What Is a Google Ads Agency?
First and foremost, since we cannot expect that all of our readers are knowledgeable in Google Ads, we’re going to assume that there are some readers that actually have no clue what we’re talking about. So, before we can tell you our rankings, let’s get the most important question out of the way: what is a Google Ad agency?
A Google Ads agency is a company that specializes in providing pay-per-click marketing services, with an emphasis on Google Ads (as the name suggests). However, these companies would also be able to provide services for other paid advertising platforms, like LinkedIn Ads, Facebook Ads, and Bing Ads.
In essence, these agencies will manage your paid advertising campaigns for you. They will also optimize them, create new campaigns, optimize existing landing pages and even create new ones, report on the performance of your ad campaigns, and so on.
The Best Google Ads Agencies Ranked
Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s finally get down to what we consider to be the best agencies for Google Ads management. We won’t be ranking them in any particular order since not all of the agencies are on the same level (for instance, some are bigger than others, hence being able to handle more and larger clients, etc.), and hence it would be unfair to compare them that way.
So, let’s quit the chit chat and get down to it. 👇🏼
Ads Institute
We told you that we’re biased. We couldn’t have passed up this opportunity to rank ourselves on this list. 😅
However, it’s not like we can put ourselves on this list with nothing to show for it. We have helped brands become quite successful thanks to our work on their paid advertising campaigns and other aspects of their digital marketing. In fact, Edulide, a prep school in France, is one of our most successful clients.
For this client, we provided a mixed solution that focused mainly on SEO (search engine optimization) techniques, but threw in a healthy dose of paid advertising for good measure. The results have been quite impressive for this client, bringing in an average traffic of almost 10,000 per month.
Now, we can’t quite call ourselves the best Google Ads agency in the world, but for the size of our agency (we’re pretty small, as you can see from our homepage), we believe that we have managed to achieve amazing results.
If you’re interested in knowing more about our services, don’t hesitate to contact us and book your free 30-minute audit!
Disruptive Advertising
Disruptive Advertising is a top Google Ads company based in Pleasant Grove. They are a medium-sized agency that employs well over 50 employees and offers a multifaceted approach to digital marketing, with pay-per-click marketing being their dominant area of expertise.
Not only that, but Disruptive Advertising prides itself on its omnichannel and holistic approach to digital marketing, vowing never to use “siloed strategies and teams”. Moreover, they’re committed to keeping long-term relationships with their clients, as well as hiring nothing but the best talent in the digital marketing sphere.
This top Google advertising agency was founded in 2011, meaning that it’s been in the industry for well over a decade, accumulating hundreds of positive reviews as well over 50 marketing awards. This is testament to their dominance in the industry. Moreover, they’ve worked with some very big brands, including Adobe, Guitar Center, and Death Wish Coffee.
If you’re considering contracting Disruptive Advertising to manage your paid ads, then you’re looking at an hourly rate of between $100–$149 an hour, and they won’t take on any project which is not worth at least $5000 in value. This makes them ideal for medium-sized and large businesses, but small businesses with bigger budgets can also work.
KlientBoost
Next on the list is KlientBoost, a Google Ad agency based in Costa Mesa, California, but with offices in Raleigh, North Carolina, and even in the UK. Founded in 2015, this is another medium-sized marketing firm with well over a 100 employees, and a multifaceted approach to marketing that makes use of all the important channels.
With over 250 clients, KlientBoost has worked with a number of prestigious clients, including Upwork, Airbnb, and even Stanford University itself, where Google founder Larry Page and Sergey Brin graduated. Talk about going full circle, huh? In other words, there’s definitely some value to be had from contracting this company.
It’s also worth noting that KlientBoost makes use of proprietary software in order to help them out in their marketing tasks, which is something that definitely sets them apart from most other agencies.
If you’d like KlientBoost to be the Google Ads agency that handles your paid ad campaigns then you’re looking at an hourly rate of anywhere between $100–$149 an hour, much like the previous agency we looked at. However, the lowest they would accept in terms of project value is $1000. In other words, KlientBoost is a great option for all sorts of businesses.
Jives Media
Jives Media is another great Google Ads agency that’s headquartered in San Francisco but in reality have offices around the entirety of the US. Starting out in 2012, Jives Media has won several awards, including “Digital Marketing Agency of the Year” by marketing agency reviewers, like Clutch.
And it’s for a good reason as, according to their calculations, they have generated over $680 million in revenue for their clients, which includes big brands like Oracle and Poshmark. They also emphasize a holistic, multifaceted approach to digital marketing, with equal weight given to both pay-per-click marketing and SEO.
If you think Jives Media is the best AdWords agency for your needs, then be prepared to spend somewhere in the range of $100–$149 an hour. And much like KlientBoost, Jives Media accepts jobs that have at least $1000, making them a worthwhile choice for just about any sized business.
Ignite Visibility
Ignite Visibility is a Google Ads PPC agency based in San Diego. Founded in 2013, it’s a medium-sized company with over 135 employees. During the years that it’s been in business, Ignite Visibility has received a number of awards, including being named the best Google Ads agency in the USA by 10BestPPC.
Offering a holistic approach to digital marketing, with a particular emphasis on SEO, Ignite Visibility works with over 150 clients, and has even worked with big brands like BTO Sports and Mobile Mini Solutions.
Ignite Visibility was founded by John Lincoln, an author on several leading search engine marketing blogs like Search Engine Land and Search Engine Journal, and also a former teacher of the SEO, Social Media, PPC and Web Analytics course at UC San Diego.
If Ignite Visibility strikes you as being the best AdWords management company for your own business, then you’re looking at an hourly rate of $100–$149. Moreover, the minimum spend per project is $1000, making this marketing firm a fantastic choice for any sort of business.
LYFE Marketing
LYFE Marketing is a Google Ads firm that’s based in Atlanta. Founded in 2011, it’s a smallish company with barely 50 employees in their ranks. They’ve helped out hundreds of other companies during their time in existence, including well-known brands like Domino’s Pizza.
LYFE Marketing primarily offer social media marketing solutions, but they also offer other marketing services, including paid advertising. In fact, when contracting this firm, you can benefit from having a paid search account manager, so your marketing needs and concerns are met no matter what.
If you think LYFE Marketing is the best Google Ads company for your particular marketing goals, then be prepared to pay somewhere in the range of $50–$99 an hour. On the other hand, their minimum requirement for a project is $1000, making them the best Google Ads agency for small business entities on our list.
Thrive Internet Marketing Agency
Thrive Internet Marketing Agency (or simply “Thrive” for short) is headquartered in Arlington, Texas, but their presence can be seen all over the US thanks to the several offices they have open. Founded in 2005, they’ve made a name for themselves, especially from working with big brands like USHEALTH Group and even D&D Beyond!
Furthermore, they’ve even won a number of awards, including awards from Clutch and Influencer Marketing Hub. While their primary focus is on SEO services, they also offer solutions for other forms of marketing, naturally including paid advertising (otherwise, why would be talking about them, right? 🤨).
Their marketing solutions are known to boost organic traffic by up to 500%, an increase of up to 350% in clicks thanks to paid ads, and even an increase in online leads of up to 300%. Not only that, but Thrive can also provide web development and design services, content writing, and so on.
If you think Thrive is the best Google AdWords company for your marketing purposes, then you should budget enough to afford their hourly rate of $100–$149. Furthermore, the smallest project they would accept has to be worth at least $1000, making this is a good choice for all sorts of businesses.
JumpFly
Last, but far from being the least, we have JumpFly, an agency that’s based in Elgin. Founded in 2003, this is a marketing firm on the smaller side, with only about 40 employees. Despite, they’ve won multiple awards, including being ranked as the best AdWords company by Great Agencies.
While their primary focus is on pay-per-click marketing, including Amazon Ads, they also offer other marketing services like SEO and SMM (social media marketing). Jumpfly also makes use of proprietary AI software that monitors ad campaigns in real-time, allowing for strategic decisions to happen on the fly (pun intended).
If JumpFly happens to be the best AdWords marketing agency for your requirements and you’d like to contract them, then you’re looking at a rate of anywhere between $50–$99 an hour. However, the minimum spend per project that they require is $5000. This might not be ideal for smaller businesses but it’s good for mid-sized businesses and upwards.
How Do You Find the Best Google Ad Agency?
There are several factors that you need to bear in mind in order to make the right decision when choosing the best Google Ads marketing agency for your needs. Of course, it’s easier said than done to pick an agency out of the plethora of agencies and marketing firms that exist out there.
Which is why we think it’s important to give you a handful of pointers of what you can keep in mind when choosing one agency over another. So, let’s look at the most important considerations together:
- Proven Experience: of course, if you’re going to be contracting a Google Ads agency, you’re going to want to make sure that you’re not throwing any money away on a fraudulent company that has no idea what it’s doing. To this end, you should check their company website for any proof of their work, such as case studies of successful paid ads. Moreover, you should also see that if they offer a consultation of any sort, you should check if they know what they’re talking about, which brings us to our next point…
- Provable Expertise: this might be particularly difficult to do, especially because there’s a chance that you wouldn’t know the first thing about paid advertising, but it’s imperative that you double check whatever has been said in your communication with an advertising agency. Furthermore, it’s a good practice to check their credentials and see whether they hold any relevant certifications, etc.
- Reviews & Testimonials: one of the classic tactics of checking whether a company is genuine or not is reading what other people have said about them. Naturally, you’re going to want to do your research as testimonials and reviews can be easily faked nowadays, especially with the use of AI technology.
- Communication Is Key: a highly important albeit not-spoken-about-enough consideration that must be made when choosing the best Google AdWords agency for your needs is to get a feel for how they communicate with you. If they’re not particularly forthcoming in their communication, then you should steer clear of that agency. At the same time, you should also pay attention to how they’re reporting on the performance of your paid ad campaigns. Make sure that their reports are backed up by evidence or that what they say can be double checked.
- Customized Solutions: finally, not all companies require the same services, and hiring the best Google advertising agency for your requirements depends on whether they can provide a personalized solution for your business model. This would involve doing the appropriate market research, keyword research, and other such strategizations that can help you achieve your business goals.
Another consideration that we could have mentioned is whether the agency in question provides more services than simply Google Ads marketing. We didn’t mention it in our list because our article is about Google Ads agencies. However, if you require more marketing channels than simply Google Ads, this is a good consideration to make.
Should You Hire Someone to Manage Your Google Ads?
Well, let’s put it this way: learning how to use Google Ads takes a few hours at most. Learning how to use Google Ads effectively, on the other hand, is a far different sort of beast. By our estimates, it will take you at least a few months to simply use Google Ads without any trouble, and a handful of years to use it well.
Unless you have the skills and time to manage your own Google Ads, or the budget to set up your own in-house marketing team, then hiring someone else (whether that’s a single specialist or a whole agency) is definitely a good idea. There are several reasons why this is so, which we’ll be looking into quite soon.
Bear in mind, however, that hiring someone to take care of your own marketing is a necessary investment, especially if you’re competing against competitors who have already invested a lot into their own marketing. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to compete if you don’t take this essential step.
Benefits of Hiring a Top Google Ads Agency
Unsurprisingly, there are many associated benefits that come with hiring someone else to manage your own paid advertising. Let’s take a look at how hiring a Google Ads agency or specialist might give you a competitive edge:
- Limited Time: as we’ve already said, learning how to use the Google Ads platform is in itself a massive task. Moreover, even if you’re already well-versed in Google Ads, managing your paid ad campaigns will take precious time that could be used to focus on other aspects of running your business. Hiring an agency can help you find the time to manage these other parts of your business.
- Limited Experience: using the Google Ads platform is actually rather complicated as there are many facets to creating paid ad campaigns and managing them. For example, a Google Ad company will know how to target the right demographics, how to choose the right keywords, how to use data to steer their strategy, and even how to optimize your ad campaigns. If you’re still new to Google Ads, you won’t have a clue of how to do all this.
- Optimizing Ad Budget: when you’re new to Google Ads, you’re bound to make mistakes. It’s only a natural part of learning a new skill. However, when it comes to paid advertising, mistakes are costly because everything you do with the Google Ads platform costs money. Hiring a Google Ads advertising agency will avoid this unnecessary waste of ad budget.
- Devising Marketing Strategies: other than knowing how to use Google Ads as effectively as possible in order to squeeze as much ROI from your ad budget as possible, a Google Ad marketing agency will also advise you on how to best conduct your paid advertising. They would choose the best keywords for your business according to certain metrics, for example, and advise you to target those.
- Real-Time Optimization: of course, managing paid ad campaigns isn’t a one-time thing, and continuous optimizations have to be done based on the performance of the existing ads. A Google Ads agency will ensure that these optimizations are happening just when you need them most.
The above benefits should demonstrate that hiring a Google Ads agency is definitely an idea worth considering, especially because it not only saves you time but it could even save you money in the long run!
FAQs
How much should I pay someone to manage my Google Ads?
If you’re putting up job postings on popular freelancer websites, like Fiverr and Upwork, for freelance Google Ads specialists, then you’re naturally going to wonder how much you ought to pay whoever will take up your job. This is both because you don’t want to pay peanuts, but at the same time, you still want to keep your costs at a minimum.
Well, first of all, you need to consider how big your business is, and therefore how much budget you can afford, as well as how big of a job it is you are posting. While Upwork states that the average hourly rate for a freelance paid ads specialist is between $15–$40, this is an average that’s estimated across many people operating from many locations.
Therefore, don’t take this average as gospel, especially since most professional specialists in the US charge between $50–$100 an hour. While this might seem a little expensive, these specialists are basing their rates on their years of experience, the expertise they accumulated, and the successful campaigns they managed.
So, to conclude, when setting a price for a job that involves the use of Google Ads, you need to both consider the circumstances of the specialist you’re aiming to hire as well as the budget you’ve allocated to paid advertising. A portion of that budget (around 25-30%) should go to paying the specialist, and the rest should be the budget that’s needed to conduct those paid ad campaigns.
Set a decent enough price so that you attract quality specialists and you can enjoy the fruits of their labor and see your business slowly grow.
How much does an agency charge for Google Ads?
Of course, not all Google Ads agencies charge equally. Much like how different companies charge different prices for the same service, it’s the same story with Google Ad agencies. There are many variables that go into the rates charged by a Google advertising agency, including the complexity of the campaigns, a commission on acquired clicks, etc.
Now, to give you an idea of how much you could be looking at if you’re planning on contracting an Google Ads advertising agency, you could be looking at anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand per month. In terms of real numbers, this could be anywhere from $500 up to $5000, or even $10,000 for the best agencies.
How much does it cost to hire a Google Ads expert?
In the same way that not all agencies charge the same amount of money for their services, the same applies for Google Ads specialists that offer their services on a freelance basis. As we’ve seen above, the average rate that a Google Ads expert charges is between $50–$100, with some even charging more than that.
Naturally, however, don’t think of this as an expense, but more of an investment, especially if the specialist you’re hiring brings you a significant ROI.
Are Google Ads worth it for small businesses?
Yes, of course! No matter the size of your business, Google Ads can still prove to be a worthwhile investment because it can potentially boost both your clientele as well as your revenue. This is because Google Ads is a powerful marketing channeling that can target users based on their geography, interests, searches, etc.
Can I manage Google Ads myself?
There’s nothing at all stopping from managing and optimizing your own Google Ads campaigns. In fact, doing so will teach you a very useful skill, as knowing how to use Google Ads is always useful.
However, be aware that learning how to use the platform and manage your own ads takes months of learning and practice; moreover, using Google Ads also takes up a lot of time, so it might be better to hire someone to manage your paid ads and then focus on other aspects of your business.