The Expert Guide To Hiring A Google Ads Pro In Cardiff

So you're looking to hire someone to run your Google Ads in Cardiff. It's a smart move. Done right, it's one of the fastest ways to get the phone ringing for a local business. But get it wrong, and it’s a fantastically efficient way to set fire to a pile of cash. The difference between success and failure isn't the platform; it's the person pulling the levers.

Most business owners in Cardiff make the same mistake. They look for a local agency because it feels safer. But the truth is, the best specialist for your business might be in Cardiff, or they could be in Cornwall. What really matters is whether they have a rock-solid process for getting results for businesses like yours. I've seen countless business owners get burned by local 'experts' who talk a good game but can't deliver. This guide is designed to stop that happening to you. It’s a step-by-step process for vetting a Google Ads specialist, asking the right questions, and finding a genuine partner, not just a supplier. A good starting point for any founder is understanding how to properly hire paid ad experts in the first place.

Is "Local" Really the Most Important Thing?

Let's get this out of the way first. While there's a certain comfort in being able to meet your consultant for a coffee in Pontcanna, their physical location is probably the least important factor in your decision. I'd take a specialist in Aberdeen who has a proven track record of getting a 5x return for electricians over a specialist in Cardiff Bay who's never run a campaign for a trade business before. Every single time.

Expertise, process, and a history of results are what you're buying. Not proximity. That said, a great consultant, wherever they're based, must demonstrate a real understanding of the Cardiff and South Wales market. They need to understand the local competition, the specific search behaviour of people here, and the economic landscape. Are they aware of the thriving tech scene around Tramshed Tech? Do they understand the professional services cluster in the city centre? Do they know that targeting keywords around "near me" is going to be hyper-competitive for plumbers in Roath but maybe less so for financial advisors in Lisvane?

They should be asking you about your target customers. Are you selling high-end services to households in the Vale of Glamorgan, or are you a fast-food spot targeting students in Cathays? A top-tier specialist will grasp these nuances without you having to spell it out. Their strategy should reflect this local intelligence. So, while you don't need a local agency, you do need an agency that can think locally. If you're struggling with this initial step, it's worth reading a complete guide on how to vet a UK Google Ads agency to get your bearings.

The Blatant Red Flags That Scream "Run Away"

Before we get into what to look for, let's cover what to avoid. If you hear any of the following during an initial chat, politely end the call. These are the hallmarks of amateurs or, worse, cowboys who will happily take your money with no intention of delivering real value.

• "We guarantee you the #1 spot on Google." - This is an impossible promise and a massive red flag. No one can guarantee a specific ad position. It's determined by a real-time auction influenced by dozens of factors like bid, ad quality, and relevance. A true professional talks about optimising for conversions and return on investment, not vanity metrics like ad position.


• "We have a secret sauce/proprietary method." - There are no secrets in Google Ads. There are best practises, rigorous testing methodologies, and deep experience. Anyone claiming a 'secret' is usually just masking a lack of a coherent, data-driven process. Ask them to explain their 'process' instead. If they can't articulate it clearly, they don't have one.


• Vague strategies and buzzwords. - If they talk about "maximising clicks" or "increasing brand awareness" without tying it to your actual business goals (like leads, sales, or bookings), be wary. Clicks don't pay the bills. Conversions do. Their entire strategy should be built backwards from your desired business outcome. A common issue we see is a poorly executed ad account setup in Cardiff, which is often the root cause of failure.


• No access to the account. - They should be willing to work within your own Google Ads account, which you own. If they insist on running ads through their own account, you'll have no data and no control if you decide to leave. It's a classic lock-in tactic. You should always own your data.


• Unverifiable case studies. - "We got great results for a local plumber" isn't a case study. A real case study has specifics: what was the starting point? What was the goal? What was the ad spend? What was the cost per lead? What was the final return on investment? If they can't provide this level of detail, their 'results' are likely exagerated or fictional.

What Should a Proper Google Ads Strategy for Cardiff Look Like?

A competent specialist will propose a strategy tailored to your business, but for most service-based businesses in Cardiff, the core components will look similar. They should be talking to you about a multi-layered approach, not just throwing a few keywords into a campaign and hoping for the best.

First, they'll focus on **Search Campaigns** targeting people with high buying intent. This is the foundation. They won't just target "electrician Cardiff". They'll build out ad groups for different services you offer, like "emergency electrician Penarth", "consumer unit replacement Cyncoed", or "EICR certificate Whitchurch". This granularity allows them to write highly specific ads that speak directly to the searcher's problem, which improves Quality Score and lowers your cost per click.

They should also be obsessed with **Negative Keywords**. A good list of negative keywords is just as important as the keywords you're targeting. For an electrician, they should be proactively excluding terms like "jobs", "training course", "free", "DIY", and "how to". This stops you from wasting money on clicks from people who are never going to become customers. This is one of the biggest things amateurs get wrong.

For businesses with a physical location, like a shop or a clinic, they should be talking about **Performance Max for Store Goals** or **Local Campaigns**. These are designed specifically to drive foot traffic and will integrate with your Google Business Profile to show your location on the map. This is often one of the top ad channels for Cardiff businesses with a physical presence.

Here’s a simplified look at the kind of strategic thinking you should expect:

How to Properly Analyse Their Case Studies

This is where the rubber meets the road. Any specialist worth their salt will have detailed case studies. Your job is to dissect them. Don't just look at the headline result like "8x Return". You need to understand the story behind it.

Look for a business similar to yours. If you're a B2C service, look for B2C service case studies. I remember one campaign we ran for a home cleaning company in the UK where we achieved a cost of just £5 per lead. That's the kind of specific, relatable result you're looking for. Or another for a childcare service where the cost per signup was around $10. These numbers provide a realistic benchmark.

When you're reviewing a case study, ask yourself:

• Is the niche comparable? Results for an ecommerce brand selling cheap widgets are not comparable to results for a high-ticket B2B service.
• What was the starting point? Were they fixing a broken account or starting from scratch? Fixing is often easier than building.
• What was the ad spend? A 10x return on £100 ad spend is meaningless. A 4x return on £10,000 ad spend is impressive. Context is everything.
• What metric are they celebrating? Are they boasting about cheap clicks, or are they talking about cost per qualified lead (CPL) or Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)? You want someone focused on bottom-line metrics.

To give you a better idea of what's possible and how to think about your own numbers, I've built a small calculator. Plug in some estimated figures for your business. This helps you move from thinking about "costs" to thinking about "investment" and what a reasonable return could look like. A good specialist should be able to help you forecast this with much greater accuracy based on their experience.

The Consultation Call: Questions That Unmask an Amateur

The initial consultation call is your interview. This is your chance to move beyond the sales pitch and really test their knowledge. A good specialist will welcome hard questions. An amateur will get defensive or give you vague, fluffy answers. Here are some questions you should definately ask:

1. "Can you walk me through your process for the first 30 days?"
   This tests if they have a structured onboarding and campaign build process. A good answer will involve research (competitor analysis, keyword research), account setup (conversion tracking, billing), campaign building (ad groups, ad copy, landing page recommendations), and then a launch and initial optimisation phase. A bad answer is "We'll get your ads live in a couple of days".


2. "What is your approach to keyword research for a local business like mine?"
   Listen for words like "intent", "commercial keywords", and "long-tail keywords". They should talk about using tools like Google's Keyword Planner but also about thinking creatively about what a customer in Cardiff would actually type into Google when they need your help.


3. "How will you structure the campaigns? And why?"
   This is a technical question that reveals their depth of knowledge. A good answer might be, "We'll start with a main Search campaign, with seperate ad groups for each of your core services. This lets us match the ad copy and landing page perfectly to the keyword, which boosts Quality Score and lowers costs. We'll also run a branded campaign to capture anyone searching for your business name directly, which is usually very cheap."


4. "How do you measure success and what will your reporting look like?"
   The only correct answer involves business metrics. They should be reporting on leads, cost per lead, sales, and return on ad spend. If they focus on clicks, impressions or click-through-rate (CTR), they are focused on the wrong things. Ask to see a sample report. It should be clear, concise, and focused on what matters to your bottom line.


5. "What do you need from me to make this a success?"
   This is a great question. An expert knows that success is a partnership. They will need your input on your best customers, your sales process, and quick feedback on the quality of the leads they are generating. A consultant who says "Just leave it all to us" is naive. It needs to be a collaborative effort.

This is where you'll find out if you're talking to a true expert. Finding the right person is so important, and it's why there are entire guides dedicated to the process of finding a UK Google Ads expert.

What's This Going to Cost Me? Agency Fees in Cardiff

This is always a big question. The cost for Google Ads management can vary wildly, but it usually falls into a few common models. Understanding them helps you compare apples to apples. If you want a deep dive on this, we've written a full guide on Google Ads management costs in the UK, but here's the quick summary.

Most specialists in the UK, including those serving the Cardiff area, will use one of these three models:

• Percentage of Ad Spend: This is common for larger accounts. The agency takes a percentage of what you spend on ads, typically between 10-20%. The problem for smaller businesses is that it doesn't incentivise the agency to be efficient with your budget.
• Flat Monthly Retainer: This is the most common model for small to medium-sized businesses. You pay a fixed fee each month for the management of your account. This is predictable and easy to budget for. In Cardiff, for a well-managed local campaign, you could expect to pay anywhere from £300 to £1,000+ per month, depending on the complexity of the account.
• Performance-Based/Hybrid: This might involve a smaller retainer plus a bonus for hitting certain targets (e.g., a certain number of leads or a target CPL). This can be a good model as it aligns your goals with the agency's incentives, but they are less common.

It's important to remember that the management fee is seperate from your ad spend, which is paid directly to Google. A common starting ad spend for a local service business in Cardiff would be in the £500 - £2,000 per month range, but a good consultant will advise you based on your goals and the competitiveness of your market.

Your Final Vetting Checklist: The Action Plan

Hiring the right person is a process. Don't rush it. Follow these steps, and you'll dramatically increase your chances of finding a specialist who can deliver a real return for your business. I've compiled everything into a final checklist for you to use when you're speaking to potential candidates.

I've detailed my main recommendations for you below:

It's a Partnership, Not a Purchase

Ultimately, hiring a Google Ads specialist isn't like buying a piece of software. You're bringing an expert into your business to manage a critical growth channel. The best results always come from a collaborative relationship where the specialist has a deep understanding of your business, and you have a clear understanding of their process and the results they're driving.

Take your time, do your due diligence using the framework above, and trust your gut. If a specialist seems too good to be true, they probably are. Look for the one who is realistic, data-driven, and genuinely interested in helping you grow your business in Cardiff and beyond. That's the person who will be worth every penny.

If you're going through this process and feel overwhelmed, or you just want a second opinion on your current strategy, this is exactly what we do. We offer a free, no-obligation 20-minute strategy session where we can review your goals, look at your existing campaigns, and give you some actionable advice. It's a great way to see how an expert thinks and get some immediate value, whether you decide to work with us or not. Feel free to get in touch to schedule yours.