Resources
Guides, playbooks, and field notes from the Pedal team on running paid media for local and small businesses. Everything here is built from real client engagements and $500M+ in managed spend — not theory.
Guides
Step-by-step walkthroughs for the things every client asks us about.
How to Track Leads from Google Ads to Offline Conversions
Capture the GCLID, carry it into your CRM, and upload closed deals back to Google, plus when to use Enhanced Conversions for Leads instead, so Smart Bidding optimizes toward revenue, not form fills.
Audit prepHow to Give an Agency Read-Only Access for a Free Audit
Grant view-only access on Meta, Google Ads, GA4, and TikTok in about five minutes, so an agency can audit your account without a contract, a password, or the ability to touch or spend anything. Revocable in one click.
Conversion trackingHow to Set Up Google Ads Conversion Tracking
A step-by-step 2026 guide to setting up Google Ads conversion tracking correctly, including the Google tag, GA4 import, Enhanced Conversions, and offline conversions, so your ads optimize on real leads.
Conversion trackingHow to Set Up the Meta Pixel and Conversions API for a Local Business
Set up the Meta Pixel (dataset) and the Conversions API together, deduplicated by a shared event_id, so your Facebook and Instagram ads optimize on real leads instead of guesses.
FoundationsHow to Set Up Your Google Marketing Suite
A beginner-friendly walkthrough for setting up Google Business Profile, Search Console, Analytics 4, Tag Manager, Ads, and Merchant Center — in the right order.
OnboardingHow to Connect Your Ad Accounts to an Agency Manager
Step-by-step on Meta Business Manager, Google Ads (MCC), TikTok Business Center, and Shopify, without sharing passwords or losing ownership of your account.
Blog
Field notes, takes, and the occasional teardown.
What Is Conversion Rate Optimization?
The quieter, cheaper growth lever: turning more of the visitors you already pay for into customers. What CRO means, how to calculate it, and where small and mid-sized businesses should start.
Field notesHow to Choose a Digital Marketing Agency (Without Getting Burned)
The 8 criteria that predict a good fit, the questions to ask on the call, and the red flags to walk away from. A straight guide for small and mid-sized businesses.
Field notesHow Much Does a Marketing Agency Cost? (A Straight Answer)
What marketing agencies really charge in 2026: SEO, paid media, and social, by pricing model, with honest ranges and no hidden-fee runaround.
Field notesSEO for Small & Mid-Sized Businesses: What Actually Moves Rankings
The three levers that actually move rankings for a lead-gen business — reviews, the local pack, and deep service pages — and what to stop paying your SEO retainer for.
Field notesThe 5 Questions a Real Google Ads Audit Answers That Google's Recommendations Won't
The five questions a real paid search audit answers — workhorse, budget waste, conversion-counting sanity, competitor-brand leakage, and the marginal dollar — that Google's Recommendations tab won't surface.
Field notesHow to Read a Google Ads Audit
What a real audit contains — scorecard, workhorses, drains, conversion-tracking sanity — and the red flags that tell you it was a checkbox exercise.