What is the difference between a Google Ads consultant and an agency?

A consultant usually gives you direct access to the person making the account decisions. An agency may have a larger team, but the person selling the work may not manage the campaign. With me, you speak with the person inspecting the account, setting the priorities and doing the agreed work. If the scope needs a specialist I do not provide, I will say so.

How much does a Google Ads consultant in Melbourne charge?

My ongoing Google Ads management starts from A$800 per month. Your final fee depends on the account condition, number of services and locations, tracking work and whether the account needs repair before ongoing management begins. The management fee is separate from the advertising budget paid to Google. I explain any landing-page or tracking work outside the monthly scope before you approve it.

Can you take over an existing Google Ads account?

Yes. I can review an existing account, keep the useful history and repair what needs attention. I do not rebuild an account simply to make it look like work has started. The first decision is whether the current structure can be improved safely or whether a controlled rebuild is clearer.

Who owns the Google Ads account and campaign data?

Your business should own the Google Ads account and retain administrator access. I need appropriate access to manage it, but I do not need to own the asset. If our engagement ends, the account history, campaigns and data stay with your business.

Can you visit our Melbourne office, clinic, workshop or site?

Yes, when an on-site visit will improve the campaign. I may need to understand how calls are answered, see the service environment, interview the team or learn why some jobs and service areas are more valuable than others. We agree the purpose and practical travel details first.

How quickly can Google Ads start generating enquiries?

Google Ads can put a business in front of active searchers quickly, but that does not make every early enquiry useful. I first check that the account is reaching the intended searches and that calls and forms are measured properly. I treat the opening period as evidence gathering, not as a guaranteed lead deadline.

Do you guarantee a number of leads or a return on ad spend?

No. Search demand, competition, prices, service capacity and sales follow-up all affect the result. I can commit to a clear scope, careful account management, transparent access and honest reporting. I will not promise a lead number or return that I cannot control.

Do you only work with businesses in Melbourne?

No. I am based in Tarneit and can meet suitable businesses across Melbourne, including the south-east, when being on site helps. I manage Google Ads remotely for suitable service businesses across Australia as well.

Melbourne-based · Direct account access

Google Ads consultant in Melbourne for service businesses.

A Google Ads consultant decides which searches are worth paying for, how the campaign should reach them and whether those clicks become useful calls or enquiries. When you work with me, I inspect the account, ask the commercial questions and make the agreed changes myself. You do not have to explain the business to an account manager who passes notes to someone you never meet.

By Ajay Dabhi · Five years helping local businesses · Reviewed 16 September 2026

01 / Evidence before the pitch

I have spent five years helping local businesses turn marketing into enquiries.

That experience has taught me to look beyond clicks. I want to know whether the phone rang, whether the enquiry suited the business and whether someone followed it up. My ongoing Google Ads management starts from A$800 per month, with the ad budget paid separately to Google.

Field note / Account review

A phone click was set as a primary conversion.

In a September 2026 review of a service-business account, I found a website conversion action whose source was phone-number clicks. Its optimisation setting was primary. The review also lacked verified paid-job or revenue feedback.

That is a useful place to start an audit: establish exactly what the account calls a result before deciding whether it needs more spend.

Evidence boundaryAnonymised configuration finding from a real account review. Client details are withheld. This example reports the finding and recommendation; it does not claim a completed repair, verified calls or improved results. It is separate from the 153-lead case study.

01 / OBSERVED

The event and the business outcome differed.

The source measured a tap on a phone number. That tap alone did not establish that a call connected, became a suitable enquiry or turned into paid work.

02 / INTERPRETATION

The report could overstate useful enquiries.

A primary action can influence bidding when its goal is used by the campaign. A phone-click count is therefore insufficient evidence for a claim about qualified leads or profitability.

03 / RECOMMENDATION

Define the goal before changing the bidding.

Document the campaign’s selected goals. Keep phone clicks as a diagnostic signal, establish a reliable call or enquiry measure, and connect it to qualification and paid-job records. Check custom goals too: they can use secondary actions for bidding.

04 / ACCEPTANCE CHECK

Prove the whole path.

The owner and measurement lead should agree controlled tests: a tap without a call, a connected call and an enquiry with a recorded outcome. Confirm each is counted only as intended, record the change date and reconcile the reporting before judging performance.

Use the same evidence-first process with your own account or current provider. The checklist includes twelve checks and a free worksheet for assigning the next action.

Use the Google Ads audit checklist

02 / Before the account

I need to understand the work before I buy the click.

An ad account cannot tell me which job keeps the crew busy for half a day, which enquiry usually becomes a quote, or why travelling to one suburb makes sense while another costs more than the job is worth. I ask about those details before I recommend a campaign structure.

For Melbourne clients, I can visit the office, clinic, workshop or site when seeing the operation will improve the work. I am based in Tarneit and travel across Melbourne by arrangement. I do not claim a second office in the south-east. I go there when a client engagement calls for it.

03 / One person who shows up

The person on the call is the person in the account.

You speak directly with me. I inspect the searches, write or review the ads, trace the landing path and decide what to change next. If I need something from your team, I ask for it directly. If the evidence is incomplete, I tell you where the blind spot is. I do not fill a report with platform activity and call it business growth.

Direct access has a practical boundary. I may be in another meeting, driving or working on a campaign when you call. You still know who owns the work, have my number and receive the answer from the same person making the decisions.

What stays with me

The commercial account review
The campaign priorities and changes
The explanation of where the budget went
The decision about what to test next

04 / Follow the money

I trace the path from search to booked work.

What did the customer actually search?

I read the search terms, not just the keyword list. That is where I find job seekers, research searches, places you do not service and work you do not want to pay for.

Did the ad make the right promise?

I check whether the ad matches the service, location and urgency behind the search. If one generic ad is trying to cover every job, I decide what needs its own message.

Did the landing page continue the conversation?

I follow the click to the page and look for the details a real buyer needs: the service, areas covered, proof, price context where appropriate and a clear way to call or enquire.

What happened after the enquiry?

I need your feedback on the calls and forms. A conversion in Google Ads can still be a poor lead. I use qualified-enquiry and booked-job feedback when the business can provide it.

This page owns the direct Melbourne consultant relationship. My Google Ads management service for Australian businesses explains the full account scope. You can also use my Google Ads cost per lead guide to work backwards from job value, or review what a service-business landing page needs to answer.

05 / How I work

I do not change the account before I know what the change is meant to fix.

01 / LISTEN

I learn the job economics.

You tell me which services matter, where you genuinely work, what a worthwhile job looks like and how quickly your team can respond.

02 / INSPECT

I review the account and the path after the click.

I check campaign structure, search terms, settings, measurement, landing pages and the way calls or forms reach your team.

03 / DECIDE

I give you an ordered plan.

I explain what I would keep, stop, repair or test first. You see the reason for the change before more budget is committed.

04 / MANAGE

I make the agreed changes myself.

For ongoing work, I manage the campaign, review the evidence and tell you what changed in plain English.

Technical references: Google Ads guidance on negative keywords and phone-call conversion tracking.

06 / Fit

I am useful when you want the account tied back to the business.

Good fit

Customers already search for your service
A worthwhile job can support paid acquisition
Your team can report which leads were useful
You want direct access to the account decision maker

Not ready yet

Nobody can answer or follow up
The service and area are still unclear
You need a guaranteed lead number
You only want the cheapest clicks

07 / Questions

Questions I would ask before hiring a Google Ads consultant.

What is the difference between a Google Ads consultant and an agency?: A consultant usually gives you direct access to the person making the account decisions. An agency may have a larger team, but the person selling the work may not manage the campaign. With me, you speak with the person inspecting the account, setting the priorities and doing the agreed work. If the scope needs a specialist I do not provide, I will say so.
How much does a Google Ads consultant in Melbourne charge?: My ongoing Google Ads management starts from A$800 per month. Your final fee depends on the account condition, number of services and locations, tracking work and whether the account needs repair before ongoing management begins. The management fee is separate from the advertising budget paid to Google. I explain any landing-page or tracking work outside the monthly scope before you approve it.
Can you take over an existing Google Ads account?: Yes. I can review an existing account, keep the useful history and repair what needs attention. I do not rebuild an account simply to make it look like work has started. The first decision is whether the current structure can be improved safely or whether a controlled rebuild is clearer.
Who owns the Google Ads account and campaign data?: Your business should own the Google Ads account and retain administrator access. I need appropriate access to manage it, but I do not need to own the asset. If our engagement ends, the account history, campaigns and data stay with your business.
Can you visit our Melbourne office, clinic, workshop or site?: Yes, when an on-site visit will improve the campaign. I may need to understand how calls are answered, see the service environment, interview the team or learn why some jobs and service areas are more valuable than others. We agree the purpose and practical travel details first.
How quickly can Google Ads start generating enquiries?: Google Ads can put a business in front of active searchers quickly, but that does not make every early enquiry useful. I first check that the account is reaching the intended searches and that calls and forms are measured properly. I treat the opening period as evidence gathering, not as a guaranteed lead deadline.
Do you guarantee a number of leads or a return on ad spend?: No. Search demand, competition, prices, service capacity and sales follow-up all affect the result. I can commit to a clear scope, careful account management, transparent access and honest reporting. I will not promise a lead number or return that I cannot control.
Do you only work with businesses in Melbourne?: No. I am based in Tarneit and can meet suitable businesses across Melbourne, including the south-east, when being on site helps. I manage Google Ads remotely for suitable service businesses across Australia as well.

Last reviewed 16 September 2026. These answers describe how I work. They are not market-wide price or performance guarantees.

08 / Next move

Show me the account and tell me which jobs you want more of.

For a first conversation, send me the website, main service, service area and whether Google Ads is already running. You do not need to share account access until we agree there is a useful reason to inspect it.

Ask me to review the account Or call me: 0485 018 893