London Google Ads: E-Learning Expert Vetting Guide

Finding a Google Ads consultant in London is easy. Finding one who won't burn your cash trying to sell online courses is a different game entirely. The market's saturated with generalists who think selling a Python bootcamp is the same as selling a subscription box. They're wrong, and that mistake will cost you a fortune in ad spend with nothing to show for it.

The truth is, London is a unique, hyper-competitive battleground for education. You're not just competing with other online courses; you're up against world-class universities, professional development bodies, and a thousand other things vying for your target student's time and money. A cookie-cutter strategy that works for an e-commerce brand in Manchester will fail spectacularly here. You need a specialist who understands the nuances of both the city and your specific niche. I've seen countless e-learning founders come to us after being burned by agencies who promised the world but didn't have a clue about the local market or the psychology of selling education. Let's make sure you aren't one of them.

So, why is London such a different beast for e-learning ads?

First off, the cost. Competition drives up prices. Clicks for education-related keywords in London are some of the most expensive in Europe. You could be paying upwards of £5-£15 per click for high-intent terms like "data science course London" or "digital marketing certification". Without an expert who knows how to find undervalued keywords and build campaigns with a sky-high Quality Score, your budget will evaporate before you've even had a chance to make a sale.

Then there's the audience. London isn't a monolith. Are you selling a high-ticket fintech course to professionals in the City and Canary Wharf? Or a graphic design diploma to creatives in Hackney and Peckham? These are completely different people, with different motivations, who hang out in different online spaces. A good consultant knows how to use granular location targeting, audience layering, and demographic data within Google Ads to speak directly to these distinct groups. A bad one will just target "London" and hope for the best, wasting 80% of your spend on irrelevant people.

I remember one campaign for a medical job matching SaaS client. When they came to us, their Cost Per User Acquisition from their Google and Meta Ads was over £100, which was completely unsustainable. By overhauling the campaigns and targeting, we brought that CPA down to just £7. This highlights how a specialist approach to a competitive market can make a campaign profitable. That's the difference expertise makes.

How do you vet an expert who actually gets it?

This is where you need to be ruthless. Forget their slick sales deck and impressive-sounding jargon. Your entire vetting process should boil down to one thing: proof. Here's a framework I'd use, and frankly, it's the same framework we expect potential clients to use on us.

First, demand relevant case studies. And I don't mean a vague testimonial. I mean a detailed walkthrough of a campaign for an online course, preferably in the UK market. You need to see the numbers:

• -> What was the starting Cost Per Student Acquisition (CPA)?
• -> What did they get it down to?
• -> What was the total ad spend and the total revenue generated?
• -> What was the final Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)?

We've worked on campaigns that generated $115k in revenue for a course in just over six weeks, and another that drove over 45,000 signups at under £2 per signup. These are the kinds of concrete results you should be looking for. If they can't show you this level of detail for a similar business, they haven't earned your trust or your money.

Second, the initial consultation is a test. Don't let them just talk about themselves. Turn it around and make them talk about *your* business. Ask them pointed questions:

• -> "Looking at my course and my target market in London, what would be your initial campaign structure?"
• -> "What specific negative keywords would you implement on day one to avoid wasting budget?"
• -> "How would you approach retargeting for a £1,500 course with a 30-day consideration period?"

A true expert will give you specific, actionable ideas right there on the call. They'll show their working. A salesperson will give you vague platitudes like "we'll use a data-driven approach" or "we'll optimise for conversions". If you leave that call without at least one tangible idea that makes you rethink your own strategy, they're not the one. This is exactly why we offer a free account review; it's the fastest way for a founder to see if our expertise is real. If finding the right help feels daunting, our guide on finding ad experts in London might be a good starting point.

What should success actually look like?

Let's talk numbers. Selling a course isn't instant. People need time to consider the investment. This means your ad funnel needs to be more sophisticated than just `Ad -> Landing Page -> Sale`. A proper strategy nurtures potential students over time. An expert will build a multi-layered campaign that moves people from being vaguely aware of you to being ready to buy.

It usually looks something like this:

Don't get fixated on a low cost-per-click. It's a vanity metric. You should be obsessed with two things: your Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) for a new student, and your Return On Ad Spend (ROAS). For a course, a healthy ROAS is anything above 300% (or 3x). This means for every £1 you spend on ads, you get £3 back in revenue. To hit that, you need a consultant who understands the entire funnel, not just how to run a search campaign. This is particularly true if you are just starting out and need to build a strategy for scaling your ads in London without wasting money.

To help you get a feel for the numbers, here's a simple calculator. Play around with the sliders to see how small changes in your ad performance or course price can dramatically affect your profitability.

My Final Advice: Your Action Plan

Hiring a Google Ads consultant in London is a major investment. Getting it right can transform your business; getting it wrong can be a catastrophic waste of time and money. Don't be swayed by charm or flashy websites. Be systematic, be demanding, and trust the data. For e-learning founders, there's a lot of potential out there, but you'll need the right kind of partner to unlock it. If you'd like a more detailed breakdown, we have a complete guide on paid ads specifically for course creators that covers this in more detail.

This is the main advice I have for you:

Ultimately, the right expert doesn't just run your ads; they become a strategic partner in your growth. They understand that every pound spent must be an investment towards a more profitable, scalable business. If you’re serious about growing your e-learning platform in London and want to work with a team that has a proven track record in your exact niche, we offer a free, no-obligation strategy session. We’ll look at your current setup and give you a clear, honest assessment of what it would take to win in this market.