihre Tools, verbunden
- H: Keine Anfrage geht verloren

Descriptions:

- D: Ich verbinde die Tools, die Sie schon nutzen. Wiederkehrende Schritte laufen von selbst.
- D: Daten von Hand von einem Tool ins andere tippen? Das lässt sich meist automatisieren.
- D: Ich sehe mir den Ablauf an und schätze den Aufwand. Die Schätzung wird Ihr Budget.
- D: Menschen entscheiden die Ausnahmen, die Routine läuft von selbst. Erstgespräch: 20 Min.

Sitelinks: "Beispiele", "So läuft es ab", "Was es kostet", "Kontakt".

## 6. Budget and when to stop

The amounts are the owner's decision. A workable way to set them:

- Decide what one new client is worth, and how much of that may go into finding them.
- Run both campaigns for four weeks at a fixed daily amount. Do not change anything in the first week.
- Weekly, 15 minutes: read the search terms report, add wasted terms to the excluded list, pause search terms
  that got clicks but no email click.
- After four weeks: a campaign that produced no enquiry is stopped or rebuilt, not given more budget.
- Automatic bidding on enquiries only once there are enough of them to learn from (Google's guidance is in the
  order of 30 conversions a month; check the current figure before switching).

## 7. Later steps

1. **Numbers first.** With API access: pull monthly searches and click-price ranges for the terms above
   (Keyword Planner), drop terms nobody searches, and set the click-price cap from real figures.
2. **Developer campaign.** Terms like "react entwickler freelancer", "next.js entwickler freelance",
   "frontend entwickler freelancer". Fewer searches, and staffing platforms bid on them. Start only when the
   first two campaigns are understood. Video: `ProductDeveloper-de`.
3. **"Make an app reliable".** Wait until the offer and its price are settled.
4. **Videos as ads.** Upload the 16:9 versions (`*-de-wide.mp4`) to YouTube and show them only to people who
   visited the site in the last 30 days. This needs Google's tag and therefore the consent banner (section 2).

## 8. What Claude may do with the API

- Read: list the account, campaigns, search terms and Keyword Planner figures.
- Prepare: create campaigns, ad groups, ads and excluded terms **paused**, after the owner approved this document.
- Never: enable a campaign, set or raise a budget, or change billing. That stays with the owner.