Anyone who scores 80 % or higher on the Skillshop test earns the Google Ads certification. Google recognizes holders as experts in online advertising. It tells you little about what will happen to your account.
You have two proposals on the table. Both talk about optimizing campaigns and both point to certification. The difference only shows in how the supplier answers a follow-up question and what they send in the first report.
I'll show you how to choose a PPC specialist for your online store: how to set up account access before you sign, what to ask on the first call and which six signals are worth following up on.
Accounts and access belong to the store
Settle ownership before you choose the person. The store sets up Google Ads, Merchant Center and GA4 in its own name and gives the supplier access to them. When the engagement ends, you are the one who removes that access.
Google Ads has five access levels: Email-only, Billing, Read-only, Standard and Admin. Keep Admin for yourself. Only that level can give account access and change other users' access levels.
Merchant Center has a Read-only access level. It can view all the information a standard user can access. It can't change account configuration or product data. Merchant Center is where your product feed lives. GA4 has five roles, and the read-only one is called Viewer. It can see settings and data and change which data appears in reports. It can't edit settings.
The store decides the supplier's scope. For example: in Google Ads you give the supplier the level they need for the work. In Merchant Center you give them Read-only access and in GA4 the Viewer role. Some give the supplier edit access everywhere on day one, others widen the scope step by step.
The list of users, managers and product links shows who has access to the account today. A user with Read-only access can see it too, so you don't need Admin to check it. Go through it before you sign a new contract.
Three questions for the first call and what you should hear in the answer
Write the questions down in advance and listen for what the answer names specifically.
1. What changes the supplier has planned for the first month and who will make them
You should hear a person's name and a list of changes: conversion actions, campaign structure, feed. An example of a weak answer: "We'll go through the account and optimize the campaigns." A strong one sounds like this: "In the first week we'll reconcile the conversion actions in Google Ads and GA4. In the second week we'll go through the search terms and the feed. At the end of the month you'll get a report with the cost of sale and a list of changes."
After a month, you take that list and compare it with the changes you find in the account.
2. Which metric the work will be judged by
You should hear cost of sale or ROAS, plus the source of the number. Follow up on the third part: what happens when the numbers in Google Ads and GA4 diverge. There are usually several causes, and I break one of them down in my article on why conversions are missing from GA4. A supplier who explains the gap in the numbers up front saves you one unpleasant call.
3. What the price includes and what makes it change
The answer should name the scope: campaigns, feed, measurement and the report. Plus the basis on which the price changes. The amount on its own can't be compared with the other proposal, because you don't know what you get for it. I break down the fee models in my article on what Google Ads management costs. Ask about the model and the scope first, and only then about the amount.
The proposal and the first report: what to look for
In the proposal, look for a named scope of work and the metric the result will be judged by. A list of tools and certificates is no substitute for a scope of work. When the scope and the metric are missing from the proposal, send the three questions from the previous section in writing and save the answer. A written answer is then easier to compare with the account than your memory of the call.
The same yardstick works for a one-off job too: the difference between a paid and a free audit shows in output you can verify.
What to look for in the first report:
- numbers with the period stated and a comparison against the previous period
- the data source for every number, meaning Google Ads, GA4 or the store
- one sentence on what will change next month
Some send a PDF once a month, others a link to a live report. With me, the report is open 24/7 and we regularly go over the numbers together on a call.
Six signals to follow up on
| Signal | What to verify |
|---|---|
| Accounts held in the supplier's name | Who created the accounts and who has Admin access in Google Ads |
| Promises about positions instead of a metric | Which metric the supplier will report and where the number comes from |
| Certification and badge as the main selling point | Who on the team holds the certification and who will work on the account |
| Refused access to measurement | How much of the conversion data you will see and who set up the measurement |
| Unnamed person on the account | Their name, their role and who takes over the work while they are on vacation |
| Contract without clear termination terms | How the engagement is ended and what happens to the accounts |
One signal is a reason to follow up. Don't cross the proposal off over it until you get an answer.
Certification and the badge prove what their requirements cover. The Google Ads certification goes to anyone who scores at least 80 % on the Skillshop test. The certification demonstrates knowledge of Google Ads. The Google Partner badge rests on three requirements: the optimization score must not drop below 70 %, spend in client accounts must reach $10,000 over 90 days, and at least half of the account strategists must hold the Google Ads certification. The requirements are met at the manager account level, so the badge says nothing about the person on your account. My own answers to the questions for suppliers are on my about page.
Summary
- The store remains the owner of the accounts. Keep the three Google systems in your own name and give the supplier access to them. Keep the Admin level for yourself.
- A specific answer carries more weight than references. When neither the name of the person on the account nor a list of changes for the first month comes up on the call, ask a second time.
- Agree on the metric up front. Cost of sale or ROAS and the source of the number belong in the brief before the first report arrives.
- Certification confirms a passed test. The Google Partner badge documents the manager account's numbers. Skillshop wants 80 % correct; on top of that, Google Partner wants an optimization score that doesn't drop below 70 % and $10,000 of spend in client accounts over 90 days.
- The six signals in the table raise a question. No signal rules out a proposal on its own; it only shows where proof is missing.
- The report decides trust. The period, the comparison, the data source and a sentence about the next step tell you more about the engagement than the whole proposal.
This approach holds whether you are looking for a PPC specialist or choosing a Google Ads consultant. The decision on a supplier comes down to evidence: the account access and the first report.
Go through the list of users in Google Ads, send the three questions in writing to both suppliers and compare the answers.
