Rick Hecker - Google Ads Optimization & PPC Strategy Blog

An empty display plinth by a shop entrance, several product displays further inside, and a fuller side shelf illustrate different exposure locations.

Cascader Answers

My first-week Amazon ads got 1,100 impressions and 3 clicks. What should I change first?

Decide what another observation can cost, separate product-page exposure from untested search, and choose one change without turning three clicks into a pricing verdict.

A workshop manager holds an open padlock beside a door whose second lock remains closed.

How to Audit Negative Keywords in an Inherited Google Ads Account

Inherited a list nobody can explain? Trace each exclusion to its purpose, wording and reach—then decide what to keep, narrow, move, remove or investigate.

A dentist hoists an oversized tooth sign above a clinic while two people consult a map and another approaches the door.

Cascader Answers

What do dentist ads at the top of Google cost—and why pay for local SEO?

Top dentist ads have auction prices, not a fixed placement fee. Understand what clicks, local SEO work and additional attended patients each cost before comparing them.

Cascader Research

AI Overviews and Wikipedia traffic: the estimates explained

One study estimates about 5% fewer search referrals in its main comparisons. See how that differs from the observed decline, the shorter Japanese comparison and the revenue scenario.

A designer consults with a visitor while a long row of waiting chairs curls around a studio filled with design work.

Cascader Answers

Is an $800-a-month Google Ads trial realistic for a $7,500 design retainer?

An $800-a-month trial can test a specific retainer offer. Rebuild the client forecast, explain the price before booking, and count the cost of free reviews.

Paper reports arrive by a trolley and a teal pipe while an analyst checks an orange expense receipt against the complete report.

Cascader Answers

Can I connect Codex to Google Ads, and how can I tell whether it helps in practice?

Codex can retrieve Google Ads reports through MCP. Test its practical value on a recurring inquiry that preserves campaign spend, conversion meaning and the work still required.

Illustration of three closed envelopes beside an open file of dated page observations being examined with a magnifying glass.

Cascader Answers

How can I get a new Google Ads account's cloaking suspension reviewed after rejected appeals?

Use the documented re-appeal route and replace vague site assurances with observations someone can examine, without promising a human appointment or reinstatement.

Three hands gather around a card marked $60: one steadies it beside a ledger, another holds a clip, and the third pencils a question mark on a proposal.

Who promised the $60 lead?

A cost-per-lead number travels from a sales conversation to a green weekly report. Following it back reveals what the client needed, what the agency expected, and what anyone could responsibly promise.

A printer's green power light glows beside an empty output tray on a quiet repair-shop workbench.

Cascader Answers

I restarted Google Ads after a 15-day pause. Why am I getting no clicks or leads?

Locate the first missing stage before changing bids. Check serving status, distinguish target from actual CPA, and decide whether waiting or a limited traffic inquiry is worth the cost.

Two small paper slips with red and teal tabs are clipped side by side in an open notebook. A pencil line stands beside them, and a pen rests on the blank facing page.

How to Close a Google Ads Experiment When Nobody Won

The end date arrived, but the result still allows a useful gain and an unacceptable loss. An experiment notebook shows how to keep the traffic decision, the evidence and the next question honest.

Two receipt-paper runways stop at the edge of a gap before a shared finish line; a ruler spans the gap and the remaining paper roll sits at their start.

Can you afford to finish this Google Ads experiment?

Price the answer before splitting traffic. Three worked plans connect the improvement worth acting on to allocation, media, conversion delay and a stopping decision—even when the result is inconclusive.

Three cabinet compartments have separate brass dials, with blue signal paths connecting them across their boundaries.

Cascader Answers

Do Low-Volume B2B Search Campaigns Need to Merge for Smart Bidding?

Smart Bidding shares learning across campaigns. Decide what to consolidate after cutting irrelevant B2B traffic, while preserving useful budgets and lead goals.