What Should I Have Ready Before I Spend Money on Ads?
By Bill Stilwell · Last reviewed October 17, 2026
The short answer
Section titled “The short answer”Don’t spend on ads until nine things are true. Your offer is defined, you know who it’s for, you can handle more work, leads will get a fast reply, the landing page works, and you can track each lead to a sale and its profit. You also need the right permission for any follow-up messages, a spending limit, and a written rule for when to pause.
Why it matters
Section titled “Why it matters”Most wasted ad money isn’t caused by the ad. It’s caused by what happens after the click: a slow reply, a broken form, a full schedule, or no way to tell which ads brought in paying jobs. This checklist catches those problems before they cost you.
20.1.1 Offer
Section titled “20.1.1 Offer”What it means: confirming the product or service you’ll advertise is clearly defined.
How to do it: write down exactly what you’re selling, the price or price range, and what’s included (see 7.1.2 Core Offer). Make sure your website has a page for it.
Common mistake: advertising “all your home needs” when you really want water heater jobs.
20.1.2 Customer
Section titled “20.1.2 Customer”What it means: confirming who the ad is for.
How to do it: describe the customer, where they are, and what they’re searching for (see 7.1.4 Ideal Customer). Match the ad area to the area you actually serve (see 7.7 Define the Service Area).
Common mistake: ads showing 50 miles past where you’re willing to drive.
20.1.3 Capacity
Section titled “20.1.3 Capacity”What it means: confirming you can handle more work.
How to do it: look at your schedule for the next 4 to 6 weeks. Decide how many extra jobs you can take without hurting quality (see 7.1.9 Capacity).
Common mistake: ads that bring calls when you’re already booked a month out, so leads go cold and money is wasted.
20.1.4 Response
Section titled “20.1.4 Response”What it means: confirming every lead will get a fast reply.
How to do it: name who answers ad leads, their hours, and the response time goal (see 16.2.2 Lead Response Time). Set up alerts (see 18.9 Internal Notifications). Call your own number during business hours and after hours to see what a customer experiences.
Common mistake: paying for calls that go to a full voicemail box.
20.1.5 Landing page
Section titled “20.1.5 Landing page”What it means: confirming the page the ad sends people to works.
How to do it: check that it loads fast on a phone, matches the ad’s offer, shows your phone number, and has a form that sends to the right person (see 13.6 Landing Pages and Funnels). Submit a test form and call the number on the page.
Common mistake: sending ad clicks to the home page, where the offer isn’t mentioned.
20.1.6 Tracking
Section titled “20.1.6 Tracking”What it means: confirming you can follow each lead from source to sale, revenue, and margin.
How to do it: set up conversion tracking in the ad platform. Google Ads defines a conversion as a customer action you’ve decided is valuable, like a call or a form submission. Set up form and call tracking (see 13.7.3 Form Tracking and 12.3.3 Call Tracking). Record the source on each lead in your customer records, and record the job value when it closes (see 15.8 Lead-Source Tracking).
Common mistake: counting form fills in the ad account but never checking which ones became paid jobs.
20.1.7 Consent
Section titled “20.1.7 Consent”What it means: confirming you have the right permissions for follow-up.
How to do it: if ad leads will get marketing texts or emails, make sure your form collects the right consent with unchecked boxes. Automated marketing texts need prior express written consent under Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules (see 12.6 Communication Consent Records and 18.4 Text Message Marketing Rules).
Common mistake: adding every ad lead to a text promotion list without consent.
20.1.8 Budget
Section titled “20.1.8 Budget”What it means: setting a controlled spending limit.
How to do it: set a monthly cap and a daily or weekly limit in the platform. Base it on what a new customer is worth to you and what you can afford to lose while you learn (see 7.8.13 Maximum Customer Acquisition Cost and 20.10 Paid-Job Economics).
Common mistake: no cap, and a bill that’s double what you expected.
20.1.9 Stop rule
Section titled “20.1.9 Stop rule”What it means: deciding ahead of time when the campaign pauses.
How to do it: write it down before launch. For example, “Pause if we spend $750 with no booked job,” or “Pause when booked more than 3 weeks out” (see 20.11 Ad Budget and Stop Rule).
Common mistake: letting a losing campaign run month after month.
When to get help from a pro
Section titled “When to get help from a pro”An advertising specialist can set up tracking and campaigns correctly from the start. Questions to ask:
- How will I see which ads led to paying jobs, not just clicks?
- What budget and stop rule make sense for my first 90 days?
- Who owns the ad account, and can I see everything in it?
Bill’s note
Section titled “Bill’s note”[Bill: add a short note. For example, what SiteSmarty checks before a client starts ads, or a business that wasted money because the phone wasn’t answered.]
If you’d rather have help with this, SiteSmarty builds websites and landing pages that are ready for ads.
How I did this for SiteSmarty
Section titled “How I did this for SiteSmarty”- [Date I did this:]
- [What I actually did, step by step: how SiteSmarty worked through each of the nine checks]
- [What it cost and how long it took:]
- [What surprised me or what I’d do differently:]
- [Screenshot or photo to add, with private info blurred: the completed checklist and conversion tracking setup]
- [Result so far:]
Questions people ask
Section titled “Questions people ask”How do I know I’m ready for ads? When all nine checks are done: offer, customer, capacity, response, landing page, tracking, consent, budget, and stop rule.
Will ads help my Google Maps ranking? No. Google says you can’t pay for a better local ranking. Ads appear in separate ad spots.
What tracking do I need before advertising? Conversion tracking in the ad platform, form and call tracking, and a lead source and job value on each customer record.
How much should I spend at first? An amount you can afford to lose while you learn, capped in the platform, and tied to what a new customer is worth to you.
Audit check
Section titled “Audit check”| Outline line | Question | Pass looks like | Fail looks like | Evidence to collect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20.1.1 Offer | Is the advertised offer defined with a matching page? | Written offer and page | Vague offer | Offer notes and page |
| 20.1.2 Customer | Is the audience and ad area defined? | Ad area matches service area | Ads beyond service area | Targeting settings |
| 20.1.3 Capacity | Can the business handle more work? | Open capacity confirmed | Booked out | Schedule review |
| 20.1.4 Response | Will every lead get a fast reply? | Owner, hours, and alerts set | Voicemail full | Test call notes |
| 20.1.5 Landing page | Does the landing page work on a phone and match the ad? | Tested form and phone | Home page or broken form | Test results |
| 20.1.6 Tracking | Can each lead be tracked to sale and margin? | Conversions and job values recorded | Clicks only | Tracking setup and lead report |
| 20.1.7 Consent | Are follow-up permissions collected correctly? | Unchecked consent boxes | No consent | Form screenshot |
| 20.1.8 Budget | Are spending caps set? | Caps in platform | No cap | Budget settings |
| 20.1.9 Stop rule | Is a stop rule written before launch? | Written rule | None | Campaign plan |
Where this fits
Do this first: 18.1 Choosing Marketing Channels, 18.2 Marketing Campaigns, 13.7.1 Analytics Setup and Measurement Plan
Do this next: 20.2 Choosing Paid Lead Sources
Related pages: 7.1.2 Core Offer, 7.1.4 Ideal Customer, 7.1.9 Capacity, 7.8.13 Maximum Customer Acquisition Cost, 13.6 Landing Pages and Funnels, 13.7.3 Form Tracking, 12.3.3 Call Tracking, 15.8 Lead-Source Tracking, 16.2.2 Lead Response Time, 12.6 Communication Consent Records, 20.10 Paid-Job Economics, 20.11 Ad Budget and Stop Rule
Sources
- Google Business Profile Help, "Tips to improve your local ranking on Google" (checked October 17, 2026)
- Google Ads Help, "Conversion action: Definition" (checked October 17, 2026)
- Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 47 CFR 64.1200, Delivery restrictions (checked October 17, 2026)
This page explains general rules and Bill's own experience. It is not legal, tax, or insurance advice. Talk to a qualified professional about your situation.