Tips From a Google AdWords Consultant
Learning Google Adwords provides a unique challenge. Unless you are spending real money, it can be difficult to truly simulate. Like stock picking or poker, the lessons are learned fastest when money is on the line. But this doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
Here I’ll go over the best resources to start your Google Adwords journey. If you already have an established business, you may want to have a PPC consultant or Adwords agency look at your account first. They can help assess if a PPC management service is a better fit. At higher budgets, teaching yourself Google Adwords and PPC can be risky. But if you are just starting a website or looking to launch your side hustle, these resources should help get you started.
Free Options for Learning Google Adwords
There are many free resources you can reference when starting Google Adwords.
Google offers a variety of courses and certifications. The best part about this learning path is that it’s 100% free.
YouTube is another great free resource. There are hundreds of hours of content on Google Adwords. Although, it can be hard to tell if the host is a true Google Adwords consultant or expert.
One channel I highly recommend (besides our Youtube ) channel is Surfside PPC. “Binge watching” this channel will definitely teach you the basics.
There are a few blogs where real PPC consultants give their advice. It can be a challenge for beginners to dig through the archives to find more basic information. But with enough time searching on Google, you can get a good handle on Google Adwords. A benefit of working with a Google Adwords agency or management service is they will save you this time, so you can focus on your business.
Paid Options to Learn Google Adwords
There are also high quality and reasonably priced paid learning options. Udemy has tons of courses available on Google Adwords. These courses are moderately priced when you catch them on sale for $10-$50 (which they commonly are). I’m confident that the top sellers will teach you the basics and how to get started.
Since Google Adwords is such a fast-moving topic, a physical book can become outdated quickly. But one book we do recommend is “Advanced Google Adwords” by Brad Geddes. This might be a few years old, but it goes over the foundations for Google Adwords accounts. Brad is a trusted Google Adwords consultant and trusted resources for any PPC topic.
Try Contacting a Google Adwords Agency Employee
One overlooked method is to learn from someone that’s actually been in the trenches. Check if you have a friend/colleague who is a PPC consultant or works at a Google Adwords agency. Try reaching out to them and asking the basic questions about your account. Make sure you come prepared and review the resources linked here first.
Next Steps in your Google Adwords journey
Finally, the best way to truly learn Google Adwords is to test it out yourself. Start running ads for your business and see what works best for you. Make sure to have an open mind and continually leverage the resources mentioned here and others you find along the way. For more details on best practices and principles check out our article on this topic (Best Practices ). Before you know it, you will be a Google Adwords expert too.