Google Ads
Freelance Google Ads and PPC expert without the agency layers.
I’m Rob, a freelance Google Ads expert with over 10 years in PPC. I plan, build and manage Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns for e-commerce and lead generation businesses across the UK, and you deal with me directly.
Freelance Google Ads management
A freelance Google Ads specialist who runs your account personally
Google Ads, still called PPC or pay-per-click by many, puts your business in front of people at the moment they search for what you sell. Done well, it is the fastest and most measurable way to win new customers. Done badly, it spends your budget on clicks that never turn into anything.
As a freelance Google Ads expert, I do the work that decides which of those you get: the account structure, the keywords, the ad copy, the bidding and the tracking. There is no account manager between us and no junior learning on your budget.
I manage over £250,000 of ad spend a month across my clients, from local businesses starting on a few hundred pounds to established online retailers.
What you get when you work with me
- One point of contact: me.
- Campaigns built around profit and lead quality, not clicks.
- Conversion tracking set up properly from day one.
- A clear monthly report in plain English.
- Full access to your own account and data.
What I manage
Google Ads campaign types I manage
Each campaign type does a different job. I choose the mix that fits your goals and budget, and I will tell you which ones you do not need.
Text ads shown when someone searches for your product or service. Search is where most accounts start, because it reaches people who already know what they want. I build tightly themed ad groups, write the ads and manage the keywords, negative keywords and bids.
Product listings with an image, price and reviews at the top of the results page. For online shops, Shopping usually brings the most revenue. Results depend on your product feed, so I optimise titles, categories and attributes in Merchant Center as well as the bids.
One campaign that runs across Search, Shopping, YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail and Maps, using Google’s AI to find conversions. It can be powerful, but only with the right goals, assets and exclusions. I set it up to add new sales, not to claim credit for your brand searches.
Demand Gen and YouTube
Image and video ads on YouTube, Discover and Gmail that reach people before they search. Useful for launching a new product, building awareness in a new area or staying visible during a long buying decision.
Banner ads across websites and apps, mainly used to bring back people who visited your site but did not buy or enquire. A small remarketing budget can produce some of the lowest-cost conversions in an account.
Up to $10,000 a month of free search advertising for eligible charities. The grant has strict rules on keywords, click-through rate and tracking. I manage grant accounts so they stay compliant and the budget goes on searches that matter. More on Ad Grants for charities.
Microsoft Ads. I also manage Microsoft Ads (Bing), which reaches searchers Google does not and can be a useful addition once your Google Ads account is working.
The marketing funnel
Where Google Ads fits in the marketing funnel
Not everyone who sees your ad is ready to buy. Different campaign types reach people at different stages, and a good account covers the stages that matter for your business.
Awareness: reaching people who do not know you yet
Performance Max set to bid only for new customers, along with Demand Gen and YouTube, introduces your business to people who have never visited your site. It is worth adding once the lower stages are working and you want to grow beyond existing demand.
Consideration: staying visible while people compare
Performance Max keeps you in front of people who have shown interest but have not decided yet, across YouTube, Display, Gmail and Discover. This is where longer buying decisions are won, by being the name people recognise when they come back to search.
Conversion: capturing people ready to buy or enquire
Search and Shopping reach people who are actively looking for your product or service right now. This is where I start with almost every account, because it is the quickest route to sales and enquiries and the easiest to measure.
Retention: bringing customers back
Your customer lists can be used to show previous buyers new products and offers, or to exclude them so the budget goes on finding new customers. Both are a choice, and I will help you make it deliberately.
Where to start. Build from the bottom up. Get Search and Shopping profitable first, add Performance Max once there is enough conversion data for it to learn from, and only then put budget into awareness. Spending at the top before the bottom works is the most common way I see budgets wasted.
E-commerce
Google Ads for e-commerce
For online shops, Google Ads is often the largest source of paid revenue, and Shopping and Performance Max do most of the work. The difference between a profitable account and an expensive one is rarely the bids. It is the product feed, the campaign structure and what you tell Google a sale is worth.
What I do for online shops
- Product feed optimisation in Merchant Center: titles, categories, images and attributes that match how people search.
- Campaigns split by margin, price or product type, so best sellers and high-margin lines get the budget they deserve.
- Bidding towards return on ad spend or profit, using accurate conversion values.
- New customer acquisition settings, so you can see how much revenue comes from first-time buyers.
- Search campaigns for high-intent product and category terms that Shopping misses.
- Purchase tracking with enhanced conversions and Consent Mode, so Google Ads sees the sales it produced.
A good ROAS is not always a good result. Return on ad spend can look healthy while the account mostly sells to people who would have bought anyway. I report on new customers and profit as well, so you can see what the ads added.
Lead generation
Google Ads for lead generation
If your website exists to produce enquiries, calls or bookings, Search does most of the work. The risk is paying for leads that never become customers. Google optimises towards whatever you count as a conversion, so if every form fill counts the same, it will find you more of the cheapest ones.
What I do for lead generation
- Keyword targeting built around intent, with negative keywords that remove job seekers, students and people looking for free advice.
- Call tracking and form tracking, so every enquiry is tied to the keyword that produced it.
- Enhanced conversions for leads and offline conversion imports, which tell Google which enquiries became customers.
- Location targeting by town, radius or postcode for businesses that serve a set area.
- Landing pages built for one job: turning a click into an enquiry.
- Performance Max for leads only where the tracking is good enough to stop it chasing junk.
Quality over volume. Twenty enquiries mean little if two become customers. I optimise towards the leads you tell me were worth having, not the total.
Industries
Google Ads for your industry
How Google Ads works depends on who you sell to. These are the sectors I know best.
Google Ads for charities and not-for-profits
Google Ad Grants and paid campaigns that grow donations, volunteers and awareness.
Google Ads for schools, universities and tutors
Campaigns timed to open days, application deadlines and exam season.
Google Ads for professional services
High-intent search for solicitors, accountants and advisers, with lead quality tracked through to clients.
Google Ads for trade businesses
Local campaigns that bring in quote requests from the postcodes you cover.
Google Ads for small businesses
One channel done properly, on a sensible budget, with proof before you spend more.
Google Ads for e-commerce
Shopping and Performance Max built around margin and new customers.
How I work
How I manage a Google Ads account
The same four steps, whether I am building a new account or taking over an existing one.
Audit and tracking
I review your account, website and conversion tracking first. If the tracking is wrong, nothing built on top of it can be trusted, so that gets fixed before anything else.
Strategy and structure
We agree goals, such as a cost per lead or a return on ad spend, and I plan the campaign types, budgets and structure to reach them.
Build and launch
I research the keywords, write the ads, set up the feed and audiences, and launch the campaigns myself.
Optimise and report
I review search terms, bids, budgets and ads on an ongoing basis, test new ideas and send you a clear report every month.
Google Ads audit
Already running Google Ads? Start with an audit
Most accounts I take over have the same handful of problems. An audit shows you where the budget is going and what to fix first, whether or not you go on to work with me.
What I check in a Google Ads audit
- Whether conversions are tracked accurately, and whether anything is counted twice.
- Search terms: what you are paying for compared with what you thought you were targeting.
- How much of your spend goes on searches for your own brand name.
- Performance Max: which channels and products the budget is going to.
- Bidding strategies, and whether they have enough data to work.
- Ad copy, assets and landing pages.
Freelancer or agency
Freelance Google Ads expert or PPC agency?
An agency suits you if you want a large team across many channels. If Google Ads is the channel that matters, a freelance PPC expert gives you more senior time for the same money.
I am a Google Partner, I manage every account myself and I only take on work I have the time to do properly.
An account manager relays your brief
You speak to the person managing the account
Day-to-day work is often done by juniors
Over 10 years of PPC experience on every change
Fees cover offices, sales teams and management
Your fee pays for work on your account
Changes wait for the next scheduled call
Quick answers by phone, email or WhatsApp
Results
Google Ads results
CPA reduced by 300% within 3 months.
Taking over an underperforming account from a large national company and turning it around within a few months.
Over £10,000 in sales and 110+ enquiries
Managing the Google Ad Grant account for an educational and cultural charity, using grant budget alone.
"Ascend have worked wonders with our marketing. Picking up from a poorly managed ads campaign from a large national company they have turned it around in just a few months."
Hapikåta Limited
FAQ
Freelance Google Ads expert: common questions
What does a freelance Google Ads expert do?
I plan, build and manage your Google Ads account: keyword research, campaign structure, ad copy, bidding, conversion tracking and reporting. The difference from an agency is that one experienced person does all of it and speaks to you directly.
What is the difference between Google Ads and PPC?
PPC stands for pay-per-click, a type of advertising where you pay when someone clicks your ad. Google Ads is the largest PPC platform. Microsoft Ads is another, and I manage both. In practice, most people use the two terms to mean the same thing.
How much does a freelance Google Ads expert cost?
My fees for Google Ads management start at £400 per month and scale depending on the ad spend and your account structure. My fee is separate from your ad budget, which you pay directly to Google.
How much should I spend on Google Ads?
It depends on your industry, your location and what a customer is worth to you. Local businesses can start from £300 to £500 a month. E-commerce and national campaigns usually need more to gather enough data. I will recommend a budget once I have looked at your market.
How long does Google Ads take to work?
Ads can bring clicks and enquiries within days of going live. It usually takes 30 to 90 days to collect enough data to optimise properly, and results tend to improve steadily after that.
Can you take over my existing Google Ads account?
Yes. I start with an audit of the account and the tracking, keep what is working and fix what is not. You keep your account history, which Google’s bidding relies on.
Is Performance Max right for my business?
It depends on your tracking and your goals. Performance Max works well for online shops with a good product feed, and for lead generation where lead quality is fed back to Google. Without that, it can spend on low-quality traffic. I usually get Search or Shopping working first and then test Performance Max alongside.
Do you manage Google Shopping campaigns?
Yes. I manage Standard Shopping and Performance Max campaigns, along with the Merchant Center product feed they rely on.
Will I own my Google Ads account?
Yes. The account is set up in your name and you have full access at all times. If we stop working together, the account, the data and the history stay with you.
What reporting will I get?
A clear report every month showing what was spent, what it produced and what I plan to change next. You can also contact me between reports.
Are you a Google Partner?
Yes. Ascend Digital is a Google Partner, which means I meet Google’s requirements for certification, ad spend and account performance.
Do you work with businesses outside Cheshire?
Yes. I am based in Wilmslow, Cheshire, and manage Google Ads accounts for businesses across the UK.
Get in touch
Let's talk about your marketing.
Choose whichever is easiest. I’ll tell you honestly where I can help.
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