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Run Google Ads yourself if you have a few spare hours a week and want to learn it. Hire a freelance Google Ads consultant if you want one expert doing the work, or an agency if you want cover for holidays and more than one pair of eyes. Whichever you choose, the account stays in your name and your own card pays Google.
Should you run Google Ads yourself, or pay someone?
It comes down to what your time is worth and how fast you need results. Doing it yourself costs your hours plus the clicks you waste learning; paying someone costs a fee but should get you to a working account sooner.
Say Dean runs a three-van electrical firm in Reading and bills about sixty pounds an hour. Setting up a sensible account takes a day or two the first time. After that, checking the searches people used, adding exclusions and reading the enquiry numbers takes, say, two hours a week. That is one hundred and twenty pounds a week, or about five hundred and twenty pounds a month of Dean's own time.
Hold that number against any fee you are quoted. If someone runs the account better than Dean for less than his time is worth, paying them is cheap. If he has quiet evenings and enjoys it, doing it himself can be right.
Mistakes cost money too. If Dean spends six hundred pounds a month on clicks and a fifth goes on searches from outside his area or on jobs he does not do, that is one hundred and twenty pounds a month gone before he notices. Whether ads pay at all is a separate sum, covered in our guide on whether Google Ads are worth it.
Yourself, a freelancer or an agency: how do they compare?
Each option trades money for time and risk in a different way. Here they are side by side for a local firm spending a few hundred to a couple of thousand pounds a month on clicks.
| Yourself | Freelancer | Agency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you pay | The clicks only | The clicks, plus a monthly fee or a share of spend | The clicks, plus a monthly fee or a share of spend, often higher than a freelancer's |
| Your time each week | A few hours once set up | A short catch-up | A short catch-up or a monthly call |
| Skill you need | Enough to read search terms, set exclusions and check tracking | Enough to judge their reports | Enough to judge their reports |
| Main risk | Learning slowly on your own money | One person: holidays, illness, a full diary | Sold by a senior, looked after by a junior |
| Who owns the account | You | You, if you insist | You, if you insist |
Freelancers and agencies charge in different ways: a flat monthly fee, a percentage of your ad spend, a set-up fee, or a mix. What matters is knowing the total before you start. For what the clicks themselves cost in your trade, see how much Google Ads cost in the UK.
When is doing it yourself the right choice?
Doing it yourself is right when your spend is small, your area is tight and you have time each week. One Search campaign for one service in one town is not complicated, and you will learn a lot about how your customers search.
It is the wrong choice when the account gets left alone, because an unwatched account keeps spending. If you go it alone, put a fixed hour in the diary every week and count calls and form enquiries from day one.
There is a middle route the comparison sites skip: pay for a one-off set-up or audit, then run the account yourself. Google's own free help for new advertisers, covered in the questions below, can also get a first campaign live.
Freelancer or agency: which suits a local business?
A good freelancer usually suits a small local account, because you deal with the person doing the work. An agency suits you better when you want the account always covered, or ads on more than one platform. The person on your account matters more than the size of the firm.
Owners' forums repeat two complaints. Agencies: an expert at the sales stage, then someone new to Google Ads on the account. Freelancers: going quiet for a fortnight, or taking on too many clients. One question covers both: who, by name, works on my account each week, and who covers when they are away?
Ask too whether they have run ads for a business like yours. A plumber or an accountant needs someone who thinks in phone calls, forms and service areas, not online baskets.
How do you check a Google Ads consultant or agency before you sign?
Check six things, and get the answers in writing. Most come straight from Google's own guidance for advertisers who use an outside firm.
1. The account is in your name
Google's advertiser guide on working with third parties, checked on 12 November 2026, says "The third party agency must setup a separate Ads account for you to represent you fairly." Go further: create the account under your own business Google login, with you as an admin, and let the freelancer or agency link it to their manager account.
That link does not hand them ownership. Google's help page on manager accounts says a manager account "won't have administrative ownership of the client account by default". Its page on access levels says an admin "Can unlink manager accounts", so you can remove their access whenever you choose.
2. Your own card pays Google
Your ad spend should go from your card straight to Google, with the fee billed separately. If the money runs through the agency, you cannot see what Google actually charged.
3. The fee is in writing and on every invoice
Google's transparency rules for third parties, checked on 12 November 2026, say they must tell new customers about fees in writing before the first purchase and show the fee on every invoice. Where they report spend, they must give "the exact amount charged by Google, exclusive of any fees".
4. You know what will be reported
Google's guide says "You have a right to know, at a minimum, the number of clicks, impressions and cost of your Google ads." That is the floor. For a local business the report that matters counts calls and form enquiries, and ideally which became jobs. Ask to see a sample report before you sign.
5. The notice period is short
A month's notice is common for ongoing management; a long minimum term on a new account puts all the risk on you. Google's guide says to "get an official copy of your agreement in writing", so read what happens to the account and tracking when you leave.
6. You know what the Google Partner badge means
The badge is a real Google programme, but it measures less than most owners think. Google's page on becoming a Partner, checked on 12 November 2026, sets three bars: what Google calls an optimisation score of at least 70%, ten thousand US dollars of spend across the firm's managed accounts over 90 days, and at least half its account staff holding a Google certification.
That score is, in Google's words, "an estimate of how well your Google Ads account is set to perform", and an account can reach 100% "by applying or dismissing all recommendations". So the badge shows a firm handles real spend and keeps up with Google's suggestions, not that it wins enquiries for a firm like yours at a price that works. A freelancer with only a few clients may not meet the spend bar at all.
To check a badge, Google's guide says "click the badge on its website". It should open the firm's page on Google's Partners site. A badge that links nowhere proves nothing.
What are the red flags?
Walk away if you hear any of these.
- "We guarantee you the top spot." Google's guide says "It's not possible to guarantee a specific ad position on Google.com search results pages."
- "Ads will boost your normal ranking." Google's guide says advertising "has no impact on your organic or natural ranking in the search results".
- The account or the card is theirs, not yours. If you leave, you may lose the history and start again.
- Reports show clicks but never calls or forms. You cannot tell whether the money works.
- A twelve-month contract before any results. Good firms keep clients with results, not contracts.
- Nobody will say who does the work. You need a name.
If you already pay someone and some of these sound familiar, our free Google Ads audit asks fourteen questions, scores the account and names three fixes.
Common questions
What does a Google Ads consultant do?
A Google Ads consultant sets up and runs your campaigns: choosing which searches to appear for, writing the ads, excluding searches that waste money, setting budgets and checking that calls and forms are counted. Some only advise or audit and leave the day-to-day work to you. Ask which one you are buying before you agree a fee.
How do Google Ads freelancers charge?
Most charge a flat monthly fee, a percentage of your ad spend, or a set-up fee followed by a monthly fee. A percentage can reward them for spending more of your money, so ask how they decide when to cut the budget. Whatever the model, Google's rules say the fee must be disclosed in writing before you first buy.
Can I get help from Google for free?
Yes. Google offers new advertisers a free one-to-one call: its UK page, checked on 12 November 2026, says you can book it "within the first 30 days of signing up". It can help you get a first campaign live. Treat it as Google's advice, not an independent view of whether the spend will pay.
What to do this week
Write down what an hour of your time is worth and how many hours a week you could give the account. If the answer is none, shortlist two or three people and put the six checks above to each of them in writing. If you already pay someone, log in to Google Ads today and check you are an admin and your card is the one being charged.
Our guide to Google Ads for small businesses covers the whole picture. If you want an outside view first, our free PPC audit is a hand review of your account on a 20 minute call; how we run accounts ourselves is on our Google Ads management page.