Growth Playbooks & Strategy
A step-by-step plan to stand up and launch Google Search ads for the season.
Date: May 2026 | Account Owner: Jack Weiner
Status note: Google Ads account was set up and a handoff doc was written April 27. Confirm whether any campaigns went live before executing this guide. If campaigns exist, audit their structure against Section 2 before making changes.
Complete every item before enabling spend. Check each off in order.
This is the only campaign to launch on day one. Do not run Campaign 2 (Trimlight) until franchisor approves.
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Campaign type | Search |
| Campaign name | AZPTL — Search — Palm Tree Lighting |
| Goal | Leads |
| Bidding | Manual CPC (start here — switch to Target CPA only after 30+ conversions) |
| Daily budget | $50/day |
| Ad rotation | Optimize (prefer best performing ads) |
| Location | Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, Paradise Valley, Arcadia (Phoenix neighborhood), Fountain Hills, Cave Creek, AZ |
| Location option | "People in or regularly in your targeted locations" — do NOT use "interested in" |
| Language | English |
| Search partners | Off (disable — keep traffic on Google.com only to start) |
| Display Network | Off |
| Start date | Set to today |
| End date | None |
| Ad schedule | All days, all hours to start. Review after 2 weeks — may want to limit to 7am-9pm |
Ad group name: Exact Match — Palm Tree Lighting
Keywords (exact match — copy exactly with brackets):
[palm tree lighting phoenix]
[palm tree uplighting scottsdale]
[permanent palm tree lights]
[palm tree lights installation]
[landscape lighting palm trees]
[palm tree uplighting phoenix]
[palm tree led lights scottsdale]
[palm tree lighting installation scottsdale]
Starting bids: $4.00 CPC across all keywords. Adjust per keyword performance after 7 days. Market data shows $2-5 CPC with minimal competition — start at $4 to ensure impressions, drop to $3 if you're winning at top position consistently.
Ad group name: Phrase Match — Palm Tree Lighting
Keywords (phrase match — copy exactly with quotes):
"palm tree lighting"
"palm tree uplighting"
"palm tree LED lights"
"palm tree lights"
"outdoor palm tree lights"
"palm tree landscape lighting"
"uplight palm trees"
"palm tree spotlights"
Starting bids: $3.00 CPC. Monitor search terms report closely in Week 2 — phrase match will show unexpected queries. Add negatives aggressively.
Add all of these as exact match negatives before enabling the campaign:
[christmas]
[holiday]
[diy]
[kit]
[amazon]
[home depot]
[lowes]
[lowe's]
[string lights]
[solar]
[rental]
[temporary]
[fake]
[plastic]
[artificial]
[halloween]
[lights for sale]
[buy]
[cheap]
[discount]
[wholesale]
[how to]
[tutorial]
[youtube]
[review]
[reviews]
[vs]
[versus]
[patio lights]
[string lights outdoor]
[cafe lights]
[fairy lights]
[bistro lights]
[outdoor string lights]
Also add as phrase match negatives:
"diy"
"how to"
"for sale"
"string lights"
"solar lights"
"rental"
"christmas lights"
"holiday lights"
One RSA per ad group minimum. Pin Headline 1 to position 1 in Ad Group 1 to control the primary message. Do not pin in Ad Group 2 — let Google test combinations.
Display URL path: azpalmtreelights.com / palm-tree-lighting
15 Headlines
1. Palm Tree Lighting Experts (pin to position 1, Ad Group 1)
2. Color-Changing Palm Tree Lights
3. Professional Palm Tree Uplighting
4. App-Controlled Palm Tree Lighting
5. Permanent LED Palm Tree Lights
6. From $1,295 Per Palm Tree
7. Scottsdale's Palm Tree Lighting Co.
8. Licensed, Insured & Local
9. Free Quote — Same-Day Response
10. Transform Your Palms After Dark
11. Smart Home Palm Tree Lighting
12. Installed in One Day
13. Palm Trees That Glow Every Night
14. Phoenix's Premier Palm Lighting
15. Control Colors From Your Phone
4 Descriptions
1. Permanent LED uplighting for your palm trees. Color-changing, app-controlled, installed in one day. Packages from $1,295/tree. Get a free quote.
2. Your palms look stunning during the day — they should look even better at night. We light palm trees across Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, and Phoenix. Call or request a free quote.
3. Licensed & insured. Same-day response. Color-changing LED systems installed by local professionals. Serving Phoenix, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley & surrounding areas.
4. Packages start at $1,295/tree. App control. Permanent install — no seasonal takedown. Scottsdale homeowners call us to finish what their landscaper started.
Call Extension
Location Extension
Sitelink Extensions (4 minimum, 6 recommended)
| Sitelink Text | Description Line 1 | Description Line 2 | Final URL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Quote | No obligation, same-day response | Scottsdale, Phoenix & surrounding areas | /quote or /contact |
| See Our Work | Before and after photos | Palm trees we've lit across the valley | /gallery or /portfolio |
| Service Area | Phoenix, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley | Fountain Hills, Cave Creek & more | /service-area |
| About Us | Local, licensed & insured | AZ Palm Tree Lights is locally owned | /about |
| How It Works | Consultation, install, done | Most installs completed in one day | /how-it-works |
| Pricing | Packages from $1,295/tree | Color-changing LED systems | /pricing |
Callout Extensions
App-Controlled Color Changing
Licensed & Insured
Same-Day Response
From $1,295 Per Tree
Permanent — No Seasonal Takedown
Locally Owned in Scottsdale
Free Consultation
Structured Snippet Extension
Do not build or enable this campaign until Trimlight franchisor explicitly approves Google Ads. Check the franchise agreement and/or email the franchise rep with a proposed keyword list before spending a dollar.
Once approved:
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Campaign name | TL-PHX — Search — Permanent Outdoor Lighting |
| Daily budget | $50/day (run parallel with Campaign 1, total $100/day) |
| Location | Franchise-approved ZIP codes only — confirm the list with the franchisor |
| Bidding | Manual CPC |
Ad Group 1: Exact Match — Branded
[trimlight phoenix]
[trimlight scottsdale]
[trimlight arizona]
Note: Only bid on branded terms if franchisor approves. Some franchisors restrict this.
Ad Group 2: Exact Match — Category
[permanent outdoor lighting phoenix]
[permanent christmas lights phoenix]
[roofline lighting scottsdale]
[permanent holiday lights phoenix]
[architectural lighting phoenix]
[permanent led lights house]
Ad Group 3: Phrase Match
"permanent outdoor lighting"
"permanent christmas lights"
"roofline lighting"
"permanent holiday lights"
"permanent led lights"
Negative keywords to add immediately:
[palm tree]
[diy]
[kit]
[rental]
[temporary]
[solar]
[string lights]
"how to"
"for sale"
LSAs appear above regular search ads and charge per lead (not per click). They require significant setup. Do not attempt this until the prerequisites are complete.
Target Q3 2026 (August-September) so LSA is generating reviews and trust before the September-December peak season. The Google Guaranteed badge is a significant trust signal for the Scottsdale/PV homeowner market.
Google's native lead form extension collects leads inside the Google interface without sending the user to the website. This is faster for the user but has significant downsides for this business:
Use a dedicated landing page instead. The landing page works harder before the form is submitted.
| Requirement | Why |
|---|---|
| Load time under 2 seconds | Google penalizes slow mobile pages in Quality Score, raising CPCs |
| Phone number above the fold (click-to-call) | Many luxury homeowners call directly rather than fill a form |
| Form above the fold or visible within one scroll | Reduces friction — don't make them hunt for it |
| "Packages start at $1,295 per tree" visible before the form | Pre-qualifies leads, reduces tire-kicker calls |
| Before/after photo or video above the fold | This market is visual — show the result before asking for info |
| Google Ads conversion tag on thank-you page | Required for conversion tracking |
| UTM parameter capture in hidden form fields | Required to know which keyword drove the lead |
| Mobile-first design | 60-70% of search traffic in this demo is mobile |
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| First Name | Yes | |
| Phone | Yes | Primary contact method — Jack calls same day |
| Yes | For follow-up sequence | |
| Property Address or ZIP | Yes | Confirms service area, enables routing |
| How many palm trees? | Recommended | Pre-qualifies job size, helps Jack prepare for the call |
Above the form, include this line: "Packages start at $1,295 per tree. We serve Phoenix, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Fountain Hills, Cave Creek, and surrounding areas."
This single line will prevent calls from renters, people with one small palm, and out-of-area inquiries.
Use it only as a secondary test against the landing page. If running both, use Campaign Experiments (Drafts & Experiments) to split traffic 50/50 and measure CPL difference over 30 days.
Go to Google Ads > Tools > Conversions > New conversion action for each of the following:
Conversion 1: Lead Form Submit (Primary)
Conversion 2: Phone Call from Ad (Secondary)
Conversion 3: Phone Call from Website (Secondary)
generate_lead (form submit), purchase (if bookings happen online)The Google Ads algorithm needs data to learn. Resist the urge to make changes.
If budget is not being spent by Day 3, check:
Pull the search terms report (Keywords > Search terms). This shows every actual query that triggered an ad.
Do not change bids more than 10-20% at a time. Large bid changes reset the learning algorithm.
Now you have enough data to adjust by keyword performance.
First Monday of every month:
These rules eliminate the judgment call from optimization decisions. Run them on a fixed schedule.
| Condition | Action | Check Cadence |
|---|---|---|
| CPC > $8 sustained for 7 days with zero conversions | Pause keyword | Weekly |
| $50+ spent with zero conversions in 14 days | Pause keyword | Every 14 days |
| Keyword triggering irrelevant search terms repeatedly despite negatives | Pause and rebuild as exact match | Weekly search terms audit |
| Condition | Action |
|---|---|
| CPL > $80 at 14 days | Tighten match types — move phrase match to exact match. Review landing page quality score. |
| CPL > $80 at 30 days | Pause phrase match ad group. Focus budget on exact match only. |
| Zero conversions at 14 days with $50+ spent across campaign | Rebuild: check conversion tracking is firing, review landing page, verify keywords are relevant |
| Impression share below 40% on exact match at any point | Raise bids by $1.00 across the ad group |
| Condition | Action |
|---|---|
| CPL < $40 sustained for 7 days | Increase daily budget by 20% (e.g., $50 → $60) |
| CPL < $40 after budget increase, 7 more days | Increase another 20% |
| Continue scaling in 20% increments as long as CPL stays below $40 | Do not increase more than 20% at one time — triggers learning phase reset |
| Running out of budget before end of day consistently (>3 days in a row) | Increase budget 20% |
Switch from Manual CPC to Target CPA bidding only when:
Do not switch to Target CPA with fewer than 30 conversions. The algorithm will not have enough data and spend will be erratic.
| Metric | Target | Reassess | Kill/Pause |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPC (exact match) | $2-5 | $5-8 | > $8 sustained 7 days |
| CPL | < $40 | $40-80 | > $80 at 30 days |
| CTR (search) | > 5% | 3-5% | < 3% (check ad copy) |
| Conversion rate (click to lead) | > 8% | 4-8% | < 4% (check landing page) |
| Quality Score | 7-10 | 5-6 | < 5 (landing page / relevance issue) |
Phone number for call extensions: 480-631-7754 Daily budget: $50/day Qualifying language (must appear on landing page and in at least one ad description): "Packages start at $1,295 per tree"
If starting from zero today:
Total setup time: ~2.5 hours for Campaign 1
Part of your Outdoor Vibes asset library — yours to keep and run.