The Expert Guide to Paid Ads Consultants

You’re looking for the best paid ads consultant in Reading. It’s a sensible enough question on the surface. You've got a business, maybe in tech or professional services, somewhere like Thames Valley Park or Winnersh Triangle, and you need to get more customers. The problem is, focusing on geography is probably the biggest mistake you can make right from the start.

The "best" consultant isn't the one you can have a coffee with near The Oracle. The best consultant is the one who has a track record of getting results for businesses exactly like yours. In today's world, that expertise is far more important than a local address. A true expert in Manchester who has scaled five SaaS companies is infinitely more valuable than a generalist agency in Reading that mainly works with local restaurants and shops. You're not paying for proximity; you're paying for a return on your investment.

So, you're looking for someone in Reading. But is that what you really need?

Let's be brutally honest. Most businesses in the Reading area, particularly in the tech corridor along the M4, are not typical local businesses. You're likely dealing with complex B2B sales cycles, high-ticket services, or sophisticated software products. The expertise required to market these isn't common, and you're unlikely to find it by simply searching for "paid ads near me".

Think about it. If you run a FinTech startup, do you want an agency that understands the nuances of targeting financial decision-makers on LinkedIn, or one that's great at running Facebook ads for a local estate agent? The skills are not transferable. The platforms, the messaging, the entire strategy is different. Your search should be for "paid ads expert for B2B software", not for someone who shares your RG postcode.

What you should be looking for is evidence of relevant experience. Before you even think about getting on a call, you need to be digging through their case studies. And not just looking at the headline numbers. You need to find proof they've solved the same problems you're facing. If you are starting out, you might find our UK startup's guide to hiring ad experts a useful starting point.

Forget the slick pitch. What have they actually done?

Case studies are where the truth lies. A slick website and a confident salesperson mean absolutely nothing if they can't back it up with real-world results. When you look at a consultant's past work, you're not just looking for big revenue numbers; you're looking for a match to your business model and goals.

Don't be impressed by vanity metrics. A campaign that got "10 Million Views" for a luxury brand is useless to you if you're a SaaS business trying to get trial signups. You need to see metrics that matter to *you*. Are they talking about Cost Per Lead (CPL), Cost Per Acquisition (CPA), Return On Ad Spend (ROAS)? Are the results in pounds (£), showing they have experience in the competitive UK market?

For instance, one B2B software client we worked with was struggling with a £100 CPA on their Meta and Google ads. We managed to reduce that to just £7. That's the kind of specific, meaningful result you should be looking for. Another campaign for a different B2B software firm on LinkedIn generated leads from decision-makers at a cost of just $22. If you're selling to other businesses, these are the numbers that should make you sit up and pay attention. If you're in eCommerce, you want to see proof of ROAS, like the 691% return we generated for a women's apparel brand.

To help you focus on what's important, I've put together a simple chart to guide you on what to look for based on your business type.

If a consultant can't show you a case study that fits into one of these buckets and aligns with your business, they are not the right fit for you. It's that simple. Tbh if someone asks us for references after they've already reviewed our case studies and had a free account review, it's an instant red flag for us as it signals a lack of trust from the start.

How do you spot a genuine expert from a salesperson in that first call?

Okay, so you've found a few consultants with promising case studies. The next step is the "free consultation" or "strategy session". Most businesses treat this as a sales pitch. That's a mistake. This is your opportunity to interview them, to test their expertise and see if they actually know what they're talking about.

Don't let them control the conversation with a rehearsed presentation. You need to come prepared with specific, tough questions about your business. Here’s what you should be asking:

• "Based on what you know about my business, which ad platform would you start with and why?" Their answer will reveal their strategic thinking. For a Reading-based tech firm, a good answer would probably involve LinkedIn for its precise B2B targeting or Google Search for capturing active demand. A vague answer like "we'll test everything" is a red flag.
• "What's the first audience you'd test for us on Meta (Facebook/Instagram) ads?" This tests their tactical knowledge. A sharp consultant might suggest a lookalike audience based on your existing customer list or targeting interests related to competitor software. A poor answer is "we'll just target people interested in business". That's far too broad.
• "What do you think a realistic Cost Per Lead or Cost Per Sale would be for us in the UK market?" An expert won't give you a guaranteed number (which is impossible), but they should be able to provide a realistic range based on their experience and industry benchmarks. For example, they might say, "For B2B leads in the UK, we often see CPLs between £50-£250 on LinkedIn, depending on the seniority of the audience." This shows they have real-world data to draw from.
• "What's wrong with my current landing page?" Ask for direct, honest feedback. A real expert will be able to spot conversion killers in seconds—a weak headline, no clear call-to-action, a lack of social proof. They should be able to give you actionable advice right there on the call.

The goal of this call is to get a taste of their expertise. You should leave the meeting feeling like you've learned something valuable, not like you've just been sold to. If they spend the whole time talking about themselves and their process without giving you any concrete ideas for your business, they're probably not the one. Vetting potential partners properly is a massive topic, and there are many different things to look out for in the process of choosing a UK paid ad agency.

Can you actually afford to grow? Let's do the sums.

This is the part most businesses get completely wrong. They obsess over getting the lowest possible Cost Per Lead, without any idea of what a good lead is actually worth to them. This leads to chasing cheap, low-quality leads that never convert, and ultimately deciding that "ads don't work".

The real question isn't "how low can my CPL go?" but "how high a CPL can I afford to acquire a great customer?". To answer that, you need to know your Customer Lifetime Value (LTV). This single number is the most important metric in your business, and it's what separates companies that can scale aggressively from those that are stuck.

Let's break it down with a simple example for a fictional Reading-based SaaS company:

• Average Revenue Per Account (ARPA): How much you make from a customer each month. Let's say it's £300.
• Gross Margin %: Your profit margin on that revenue. Let's say it's 80%.
• Monthly Churn Rate %: The percentage of customers you lose each month. Let's say it's 5%.

The calculation is: LTV = (ARPA * Gross Margin %) / Monthly Churn Rate

So, for our example: LTV = (£300 * 0.80) / 0.05 = £240 / 0.05 = £4,800.

This means, on average, each new customer is worth £4,800 in gross margin to your business over their lifetime. Now things get interesting. A healthy business model often aims for a 3:1 LTV to Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) ratio. This means you can afford to spend up to £1,600 (£4,800 / 3) to acquire a single new customer.

If your sales team converts 1 in 10 qualified leads into a customer, you can afford to pay up to £160 per qualified lead. Suddenly that £80 lead from LinkedIn doesn't look so expensive, does it? It looks like a bargain. This is the maths that unlocks profitable scaling.

Use the calculator below to figure out your own numbers. Be honest with your inputs. This will give you the financial foundation to have an intelligent conversation with any potential ad consultant.

What does a winning strategy look like for a business in the Thames Valley?

Now that you know your numbers and how to vet a consultant, let's talk strategy. For the majority of businesses in and around Reading—especially in tech, finance, and high-value professional services—your advertising battlefield is going to be narrow and specific. You can't just spray and pray.

The first decision is choosing the right platform. This isn't about personal preference; it's about going where your customers are and what their mindset is when they're there. For most B2B businesses in the area, the choice comes down to two main platforms: Google Ads and LinkedIn Ads.

• Google Search Ads: This is for capturing intent. You're targeting people who are *actively searching* for a solution to a problem you solve. They're already aware they have a need. For a software company, these would be keywords like "best accounting software for small business" or "data visualisation tool". This is bottom-of-the-funnel traffic and often provides the quickest return, but it's also very competitive and can be expensive.
• LinkedIn Ads: This is for creating demand. Your ideal customer might not be searching for a solution right now, but you can get your message in front of them based on their job title, company size, industry, and skills. This is perfect for reaching specific decision-makers, like targeting "Chief Technology Officers in the UK financial services industry". It's more of a long-term play and the leads can be more expensive, but the targeting is unmatched for B2B. We often see great results when we need to reach specific B2B decision-makers with LinkedIn ads.

Meta (Facebook/Instagram) can sometimes work for B2B, but it's trickier. The targeting options are less precise. It can be effective if you're targeting small business owners or have a very compelling visual offer, but for most high-ticket B2B sales in the Reading area, I'd start with Google or LinkedIn.

Here's a simple flowchart to help you decide where to focus your initial budget.

Right, here's my advice, laid out plain and simple.

We've covered a lot of ground. It's easy to get bogged down in the details. To make it easier, I've distilled everything into a clear, actionable plan. If you're serious about finding a paid ads consultant in Reading (or anywhere, for that matter) who can actually grow your business, this is the process you should follow.

Should you really go it alone?

After reading all this, you might be tempted to try and manage your ads yourself. And for some very small businesses, that might be the right first step. But for any company in the Reading area serious about growth, it's almost always a false economy.

The world of paid advertising changes constantly. Platforms update their algorithms, new ad formats are released, and what worked six months ago might be completely ineffective today. A dedicated expert lives and breathes this stuff every single day. They've seen what works (and what doesn't) across dozens of accounts and millions of pounds in ad spend. That experience allows them to avoid the costly mistakes that most businesses make when they're starting out.

It's not just about setting up an ad and hoping for the best. It's about deep research into your audience, writing compelling ad copy that speaks to their pain points, structuring campaigns for optimal performance, analysing data to find pockets of opportunity, and constantly testing and iterating to improve results. This is a full-time job.

A professional consultancy can make a huge difference. With years of experience and a deep understanding of the advertising landscape, we can help you identify the best strategies to drive real, profitable growth. We provide insights you might not have thought of and can take over the entire implementation and optimisation process for you, ensuring that every pound you spend is working as hard as it possibly can to grow your business.

If you have a business in Reading or anywhere in the UK and you're serious about using paid advertising to hit your growth targets, the right expert advice is an investment, not a cost. If you'd like an honest, no-obligation assessment of your current advertising strategy or potential for growth, consider scheduling a free consultation. We can walk through your account and give you some actionable advice you can use, whether you decide to work with us or not.