How do I learn how to manage Google Ads?

How to Learn Google Ads Yourself (and Actually Get Good at It)

If you’ve ever thought, “I wish I could just learn Google Ads myself instead of paying an agency,” — good news: you can. It’s not as complicated as it seems, especially if you follow the right order and use the right resources.

Time investment? Estimate 10-20 hrs to grasp the basics. Then another 10-20 hrs to start getting comfortable. Then it can be a lifetime of improvement because it keeps improving & changing & adding new features; i.e. Google Shopping, Google Performance Max, Youtube Ads, Display Ads, etc. 

Google Ads is powerful. Very powerful. Within minutes, you can have your ad in front of thousands of people. This is a ability that didn't exist until the internet age - but it has to be handled right to get results, it isn't just an automatic fix to your marketing. 

The first thing you need to know about Google Ads (formerly called Adwords), is that it has an 'idiot tax'. 

What does this mean? It means that if you setup the campaigns without optimising them, you can end up paying double than someone else for less results.. for example person #1 can be getting clicks for $5 each and getting 20 / day, where person #2 is paying $10/click and only getting 10 clicks a day. This is to do with a thing called "quality score" which means that Google ranks how you've setup campaigns / ad groups / ad text / landing pages / and tracks click - through - rate and conversion rate, to determine whether your offer is the best one, and if the setup & results of the other guy/gal is better, then Google will reward them with cheaper cost & more visibility because they're giving customer satisfaction, which is what Google's aiming for - it wants to ensure that users get a good & relevant experience. 

So if you don't have the time to spend to get it right, keep in mind that sometimes it's better to pay an agency to do it for you because while you might be paying hundreds (or thousands) per month, they may be saving you that in ad spend if your campaigns aren't optimised. Just keep that in mind when doing your calculations. 

Which is the second thing to note - relevancy is everything. If you are advertising what customers want, and customising all messaging around that, you'll do alright, but if it's of questionable value, Google will pick that up by the click-through-rate and the response, and downrank you. So ensure what you're advertising is relevant. 

With all that said, if you are still keen to go ahead & learn Google Ads yourself - below is one path I recommend for anyone wanting to go from beginner to confident Google Ads manager. There are many other resources but this gives you a start, and you can find your own resources beyond these once started. 

Step 1: Start with WordStream’s Free Guides

WordStream’s How to Run Google Ads

WordStream is hands-down the best place to start. Their guides break down how to set up your first campaign in plain English. You’ll get a quick understanding of how Google Ads actually works, including:

• How the ad auction and bidding system really functions

• What “Quality Score” means (and how it affects your costs)

• Step-by-step setup for Search and Display campaigns

They also have a free “Google Ads Grader” tool, which you can connect to your own account. It automatically audits your setup and gives improvement tips — think of it like a digital coach that grades your campaigns and tells you where to focus first.

Pro tip: Don’t try to master everything. Focus on Search Ads first. Ignore Display, Video, and Performance Max until you understand keyword intent and ad copy basics.

Step 2: Read the 80/20 Guide to Google Ads

The Ultimate Guide to Google Ads by Perry Marshall

The guide to Google Ads for small business owners and marketers who want to think strategically about their marketing & also find ways to maximise ROI quickly. Perry Marshall teaches the 80/20 principle in all of his training, meaning that, for example, 80% of your results will come from 20% of your keywords and campaigns, and how to use this principle to drill down & quickly identify the key levers to pull and not waste time getting results. 

This book helps you:

• Focus on profitable niches instead of wasting money on broad traffic

• Build systems for testing, measuring, and scaling ads

• Understand why your competitors are winning and how to out-position them

It’s practical, not academic. You’ll learn to think like a strategist instead of a technician.

Step 3: Level Up with Advanced Automation (Optional)

Mike Rhodes’ 80/20 Agency & AI Training

Once you’ve got your first few campaigns running and can read a Search Terms Report without sweating, you’ll eventually hit a ceiling, and that’s where Mike Rhodes comes in.

He’s one of the top Google Ads minds globally, co-author of Perry Marshall’s later editions, and a master of automation, scripting, and AI integration. His teaching is next-level — ideal if you want to manage large budgets or build automation to handle repetitive optimization tasks.

Note: This is not beginner-friendly. It’s more for when you’re comfortable with Google Ads basics and want to go deeper into performance optimization.

Step 4: Practice > Perfection

You’ll learn faster by running small experiments:

• Start with $10–$20/day and test different keyword match types (Exact, Phrase, Broad).

• Write multiple ad versions and let Google’s algorithm pick the winner.

• Check your Search Terms Report weekly — it’s the single most valuable learning tool.

Document what works. Keep a “Google Ads Journal” where you note:

• Which keywords convert

• Which ads get high CTR

• What negative keywords you’ve added

You’ll quickly start to see patterns.

Bonus: Tools & Resources Worth Using

Final Thoughts

Can't stress this one enough - ROI, ROI, ROI - track it & keep it top of mind. The cool thing about Google Ads is that you can track results much easier than most other marketing channels. Use that to full advantage, and ensure that every dollar you send out is coming back with friends.. if that isn't happening, then use all resources to hand - quality score improvements, bidding management, or tweak your landing page or offer until it does. 

For this reason, the best Google Ads experts usually started off learning 'on their own dime' which meant they had skin in the game and felt the impact personally when it didn't work. If you're on someone else's dime, respect that & treat it like it's your own money you're spending - it must return results or don't do it.