PPC consultant is only one of a barrage of different terms that seem to be used interchangeably when you’re looking for someone who can run paid ads for you.
The trouble is, they don’t all mean the same thing. In the worst cases you might spend hours or days worth of research only to realise you’re not anywhere closer to finding the best person for the job.
So here’s a quick and handy breakdown of what the different things actually mean.
PPC consultant is a generic term used to describe anyone and everyone who earns their living running pay per click campaigns on any platform.
They can be either freelancers or employed, they can be either junior or senior, and they can have various degrees of experience running ads on platforms such as Google, Facebook, Bing, LinkedIn and Amazon, just to name the biggest ones.
If you’re looking for someone to help you run ads, searching for ‘PPC consultant’ is the starting point of your research phase, just so you can get an idea about what’s out there.
The results will be generally more suited to a company who is either not sure where to start, or wants to run ads on multiple platforms at once. In a situation like this, finding an agency employing different specialists for each platform would be a sensible option.
Here you’re narrowing the search down to one platform, so you’re going to notice straight away more targeted results.
Bear in mind again, this could mean either freelancer or employed, junior or senior.
Another thing to take into consideration is, Google Ads is too big and complex for people to master, so consultants tend to niche down to either an industry (i.e. automotive, accounting, nonprofit) or based on who the end-user is (B2B, B2C or eCommerce).
They way Google Ads consultants run ads and the strategies they employ can vary massively depending on the industry and the buyers’ journey, so it helps if the consultant is familiar with them or takes the time to understand it properly before setting up the campaign(s).
The results will be generally more suited to a company who has already done their homework and knows Google Ads are the best fit for them at that moment in time. If that’s you, it might mean you are already running ads on other platforms, or you simply know people are searching for what you offer.
The decision to go for an agency or a freelancer depends on a number of factors: check them out here, together with a list of things you have to make sure to know, do and ask.
99% similar to what we’ve said about Google Adwords consultant, minus the fact social media platforms will target people based on interests, demographics and behaviours rather than keywords.
It seems obvious that a Google Ads consultant and a Google Analytics consultant are two separate specialties, but you’d be surprised at the amount of people who believe that just because they’re both Google products, a Google Ads expert is supposed to be an Analytics expert as well.
It would make your life a lot easier if your Adwords consultant knew their way around Analytics too, of course, but it’s better double checking instead of assuming that’s the case.
Otherwise, you might find yourself in a situation where you need to hire someone else to bridge the skill gap.
Google Analytics is fundamental to understand what’s happening on your website, what visitors do, where and when they leave, why they don’t enquire or buy, and so on. Analytics can also be used to show your ads to people who have already visited your website or specific pages but didn’t take the desired actions.
When your Google Ads experts know and can explain to you how your website, Analytics and Google Ads work together, and what kind of the data they can pass to and from one another, it will become much easier for you to start seeing the bigger picture, and make decisions based on data rather than gut feeling.
Hopefully a little bit clearer on what means what, and what kind of professionals are part of each category.
Still not sure who you should talk to? Drop us a question anytime!
