But be careful – NEVER enter your Credit Card information in the Google Ad Grant account. If you do, you might get accidentally charged for extra ad spend (and with a budget so large, that mistake could cost you thousands of dollars).

2. Find someone to manage the Google Ad Grant… or Google will take it away.

Google has a list of requirements for Ad Grant accounts. One of those requirements is account activity. If someone is not actively managing your Google Ads, Google can take the Grant away (and they don’t have to give it back).

This could be a consultant, Google Ad Grant Management company, or high-capacity staff member or volunteer. 

If someone in your church chooses to manage it, make sure they’re aware that Google Ad Grant Management is like a part-time job. Google is constantly making changes and you need to stay up to date on those changes… or they can permanently revoke the Grant from your church.

If you choose to hire someone outside your church, make sure they’re committed to check the account every week (if not more often). Things can change overnight and if they check it less frequently, you could lose a lot of potential $$ spend.

If your account shuts down for a week and your Account Manager doesn’t notice, you can’t get that budget back – it’s gone.

#03 – #05 are some other things to keep in mind if you hire a company or consultant 

3. When you hire someone, make sure they’re not trying to upsell you on a different product

Many companies and consultants use Google Ad Grant Management as a lead magnet strategy to get you to buy a higher priced product or service, such as a new website.

When you work with a company, dig into their pricing page to see if they offer other, related products or services. They might not tell you up front that you need something else, but if they offer higher pricing tiers or high priced website packages, it’s a good sign they’re going to try to sell you something more expensive after you sign up.

Find a company or consultant that offers a package including a website, Search Engine Optimization coaching, website review service, and Grant acquisition assistance, and unlimited customer support.

^^^ these are all common upsells that Google Ad Grant Management companies will use once you’re signed up.

4. When you hire someone, make sure they offer unlimited customer support.

There’s nothing worse than noticing a problem on your Google Ads account and not being able to get in touch with the people managing the account (okay, there are probably worse things in the world. But unresponsiveness = lost kingdom impact).

When you hire a company or consultant, they don’t know your church values, culture, and mission as well as you do. 

Make sure you hire someone who’s willing to listen and learn about your unique situation. Your church is unique and you want to hire someone who treats your account that way.

You need someone who is willing to email you, record customer support videos, jump on a Zoom call, and make themselves available regularly – not just once a month or on a huge group call with 1000+ other customers.

Look for someone who offers a support community – not just one customer service contact. Having other pastors and ministry leaders alongside you who are also reaching their communities through Google Ads will provide encouragement and support.

BONUS TIP:  Find a company or consultant who works exclusively with churches. They’ll know your market better than others and will obsess over finding the best Google Ads strategy to grow the Kingdom of God.

5. When you hire someone, make sure they’re willing to build custom ads for your church.

Many companies and consultants don’t actually create custom ads for your church – they just put cookie-cutter templates on your account.

Some companies even advertise with keywords that don’t relate to your church (like other pastor names or denomination names). This is against Google’s policies and could cause you to lose the Google Ad Grant.

Make sure you hire a company or consultant that gives you the option to request unlimited custom ads. You don’t want to miss out on advertising some of your church’s events or ministries. Make sure you find someone who’s willing to do advanced keyword research for each request.

How can Church Marketing University help?

At Church Marketing University, we help churches get new visitors every week. One of the ways we do that is through Google Ad Grant Management.