Digital Advertising

Paid search

Structured around intent and outcomes.

MPP builds and manages paid search programs across Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, and Local Service Ads, structured to capture demand where it surfaces, control waste, and produce results that hold up under pressure.

Reach people already looking for what you offer.

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How MPP runs paid search
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Where paid search ads run

MPP plans allocation based on where your audience searches and what the economics of your category support.

Google Ads

Google processes more than 5 trillion searches annually and holds roughly 84% of U.S. search engine market share. For most clients, Google Ads is where the performance foundation is built and where the majority of paid search budget is concentrated.

Microsoft Advertising

Microsoft Advertising (Bing) captures approximately 10% of U.S. search volume. Depending on category competition and cost-per-click dynamics, Bing can be a meaningful efficiency lever. MPP evaluates the economics during planning rather than defaulting to a Google-only allocation.

Local Service Ads

LSAs are a Google-verified ad format for service-category businesses that appear above standard search results. Advertisers pay per qualified lead rather than per click, and the Google Guaranteed or Google Screened badge signals trust directly in the results. MPP manages LSAs as part of the paid search program for clients where local and service-based intent drives qualified demand.

Donut graphy showing the market share of Google, Bing, Yahoo, and DuckDuckGo for search volume.

U.S. search engine market share, February 2026. Google 84.13%, Bing 10.52%, Yahoo 2.86%, DuckDuckGo 1.84%. Source: StatCounter.

How MPP runs paid search

MPP delivers paid search through Orbit, MPP's marketing operating system. The work is organized around Hi-5, a five-question diagnostic framework applied across every engagement, and governed by Core vs. Explore, which controls how budget moves between the proven program and controlled testing.

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How Hi-5 works in paid search

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Resonance
Are we bidding on intent that connects to what this business actually offers? Are the ads saying what the audience needs to hear at the moment they are searching?
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Cohesion
Is the experience consistent from search query to ad to landing page? Every drop-off in that chain costs conversions.
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Reach
Are we present on the right platforms and in the right formats? For most programs that means Google Ads first, Microsoft Advertising and Local Service Ads where the economics support them.
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Allocation
Are we putting budget behind the campaigns, keywords, and times of day that produce outcomes, and pulling back where they don't?
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Reporting
Are we reporting on the metrics that matter to your business, not just the ones that are easy to pull?
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How Core vs. Explore works in paid search

Core vs. Explore is how MPP balances stability with improvement.

Core

Core is the performance foundation of the program. The campaigns, keyword themes, match types, and ad combinations that have proven they produce qualified conversions consistently. Core is protected, funded, and managed to perform. Experimentation does not happen here.

Explore

Explore runs alongside Core as a controlled testing environment. New intent themes, messaging angles, landing page approaches, and keyword expansion opportunities are evaluated here without putting the core program at risk. Explore carries its own budget so Core is never compromised by a test.

When something in Explore outperforms Core, it graduates. That is how paid search programs improve over time rather than plateau.

Explore Core vs. Explore →

What MPP builds and manages

Campaign Architecture
Built around intent and business outcomes, not account convenience. The structure of the account determines how well everything downstream performs.
Keyword strategy
The queries worth bidding on and the ones worth blocking. Negative keyword management is as important as the keyword list itself, and both get active attention every week.
Ad creative
Ads and extensions written and tested to earn the click from the right person. The goal is qualified intent, not raw click volume.
Landing page guidelines
Recommendations to close the gap between what an ad promises and what the page delivers. Message match directly affects conversion rate, and MPP flags those disconnects.
Conversion tracking
Tracking is confirmed before campaigns go live and verified on an ongoing basis. Clean tracking produces clean data, which is what sound optimization decisions require.
Search term review
Real search terms are reviewed every week. Irrelevant traffic gets cut, intent targeting gets refined, and budget stays concentrated on the queries most likely to produce meaningful results.
Ongoing optimization
Active management across queries, bids, budgets, and creative throughout the program. Performance improves continuously, not only at launch.
HelloMPP is MPP's proprietary analytics platform and client portal. This is the logo for HelloMPP.

Performance visible between calls

Paid search performance feeds into HelloMPP, MPP's proprietary client analytics portal, updated twice daily. Spend, conversions, efficiency, and week-over-week changes are consolidated in one place without waiting on a scheduled report.

Explore HelloMPP →

MPP is a Google Partner

The designation is reserved for agencies that meet Google's thresholds for campaign performance, managed spend volume, and staff certification, and it is maintained through ongoing performance rather than awarded once. For clients running Google Ads, that credential is a meaningful signal about the agency managing their investment.

Google Partner Badge

When paid search is the right call

Paid search is a strong fit when:

  • People actively search for your category, service, or product
  • A defined conversion goal such as form fills or quote requests is in place
  • Budget control and measurable demand capture are priorities
  • The business is willing to optimize what happens after the click

Paid search is a weaker fit when:

  • The offering is difficult to explain or research online
  • Brand awareness with no tied conversion outcome is the primary objective
  • Conversion tracking cannot be properly implemented
  • The business cannot support ongoing optimization

Paid search FAQ

What is paid search advertising?
Paid search advertising is a form of digital advertising where ads appear on search engine results pages in response to specific queries. Advertisers bid on keywords and pay when users click, making paid search a demand-capture channel that reaches people at the moment they are actively looking. In the U.S., paid search runs primarily on Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising, with Local Service Ads as a distinct format for service-category businesses that pays per qualified lead rather than per click.
How is paid search different from SEO?
Paid search places ads in results through a paid bidding system, with performance that becomes measurable immediately after launch. SEO improves organic ranking through content and technical optimization, which builds over a longer horizon. Paid search delivers budget control and direct conversion data that organic rankings alone cannot provide. Most mature programs run both.
What does a paid search management agency do?
A paid search agency builds, manages, and optimizes campaigns on paid search platforms on behalf of a client. This includes keyword strategy, campaign architecture, ad writing, bid management, negative keyword maintenance, conversion tracking, and ongoing optimization. At MPP, paid search management runs inside Orbit, applying Hi-5 and Core vs. Explore to keep the program producing results rather than generating activity.
How much should I spend on paid search?
Budget depends on search volume in the category, competitive bid dynamics, and the cost-per-click economics of the keywords relevant to the business. MPP builds budget recommendations tied to realistic outcome targets during the planning phase. Core carries the majority of spend against proven performance, with Explore running a controlled allocation for testing new approaches.
How long does it take to see results from paid search?
Paid search can produce results from the first week campaigns are live. Meaningful performance data that supports confident optimization decisions typically accumulates within the first 30 to 60 days. The feedback loop between search query, click, and conversion is fast and measurable, which makes paid search one of the shorter learning-curve channels in a media program.
What is the difference between Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising?
Google Ads reaches the largest share of U.S. search volume, roughly 84%, and is the primary platform for most paid search programs. Microsoft Advertising captures approximately 10% of U.S. search volume and often delivers lower cost-per-click due to reduced competition in many categories. MPP evaluates both platforms during planning and allocates based on where the audience searches and where the program can generate efficient returns.
What are Local Service Ads and how do they work?
Local Service Ads are a Google-verified ad format that appears above standard paid search results for service-category businesses. Unlike traditional paid search, LSAs charge per qualified lead rather than per click, and the Google Guaranteed or Google Screened badge signals trust directly in the results. MPP manages LSAs as part of the paid search program for clients where local and service-based intent drives meaningful demand.
How do you measure paid search performance?
Performance is measured against the conversion goals defined during planning, typically form fills, calls, or quote requests. Measurement frameworks are confirmed before any budget runs. Results consolidate in HelloMPP, updated twice daily, covering spend, conversion volume, efficiency metrics, and week-over-week changes.

Put your search budget to work

If capturing active demand is a gap in your current media program, that is a conversation worth having with MPP.

Contact MPP
Request a Media Audit
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Say hello to MPP.

MPP delivers transparent media planning and buying with a system you can understand and results you can measure. Orbit, the Hi-5, and Core vs. Explore keep decisions accountable. HelloMPP dashboards keep performance visible. If you're ready for a partner that makes every dollar defendable, that's exactly what we do.

Let's get to work.
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