Google Ads is Google's advertising platform that lets businesses show up in search results and across its vast network. That includes the Google Search page, YouTube, Gmail, and a heap of websites via the Display Network.

The most common format is Search Ads—text ads that appear when someone searches for something specific (like “emergency plumber near me”). But there are also Display Ads, YouTube video ads, Shopping Ads, and more.

In short: Google Ads helps you show up in front of the right people, at the right time.

The most common pricing model is PPC—Pay Per Click. You only pay when someone actually clicks your ad. Impressions (i.e. people just seeing your ad) cost nothing under this model, which is handy if you're focused on action.

Other models exist too, like CPM (Cost Per Thousand Impressions), which are usually used for brand awareness campaigns where visibility matters more than clicks.

Either way, you’re in control of how much you spend and how it’s spent.

Yes—very precisely. You can target by country, city, postcode, or even by dropping a pin on the map and setting a radius. Great if you run a local business and want to make sure only nearby customers are seeing your ads.

You can also layer this with other targeting options like keywords, demographics, or devices. That way, you don’t waste money on people you can’t serve.

Absolutely. You set daily and monthly budgets, and Google won’t exceed them. You can also set maximum bids per click, so you're not paying over the odds for any one keyword.

Sometimes, your full daily budget won’t be spent—maybe there wasn’t enough search volume that day. That’s not a problem; it just means you didn’t pay for clicks that weren’t available.

Setting up a basic campaign is fairly easy. The tricky part is getting it to actually perform well.

That’s where things like keyword strategy, ad copywriting, bidding strategies, and proper tracking come into play. Without those, it’s easy to burn through your budget without much to show for it.

This is why a lot of businesses try it themselves, get poor results, and write the platform off. In truth, the issue isn’t Google—it’s the setup. That’s where hiring someone who knows what they’re doing (👋) makes a big difference.

Here’s what to look for:

✅ Google Certification – This isn’t a guarantee of talent, but it’s proof they know the fundamentals.

✅ Transparency – You should have full access to your account and reporting. If they hide the data, that’s a red flag.

✅ Focus on the right metrics – Vanity metrics like “clicks” don’t mean much if they’re not converting. A good freelancer focuses on results that actually move the needle (leads, sales, ROI).

❌ No empty promises – Be wary of anyone promising instant results or top-of-page rankings tomorrow. Google Ads is powerful, but it’s not magic.