TL;DR
- Google Ads certifications are free on Google's Skillshop platform and expire after one year, so ask which are current rather than which were ever earned.
- Google Partner status is an agency-level programme, separate from an individual's Google Ads certification.
- Keep the Google Ads account, billing profile, GA4 property and Tag Manager container in your company's name, and grant the specialist access via a manager account (MCC) link.
- Google Ads user access levels include Admin, Standard, Read only and Email only; keep at least one Admin login inside the company.
- A practical 90-day review: tracking and settings fixed by day 30, structure rebuilt by day 60, results judged against break-even targets by day 90 (planning guide).
A Google Ads specialist is the person who plans, builds and runs your paid search campaigns so that ad spend turns into leads or sales at a cost your business can afford. The job is less about pressing buttons in the Google Ads interface and more about decisions: which searches to pay for, which to block, how to measure a conversion and when to move budget, all judged against cost per lead or return on ad spend.
This guide explains what the role covers day to day, which skills and certifications actually matter, how a freelance specialist compares with an in-house hire and an agency, what to ask before hiring, which access and ownership rights you should never give away, and how to judge someone's work in their first 90 days. Where a timeframe or number is a planning guide rather than a fixed rule, it is labelled as such.
What does a Google Ads specialist do day to day?
A Google Ads specialist spends most of the week on four kinds of work: protecting the budget from waste, improving what already works, measuring results correctly and reporting in plain language. The exact mix depends on the account, but the core tasks are similar for a local clinic and an online store.
Search terms and negative keywords
The search terms report shows the real queries that triggered your ads, which are often broader than the keywords in the account. A good specialist reviews it regularly, adds negative keywords for irrelevant searches such as job seekers or people looking for free alternatives, and promotes queries that convert into their own keywords with tailored ads. This is unglamorous work, and it is one of the clearest differences between a well-run account and a neglected one.
Bids, budgets and bid strategies
Specialists decide which bid strategy fits each campaign, such as Maximize Conversions, Target CPA, Target ROAS or Manual CPC, and when an account has enough conversion data to hand control to Smart Bidding. They watch budget pacing, shift money from campaigns that miss targets to those that hit them, and avoid changing too many settings at once, because constant changes reset the learning that automated bidding depends on.
Ads, assets and landing pages
Responsive search ads need a set of headlines and descriptions that match the intent behind each ad group, plus assets such as sitelinks, callouts and call buttons. A specialist tests messages against each other and checks that the landing page answers the search that triggered the ad. Quality Score, a 1 to 10 diagnostic built from expected click-through rate, ad relevance and landing page experience, is a useful signal of where ads and pages are out of step.
Tracking and reporting
Without accurate conversion tracking, every other decision is guesswork. Specialists set up and audit conversion actions, make sure each lead or sale is counted once, and connect Google Ads with Google Analytics 4. Reporting then translates the numbers into what changed, why and what it did to cost per lead or ROAS, rather than a screenshot of clicks and impressions.
Skills and certifications to look for
Certifications prove that someone has studied the platform; they do not prove that someone can make an account profitable. Use them as a baseline filter, then test practical skill directly.
Google Ads certifications
Google offers free Google Ads certifications through its Skillshop learning platform, covering areas such as Search, Display, Video, Shopping and measurement. Each certification expires after a year and has to be renewed, so an active certificate at least shows that the person has kept up with recent platform changes. Ask which certifications are current, not which were earned at some point. Google Partner status is a separate, agency-level programme rather than a personal certificate, so do not confuse a freelancer's individual certification with a company's Partner badge.
Google Analytics 4 and Google Tag Manager
Most tracking problems sit outside the Google Ads interface. A specialist should be comfortable with GA4 events and key events, importing them into Google Ads, and reading the difference between GA4 and Google Ads attribution. Google Tag Manager skills matter because conversion tags, phone-click tracking and form tracking are often deployed through it. Tag Manager skill is best judged by asking the candidate to explain how they would track a specific action on your site, rather than by a certificate.
Commercial thinking
The most valuable skill is the least technical: understanding margins. A specialist who asks about your average order value, gross margin and sales cycle before talking about keywords is thinking about profit. One who promises more clicks or a lower cost per click without asking what a customer is worth to you is optimising the wrong number.
Language and market knowledge
If your buyers search in more than one language, the specialist needs to handle keyword research and ad copy in each of them. Literal translation of keywords misses how people actually search, including transliterations, abbreviations and mixed-language queries.
Specialist vs agency vs freelancer: what each covers
The three options overlap, and the labels are used loosely. "Specialist" can describe an in-house employee, a freelancer or the person inside an agency who runs your account. What matters is who does the work, how much time they give your account and what support sits behind them.
An in-house specialist works only on your business, learns your products deeply and is available for quick changes. The trade-offs are cost of a full salary, a single point of failure when that person leaves, and limited exposure to other accounts that would show them what works elsewhere.
A freelancer is usually more flexible and can be cost-effective for a single account. Capacity is the main risk: one person juggling several clients may have limited time for your account during busy periods, and there is no one to cover holidays or illness.
An agency gives you a team, which usually means wider skills across tracking, design, landing pages and other channels, plus continuity if one person leaves. The trade-off is that you need to know who actually manages your account day to day and how senior they are. Agencies commonly charge a flat monthly fee, a percentage of ad spend or a combination.
Questions to ask before hiring a Google Ads specialist
Good questions show how someone thinks. The answers below are the kind that signal real experience.
- What would you look at first in our account? A strong answer starts with conversion tracking, search terms and settings, not with launching new campaigns.
- How do you decide what a lead or sale is worth paying for? Look for break-even reasoning based on your margins, not a generic target.
- Which bid strategy would you use, and why? The answer should depend on how much conversion data the account has.
- How often will you review search terms and report, and what will the report show? Expect a regular rhythm and metrics tied to cost per lead or ROAS.
- Who will work on our account, and how many other accounts do they manage? This tells you how much attention you will really get.
- What happens to the account if we stop working together? The only good answer is that it stays with you, with full history.
Be cautious of guaranteed results, such as a fixed number of leads or a promised first position, and of anyone who wants to run your ads from an account they own.
What access and ownership to keep
The single most important rule is that your business owns the Google Ads account. Create it under a Google account controlled by your company, keep the billing and payments profile in your company's name, and grant the specialist access rather than letting them create the account for you. The account's history, including conversion data and Quality Score history, has real value, and losing it means starting again.
Manager account (MCC) links
Agencies and freelancers usually manage clients through a Google Ads manager account, often called an MCC. They send a link request from their manager account, and you accept it from inside your own account. This gives them the access they need while the account stays yours. If you part ways, you can remove the link, and your account, data and history remain with you.
User access levels
Google Ads offers several access levels for individual users, including Admin, Standard, Read only and Email only. Keep at least one Admin login held by someone inside your company, ideally two, so access never depends on a single employee or an outside provider. Give the specialist the lowest level that lets them do the job, and review the user list whenever someone leaves.
Related assets
The same ownership principle applies to everything connected to your ads: Google Analytics 4 properties, Google Tag Manager containers, Merchant Center accounts for Shopping and any landing pages. Each should belong to your company, with the specialist added as a user.
How to judge their work in the first 90 days
Ninety days is a practical window to judge a new specialist, long enough to fix foundations and see the first results, short enough to change course if needed. Treat the phases below as a planning framework rather than a fixed rule; longer sales cycles need longer windows.
In the first 30 days, expect an audit and fixes, not dramatic results. You should see a written assessment of the account, corrected conversion tracking, cleaned-up settings and a first round of negative keywords. If tracking was broken, reported conversions may even drop, because inflated numbers are being corrected.
Between days 30 and 60, expect structural changes: tighter ad groups, new or rewritten ads, landing page recommendations and a clear bid strategy for each campaign. Reports should start showing cost per lead or cost per sale trends, with explanations of what changed and why.
Between days 60 and 90, judge results against the targets agreed at the start. Is cost per lead moving towards your break-even figure? Is lead quality holding up, according to your sales team, not just the dashboard? Can the specialist explain clearly what they would do next and why? A specialist who cannot connect their work to your commercial numbers by this point is unlikely to start later.
Specialist, freelancer or agency at a glance
| Option | Main strength | Main risk to manage |
|---|---|---|
| In-house specialist | Deep product knowledge and fast changes | Full salary cost and a single point of failure |
| Freelancer | Flexible and focused on one account | Limited capacity and no cover for absences |
| Agency | Wider team skills and continuity | Knowing who really runs the account day to day |
What this means for Thai marketers
In Thailand, a Google Ads specialist needs to work in both Thai and English. Search behaviour switches between the two depending on the category, and a campaign built in one language misses part of the demand. Ask candidates to show how they would research keywords in Thai, including common English loanwords written in Thai script.
Conversion tracking also has a local twist. Many Thai buyers move from an ad straight into a LINE chat or a phone call instead of filling in a form, so a specialist who only tracks form submissions will undercount results. Ask how they would track LINE clicks and calls, and whether they can import offline conversions so the account learns from real sales. Relevant Audience's Google Ads management service describes setting up GA4, enhanced conversions and offline conversion imports for exactly this reason.
Agencies in Thailand that want to offer Google Ads without hiring a specialist can also work through white-label arrangements. Relevant Audience provides white-label marketing services for agencies, handling campaign work in the background while the agency keeps the client relationship.
FAQ
What does a Google Ads specialist do?
A Google Ads specialist plans, builds and optimises paid search campaigns so that ad spend produces leads or sales at a profitable cost. Day to day that means reviewing search terms, adding negative keywords, managing bids and budgets, testing ads and landing pages, keeping conversion tracking accurate and reporting results.
Is a Google Ads certification enough when hiring?
A Google Ads certification is a useful baseline but not enough on its own. It shows the person has studied the platform within the last year, so judge practical skill separately by asking how they would audit your account and track your conversions.
Should a Google Ads specialist own my account?
No, your business should always own the Google Ads account. The specialist should get access through a manager account link or a user login, while you keep Admin access and the billing profile, so the account and its history stay with you if you change provider.
How long before a Google Ads specialist shows results?
Expect foundations to be fixed in the first month and meaningful performance trends by around 60 to 90 days, as a planning guide. Businesses with long sales cycles need longer, and early results may even dip if inflated conversion tracking is corrected.
Next step
If you are weighing up whether to hire a specialist or bring in a team, a second opinion on your current account is a good place to start. Relevant Audience's Google Ads agency in Bangkok runs bilingual campaigns managed against cost per lead and ROAS, with transparent reporting and no lock-in contract. A free proposal shows what the first 90 days would focus on.
