How I Would Learn Google Ads... if I could start over

Summary

This video emphasizes the lucrative potential of mastering Google Ads management, highlighting its growing ad spend and demand for skilled professionals. Aaron Young, a seasoned expert with over 15,000 hours in the field, shares his insights on why Google Ads remains a top digital marketing skill. He outlines a four-step plan for beginners: starting with Google's training, utilizing YouTube tutorials, investing in a quality course, and gaining experience at a digital agency. Aaron also offers optimization checklists to help users stay on top of their campaigns.

Takeaways

• 💼 Learning Google Ads is a highly valuable and lucrative skill, offering significant income potential.
• 📊 Google Ads is projected to grow from $224 billion in ad spend in 2022 to over $350 billion by 2026, highlighting its importance in digital marketing.
• 🔍 Google Ads management is less popular in search trends compared to other digital marketing disciplines, despite Google having a larger ad spend than platforms like Meta.
• 🧠 Google Ads management requires both analytical and creative skills, making it a hybrid discipline that is often overlooked in favor of SEO or social media.
• 💡 There is a shortage of skilled professionals specializing solely in Google Ads, making it harder for digital agencies to find qualified candidates.
• 📚 Google's training resources (Google Skillshop) are essential for learning the fundamentals of Google Ads, but they are limited when it comes to advanced campaign optimization strategies.
• 🎥 YouTube is an excellent resource for step-by-step tutorials on setting up and optimizing Google Ads campaigns, but be cautious about outdated or inaccurate content.
• 💸 Purchasing a high-quality Google Ads course is a recommended next step for serious learners, with factors like the instructor's engagement and course updates being crucial.
• 🏢 Working in a digital agency for 2-5 years is advised for gaining practical experience and managing a variety of campaigns, including large accounts with significant ad budgets.
• 📝 Using tools like Google Ads optimization checklists can help streamline campaign management, ensuring the right actions are taken at appropriate intervals.

Q & A

What makes Google Ads management a highly profitable skill to master?

Google Ads management is highly profitable due to its large share of digital marketing spend, accounting for 42% compared to Meta's 22%. Despite this, there is less search traffic for people looking to become skilled in Google Ads, making it a niche with high demand and fewer competitors.

Why does Google Ads management receive less attention compared to other digital marketing disciplines?

Google Ads management falls between the creative social media management path and the highly analytical SEO and web development paths. It requires both creative and analytical skills, making it less appealing to those who strongly prefer one skill set over the other.

What are the main steps to start a career in Google Ads management today?

The four main steps are: (1) Start with Google Skillshop for foundational training, (2) Use YouTube tutorials for practical, step-by-step guidance on setting up campaigns, (3) Purchase a reputable Google Ads course, and (4) Work in a digital agency for hands-on experience.

Why is it important to work in a digital agency when learning Google Ads?

Working in a digital agency allows you to focus purely on optimizing Google Ads campaigns without the distractions of sales or client management. It also provides exposure to various industries and larger, more complex accounts that accelerate learning.

What should you consider when selecting a Google Ads tutorial on YouTube?

Ensure the YouTube channel focuses primarily on Google Ads, not a mix of digital marketing topics, and check that the tutorial was published within the last 6-12 months due to frequent updates to Google Ads and its interface.

How does Google's own training via Skillshop help in learning Google Ads?

Google Skillshop provides a solid foundation by teaching the terminology (e.g., click-through ratio, ad rank) and the auction process, but it doesn't go deep into the practical steps needed to optimize campaigns for profitability.

Why is purchasing a Google Ads course recommended, and what should you look for in a course?

A paid Google Ads course offers structured learning with more in-depth strategies. You should look for a course with an engaging instructor, up-to-date content, a money-back guarantee, and active support from the course creator to answer questions.

What advantages does learning Google Ads via a paid course offer over free resources like YouTube?

Paid courses often provide more comprehensive, structured learning, and the instructor's direct support is a valuable advantage. Additionally, paid courses tend to be more updated and specifically designed for mastery, unlike general free tutorials.

How do you know if a Google Ads course is up-to-date and worth purchasing?

Before purchasing, check if the course content is regularly updated, especially for modules on campaign setup and optimization, as Google Ads frequently changes. Additionally, verify if the instructor is actively engaged in answering student questions.

What should your next steps be after completing Google Skillshop training and YouTube tutorials?

After gaining foundational knowledge from Skillshop and practical skills from YouTube, it's recommended to invest in a paid course for advanced strategies and then apply your skills in a digital agency to gain real-world experience.

Outlines

00:00

💡 Why Google Ads Management is a Lucrative Skill

Google Ads management stands out as a highly lucrative skill in digital marketing, even as AI technologies evolve. In 2022, Google ad spend exceeded $224 billion and is projected to reach $350 billion by 2026. Despite this, Google Ads management receives less attention compared to other digital marketing disciplines like social media, SEO, and web development. This presents an opportunity for aspiring digital marketers, as the demand for skilled Google Ads managers outstrips supply. The hybrid nature of Google Ads, which requires both analytical and creative skills, makes it less popular among job seekers, but also highly profitable for those who master it.

05:01

📚 Starting a Career in Google Ads Management

To kickstart a career in Google Ads management, begin with Google's own training resources, formerly called Google Ads certifications and now known as Google Skillshop. These courses are essential for understanding the core concepts such as click-through rates, quality scores, and campaign types. However, Google's resources mainly cover the basics and stop short of advanced strategies. Beyond Google's resources, YouTube is an invaluable tool for learning how to set up campaigns. Look for channels that specialize in Google Ads, and ensure that tutorials are recent, as Google Ads frequently updates its interface and algorithms.

10:02

🎓 Selecting the Right Google Ads Course

Investing in a specialized Google Ads course can be a pivotal step in advancing your skills. Before choosing a course, it's essential to ensure you resonate with the instructor’s teaching style by watching their free content on YouTube. Also, verify that the course is up-to-date and that the instructor provides a money-back guarantee. An active and responsive instructor who answers student questions is crucial for a valuable learning experience. Access to a course can offer deeper insights and personal feedback, which free resources often lack.

15:02

🏢 Gaining Experience at a Digital Agency

Working in a digital agency is the next critical step to mastering Google Ads. This experience provides the opportunity to manage a diverse range of accounts, from small businesses to large international clients with million-dollar budgets. Agencies offer a focused environment where you can hone your skills without the distractions of sales or client management. It also allows for greater exposure to various industries and campaign types, offering a broader skillset that’s essential for success whether you plan to become a freelancer or start your own agency.

📋 Optimizing Your Campaigns: Free Checklist Offer

Aaron Young concludes by offering access to his personal Google Ads optimization checklist, designed for digital agencies. The checklist covers essential tasks, highlighting the frequency of necessary optimizations (weekly, every 60 days, etc.). This valuable resource helps ensure that campaigns are not only well-set up but consistently maintained for optimal performance. He encourages viewers to follow the link in the video description to download this checklist and invites them to explore further resources, especially regarding recent changes in Google Ads.

Keywords

💡Google Ads

Google Ads is Google's online advertising platform where businesses pay to display brief advertisements, service offerings, product listings, or videos to web users. In the video, Google Ads is described as one of the most lucrative skills in digital marketing, and Aaron Young emphasizes that it is essential for professionals to master in order to optimize campaigns and generate high income. The video discusses how Google Ads management requires a balance of analytical and creative skills.

💡Digital Marketing

Digital Marketing refers to advertising delivered through digital channels such as search engines, websites, social media, email, and mobile apps. In the script, the speaker compares different digital marketing disciplines—Google Ads, social media management, SEO, and web development—highlighting Google Ads as the most profitable but often overlooked area in the industry.

💡Google Skillshop

Google Skillshop is an online training platform provided by Google that offers certifications and courses for professionals looking to learn or improve their skills in various Google tools, including Google Ads. The video emphasizes the importance of starting with Google’s own training resources through Skillshop to learn the core concepts, such as click-through rates, ad ranks, and keyword quality scores, but it also points out that this is only the foundation and not enough to build expertise in campaign optimization.

💡Campaign Optimization

Campaign Optimization refers to the process of improving the performance of an ad campaign by analyzing data, adjusting strategies, and refining elements like keywords, ad copy, and bidding strategies. Aaron Young highlights how Google Ads managers must master campaign optimization to make campaigns profitable, stressing the importance of both creative and analytical approaches.

💡SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the practice of optimizing a website to increase its visibility on search engine results pages. In the video, SEO is contrasted with Google Ads, as both disciplines require analytical skills, but SEO is said to attract more professionals, leaving Google Ads as a more profitable and less saturated field. Aaron Young emphasizes that while SEO is technical, Google Ads sits between creativity and technicality.

💡Creative and Analytical Skills

Creative and Analytical Skills refer to the ability to combine creativity (e.g., crafting ad copy, designing visuals) with data-driven analysis (e.g., interpreting performance metrics, optimizing bids). The video explains that Google Ads management uniquely requires both skill sets, making it harder to recruit for. Aaron Young notes that this combination is why many professionals either gravitate toward creative roles like social media or purely analytical roles like SEO.

💡Ad Spend

Ad Spend refers to the amount of money invested in advertising through a particular platform. In the script, it is mentioned that Google had over $224 billion in ad spend in 2022, projected to grow to $350 billion by 2026. This highlights Google Ads' dominance in the digital advertising landscape, making it a lucrative area for digital marketers to focus on.

💡Google Trends

Google Trends is a tool provided by Google that shows how often a particular term is searched relative to total search volume over time. Aaron Young uses Google Trends data in the video to illustrate that despite Google Ads being a highly profitable area, it generates less search traffic compared to other digital marketing disciplines, suggesting a gap in the market for professionals to master Google Ads.

💡Course Selection

Course Selection refers to the process of choosing a paid course to further one's knowledge in a particular skill. The speaker encourages learners to invest in a Google Ads course as the next step after completing free resources, advising them to choose courses with active instructors who provide updated content. He also stresses the importance of a money-back guarantee as a safeguard when selecting a course.

💡Google Ads Agency

A Google Ads Agency is a company that specializes in managing Google Ads campaigns for multiple clients. The video recommends working at such an agency for two to five years to gain hands-on experience with a variety of clients and ad budgets. The speaker stresses that managing large accounts in an agency setting accelerates learning compared to freelancing, which requires juggling both client relations and campaign management.

Highlights

Google ads management is one of the most lucrative digital marketing skills due to its high ad spend, projected to grow from $224 billion in 2022 to over $350 billion by 2026.

Google dominates digital ad spend, accounting for 42% of the total in 2022, compared to Meta's 22%.

Google ads management has less search traffic for learning resources compared to other digital marketing disciplines, like SEO or web development.

The hybrid nature of Google ads management (combining analytics with creativity) makes it less appealing to job candidates, making it harder for agencies to recruit specialists.

Google ads require both analytic skills (to dive into data) and creative skills (for ad copy and design), making it a unique and sought-after discipline.

Despite the growing importance of AI, Google ads management remains highly relevant and continues to provide opportunities for high income.

Google’s official training resources, like Google Skillshop, provide a good foundation for learning the terminology and basic functions of Google ads.

Google’s training is good for learning the mechanics but lacks depth in teaching how to optimize campaigns effectively for profitability.

YouTube is a valuable resource for learning step-by-step Google ads campaign setup, but it's important to select channels focused on Google ads and with recent content (within the last 6–12 months).

It's recommended to invest in a paid Google ads course that is frequently updated and offers a money-back guarantee for better learning results.

Before purchasing a paid Google ads course, ensure that the instructor is active in answering questions and the content is regularly updated to reflect recent changes in Google ads.

Working at a digital marketing agency for 2–5 years is highly recommended to gain practical experience and exposure to different industries, rather than starting out as a freelancer.

Managing high-budget Google ads accounts (spending millions annually) offers a significantly different learning experience than handling small business accounts.

Google ads have undergone numerous changes in the past year, so it's crucial to stay up-to-date with the latest training and tutorials.

The Google ads optimization checklist helps manage recurring tasks, such as weekly optimizations and quarterly performance reviews.

Transcripts

there is no doubt that learning how to

set up and optimize profitable Google

ads campaigns is a highly sought after

skill where you can also earn a high

income and despite the fast rise of new

AI Technologies Google and Google ads is

not going anywhere soon because last

year in 2022 Google had over 224 billion

US dollars in ad spend and that is

projected to grow above 350 billion by

the year of 2026. now from my experience

of running Google ads for my own

business then building my own agency and

also Consulting to three large digital

agencies as their head of search I can

tell you that out of all the different

digital marketing disciplines Google ads

is the most lucrative and that is for

two core reasons firstly when you go and

have a look at Google Trends data you

can see that of the four core digital

marketing skills of Google ads

management social media management s SEO

management and also web development in

terms of its search history Google ads

doesn't even write so when we look at

this data you can see that Google ads

management is well done on the list

compared to those other three

disciplines and where this gets

interesting is because this is despite

Google having a much larger ad spend

especially when it's compared to social

media so last year when you look at the

comparison of Google ads management so

the amount of money that was spent on

Google ads versus the amount that was

spent on meta ads Google nearly had

double the amount of spend as meta with

Google taking 42 percent of the total

digital marketing spend whereas matter

only had 22 so you can see that's why I

believe that Google ads is the most

profitable skill to master in the range

of digital marketing because it's the

highest spending but it's also the one

that has the least search traffic for

people learning how to become a

profitable Google ads manager so we need

to ask ourselves why is this the case

and I have a strong theory on this and

this came from my experience when I was

the head of digital across some

different marketing agencies here in

Australia and when we came to employing

new staff so when I was out on the

lookout for for new stuff and going

through the interview questions there

was really two main tracks that people

wanted to go down they wanted to go down

the highly creative social media pathway

or they wanted to go down the really

analytic or technical expertise skills

of SEO and website development leaving

Google ads Management in the middle is

kind of the Forgotten discipline in

digital marketing now I do understand

this because social media ads are much

more reliant on their creative people

find that a very attractive option plus

with the people who are really highly

analytical or wanting to get really

technical I can see why SEO and website

development is more appealing to them

and Google ads has always kind of been

in the Middle where you do need to have

an analytical Edge you've got to be able

to really dive down and look at the

analytic data so that you can then

decide the best optimizer relations to

Mac and the same is true with Google ads

is you do also need that little bit of

the creative that if you've got some

good skills in ad copy and you've also

got some good skills and being able to

put together briefs on how you want your

image or your video ads to be displayed

and created it still gives room for that

Creator flare but because it's kind of a

hybrid of the two it's kind of always

been a little bit forgotten and I've

discussed this at length with different

digital agency owners and they all say

the same thing that of all the

disciplines Google ads is the hardest to

recruit for because there's just not as

many highly skilled professionals who

solely focus on Google ads and that's

why for me when I saw that opportunity I

have focused my career solely on Google

ads management and it has been a highly

successful and profitable decision so

that's why I'm encouraging you if you're

at the start of your digital marketing

journey I would encourage you to really

look at focusing on Google ads

management so now let's get back to the

question at hand of how would I start my

Google ads management career yeah if I

was starting today now just in case you

don't know who I am my name is Aaron

Young I'm from defined Digital Academy

and I'm your 15 000 hour Google ads

master and I've personally been creating

and optimizing profitable Google ads

campaigns since 2010 and when I started

way back in 2010 there weren't the same

level of resources of what they are now

when you're going about trying to learn

Google ads the only real options you had

was to use Google's own resources back

then they called it their Google ads

certifications which has now been

replaced by Google skillshot and then

the only other option was to go through

some different blogs or Reddit forums

remembering that back in 2010 YouTube

had only started in 2005 with the

partner program so that monetizing

creators only starting in 2007 and in

2010 Google ads was still very much

stuck in mashups or music videos

different comedy sketches and a very

much a new place for people to show

their Vines remember those vines that

was legitness yeah and at that stage

YouTube wasn't the highly engaged

learning platform that it is now

thankfully as we fast forward now to the

year 2023 there is much more tools for

people like you if you're wanting to

start out your very own Google ads

management career so I want to take you

through the four steps that I would

follow if I was starting in Google ads

management today and the first one would

be is that I would still start with

Google's own training as I mentioned

before this used to be called Google ad

certifications it's now called Google

skill shop now the training that Google

gives you is very good for these core

areas it firstly will teach you the

language of Google ads so by going

through their training you know the

difference between your click-through

ratio versus your keyword quality score

versus your ad rank versus your bid

optimizations and your search impression

shares versus your search impression

share top and if you have no idea what

I'm talking about that's why you need to

go and have a look at Google's training

what Google's training will also give

you some really good training about is

about how Google ADS works so how the

auction works and also it'll give you

some really good guidance on the

different types of Google ads campaigns

that are available right now while

there's some great training and I do

recommend it as the first step for

anyone wanting to get involved in Google

ads management I do want to let you know

that that's really where that training

stops it's really good for giving you

the basis it's really good for

explaining how Google ADS works and

giving you different definitions and

meanings of different skill sets and

strategies that you'll need to know when

you're optimizing Google ads campaigns

but I've never found it to be a really

highly valuable tool when it comes to

really showing you how to take that

campaign from starting and setting up a

campaign to making it an optimized and

profitable campaign so the first place

you need to start is that you need to

start with Google ads own training and

the Google skill shop resources and then

that brings us to the next step and

that's where you want to learn how to

actually set up a Google ads campaign in

the right way and the the best resource

for that is YouTube where we are right

now and that's because YouTube is a

great resource for learning how to set

up a Google ads campaign in the right

way and the reason for why it's such a

valuable tool is because many people

will give step-by-step screen share

processes so it actually walks you

through the process of how to set up

your Google ads campaign in the right

way now the only thing that I'd say with

this is that when you're selecting which

YouTube tutorial to watch I do want to

give you a couple of guidance points so

if you were to search something like how

to set up a Google ads campaign don't

just automatically go for the video with

the most views because you want to look

at two core criteria and the first one

is is you want to have a quick look at

the channel when you see the video then

actually go through to the channel and

what you want to have a look at is is

this person teaching a lot on Google ads

so it's the vast majority of their

videos on Google ads or are they

teaching you on Google ads one week and

then Tick Tock the next week then meta

ads the week after to that then they're

taking you through SEO resources or

taking you through canva tutorials while

there's nothing necessarily bad with

these types of accounts what the issue

is is that when it comes to something

like Google ads you can often be given

the wrong advice because you're dealing

with someone who's just giving you

general knowledge now I'm not going to

go through and name and change some

different channels but when I go through

and watch these tutorials I see some

really big mistakes and fatal flaws that

can be really detrimental to your

campaigns and accounts so that's the

first thing you want to go through and

focus on a channel and there's lots of

channels not just mine that do solely

focus on Google ads the second thing you

want to check is that that tutorial is

currently up to date and what you want

to be looking at is you want to make

sure that that tutorial was only

released in the last six months if you

can't find anything in the last six

months you want to make sure that it's

definitely been released in the last 12

months the reason for that is because

especially over the last 12 months there

has been so many changes in Google ads

and these changes go beyond how the

algorithm works but it also goes to how

the dashboard actually looks and as we

speak right now Google is updating the

Google ads dashboard so if you're

looking at a tutorial from 12 months ago

you're not going to be able to follow

those steps because it will look

completely different to what you're

seeing right now when you're setting up

your Google ads campaign so now that

you've gone through Google's resources

and then you've also done some campaign

setup tutorials on YouTube it brings me

to step three of where I would be going

in the resources I would be using as if

I was starting Google ads right now and

this one is where you really need to

make the decision of how serious you are

about learning Google ads and the reason

for that is because this is going to

cost you some money and the reason for

that is because the next step I would

recommend is that you go and purchase a

course now there's lots of Google ads

courses out there especially some

courses that are released by this guy

right here and when it comes to

selecting the right Google ads course

that works for you you there's a couple

of core criteria that you need to be

looking at and the first one is is that

do you actually like the instructor and

now the beauty of YouTube is that before

you come to actually investing some

money in a course you're generally going

to be able to see the instructor's

YouTube videos and you can look Beyond

how many subscribers they have or how

many views they have and really look at

the information they're providing do you

like their teaching style are you able

to learn from them you know and even

down to do you find their voice annoying

all of those little things you can

really go through and watch their

catalog of YouTube videos to find out

whether you feel like you can have a

really good instructor student

relationship inside that paid course and

then the second core question you need

to ask is what is the age of that course

and how often is it updated remember how

I said earlier that there has been so

many different changes happening in

Google ads lately if you're dealing with

a course that is four or five years old

it's actually not up to date and a lot

of things have changed now if that

course was initially released four or

five years ago that's not a problem but

you do just want to make sure and check

that the course creator has gone and

updated some different modules

especially around things like setting up

your campaign ad copy keyword selection

because those things have heavily

changed over the last couple of years

and then finally you want to make sure

that that course creator does offer a

money back guarantee and the reason for

that is just so that it safeguards your

decision you're going to invest some

money into this course so you want to

make sure that once you've purchased

that course you can get in have a bit of

a look around watch a couple of the

modules to make sure that it's

everything that their website promised

if they give a money back guarantee you

can then go ahead and buy with

confidence because you know that if you

don't like it you can get your money

back easily and then I want to bring you

to the final point I know before I might

have said that number three was the

final but there is actually a fourth and

final point when it comes to choosing

the right Google ads course and you want

to really ask how active that course

creator is in that course and can you

ask questions and more importantly will

your questions be answered now because

of the size of my personal YouTube

channel there's just so many different

questions coming in on my YouTube videos

that there is humanly no possible way

that I can answer all of those questions

however inside my paid courses I can

answer those questions every single week

so if you ask a question inside one of

my personal courses you'll get an answer

within the next week and that's what you

just want to make sure with your course

creator that before you purchase that

course just quickly ask and while you're

in that money back guarantee area so

whether that would be 24 hours one week

two weeks three weeks however long the

course creator gives you as a money back

guarantee just go through and have a

look at the comments section and see how

active the course creator is in

answering those questions because that

is one of the key differences between

things like Google skill Shop YouTube

videos and of course is that one of the

highest value elements of a course is

that you have some direct access to the

course creator where you can get your

questions answered now those first three

points of learning Google ads so firstly

through Google's own and resources then

secondly through YouTube tutorial videos

and then looking at paid courses when

you get to that point you would really

have a good understanding of how Google

ADS works you know how to set up and

optimize a campaign the next important

step is just experience and for this

fourth point my recommendation would be

to go and work in a digital Agency for

anywhere between two to five years now

the reason why I recommend this rather

than just going out and trying to become

your own freelancer which is what I did

I found that my learning in Google ads

didn't really happen until I worked in a

Google ads agency and the reason for

that is because rather than focusing on

sales and client follow-up and client

care you know staffing issues all of

those things that come in with running

your own agency or even becoming a large

freelancer you can purely just focus on

the skill of learning how to optimize

Google ads campaigns and the other great

thing about being involved in a digital

agency is that you're going to get a y

wide variety of clients from all

different areas so you're not only going

to be dealing with campaigns from

service based Industries you're going to

be dealing with e-commerce based

Industries and if you can get into a

larger Google ads agency you're going to

be dealing with some really large

accounts the first accounts that I was

managing where they were spending over a

million dollars a year was inside a

digital agency and there's a big

difference between you know managing

Google ads for a mum and dad business

where they might only be spending you

know a thousand dollars or a couple of

thousand dollars a month versus running

Google ads for large International

companies that are spending you know

millions of dollars every year on Google

ads and that's why I recommend that a

core step in learning how to master

Google ads even if you want to set up

your own agency or become a freelancer I

would highly recommend that you do spend

a couple of years working inside a

successful digital agency so there you

have it they're the four steps that I

would be using to learn Google ads if I

was starting off today and to help you a

little bit further on your journey I

want to give you access to my Google ads

optimization checklists and these are

checklists which I put together which I

use for myself and I also set them up

inside of other digital agencies so that

you know exactly how to optimize your

Google ads campaigns and it also lets

you know when you need to complete all

of those actions because with Google ads

there's optimization actions that need

to be completed every week where there's

other ones that don't need to be

completed until every 60 or 90 days and

if you want to get access to my Google

ads optimization checklist all you need

to do is to follow that link in the

description below once again thank you

for joining me it's been a pleasure

having you and if you're interested to

learn about the current changes which

have been happening in Google ads over

the past 12 months I want you to go

through and watch this video right here

once again thanks for joining me see you

later