Should You Run Google Ads Yourself or Hire Someone?

Google makes it look easy to start. Enter a website, pick a budget, and an ad can be running within the hour. Some owners do well that way. Plenty of others spend for months and can’t tell what they got for it. Here’s how I’d decide whether to run your own ads or hire someone, including when I’d tell you to keep doing it yourself.

What running Google Ads actually involves

The setup is the easy part. The work is in the details that decide where your money goes. Choosing the searches you want to show up for, and just as important, the ones you don’t, like job seekers, DIY questions and towns you don’t serve. Setting the right location and schedule. Writing ads that match the search. Sending clicks to a page about that service, not your home page. Tracking calls and form fills so you know which searches turn into enquiries. Then checking the search terms report every week and cutting what wastes money. None of it is secret. It just takes steady attention.

When doing it yourself makes sense

If you serve one area, offer a handful of services, and have a modest budget, you can learn enough to run a sensible campaign. It helps if you like this kind of work and will actually check the account every week. You know your customers better than anyone, and that counts for a lot when choosing searches. If that sounds like you, start small, keep it to your most profitable service, and read why Google Ads waste money before you spend a dollar.

When hiring someone makes sense

When your time is worth more running jobs than learning ad settings. When the account has been spending for months and nobody can say which ads brought in work. When you’re running several services or areas and the campaigns are getting tangled. When nobody has set up call and form tracking, so the report only shows clicks. Or when you’re about to raise the budget and want a second pair of eyes first. A good manager should be able to show you, in plain terms, where the money went and what came back.

Set the test budget from what a lead is worth

Don’t start with a number you saw online. Start with your own numbers. Work out what a typical job is worth to you after costs. Then estimate how many enquiries it takes to win one job. That tells you the most you can afford to pay for a single enquiry and still come out ahead. Next, look at the search estimates in your own account for your services and area. Pick a monthly spend that buys enough clicks to get a fair read, and that you could lose without hurting the business. Run it for a few months, then judge it on enquiries and jobs, not clicks. I go deeper on this in how much to spend on Google Ads.

What management costs with me

My fee covers building and running the campaigns, tracking, and a monthly report. Ad spend is never mixed into it.

Why your account should stay yours

Whoever runs your ads, the account should be in your name with your payment method on it. You should be able to log in and see every dollar. If you ever change managers or take it back yourself, the history, the conversion tracking and everything learned so far stays with you. Be wary of anyone who runs ads from their own account and sends you a single bill. My prices are CAD plus applicable GST/HST, and the ads scope is on the packages page.

If you go it alone, do these four things

Set up conversion tracking for calls and forms before the ads go live. Add negative keywords from day one and check the search terms report every week. Target the area your trucks actually go, not the whole province. Send each ad to a page about that service, with a tap to call button near the top. Those four alone fix most of the waste I see in accounts people bring to me. To check results honestly, read how I measure enquiries.

Next step

If you’re running your own ads and want to know whether they’re working, or you’re deciding whether to start, see how I handle Google Ads management. If you’re also weighing SEO, read do I need SEO if I’m running Google Ads. Or book a free call, bring your account if you have one, and I’ll tell you straight whether you need me.