Agency insights
Thoughts and lessons on client selection, burnout, pricing, and modernising legacy accounts, from someone who's run a Google Ads for years.
How to Evaluate a Google Ads Expert When You’re Not One Yourself
Published July 2025. Last updated July 2026.
This is for you if you're thinking of hiring someone to manage Google Ads for your business.
It isn't one of those "Hire me!" articles. I’m not here to sell you my services. Instead I hope to give you a way to avoid making a mistake.
You don’t have the skills to evaluate them.
It's the same problem we all have the first time we hire someone in an industry that's new to us. We don't know enough about their industry to tell if they're legit or talking rubbish.
- You hire a web developer, and they start talking about frameworks and APIs.
- You hire an accountant, and they throw around tax code references or use dirty words like depreciation.
- You take your car to the mechanic, and they tell you the flux-capacitor is running hot.
Hiring for Google Ads can feel the same. You jump on a call, and they start talking about impressions, CTR, smart bidding, and data-driven attribution models. And you’re sitting there thinking: "This all sounds clever... but is any of it actually going to bring me more business?"
You don’t need to become a Google Ads expert to make a smart decision
The good news is that you don't need to become an expert at the internal workings of Google Ads to make the right choice. What you do need is to understand what makes Google Ads successful.
And that’s where the CLIENT framework comes in. It sets out 6 things you absolutely must have to make Google Ads profitable for your business. They are:
- C – Clicks Are enough of the right people searching Google for the product or service you offer?
- L – Landing Page Does your landing page turn those visitors into leads?
- I – Insight Does the person managing your Google Ads understand how your business makes money?
- E – Engage Leads Do you have a clear, repeatable process for engaging with new leads?
- N – Nudge Are you feeding real-world sales feedback into your campaigns? The best accounts improve lead quality over time by nudging the system toward what works.
- T – Track Do you know how much you made from your Google Ads leads?
Before we go any further, does this make sense? Is anything missing for your business?
Use the CLIENT framework to interview
When you're interviewing someone to manage your Google Ads, show them this list and ask:
Do you agree? What else should we add to the list?
Then...
Please tell me how we're going to work together to make Google Ads successful using this list.
The question sets you up for a conversation that's productive and doesn't get lost in jargon.
This isn’t about pretending to be an expert. It’s not about catching anyone out. It’s about having a simple, business-focused way to talk about what actually matters.
Most Google Ads Problems Aren't Google Ads Problems
If my writing resonates with you, I'd like to give you a copy of my book, Profitable Google Ads. The book was written for business owners, but many PPC professionals have found it valuable too.
Before you download it, what describes you best?
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