Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is an essential tool for businesses looking to expand their online presence, engage with targeted audiences, and increase conversions across multiple platforms.
However, managing profitable and sustainable PPC campaigns requires deep expertise and strategic optimization based on constant testing and learning. That’s why working with the right freelance PPC consultant can provide great value.
As your guide, a knowledgeable PPC consultant brings strategic insights and tactical skills refined from managing campaigns across diverse industries and clients. They stay on top of the ever-evolving world of paid search to deploy the latest features and refine proven strategies. With so much at stake, choosing the ideal consultant is crucial for achieving your PPC objectives and ROI.
This comprehensive guide provides a roadmap to assess consultants, probe their approaches, and find the perfect partner to optimize your PPC campaigns:
Table of Contents
Define Your Business Goals and Assess PPC Objectives
Before even searching for consultants, clearly define your business goals and what you want to accomplish through PPC. Common objectives include:
- Generate more high-quality website traffic
- Increase lead conversion rates from traffic
- Grow online sales and revenue
- Improve brand awareness and visibility
- Expand reach into new customer demographics
- Engage with existing customers and facilitate repeat purchases
Outlining tangible PPC goals will reveal knowledge gaps and skills you need from a consultant. It also provides criteria to evaluate their ability to deliver relevant outcomes. A consultant experienced in driving leads for ecommerce sites may not have the right expertise to build branded search campaigns. Clarifying your goals enables you to find an ideal fit.
Audit Their Relevant Platform Expertise and Certifications
PPC encompasses a diverse range of continuously evolving advertising platforms, including:
- Google Ads
- Microsoft Advertising
- Facebook Ads
- LinkedIn Ads
- Twitter Ads
- Pinterest Ads
- And more
A qualified consultant must exhibit deep experience managing campaigns across the most relevant platforms for your business. Look for proven expertise in setting up accounts, structuring campaigns, managing bids, creating ads, and optimizing for key metrics.
Relevant certifications also validate specialized platform competency. Google, Facebook, Bing, and other platforms offer exams and certifications for PPC professionals to demonstrate proficiency. Seeking consultants with certifications in platforms you plan to focus on adds assurance when evaluating their capabilities.
Assess Success Driving Results for Similar Clients
Tangible results and a proven track record should outweigh any claims of expertise. Review case studies and testimonials to understand past client success. Look for consultants that can point to examples of:
- Driving increased conversions from PPC traffic
- Improving cost efficiency by reducing CPC and CPA
- Growing revenue and ROI from ad spending
- Outperforming benchmarks and competitors
- Quickly optimizing underperforming campaigns
A seasoned PPC expert will have a portfolio demonstrating how their skills translate to positive outcomes. Beware consultants making outsized claims without evidence or cherry-picking successful examples while omitting struggles. Past performance indicates the ability to deliver results.
Evaluate Their Communication Style and Reporting Process
Managing PPC requires ongoing optimization based on constant testing, measurement, and open communication. Evaluate how effectively a consultant:
- Explains PPC concepts and strategies with clarity
- Answers your questions and addresses concerns
- Provides visibility through regular reporting on important metrics
- Highlights key takeaways and insights from campaign data
- Communicates changes, tests, and recommendations based on results
Convey your preferences for communication cadence and reporting. Confirm they offer needed transparency into campaigns and can translate data into actionable recommendations.
Assess Their Approach to Campaign Optimization
Campaign performance hinges on continuous refinement and optimization. Understand their core optimization methodology to extract maximum value from your ad spending:
- What is their process for ongoing keyword research, expansion, and management?
- How do they approach ad testing from ad copy to landing pages?
- How do they allocate budget across campaigns, ad groups, and keywords?
- What are their strategies to reduce wasted spend and improve conversions?
- How do they measure success and expand on what delivers results?
An ideal consultant will balance proven best practices with relentless data-driven testing and refinement to maximize campaign potential.
Discuss Ad Creative Strategy and Design Capabilities
Compelling, relevant ad creative helps your message resonate with audiences and drives clicks and conversions. Evaluate creative skills and strategies:
- What makes their ad copy stand out from competitors?
- Do they offer strong visual design capabilities for ad images, banners, and videos?
- How do they tailor messaging and offers to different audience segments?
Creativity and relevance in ad messaging provide an edge. Look for consultants capable of translating your brand voice into engaging PPC content.
Define Scope, Expectations, and Pricing
Before hiring any consultant, outline expected deliverables, time investments, costs, and payment terms in a contract. Key aspects to define:
- Scope of work including number of campaigns, platforms, and objectives
- Expected hours per week or month dedicated to your account
- Additional costs like ad spending and third-party tools
- Payment structures such as hourly, monthly retainer, or commission
Transparent expectations and an aligned understanding of scope enable a smooth engagement. Evaluate costs versus expected value delivered when negotiating fair pricing.
Assess Their Industry Experience and Knowledge
While PPC fundamentals remain consistent across industries, nuances exist. Check for experience with clients in your specific industry. Better yet, look for consultants with prior work experience in your field who grasp the competitive landscape, terminology, challenges, and opportunities. Their inside perspective can reveal smarter strategies.
For example, consultants familiar with common pain points around complexity in software sales funnels can better optimize ad messaging to attract ideal prospects. While not essential, relevant industry background is a differentiator when evaluating consultants.
Trust Your Instincts and Gut Feel
In your interactions, focus on consultants who instill confidence based on their communication approach, expertise, and eagerness to drive results for your business. Watch for those who listen closely to your goals and demonstrate an understanding of potential growth strategies.
While qualifications and experience hold weight, your instincts also deserve strong consideration. You will be entrusting campaigns with significant budgets to this consultant. Make sure you feel completely comfortable with them leading this critical initiative.
The Ideal Consultant Becomes an Extension of Your Marketing Team
Finding the right Google ads consultant takes research and rigorous evaluation. However the investment pays dividends via elevated campaign performance and accelerated growth. With a shared understanding of your business goals and close collaboration, they can provide an invaluable amplification of your marketing efforts.
Rather than being just an outside vendor, the ideal consultant practically becomes an extension of your internal team. Their varied experience and impartial perspective complement your insider knowledge of the business. Combining forces creates powerful synergies to propel your PPC strategy forward.
With these steps to assess expertise, experience, communication skills, and instinctual trust, you can forge that productive partnership. Your ideal freelance PPC consultant awaits to drive tangible growth and bottom-line impact by maximizing the potential of your campaigns. By following a methodical evaluation approach, you can find that high-caliber resource ready to turn goals into measurable achievements.
