A Google Ads agency that also builds the website your ads land on
Owl Media is a Google Ads agency in Centurion managing campaigns for businesses across Pretoria, Midrand and the rest of South Africa since 2014. We set up conversion tracking properly, report in plain language every month, and build the landing pages your ads point to — so one team owns the whole result.
Since 2014 · 4.5★ on Google · Direct access to the team · Ons praat ook Afrikaans
Who this is for
You’ve tried Google Ads and burned money. Or an agency sends you a monthly PDF full of impressions and clicks, and you still can’t answer the only question that matters: how many enquiries did this buy me, and at what cost? Google Ads works when someone watches the search terms, cuts the waste, and measures actual enquiries — not when a campaign is set up once and left to run.
That’s Google Ads management the way we do it, for service businesses, schools and colleges, industrial suppliers and online stores.
What’s included in our Google Ads management
- Campaign build or rebuild: keyword research, campaign structure, ad copy, location and schedule settings tuned to where your customers actually are.
- Conversion tracking set up properly. Calls, form submissions and WhatsApp clicks measured in Google Ads and Analytics before we spend a rand. If we can’t measure it, we don’t run it.
- Ongoing management: search-term reviews, negative keywords, bid and budget adjustments, and ad testing — the weekly pruning that separates a managed account from a neglected one.
- Landing pages that match the ad. Because we’re a web design company first, we fix the page the click lands on, which is where most wasted spend actually dies.
- Monthly reporting in plain language: what you spent, what it brought in, what we’re changing next month. No jargon walls.
What Google Ads costs in South Africa
Three numbers, kept separate on purpose:
- Campaign setup — R8,500 once-off, excl. VAT. Keyword research, campaign structure, ad copy (at least three ads per ad set for split-testing), budgets, schedules and location targeting, the Google tracking tag installed on your website, and Google Analytics registration — done properly before a rand is spent.
- Your ad spend — paid by you directly to Google. We recommend a minimum budget of R5,000 per month: below that there isn’t enough data to optimise, so a too-small budget just buys silence. You set the budget and see every rand in your own account — we never mark up ad spend.
- Our management fee — 15% of your monthly ad budget, with a minimum of R5,500 per month, excl. VAT. That’s what you pay Owl Media to watch, prune and improve the account every month.
You own your Google Ads account and everything in it — we recommend client-owned accounts and work in yours as managers. For how this fits alongside website costs, see our pricing page.
How it works
- You message us. WhatsApp, email or the form below.
- A 15-minute call about what a customer is worth to you and where they come from.
- A fixed quote within 2 working days, including a recommended starting budget.
- Tracking first, then campaigns. We never launch before conversions are measurable.
- Manage, report, improve — month after month, on a month-to-month basis.
Proof
We run Google and Meta Ads lead generation for a multi-campus graduate school, alongside its website and landing pages — campaigns that have to deliver student enquiries across several campuses, not just clicks.
“I would recommend OWL Media for all the digital aspects of your business. Their turn around time on website updates are fantastic – almost always on the same day. They have great knowledge on both Google and Meta advertising, have proper tracking in place and always conduct business in a professional and friendly manner.” — Janette Engelbrecht, Google review
Owl Media vs a freelancer vs a big agency
- A freelancer might know Google Ads, but can’t fix the landing page, the tracking code and the website speed that decide whether clicks convert. We can, because we build websites too.
- A big agency puts your account under a junior with fifty others and reports to you through an account manager. With us, Marlo — who has run Google Ads since the beginning — is the person in your account and on your calls.
- Owl Media is judged on one number: what an enquiry costs you. When the same team owns the ads and the website, there’s nobody else to blame — which is exactly how we like it.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Google Ads cost in South Africa?
Three costs: a once-off campaign setup of R8,500 excl. VAT, your ad spend paid directly to Google (we recommend at least R5,000 per month), and a monthly management fee of 15% of your ad budget with a minimum of R5,500 excl. VAT. You always pay Google directly, so your spend is visible in your own account and no margin is hidden inside it.
What’s the minimum budget worth starting with?
We recommend a minimum of R5,000 per month in direct ad spend. Competitive keywords in South Africa can cost anything from a few rand to well over R100 per click, so below that there simply isn’t enough data to optimise. We’ll confirm the right number for your specific market in the quote.
How quickly will I see results?
Traffic starts the day campaigns go live. Meaningful judgement takes longer: we optimise against real search-term and conversion data over the first weeks, so give a new account a proper chance before declaring victory or defeat. Our monthly report shows exactly where it’s heading from month one.
Do I have to host my website with you or rebuild it?
No. We can manage Google Ads on your existing website. But if the site loses the enquiries the ads bring in, we’ll say so and quote separately for fixing it — that’s often the cheapest improvement in the whole account. See website design.
Who owns the Google Ads account?
You do — your account, your data and your payment method belong to you, and we work in your account as managers. If you ever leave, everything stays yours.
What does your monthly report actually show?
Spend, enquiries (calls, forms, WhatsApp clicks), cost per enquiry, and what we’re changing next — in plain language. If a month was bad, the report says so and says why. You’ll never need a translator for it.
Do you also run Facebook and Instagram ads?
Yes — see Meta ads management. Google catches people searching for what you do; Meta reaches people who don’t know you yet. Many clients run both, and one team managing them stops the two platforms fighting over credit.
Is there a long contract?
No. Ads management runs month to month with 30 days’ notice. We’d rather keep your business by performing than by contract — though we will say upfront that a new account needs a few months of data to be judged fairly.
Get a quote
WhatsApp us: Hi Owl Media, I’d like help with Google Ads — we reply within one working day.
Or use the form: Name, Email, Phone, Service, Message. We reply within one working day. No spam, ever.
[email protected] · 083 776 5145 · Mon–Fri 08:00–16:00 · Contact page