What Are the Fees to Hire A Google Shopping Consultant?

Hiring a Google Shopping consultant is one of the best investments you can make for your business as you run Google Ads campaigns. And the fees for this vary and depend on factors such as experience, pricing model, scope of work, industry demands and so on.

Many businesses recognise the need to hire a Google Shopping consultant to achieve their advertising goals. But before choosing a Google Ads expert, you should assess your budgets, goals, business needs and so on.

In this article, I’ll explore the fees associated with hiring a Google Shopping consultant and the value they bring to your business.

 

1. The Role of a Google Shopping Consultant

A Google Shopping consultant is a Google Ads expert that works on your Shopping campaigns to improve their performance and drive sales for your business while achieving a good return on ad spend.

They will set up your campaigns so you can realise the best results for your advertising budgets. And then they will manage, monitor and optimise them regularly to boost performance.

Some of the work done by a Google Shopping consultant includes:

– creating a product feed in Google Merchant Centre (GMC)
– updating product details in line with Shopping policy requirements
– adding new products as your website inventory grows
– linking your Google Ads and GMC accounts
– analysing performance metrics in Google Ads and GMC and more.

 

2. Pricing Models for Google Shopping Consultant

a. Hourly rates

Many Google Shopping consultants charge an hourly fee for their services. The rate depends on various factors like their experience, expertise and skills and the complexity of your campaigns and goals. And this can be a good option if your business requires occasional assistance or if you’re on a tight budget.

The hourly rate also depends on whether you will be working with a Google Ads freelancer or a Google Ads agency.

On average, freelancers charge £56 per hour and agencies charge £86 per hour. But this will of course depend on many factors.

b. Monthly retainers

It’s easier to find a Google Shopping consultant that works on a monthly retainer. This is the model many consultants prefer because it is predictable and there is little change in what they charge each month, and it helps them to plan effectively. This also helps you as an advertiser to know what you’ll pay each month so you can budget effectively.

Monthly retainer is for Google Ads management services for Shopping, Search, and other campaign types. And this often includes deliverables such as campaign optimisation, reporting, and strategy planning.

The fees for this depend on several factors and this usually starts from £450 per month and can be much higher for larger accounts with many products to promote that need a lot of optimisation.

c. Performance-based fees

Performance-based pricing has become more popular because businesses want to save money while rewarding good performance and boosting their sales. This is now more possible because of the capabilities of online tracking of sales which a Google Shopping consultant can do for you.

The Google Shopping consultant’s compensation is tied to the success of the campaigns, such as a percentage of the generated sales or a predefined return on ad spend (ROAS) target.

 

3. Factors Affecting Google Shopping Consultant fees

There are several factors that determine the fees of a Google Shopping consultant, and I’ve included the main ones below:

a. Expertise and experience

A Google Shopping consultant with many years’ experience and expertise in Shopping campaigns will usually charge higher for their services, than other Shopping experts.

And their expertise and insights can potentially lead to better results and increased revenue for your business.

b. Scope of work

The complexity of the work will determine the Google Shopping consultant’s fees. If there are thousands of products to be uploaded through a feed and a lot of optimisation work required to get them approved and set up correctly in Google Ads, then this will cost more than usual.

So, if you are a larger business with an extensive product catalogue or you require a complete campaign overhaul, this will likely incur higher fees.

c. Client industry

Some industries are more competitive, because there may be many competitors selling similar products, pushing prices lower. This will require more work and expertise to achieve a good return on ad spend from the Shopping campaigns.

So, a Google Shopping consultant working in a highly competitive niche may charge more due to the extra effort required to achieve results.

d. Consultancy reputation

A reputable and well-established Google Shopping consultant will charge a higher fee for their services. This is because of their brand recognition, positive testimonials and the quality work they’ll have produced for clients over the years.

You can find a reputable Google Ads expert by searching online and usually the ones that appear at the top organically and in the paid listings are the most well-established.

e. Geographic location

The location of a Google Shopping consultant also determines what they charge for their services. If there is a lot of regional demand for their services then they are likely to charge higher rates in line with that.

 

Conclusion

So, these are the fees to hire a Google Shopping consultant and the factors that contribute to them. But this will vary from one Google Shopping expert to another, so you need to find out what you get from their services.

Thanks for reading the article. I’m a Google Ads specialist and I’d be happy to help you run effective shopping campaigns. Reach out to me to discuss.