How to work with an agency to manage your Google Ad Grant account

Google permits nonprofits with Ad Grants to work with third-party account managers. There are many potential benefits of hiring someone who knows what they're doing.

How to choose an agency to work with

Before hiring, ask them what results they would aim to deliver. If they want to discuss real-world benefits, focusing on conversions, and furthering the nonprofit's mission, great: ask them further questions about how they would measure ads' results. But if their answer is simply that they'll help you spend the grant budget, be skeptical about their skills.

Don't get tied into a long-term arrangement if you haven't yet established trust. A rolling month-to-month contract is usually better in the early days.

Google Ad Grants Certified Professionals

There is an official directory of Google Ad Grants Certified Professionals at google.com/grants/get-help/certified-professional-agencies. They have been assessed by the Ad Grants team to have in-depth knowledge of Ad Grants policies and best practice, and have proven skills in account management. Be aware that some agencies have started using similar wording that makes it sound like they are actually certified professionals when they're not, so always check they're in the directory.

The certified professionals directory has not opened to new applicants in several years, so there are some great agencies and freelancers who are not in it that ought to be.

Google Partners

Google Partners are agencies and freelancers with Google Ads knowledge and experience, but not specifically in Ad Grants.

There are agencies that pretend to have partner status. To confirm a partner's status, look for a Google Partners logo displayed on the agency's website; when clicked, it should take you to their entry in the partners directory. The url should be in this format: google.com/partners/agency?id=0000000000. You can also find them by searching partnersdirectory.withgoogle.com.

Not all agencies don't think the Google Partners program is worthwhile. Some agencies state that they're proud to not be included in it.

Certified in Google Ads

You might be approached by individuals who have certifications in Google Ads and other Google products. This means they have passed some basic exams on skillshop.withgoogle.com, the answers to which are freely available online; it doesn't prove they have the experience necessary to actually manage an account.

By the way, Skillshop has several free training courses for Google Ads and Analytics that you might find useful. Unfortunately, they don't have an Ad Grants course.

Microsoft Advertising Partners

Microsoft has a similar program to Google Partners, see their directory or partners here: about.ads.microsoft.com/en-us/resources/microsoft-advertising-partner-program/partner-directory. Could be useful if you're looking for someone with Microsoft Ads experience. There is a filter for partners with experience of working with Government/Non-Profits.

Recommendation and referral

The best way to find an agency or freelancer: a positive recommendation and referral from a nonprofit that's hired them to run successful ad campaigns.

How to give an agency access to your Google Ads account

A reputable agency will request access to your Ad Grant account via what's called an MCC (manager's account). You won't need to manually add them as a user. They will ask for your Customer Id Number, which is visible at the top of your Ad Grant account in this format: 000-000-0000; they then use that to request access, after which you receive a request by email which you can approve. The request will also appear as a notification at the top of Google Ads.

Every Google Partner and every agency in the Ad Grants Certified Professionals program should use an MCC.

If they say they want to run the ads in an account that they themselves own and not your own account, then don't work with that agency. That's not possible with Ad Grants and even if it was, would be a Very Bad Idea.

You should retain ownership of any tool accessed by a third party, and retain all intellectual property of any work done on your account.

To see if any agencies currently have access to your account, navigate to Admin > Access & Security and click the Manager's tab, You can revoke their access at any time by using the Remove access link.

They will also need access to Google Analytics

Ask the agency what level of access they need to your account. Most likely they will want editing permissions at property level, but if you have multiple websites then they many need access at account level. Never give them permissions to edit or add other users. See support.google.com/analytics/answer/9305788.

They might also ask for access to Google Tag Manager, Google Search Console, your donation platform, or your website CMS. Establish trust and boundaries before giving access.

Have oversight

Learn at least the basics of how Google Ads works, so that you can monitor the agency's performance and know what questions to ask.

Schedule regular meetings; could be weekly, monthly or quarterly depending on the scope of work.

You can set up reports in Google Analytics, or in a product such as Google Looker Studio, to report evergreen and one-off ad campaigns' results. The agency may be able to do this as part of their role.

Login to the account regularly to check spend and conversion numbers, as well as quality metrics like Click Through Rate (CTR) and Conversion rate.

If you have concerns about how much work is being done and by who and when, and what changes have been made, refer to the Change history report in Google Ads, see support.google.com/google-ads/answer/19888.

If your account is suspended, ask the agency to explain why. Do not immediately assume it's their fault However, if a third party does something wrong to cause your account to be suspended, Google will hold you accountable and generally you won't be able to use the excuse that someone else messed it up.

Which agencies would I recommend?

If you need a one-off training or consultancy session, then book one with me. But if you need ongoing management of your Ad Grant then I would recommend one of these agencies, based on my knowledge of their skills and approach.

If your nonprofit is in the UK:
UpriseUp, Platypus Digital, or Jason Williams

If your nonprofit is in the US:
Cause Inspired Media, or Kinsey Street