How to hire a PPC specialist or Google Ads consultant

Hiring a PPC specialist, a Google Ads consultant or a freelance digital marketer is one process, because the title changes with who is describing the work. These steps apply whether you intend to employ the person or engage them as a freelancer. If you are still deciding between the options, start with in-house, freelancer or agency for paid ads.

Define the role

Write what the person will own and what they will not. Typical items: planning and managing campaigns on one or more platforms, writing ads, setting up conversion tracking, reporting each month, and recommending where the budget should go. Then write what sits with someone else, such as images and video, landing pages and the website itself. A person hired for the first list and expected to do the second will be judged on work they were never asked to do.

Ask about certification

Ask whether the person holds a current Google Ads certification, and in which product areas. Google says certifications are accessed through Skillshop, need a score of 80 percent or greater on the assessment, and remain valid for one year, after which the assessment must be retaken and passed in that product area to renew^[2]. Google also lists Search, Display, Video, Shopping ads and Apps as the certifications that count towards company Partner status, and says certification is awarded to individuals rather than companies.

Used well, the question is useful. A certification more than a year old has lapsed, so ask for the date. A certification in Search does not cover Shopping. And a pass means the person passed an assessment, which is a starting point. Ask them to walk you through how they would approach your account.

Partner status is a company thing

If a freelancer or consultant works through a company, you may see a Google Partner badge. Partner status is awarded to companies against requirements in three categories (performance, spend and certifications), and Premier Partner is limited to the top 3 percent of participating companies in a country each year^[1]. A one-person business might not meet the spend requirement, which tells you about the size of the accounts it manages and not about the quality of its work. I would not rule a person out for lacking a badge, and I would not rule one in for having it.

Run a short paid trial

This is my view, not a rule. I would rather pay for a small, scoped piece of work before committing: a review of an existing account, or a plan for the first month with the reasoning set out. It shows how the person communicates, whether they ask good questions and whether they can explain a decision in plain language. Compare candidates on the same task.

• Give every candidate the same brief and the same time to answer.
• Ask what they would want to know that the brief does not say.
• Ask how they would count a result, and how you could check it yourself.
• Ask what they would not do in the first month.

Give access, keep ownership

A new hire needs access, not ownership. In Google Ads a client account has one owner, and an administrator of the owner can transfer ownership or turn it off^[3]. On a manager account, only users with administrative access can invite or remove other users^[4]. Keep the administrative role in your business, give the person the level they need to do the work, and remove it when the work ends.

Once the shortlist exists, enter each option’s figures in the hiring cost comparison. If you would like to put these questions to me, my consultancy is described on my own site, and I sell it, so treat my answers as you would anyone’s.