Where the budget leaks
The terms, placements and audiences taking your money without bringing work.
Give us your website and we show you where an ad budget leaks, what Google has been counting as a win, and what it takes to buy work instead of clicks.
Free, and we read it ourselves. No pitch, no obligation, and 805.243.8321 if you would rather talk.
The owner of Primary Pool Services, in his own words. We did not tell him a word of it.
Playing · Dillon Brooks, owner
The proof
Primary Pool Services built its search and local base first, then gave Google Ads a mascot video worth showing and told the campaign to count phone calls, not form fills, on comparable spend.
| Measure | Increase | Against what |
|---|---|---|
| growth in 15 months | 400% | Forty pools on the route became more than two hundred |
| more calls from Google Ads | 162.5% | The month the Turtle Tim campaign ran, against the month before |
| revenue in year one | 25%+ | Revenue. Not clicks, not visits |
Word for word. Read them all on Google
We are very pleased with the website that the team at the Final Code created for us and with the training they provided on how to control our site. Our customers are also impressed with our site and comment on how good it looks.Kaylor Painting Google review, Jul 9, 2016
I started my business about 6 months ago and couldn't get my key words anywhere in search engines after burning through a few hundred dollars trying google adwords with no results I went to the Final Code. Now I am on page one or two of every category I am attempting and moving up all of they time. Larry and his crew teach you what you need to maintain a competitive web site that brings results. They are fun to work with. You could spend thousands on an outside company to optimize your website of a fraction of that with Final Code and learn how to do it yourself. Highly recommend themNancy Barna Google review
This company saved my sanity! I was looking for a company that allowed me to have the freedom to do what I needed/wanted to do with my website and also offer excellent customer service. I struck gold! The Final Code team is super supportive. They never leave me hanging if I have questions or need assistance. Their software allows me complete control of our site. It has made having a website fun again! I would highly recommend them!Channel Islands Sportfishing Google review
Several web companies have created and hosted my website over the last 20 years. Never before have I received the service, support, and training that The Final Code provides. They respond immediately to my needs and sincerely want me to succeed. The Final Code has designed my site so that I have access to all my pages. I am able to make immediate changes to the text and images, whenever I desire. I love playing with my beautiful website and I love the Final Code for making it possible!!! PS I am grateful for the great response to my site from new clients. People are finally finding me because of The Final Code's SEO.Nomi Wagner Google review, Jun 29, 2016
Everyone at The Final Code has been so helpful .. Larry is always just a phone call away. Not being very computer savvy I am always relieved that Larry is willing and able to make the changes and additions to my website keeping all of my Surfcat Cafe & Adoptions followers up to date. As a nonprofit we were very grateful that they were understanding about our financial situation and were very reasonably priced. Thanks Final Code!! Leslie Weiss Surfcat Cafe & AdoptionsLeslie Weiss Google review, Jun 17, 2016
In our line of work we get SEO/Web Marketing calls all day and to say the least my least favorite of calls. However We have been working with the Final Code for Almost 2 years now and they are top notch in customer service and know exactly what they are doing. My SEO Stats prior to the final code i thought was impressive for a small company of our nature, however after the final code.. WOW. My numbers have almost tripled this year alone and the business reflects those numbers. The team at the final code is top notch and extremely friendly. With their web code program i can go in and create, edit and screw up any page of my website in a flash (not recommended!) and the best part is these guys are always right on the button to fix my mistakes same day. We have had a great working relationship and if you truly want Free Google Placing, SEO tracking and of course local 805 business they are the guys to contact. We highly recommend them!Channel Islands Helicopters Google review
Working with Larry and the rest of The Final Code team has been fantastic! We originally had our website built by an independent web developer and it was a nightmare dragging on for months. It got to the point where we fired the guy and started looking for a professional web development company to finish the project. We found The Final Code and from the very beginning the process went so smoothly and the website was up and running in just weeks! I’ve worked for and with other web development agencies before and by far The Final Code has exceeded all my expectations – very professional, quick turnaround times, and Larry was beyond knowledgeable on building the best website to attract the most traffic. The best part was how the website was built so I can maintain it myself and Larry is there to teach me all that I need to know. I highly recommend The Final Code for all your website needs!Macy Homes Google review, Jul 2, 2016
These guys are great! I have 5 million questions and they are quick to help. Check them out!Molly Carroll Google review, Feb 19, 2016
I was referred to The Final Code by a support person at Xero Accounting, an online accounting app I use and support for clients. I had a website up and running for over 2 years, and knew that little or no search traffic was driven to the site, datapro.la. I spoke first to Larry Murphy, and then with Carlo Godoy and James Nisky. They spent a good deal of time with me, going over what they offer, and after takig a look at my existing site, made some recommendations. I am quite computer-literate, but website-dumb. They were patient with me, explaining until I had a good preliminary understanding. Feeling that I was in good hands, I decided to move forward with them redoing, and educating me on how to redo what I could to the website. A great decision on my part, as this group has come through for me in a spectacular fashion. Although not complete, as ongoing tweaking by me, with their assistance, to optimize content, add blog material, etc., datapro.la has a much more professional look and feel, and more importantly, has added what it takes to drive traffic to the website. I cannot fully describe how very happy, and confident, I am dealing with this group. I know they have my back, and are very responsive to questions and requests. Stupid cliche, buy you are in good hands with The Final Code. It is a great feeling to know this is true.David Goldstein Google review
Everyone at The Final Code has been fantastic. I own a small beekeeping company. Almost all of my business comes from people google searching beekeepers, due to the nature of the trade. Initially I hired a company for $1200 who promised they could get me to the top of google. It was one guy working out of a library. He claimed it would be easy. I needed the work done in six months. He informed me that his method was a secret, and that he used hidden back links to boost my website. Eight months and $1200 later I was congratulated on reaching the fifth page on google, and the first page on bing. Not only was I out the $1200, but I also lost a year of revenue. I started taking work from my biggest competitors to get by since my phone was not ringing. They were getting all of the business in the area since my SEO guy failed. They were receiving twenty to fifty calls per day. I was lucky to even get one. In a final desperate move I asked The Final Code for help. The Final Code was very different than the previous company. I walked into their office. They offered no secret back links, no empty promises. They laid out everything they were going to do, and everything I had to do to improve my results. Within two months I had several key words on not only the front page of google, but a few of them were the top search result, and they had reports which allowed me to see all the key words I need to improve upon to continue growing. The difference in my business has been incredible. I went from nearly going bankrupt in December to hiring my first employee in June, and I am completely overwhelmed with business. The Final Code saved my business. I really can't thank them enough. To top it all off Larry and Amber have been a genuine pleasure to work with. I can't recommend them enough.Bryan Castro Google review, Jun 30, 2016
The Final Code was very patient in trying to fulfill all my requests. Carlo worked with me to set up my website for my tax preparation business and he also provided a good training session to manage my website. I feel confident in using my website and I know I can come to ask Carlo if I have any questions.Luis Huapaya Google review
My wife and I operate a company in Ventura County which provides assorted janitorial and commercial cleaning services. We contacted The Final Code because we had several existing websites and various online listings ran by several different people. Our online presence was a mess and were paying a web company for services we couldn't necessarily verify, we couldn't manage our own website if we wanted, we weren't sure if people were visiting our site and it wasn't a great feeling. We met with The Final Code to help us tie up all of those loose ends, built a new website for our company to attract more users to help generate more business. Thankfully, The Final Code was understanding and was able to work within our budget. We now have these issues resolved and the new site is climbing the Google rankings weekly and is now a page one on several main search terms. We received a lot of of valuable advice on SEO, search engine optimization, and they continue to work with us to progress upward in our online presence. I appreciate that The Final Code staff has been so patient and they are always available whenever we have questions or concerns. They have also trained us on how to update and edit our site so that we are free to make changes when necessary. One of the best parts of working with them is that I'm able to walk into their office and know I will be taken care of. This year The Final Code is building several new websites for separate organizations of ours and we're excited to continue collaborating with The Final Code! Thanks everybody for making our company online presence successful and helping to increase businessKen Duff Google review
Through my experience, web marketing companies are like used car salesmen... Thousands to choose from, difficult to trust, and are filled with empty promises. The Final Code is exactly the OPPOSITE! Larry, James, and Carlo are always fantastic to work with and know their business inside and out. From SEO to web marketing tactics, I trust them completely with the online presence of my company. They take their time to personally make sure that I am happy with their service and provide REAL statistics (not just Google analytics) behind any changes made to our site They provide valuable insight and ideas on how to grow your online presence and then can execute those ideas immediately (or train you on how to make changes yourself)!. The interface that accompanies their service is easy to use and gives you access to change / update anything that you would ever want to. I highly recommend The Final Code for any of your SEO / Web Marketing needs.Justin Engelbach Google review
Larry and the team at The Final Code in Ventura literally breathed life back into my business. At the time I hired The Final Code, I had invested thousands of dollars in ongoing website “optimization” with another company. Despite that effort, my law office website was nowhere to be found when it came to the core of my practice – potential clients searching for either criminal defense attorneys or DUI attorneys in my local area. As soon as The Final Code took over care of my website applying their innovative approach, I experienced a dramatic increase in the number of calls I received for DUI and all other criminal cases. I not only skyrocketed to the very top of DUI searches, I have maintained a consistent, top-ranked placement over the last six months. The Final Code team has a passion for helping clients that is evident in all they do. Larry, Carlo, James and team were always at the top of their game and, I felt, sincerely committed to helping me achieve real results. They went out of their way at all points to help me through the process, to aggressively make results-oriented changes, and to communicate with me in a way that made me feel valued as a client. Most importantly to me as a client, everyone at The Final Code conveyed to me that they truly cared about the welfare of my business and did so in an ongoing way. Recognizing the ever changing nature of internet marketing, the team at The Final Code has gone out of their way to keep my website fresh and at the top through expert monitoring and continual innovation. In the website business, the professionals at The Final Code are people of honor and that’s saying a lot. I whole-heartedly recommend The Final Code. You can trust the team to get you the results you want and to do so with dedication and integrity.Jennifer Zide Google review
You already run ads, or you are about to, so you do not need the definition. Four things come back to you, in writing.
The terms, placements and audiences taking your money without bringing work.
Google aims at whatever you tell it to count. You see what a campaign is likely being told to count, and whether that thing is a customer.
The assets, feeds and signals the auction rewards, and the ones you are not handing it.
Search ads, Performance Max, social ads and tracking: four jobs, scoped in hours, and none of them run themselves.
Where an unmanaged campaign leaks a local budget
Performance Max is Google's automated campaign: one set of ads, placed by Google's AI across Search, YouTube, Maps, Gmail and banner spots on other sites. Because it runs across all of Google, left alone it burns money fast:
The fix is control. We build one set of ads per service, add exclusions so you do not pay to show where your own name already wins, and pull every insight Google will share.
The first condition is creative, and video is the lever
Video is what moves a local campaign from budget leak to winner. Search, YouTube and Google's automated campaigns all favor video and open space that text cannot reach.
Short, bite-sized clips win. This is where our video marketing work feeds the ad side, and it is what the pool company's result above was built on.
The second condition is measurement, so it optimizes to customers
Leave that vague and it chases raw form fills, spam included. We track it four ways, and we name the tools:
Every call logged with the ad that sent it. You can listen to them yourself.
A free tool that shows where people click after the ad and why they leave.
Your sales software feeds closed jobs back, so the campaign learns which clicks brought revenue.
A booked job counts above a newsletter signup, so the AI bids toward what pays you.
SEO vs Google Ads: Which One Should You Spend On?One of them puts the phone on the hook this week. The other one is still working two years from now. The answer is not the one your last agency gave you.Read it
SEO and PPC Working Together: One Keyword List WinsYou hired help. Good help, even. A web person. An SEO person. A Google Ads person (PPC, if you like the acronym). On paper, that looks like a team. Online, it can look like three folks who have never once been in the same room. Getting your SEO and PPC working together would fix half of it. Most businesses never do.Read it
Why Your Lead Generation isn't working and How to Fix It.Your business is grinding every day, but the leads coming in? Unqualified. Unresponsive. Half the time, they feel like spam. It’s tempting to blame the leads themselves. But let’s be real, if you’re stuck getting bad leads, it’s almost always a marketing problem.Read it Before you call, the honest answers
No. There is nothing to sign and nothing to cancel, and we have never locked anybody in. You stay because the ads are earning, and the month you decide they are not, you stop. That is the whole arrangement.
Ads can move the phone the same week you switch them on. Search works the other way around: it compounds. Every page we build and every term you take stacks on the last one, so the clicks you were paying for start arriving free.
We read your site and what shows up in the auction first, then scope the work and project the hours before anybody quotes a number. You get the number in writing before you commit to anything, and it does not move quietly afterwards.
Enough for the campaign to learn who converts. That is a read on your account and your market, not a number off a rate card. If your budget is too thin for Performance Max, we will say so and point you at a tight search campaign instead.
Manufacturers and distributors with catalogs in the tens of thousands of parts, and local service businesses that live and die by the phone. Both kinds run on the same two conditions: assets worth showing, and tracking that counts the right win.
Ventura, California, and Long Island, New York. Zoom works for most of it. If you are near either one, we would rather sit down with you.
“Paid search runs on a meter. It only pays if somebody is watching it, and the AI takes you at your word about what counts as a win.” The Final Code
Tell the system to count the wrong win and it will get very good at winning it. Give us your website and you get a free market assessment: where the budget leaks, what is being counted as a win, and the first fixes in order.