Should I hire a Google Ads agency, a freelancer, or do it in-house?
Short answer
Do it yourself if you spend under about $1,000 a month and have time to learn. Hire a freelancer for a single, simple account. Choose an agency when spend is significant, when you need tracking, landing pages and reporting handled together, or when you cannot afford gaps if one person is away. Hire in-house once spend justifies a full salary.
Side by side
| Do it yourself | Freelancer | Agency | In-house hire | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typical cost | Your time | Hourly or monthly | Monthly fee | Full salary |
| Best for | Very small budgets | One simple account | Growing spend, several channels | Large, steady spend |
| Cover when someone is away | No | Usually no | Yes | Depends on team |
| Tracking and landing pages | You | Sometimes | Usually included | Needs other hires |
Signs it is time to get help
- Your cost per lead is rising and you do not know why.
- You have not looked at the search terms report in the last month.
- You cannot say how many calls and forms Google Ads produced last month.
- Performance Max is running and you cannot see where the money goes.
Want this done for your business?
Shivam Singh
Founder, Luceds
Founder of Luceds, with 7+ years in paid search, SEO and web projects. Runs Google Ads, SEO and website projects for service businesses and online stores in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and India.
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