The 9-5 of a Google Ads Specialist

One of the most powerful tools in the digital marketers arsenal is Google Ads. It allows businesses to increase conversions by driving targeted traffic and achieving a measurable ROI. The Google Ads Specialist lives at the heart of this powerhouse in digital marketing. They are a skilled professional who ensures that paid campaigns run effectively, efficiently, profitably and on time.

Google Ads Specialists have a diversified day. Every day presents new challenges, insights and opportunities. And these opportunities and insights are looking into the world of paper click advertising. From managing complex campaigns to fine tuning ad copy and content, bidding strategies and keyword lists, the role is data-driven and creatively demanding.

A Google Ads Specialist is essential to any marketing team. Any company that relies on online advertising to achieve their bids and these goals will require a Google Ads Specialist on their team. Their expertise surrounds campaign setups, bidding strategies, keyword targeting, and performance analysis, and these specialists can help businesses to navigate the often complex landscape of PPC advertising.

This is not a role for the faint of heart. Google Ads Specialists work in a fast-paced environment, and data analysis is at its core. Continuous testing and strategic thinking are at the forefront of their day, and the days are dynamic, moving between creative problem-solving, in-depth reporting, and optimising campaigns that push to achieve the best results. Google Ads Specialists must stay updated on new trends, new platforms and competitor strategies to ensure that their campaigns remain as effective as possible. But what does a typical day look like for a Google Ads Specialist?

In this article, we’re going to take you through a typical day in the life of Google Ads Specialists. We’ll highlight the key tasks that they undertake, the importance of their expertise and the value that they bring to a business, no matter whether it’s large or small.

Morning: Starting the Day with Data

The day typically begins when a Google Ads Specialist logs into their dashboard, ready to assess the performance of their campaigns. Data is a critical part of the morning routine, as is understanding the current state of their campaigns. It will help a Google Ads Specialist to prioritise their tasks for the day.

Campaign Performance Reviews

Well, to keep things running smoothly, PPC managers usually follow a structured daily routine. Here’s a breakdown. The very first thing to check is the performance metrics of any ongoing campaigns that are active right now. Using the tools within Google Ads, specialists will look at the key performance indicators, which include the following:

• Click through rate. This is the percentage of people who clicked on an ad after they spotted it online.
• Conversion rate. The number of completed purchases, sign-ups, or lead-generated items result from ad clicks.
• Return on investment. This shows the profitability of a campaign relative to its cost.

A Google Ads specialist will review these metrics to gauge how well the campaigns perform. They’ll then be able to identify any areas that require attention. For example, having a high CTR is great, but if the conversion rate is low, it suggests that the copy requires some refinement and potential keyword tweaks. A low CTR can also mean that the ad itself requires some tweaks to better capture the attention of the audience.

Budget Management

Budget management is a big part of the day to day work for a Google Ads Specialist. Usually, budget management has to come at the start of the day. Google Ads Specialists have to work their daily spending for each client early in the day before getting stuck into optimisation and performance adjustments.

 If an advert isn’t profitable, the Google Ads Specialist has to consider whether the client is using their budget appropriately and hold a meeting to discuss it. The goal is to ensure that the right ads are being supported on the right platforms and budget management is critical for this.

Prioritising Tasks

Once the performance of campaigns has been assessed, a Google Ads specialist will quickly identify the campaigns that require the most attention and prioritise those fast. If there are certain ads that are underperforming, or if the cost per acquisition is higher than expected, then those campaigns must be optimised. Any other tasks, such as creating new ads or refining keyword strategies, can wait.

Responding to Emails

There are always emails to answer in between reviewing campaigns. This could be anything from internal team members seeking updates to clients requesting reports or seeking any clarification on ad strategies.

Communication is important for Google Ads Specialists, and they must communicate clearly and efficiently to ensure that campaigns are aligned correctly.

Mid-Morning: Optimisation in Action

Moving into the midmorning, these hours are usually focused on refining the campaigns that are being worked on. This stage involves a much deeper look into the campaign’s performance data, and adjustments are then made to improve results.

Keyword Refinement

The cornerstone of any Google Ads campaign is in the keywords. Google Ads Specialists will perform thorough keyword research to identify any new terms that could drive traffic that is relevant. They’ll also exclude any underperforming keywords that could be eating up the budget but not delivering on it. This process will ensure that ads reach the correct target audience and maximize the potential for clicks as well as conversions.

Search Term Audits

Google Ads Specialists have to run search term audits each day to determine which queries are triggering their clients’ ad campaigns. By pairing this task with keyword research, Google Ads Specialists are able to determine which search terms are driving their traffic, which are underperforming and which are reaching the right audience. It works hand in hand with keyword research and targeting, refining the process to make the process more streamlined. 

Ad Copy Tweaks

Content is still key, which means that once those keywords are in place, the specialist will turn their attention to the ad copy. Creativity meets strategy at this particular junction, and Google Ads specialists will frequently test different ad variations to determine which ones are best performing. These tweaks could be anything from headline changes to adjusting calls to action or highlighting any particular new promotions a client may be running. The goal here is to improve the relevance of the ad, which should, by proxy, boost the CTR and conversion rates.

Bid Adjustments

One of the ongoing tasks through the day is bid management. Google Ads operate on a bidding system, and advertisers will set how much they’re willing to pay for every conversion or every click. A specialist will be able to monitor these bids and adjust them based on the performance of individual campaigns or keywords.

A high-performing keyword, for example, can lead to an increased bid, which will capture more impressions. Underperforming keywords, however, may have their bids reduced to avoid wasting their budget.

Midday: Strategy and Collaboration

By midday, a Google ad specialist has usually completed the immediate tweaking tasks for campaigns. The focus will then shift towards any collaboration and strategy within other teams or stakeholders.

Campaign Planning

A large part of the role of a Google Ads Specialist involves planning new campaigns, which involves discussing target audiences, setting new campaign goals, and selecting relevant keywords that are appealing for the copy. They also must determine the most effective ad formats in this planning stage. 

This could also include setting a budget, deciding on targeting and choosing any devices for ad delivery. A Google Ads Specialist may also be involved in strategising for upcoming events or campaigns for our product launches. Effective planning ensures that campaigns are aligned closely with business goals and able to capture better and new opportunities.

Team Collaboration

It is rare for a Google Ads Specialist to work alone. Often, they are busy collaborating with other members of their marketing teams, such as content creators, social media managers and designers. With this collaboration, PPC campaigns are integrated into broader marketing strategies so everybody can work together to pull together one campaign. There may need to be client meetings in attendance to discuss broader issues and campaign progress.

Afternoon: Monitoring and Troubleshooting

Afternoon hours are usually spent keeping a watch on live campaigns and troubleshooting issues that come up in real-time.

Real-Time Monitoring

Campaigns must be monitored in real time to ensure that ads are displayed correctly. It’s also important for budgets to be spent efficiently and performance to remain consistent. A Google Ads Specialist will check for issues such as impression share loss, which is when ads are not being shown due to budget limits under delivery of ads and overspending.

Problem-Solving

Challenges can crop up during the day, ads may be disapproved, or campaigns could experience a drop in performance. When these issues arise, they require quick problem-solving and troubleshooting skills. Specialists may need to fix landing page issues, rewrite any ad copy to comply with Google policies, or even adjust their keywords from the ground up.

A/B Testing

Split testing is a vital part of the optimisation of campaigns. Google Ads specialists will regularly set up testing to compare different ad variations and landing page designs. This will allow them to see the most effective combinations and improve campaign results for the client.

Late Afternoon: Reporting and Planning Ahead

The focus will move towards reporting and planning for the future as the work day winds down.

Performance Reporting

One of the last tasks of the day is in preparing performance reports. These are reports that provide insights into how campaigns are working, highlighting areas of success and any opportunities for improvement. These are reports that are typically shared with clients or internal teams so that everybody can continue to collaborate and stay updated on results and progress.

Planning Next Steps

As the day’s tasks close down, Google Ads Specialists will start to outline strategies for the following day or week. This can involve anything from creating new ads to developing strategies for seasonal campaigns.

It’s not uncommon for Google Ads Specialists to run a GA4 analysis at the end of the day to be able to review performance metrics without interruptions. They’ll be able to assess campaign performance over the day, making the necessary adjustments along the way.

Staying Updated

News, blogs or updates from Google Ads are always available, so Google Ads Specialists will continue to read these to stay abreast of what’s happening in the industry. The digital marketing world is constantly evolving, and information is power.

The nine to five of a Google Ads Specialist is demanding, but if you have the skills to navigate the ever-changing landscape of paid advertising, it’s a rewarding career.