Earn Extra Money Easily With A Google Ads Side Hustle

Can You Really Make Money with Google Ads?

Before we can guide you on how to make money with a Google Ad side hustle, it’s best to set your mind at ease. There is a lot of confusion around whether being a Google Ads specialist is legit and whether you can make any money at all working this kind of occupation.

Well, let’s put any worries you might have to rest: yes, being a Google Ads specialist is a genuine occupation, and you could actually make quite a significant amount of money from this role. In fact, the average Google Ads specialist salary for a full-time position is around $60,000 per year!

Moreover, the average hourly rate for a freelance Google Ads specialist is somewhere between $15–$40, according to Upwork at least. Bear in mind that these are only average figures, and your personal remuneration might even be better than this. As a matter of fact, there are plenty of Google Ads jobs that pay very well.

However, the salary or payment that you can expect to receive will vary depending on your level of experience. If you’re a newbie marketer, you can’t expect very much. On the other hand, if you’ve already been working with PPC for a while, you can reasonably charge higher rates.

How to Make Money Doing Google Ads

There are many ways that you can make money as a Google Ads specialist, all of which we’ve explained in our dedicated blog post on the subject. We highly suggest reading that for a thorough answer; however, we will be providing you with a summary here so that you can get an idea of how making money doing Google Ads works:

1. The first way that you can make money by working with Google Ads is through being a Google Ads specialist. This is a normal “desk job” where you will be working with Google Ads and other paid advertising platforms.
   
   
2. The second way you can make money from Google Ads is by freelancing. This is where you either take up gigs on freelance platforms like Upwork, or else by approaching/being approached by clients who require Google Ads services.
   
   
3. The third way of making money through Google Ads is by owning a Google Ads agency. This is much like freelancing Google Ads, but on a larger scale, obviously. If you’re interested in knowing how to start a Google Ads agency, then we have an article about that too.
   
   
4. The final way is through a Google Ad specialist side hustle—which is what this entire article is about. So, keep reading for the full details. 😉
   
   

As you can see, you’re not short of avenues through which you can make money. So, not only is it a genuine line of work, but becoming a Google Ads specialist is worth your while! Especially when you consider the fact that you can make a substantial income from it.

How to Do Google Ads as a Side Hustle?

The process behind working with Google Ads as a side hustle is actually very similar to the process of becoming a Google Ads freelancer, so if you’ve already read that blog post, what we’re about to say will probably be familiar to you. However, it never hurts to remind yourself, right?

If, on the other hand, you’ve never read that article or you’re reading our blog for the first time (if that’s the case, welcome to Ads Institute! 👋🏼) then we’re going to explain the process in full for you:

1. First, you’re going to need to know how to actually use Google Ads. If you don’t know how to even use the platform, you can’t hope to actually work with and thus earn any money from it. There are many ways you can learn how to use the platform, but we believe that the best way to do that is through a Google Ads course.
   
   
   • If you want to know what the best Google Ads courses are, we suggest reading our dedicated post on the matter; we looked at both paid course as well as courses that are absolutely, completely, 100% free!
     
     
2. This second step is entirely optional but can serve you well when you’re starting out, and that’s getting certified in Google Ads. If you want a full guide on how to get Google Ads certified, we have a post entirely dedicated to that!
   
   
   • If you’re wondering why getting certified is optional, that’s because not every marketer believes that getting the Google Ads certification is worth it. We believe that while it’s not as powerful an asset as, say, 5 years of experience, the certificate can still help improve your prospects of getting hired! Besides: it’s entirely free!
     
     
3. Next you’re going to need to gain some hands-on experience with using the Google Ads platform. You can do this either by messing around with your own properties and gain some experience, or else by offering your services for really cheap to friends or family. Otherwise, you can gain experience through an internship or junior role, but that means that you’ll be working full-time as a Google Ads specialist.
   
   
4. Once you’ve gotten enough experience to be able to reasonably work with Google Ads and show your clients that they have something to gain from hiring you, you should start picking up side jobs. You can get Google Ads clients in a number of ways, such as either by reaching out to clients, accepting jobs on platforms like Fiverr, or else by marketing your services through marketing channels like SEO.
   
   
5. Finally, try to collect as many positive reviews and testimonials as possible while also building an interesting portfolio of successfully run ad campaigns. That way, your chances of getting hired over someone else will be much greater!
   
   

Finally, here are some other tips that we can give you in order to maximize your gains from your side hustle.

• Try to accept gigs that won’t take too much of your time; for example, being paid to set up an account or simply monitor a couple of ad campaigns. If you work on a job that requires a lot of time then you’re not really working a side hustle, are you?
  
  
• We’ve already touched upon this, but try to create a fantastic portfolio of successfully run ad campaigns. Having a great portfolio of previous successful jobs is much like having a Google Ads specialist resume and hence it will boost your chances of attracting new clients or side jobs.
  
  
• Try to accept side jobs from businesses that offer services or products with a lot of associated value—or in other words, who cater to high-ticket clients. High-ticket clients are customers that when making a purchase they typically spend a lot of money at one go; this would include customers purchasing cars, boats, furniture, etc. With businesses like these there is less work that needs to be done as even one purchase represents a significant portion of their income.
  
  
• Try to provide services for businesses whose products and services have a lot of search volume in the region that they operate. That means that there’s a large untapped market and gaining customers from those markets will be much easier, hence there would be way less work involved.
  
  

How Much Can You Make from a Side Hustle with Google Ads?

Well, this depends on how much you’re willing to work and what sort of work you take on. Since we’re only talking about a side gig here, we should reasonably expect that you’re not willing or not even able to put a lot of hours in your Google Ads side hustle (because otherwise, you might as well just take it up as a full-time job).

Moreover, the kinds of jobs you end up agreeing to will also make a difference on your income. This is because not all of the available gigs that you can find will pay the same amount; not only that but depending on your experience, you can expect to earn different amounts, as the better you are at your job, the more you can charge for Google Ads management.

However, let’s say that you’re willing to work up to 10 hours a week, and that you have a substantial amount of experience, but nothing too crazy. So, let’s say that you accept a gig that pays you €25 an hour because you’re not as experienced as you could be yet. If you do the math, that’s an extra $250 a week. Not bad at all.

Bear in mind, however, that the better you become at your job, the more you can charge your clients because you have the experience to back your rates up. In fact, some of the most experienced Google Ads freelancers charge over $100 every hour, which turns your 10 hours into $1000 a week.

Side Gig vs Side Hustle

Finally, to finish off this guide, you might be wondering if there’s any difference at all between a side hustle and a side gig—after all, you’ve probably seen both terms bandied about when looking for information. In our opinion, both of these words mean exactly the same thing. So, if you’re working a Google Ads side hustle, you’re also working a side gig.

However, some people have made a distinction between side gig and side hustle, in that a side gig is simply another job that you do on the side, also known as a side job. On the other hand, a side hustle is an extra job that you do because you’re passionate about that line of work. What do you think? Is there a difference?

FAQs

How do I start freelancing on Google Ads?

There are a few steps that you need to accomplish in order to begin freelancing with Google Ads. First, you need to learn how to use Google Ads; afterwards, you could consider becoming certified in Google Ads; then you need to gain some hands-on experience using the platform, either through your own properties or by applying for a junior role; finally, after gaining enough experience, you can start freelancing by offering your services as a freelance Google Ads specialist.

You can do this either through freelancer platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, etc., by reaching out to potential clients, or else by building a powerful website and being discovered there.

Can digital marketing be a side hustle?

Yes, of course! If you look through websites like Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer, PeoplePerHour, etc. you’ll find that there are many people looking for digital marketing services. If you happen to have the skills required, you can definitely take on these jobs and earn money that way.

On the other hand, if you’re asking yourself “is digital marketing a good side hustle?” then we’re here to tell you that yes, it is! If you do a search for “digital marketing” on one of the websites we mentioned and take even a cursory look at the listings that come up, you can see that not only is there a lot of demand, but some of the jobs on offer pay quite well!

Is Google Ads a good side hustle?

Working with Google Ads can definitely prove to be a good side hustle. There is a high demand for these kinds of services. In fact, take a look at a popular freelance platform like Upwork, for instance, you’ll see that there are new jobs posted every few minutes. Therefore, there’s definitely a lot of opportunities to be had!

Remember, however, that a Google AdWords side hustle is meant to only provide some money on the side. Don’t get overwhelmed by accepting many jobs at once, as otherwise it stops being a side hustle and starts becoming a full-time job.

Can I earn money from Google Ads?

Absolutely, you can definitely earn money from working with Google Ads. If you run and optimize paid advertisements for clients, you will be paid for your services. And the more experience you accrue, the more money you’ll be able to charge from your clients.

However, if you were looking for a way of generating passive income instead, then you can make that money through Google AdSense, which is when you provide advertising space on your website. However, bear in mind that this isn’t highly profitable, and you would need to invest a lot of work for it to eventually become profitable.