Google Ads & PPC management

Jobs this month, not this year.

SEO builds an asset. Google Ads is the tap. When next week’s calendar has holes in it, this is the one that fills them, and it stops the day you turn it off. We say both halves out loud.

Daniel, founder of Nord

You work with Daniel. Replies usually same day.

Budget plan5 levels
33

leads a month
at $1,500 of spend

Plumbing, CanadaReal Canadian click costs

1$1,500431 clicks, 33 leadsChecking

2$2,500718 clicks, 55 leadsChecking

3$3,5001,006 clicks, 77 leadsChecking

4$5,0001,437 clicks, 110 leadsChecking

5$8,0002,299 clicks, 175 leadsChecking

Cost per lead at $3,500$63

Businesses that trust us

The short answer

Google Ads puts you at the top of the results for what your customers are typing right now, and you pay per click. It starts working in days, and it stops the day the budget stops.

The catch is the one nobody puts on their page. Nothing carries over. You are renting the top of the page, and the rent is due every month you want to stay there.

That is not an argument against it. When the calendar has holes in it next week, nothing else moves that fast. It is an argument for knowing what you are buying before you buy it, which is what the rest of this page is.

So we start with the arithmetic instead of a proposal. What a click costs in your trade, how many of those become an enquiry, and what that makes a lead cost once our fee is in it. If the numbers do not work we say so before you spend anything.

Want the calls to keep coming after the budget stops? That is SEO, and most trades end up running both.

How this actually runs
01
Read the auctionWhat a click costs in your trade and your city, and who is already bidding, before a dollar goes out.
02
Build it narrowYour services and your area in tight groups, with negatives in from day one rather than bolted on after a month of waste.
03
Count the callsCalls and forms both, recorded properly. Until this works the bidding is guessing.
04
Cut, then scaleSearch terms read every week. What books work gets more budget, what burns it becomes a negative keyword.
Where the money goes

Where an ad budget leaks, and what each leak costs.

Nobody wastes it all at once. It goes in small, quiet ways, and none of them announce themselves. This is the market, not an accusation.
1
Nobody reads the search terms
A campaign on default settings spends the same whether it books work or not.
What it costs
Broad match quietly buys searches that were never going to call.
2
The clicks were never customers
A share of the traffic on a loose account is people hunting a job, a price list or a DIY answer.
What it costs
You pay the same for those as for the ready buyer.
3
No conversion tracking, so nothing learns
If the account cannot see which click became a phone call, the bidding is blind.
What it costs
It guesses with your money, every day, until somebody fixes it.
4
Paid traffic landing on a homepage
A page built for browsing, given to somebody who was ready to call.
What it costs
The most expensive traffic you will ever buy, spent on the page least likely to convert it.
5
Nobody answers the phone
The phone rings while you are under a sink. Nothing happens after.
What it costs
Every missed call is a click you already paid full price for.
6
A report that counts impressions
Forty pages of charts, no answer to "did this bring me work".
What it costs
You cannot tell what to cut, so you cut all of it or none of it.
Who this is for

Worth doing if all four are true.

Google Ads is not for everybody, and we would rather lose the sale than run a budget that was never going to work. If it is not the right buy for you, here is which piece to fix first.
01
Your calendar has holes in it next week
Not next quarter. Ads are the only channel that can put work in front of you in days.
02
You know roughly what a job is worth
You do not need a spreadsheet, but without a rough number nobody can tell you whether a lead at $85 is good or terrible.
03
You can fund $1,500 a month, on top of the fee
Below that the management costs more than the media, and we would rather tell you that now than take it.
04
You answer the phone
Paid clicks are the most expensive traffic you will ever buy. Missing the call wastes it completely, and it is the most common reason ads look like they failed.
Who we serve

Built for trades and home services, across Canada.

We know the work, the customers, and what a click costs in each of them.

Do not see your trade? We pulled real Canadian click costs for 33 of them, including drywall, masonry, paving, septic, window cleaning, snow removal and restoration.

The part nobody publishes

Five budget levels. Here is what each one buys.

Every agency page asks you to guess a budget and then quotes you privately. This is the arithmetic instead, on real Canadian click costs pulled for 33 trades from two independent sources in August 2026. Plumbing shown; your trade is in the plan.

$1,500 a month

About 309 clicks and 24 enquiries a month in plumbing, at real Canadian click costs.

The floorEnough to learn from in a cheap trade, not enough in an expensive one.

Cost per lead$119 once our fee is counted, which is the number that actually matters.

Our fee: $1,300 a monthGet my budget plan →

$2,500 a month

About 515 clicks and 39 enquiries a month in plumbing, at real Canadian click costs.

Where most trades startComfortably past the point the bidding has data to work with.

Cost per lead$97 once our fee is counted, which is the number that actually matters.

Our fee: $1,300 a monthGet my budget plan →

$3,500 a month

About 722 clicks and 55 enquiries a month in plumbing, at real Canadian click costs.

The one we recommendClears the optimisation threshold in 30 of the 32 trades we priced.

Cost per lead$87 once our fee is counted, which is the number that actually matters.

Our fee: $1,300 a monthGet my budget plan →

$5,000 a month

About 1,031 clicks and 79 enquiries a month in plumbing, at real Canadian click costs.

The top of the flat feeThe last dollar covered before the percentage starts.

Cost per lead$80 once our fee is counted, which is the number that actually matters.

Our fee: $1,300 a monthGet my budget plan →

$8,000 a month

About 1,649 clicks and 126 enquiries a month in plumbing, at real Canadian click costs.

ScalingThe fee is now a small share of what you hand Google.

Cost per lead$76 once our fee is counted, which is the number that actually matters.

Our fee: $1,600 a monthGet my budget plan →

Read the top row, not just the bottom

At $1,500 our fee is most of what you hand Google. By $8,000 it is a small share. That is the honest shape of paying anyone to run ads.

Why the minimum existsUnder roughly 30 leads a month Google’s bidding has too little to learn from, whoever is running it.

What is not hereNo revenue, no return, no break-even. Those need your close rate and your job value, so they go in your plan, not on our web page.

Click costs accurate to August 2026

Two independent pulls sit behind these numbers, SE Ranking and Google Ads Keyword Planner, on the same keywords. Once both are stated in Canadian dollars they agree to within a couple of percent and rank all 33 trades the same way, which is the best evidence we have that either is right. These are national Canadian averages, so a Toronto auction runs above them and a smaller city below. Conversion rates are the published home-services benchmark, measured for seven trades and a category average for the rest. We say which is which rather than dressing a borrowed rate up as yours.

The Nord method

Build it tight, then cut what does not pay.

Most of the money in a Google Ads account is saved in steps three and five, and most agencies skip both.

01 Research

02 Build

03 Track

04 Page

05 Cut

06 Scale

07 Report

01 · Research

Find out what you are up against.

What a click costs in your trade and your city, who is already bidding, and what a realistic budget buys. If the numbers do not work we say so at this point.

02 · Build

Build it tight on purpose.

Your services and your service area in tight groups, so the wrong searches never get a chance. Negatives in from day one.

03 · Track

Make the calls countable.

Calls and form fills both, recorded properly. Most accounts we are handed have never had this done, and until it works the bidding is guessing.

04 · Page

The page the clicks land on.

Written and built by us, one clear job, one obvious way to call you. Included in the fee, not billed on top.

05 · Cut

Read the search terms and kill the waste.

Every week, not skimmed. What booked work gets more budget. What burned money becomes a negative keyword. This is most of the job and it never stops.

06 · Scale

Push on what is working.

Once a group books jobs at a cost you are happy with, it gets more room. Nothing is scaled on impressions.

07 · Report

Say plainly what happened.

Spend, calls, forms, cost per lead, in a page you can read in two minutes. If it is not working we say so and we say what we would do instead.

01 / 07

Week one
What you get

What we actually do, every single month.

No mystery retainer. This is what lands, every month, for the same fee.

Get my budget plan
Every month, every clientIncluded
  • The account, built around your workYour services, your service area, your seasons. Not a template with your name on it.
  • Conversion tracking that records a callCalls and forms both. Without it the bidding guesses, and it guesses with your money.
  • The landing page the ads point atWritten and built by us, included in the fee. Most agencies bill this on top.
  • Search terms read every weekNot skimmed. Waste becomes a negative keyword, and you see what we cut.
  • Budget moved toward what books jobsEvery month, on evidence, and you see what moved and why.
  • Your budget, untouchedIt goes to Google direct, on your card. We never take a cut and never mark it up.
  • A report in dollars and callsNot impressions. If it is not working we say so, and we say what to do instead.
What that adds up to

An account somebody actually reads every week, pointed at a page built to take the call, with a number at the end of the month you can act on.

$1,300 a month, month to month
AI & GEO

Ads do not make you the answer.

Paid clicks stop the day the budget stops. An assistant recommending you does not. They are different jobs, and we will tell you which one you actually need.
ChatGPT
Google AI Overviews
Gemini
Perplexity
Ask about AI search
AI answer
Who’s the best plumber near me?

Based on reviews and local presence, your business is a top pick. Nothing here was bought.

Your website
your pages
your reviews
#1 recommended
Real clients, real search

Real clients, and numbers with a window on them.

These are search results, not ad results. Calculated Moving, a Winnipeg moving company, came to us paying for a site that did nothing. This is what the search side did over six months, measured in Search Console.
+50%
revenue, owner reported
Page 2 → 1
money keywords into the top five
#1
lead source, ahead of all paid
+189%
organic impressions
See the live site, calculatedmoving.com →

Search performance

Jan-Jul 2026 · Monthly
Total clicks3.9K
Total impressions299K
Avg CTR1.3%
Avg position12.6
Clicks
Impressions
7505002500 75K50K25K0 ▲ +189% impressions
Jan '26
Feb '26
Mar '26
Apr '26
May '26
Jun '26
Jul '26
Google Search Console, six-month engagement.
More proof

Different trades, same auction.

Profixit, appliance repair

381,000 impressions and 1,400 clicks in twelve months, front page for appliance, dryer and dishwasher repair in Winnipeg. One blog answer ranks at position 4.9 on its own, and it is not even about their brand.
View the site →

Happy Cat HVAC, from zero

Built from nothing. 47,900 impressions across 138 indexed pages in the first five months, number one for its name, and climbing on Winnipeg HVAC searches.
View the site →

Your turn

Every number on this page came out of Search Console, with the window stated. Ask me to walk you through any of it on the call.
Get my budget plan
All figures from Search Console, windows stated. Client names published with permission. Ad account screenshots are not published here.
Your budget plan, next

Want to know what a budget buys in your trade?

Free budget plan. Real click costs for your trade in your city, what each budget level buys, and whether ads are the wrong buy.
Real click costs, your city
No obligation, and you keep it
Winnipeg based, same-day replies
Pricing

Real prices, on the page.

Nobody in this market publishes what they charge to run ads. Here is ours, including the part that changes when you spend more.

Google Ads management$1,300/moIncludes managing ad spend up to $5,000 a month.

Landing page and trackingincludedBuilt by us, not billed on top. Most agencies charge for this.

Spending $8,000 a month+$300/mo10% of the amount over $5,000. At $10,000 it is +$500.

Meta Ads as well$2,200/mo for bothSame pages, second channel. Budget still paid direct.

Management, every month
$1,300

includes managing ad spend up to $5,000 a month.

Above $5,000 of spend
+10%

of the amount over. $8,000 of spend costs $1,600.

Your ad budget is separate. It goes to Google direct, on your own card, never through us and never marked up. Minimum $1,500 a month.

Get my budget plan

What leaves your account, and when.

Todayone time
Setup feenone
Landing page buildincluded
Conversion trackingincluded

Month one is the build. There is no separate setup invoice.

Every monththe fee
Management, spend to $5,000$1,300
Above $5,000 of spend+10% of the excess
Both platforms$2,200

Month to month, no term. Cancel any time.

Paid to Google, not to usyour card
Minimum ad spend$1,500
What we recommend$3,500
Our cut of itnone

Your budget goes to Google on your own card. We never mark it up or take a percentage of it.

All prices CAD plus tax. Month to month, no term. Landing page, conversion tracking and reporting are included, not billed on top. Ad budget is paid to Google direct and is never marked up.
What it costs elsewhere

The numbers other ads agencies make you book a call for.

Published industry ranges beside ours. Every competitor page we checked shows none of this.
What you will see quoted
The range
Nord
Management fee, percentage model
10% to 20% of ad spend
$1,300 flat to $5,000 of spend
Management fee, small business
$1,000 to $2,500 a month
$1,300 a month
Minimum ad spend stated on the page
Almost never published
$1,500 a month, published
Landing page and tracking
Usually billed on top, 30% to 50% more
Included in the fee
Term
Three to twelve months is common
Month to month, no term
Ranges from published 2026 agency pricing guides. Nord's figures are from context/pricing.md and match the FAQ on this page word for word.
The difference

Nord vs the usual ads agency.

No names, no cheap shots. Just the honest contrast.
How it works
Nord

Typical agencyOthers

The price is on the page before you call
The minimum ad spend is published, with the reason
Your ad budget goes to Google direct, never marked up
We tell you when Local Services Ads would be cheaper
You work with Daniel, the founder, not an account manager
Landing page and conversion tracking included, not billed on top
Reports in dollars and calls, not impressions
Month to month, no term
Search terms read every week, and you see what we cut
We tell you when something is not working
Straight talk

No hype. No guaranteed leads.

You have heard every pitch in the book. Here is what those lines really mean.
No pressure · no obligation
Who you work with

You work with Daniel, not a call center.

You get a direct line to Daniel, the founder, on every account. Not an account manager, and not a dashboard login.
Daniel Hentov, founder of Nord Marketing
Daniel Hentov
Founder, Nord Marketing
Daniel
Daniel · Nord
Online, replies same day
Hey Daniel, we are getting clicks but the phone is not ringing.
Looked at the search terms. Half the spend is going to people looking for DIY answers. Adding negatives today, you will see cost per lead drop this week.
Amazing, thank you!
Typically replies within a few hours

Get a free budget plan

Not ready to talk yet? Tell me your trade and city and I will send you what a budget actually buys, with the real click costs.

Real click costs for your trade and your city

What each budget level buys, in leads

Whether ads are the wrong buy for you

What your leads need to cost to be worth it

Google reCaptcha: Invalid site key.

Where we work

Winnipeg based, running ads across Canada.

The auction is local, the work is not. We run accounts for trades from Victoria to Halifax, and we are based in Winnipeg.
Winnipeg
Calgary
Edmonton
Vancouver
Toronto
Ottawa
Halifax
Regina
Saskatoon
London
And everywhere else in Canada. The click cost changes, the method does not.
Where to begin

Two ways to start, neither of them a contract.

You have seen the numbers. These are the two ways to begin.

A free budget plan

Real click costs for your trade and city, and what each budget buys. You keep it either way.
Get my budget plan

Local Launch

Site, SEO, profile and the lead system in one price, $0 down.
See Local Launch

SEO in Winnipeg

If you want the calls to keep coming after the budget stops, start here.
See SEO in Winnipeg
No risk.

A price you see before you call

Month to month, no term

Leads in days, not months

Questions

Google Ads questions, answered.

The ones owners actually ask on the call.
How much should I budget for Google Ads?–
Enough to clear roughly 30 leads a month, which is where Google’s bidding has enough to learn from. On real Canadian click costs that is usually $1,000 to $3,700, and it depends hard on your trade: a cheap click in flooring or snow removal gets there on $800, roofing and painting need closer to $3,600. Our minimum is $1,500. The table above shows the shape.
What does management cost?+
$1,300 a month, including ad spend up to $5,000. Above that, 10% of the amount over, so $8,000 of spend costs $1,600 and $10,000 costs $1,800. Landing page, conversion tracking and reporting are in it, not billed on top.
How fast will I see leads?+
Days. An account built on Monday can be taking calls by the end of the week, which is the whole reason to choose ads over search. The first month is the noisy one while the search terms get read and the waste gets cut.
Should I start with SEO or Google Ads?+
If the calendar has holes in it now, ads. If it is full and you want it full in a year, SEO. Most trades end up doing both, ads first for cash flow and search underneath so the ad budget can eventually come down.
Do you guarantee results?+
No. Nobody can guarantee an auction they do not control, and an agency that does is telling you something about how they sell. What we commit to is the minimum, the reporting, and saying plainly when it is not working.
What is ad spend versus the management fee?+
Ad spend is what Google charges for clicks. It goes on your card, to Google, never through us. The management fee is what we charge to run it. Two separate bills, and we never mark up the first one.
Do you take a cut of my ad budget?+
No. Your budget goes to Google direct, on your own card, and we never mark it up. Our fee is the same whether you spend $2,000 or $5,000.
Why are your numbers different from the American guides?+
Because they are Canadian dollars, for Canadian auctions. Most cost guides quote US click costs at Canadian readers without converting them, which understates what you will actually pay by about a quarter. Ours came from two independent pulls across the same 33 trades in August 2026, stated in CAD.
Do you run Local Services Ads?+
Not yet. They usually cost about half per lead for trades, so if you qualify for the Google Guaranteed badge, start there. We will tell you on the call rather than sell you the thing we happen to offer.
Who owns the account?+
You do. It is built in your Google account with your billing, and it stays yours if you stop working with us.
What if my budget is under $1,500?+
Then we would say no to the ads and point you at the website and the Google profile first. A budget that small spends most of itself on management, and we would rather tell you now.
Let's talk

Let’s find out what a budget buys.

Free budget plan. Real click costs for your trade in your city, what each level buys, and a straight answer on whether ads are the wrong buy.

Google reCaptcha: Invalid site key.

No obligation. We reply the same day.

What you get on the call

Real click costs for your trade, pulled while we talk.

A budget, a lead number, and a price. No package menu.

Zero pressure. You decide what happens next.

Daniel Hentov, founder of Nord Marketing

You’re messaging Daniel, the founder. Not a form that goes nowhere.

Book a callCall