Onboarding New Google Ads Clients

So, you just signed a NEW Google Ads client. The first four weeks of your relationship with your new client are crucial, as they will either lower or increase the expectations your client has of you.

In this article, I'll guide you through the important onboarding actions you need to take. While this guidance is tailored for Google Ads, the actions can be applied to any new client. Just replace the Google Ads parts with the relevant service you're offering, such as Meta, TikTok, SEO, or others.

Before delving into the practical steps, let's focus on the most important goal: building confidence.

Your aim is for your new client to be confident that:

• They've made the right decision in choosing you.
• You know what you're doing.

Establishing this confidence within the first four weeks is crucial because at some point during the client relationship, issues may arise. By building goodwill from the start, you'll ensure that any inevitable problems down the line don't become reasons for termination.

When onboarding a new client, I divide the process into these areas:

• Expectations of Results: This covers the actual outcomes of your Google Ads campaigns. Hopefully, you've already set realistic expectations, including the potential 60-day breakeven period. At the outset, I recommend creating a roadmap for success.

The best approach I've found is to schedule a 90-day strategy review call during the launch. This allows me to:

• Clearly communicate the tasks for the first 90 days.
• Inform them that after 90 days, we'll review the results in-depth and plan the next 90 days.

👉 Client Reporting Done The EASY Way for Google Ads

These review meetings also provide an opportunity to renegotiate your management fee based on outstanding results. Bonus clauses can be added to increase your payment for achieving specific outcomes.

• Expectations of Communication: Define when and how you'll communicate with the client. Uncertainty about communication timing is frustrating for clients. While each client's needs may differ, a general guideline I follow is:

• Initial launch meeting
• Scheduled monthly reporting/meetings
• Quarterly strategy meetings

Between meetings, I supplement communication with weekly or fortnightly Loom video updates. Loom videos are effective because they're concise (around 5 minutes), offer proof of your work, reinforce your strategy, and provide updates on results, whether positive or negative.

Now that we have set those expectations I want to get into the practical:

The practical steps of onboard a new client  

• Set up or get access to 
• Google Ads
• If you are setting up an account on behalf of the client make sure that you have the payment profile set in their name
• Google Analytics
• Google Tag Manager
• Google Business Profile
• Google Merchant 
• Website 

• Confirm the invoicing or payment schedule 

• For Google Ads client pays the Google Ads bill
• Then I invoice for my services
• So 2 invoices

• Complete your Campaign Research 
• KW research
• Ad Copy writing
• Set up campaign shells

• Get the clients final confirmation of the campaign set-up & budget

• Start the campaign 

Starting the campaign successfully involves having an optimization plan in place.

Remember, these steps will help you establish a strong foundation for a successful client relationship.