Finding Someone to Manage Your Search Adverts
Paid search puts adverts in front of people searching online for something you offer. A specialist can help choose the searches, write the adverts and manage the budget. They should explain the work clearly and help you see whether it brings worthwhile enquiries or sales.
Updated: 7 September 2026.
Would search advertising suit your business?
It can be useful when people already search for your products or services. Before spending, think about which customers you want, the area you cover and how you will respond to enquiries.
Your website also needs to explain what you offer and make it easy to contact you or buy. If you need help with that first, see our guide to choosing a web designer.
Explain what you want help with
Tell the specialist what you sell, which jobs or orders are most useful to you and roughly what you earn from a sale after costs. Say how much work you can take on and what you can afford to try.
You do not need to know how to set up an advertising campaign. Ask them to explain their recommendation, including the budget and any work needed on your website.
Understand what you are paying for
There are usually two costs: the money paid to the advertising platform and the fee for managing the adverts. A specialist might charge a fixed monthly fee, a percentage of advertising spend or a separate setup fee.
Ask what is included: writing adverts, checking results, changes to the website, calls with you and help recording which enquiries came from the adverts. Check the notice period and any extra charges.
Agree what a good result would look like
More clicks do not always mean more customers. If you are a plumber, for example, useful enquiries might be calls about jobs you can do in the area you cover.
Ask how the specialist will check which calls, forms or orders came from the adverts. Agree how you will tell them whether those enquiries became customers. This helps you decide whether the spending is paying for itself.
Questions to ask before hiring
- Have you worked with a business like mine?
- What would you do first, and why?
- What is your fee, and how much would we spend on adverts?
- How will you show me which enquiries or sales came from the adverts?
- How often will we review the results together?
- Can I access our advertising account and keep it if we change provider?
The business should own the advertising account and be able to access it. Agree who owns any website pages, advert designs or call-tracking phone numbers created as part of the work, and what you receive when the arrangement ends.
Start with an amount you can afford to test
Agree a spending limit and a review date before the adverts begin. Ask what the specialist expects to learn and what would lead them to change the adverts or recommend stopping.
Be cautious about guaranteed sales or returns offered before someone has understood your business. Clear explanations, access to your account and useful reports are better grounds for a working relationship.