PPC Coach: Learn Google Ads with Protective PPC™ (Without Paying a Forever Retainer)
Most business owners running paid ads face an impossible choice: struggle alone with confusing dashboards and wasted money, or hand over thousands each month to an agency that never quite explains what’s happening. There’s a third option which is working with a PPC coach who teaches you to run profitable campaigns yourself.
This article walks through exactly how PPC coaching works, who it’s right for, and how to evaluate whether bringing in a coach makes sense for your Google Ads account.
What Is a PPC Coach (and Why It Matters for Your Google Ads Right Now)
A PPC coach helps you learn to run profitable paid search campaigns yourself, rather than outsourcing everything to an agency that keeps the keys to your own account. Think of it as the difference between hiring a personal trainer versus paying someone to exercise for you. One builds lasting capability; the other creates perpetual dependency.
I’m Sarah Stemen, a Google Ads coach, consultant, and President of the Paid Search Association with over a decade of hands-on experience in pay-per-click advertising. My focus is helping therapists, B2B and SMB advertisers understand exactly where their money goes and why.
Coaching is ideal if your business is already spending on paid ads, typically somewhere between $3,000 and $50,000 per month and you’re unsure whether that ad spend is actually generating profit. Maybe the reports look fine, but the sales team says leads are garbage. Maybe cost per acquisition keeps climbing and nobody can explain why.
The coaching model combines live calls, account audits, and “over-the-shoulder” walkthroughs so you understand every change made inside your account. No black boxes. No mysterious optimizations you’ll never comprehend.
If you want to understand a little more about how I think though problems this might be a good post to read: How the 2026 PPC Landscape Has Changed: Introducing Protective PPC™
When a PPC coach is more effective than a course or done-for-you agency:
You’ve watched free content on YouTube but can’t translate theory into action on your specific account
You’re tired of agencies sending reports you don’t understand and recommendations you can’t evaluate
Your existing campaigns are spending money but you have no idea if the traffic is actually converting into revenue
You want to build in-house capability so you’re never locked into a forever retainer again
Your team needs interactive training, not mass produced courses that were recorded three platform updates ago
The Best Way to Learn PPC: Watch, Ask, Then Do It Yourself
Most clients show up after months and sometimes years of guessing inside their Google Ads accounts. They’ve clicked buttons based on recommendations they didn’t understand. They’ve trusted agencies that promised results but delivered opaque reports. They’ve watched courses from 2019 that don’t account for Performance Max, GA4, or the latest automation changes.
Struggling with opaque agency reports and climbing costs, you can get 1‑on‑1 expert coaching or explore when to bring Google Ads in‑house to stop paying for “maintenance.”
Then they see their own account dissected live on screen, with someone explaining exactly why certain queries are eating budget without generating a single sale. That’s when confidence starts building.
The learning loop that actually works is simple: watch, ask questions, do it yourself with supervision.
Passive video courses can teach concepts, but they can’t teach you to make important decisions inside your account with your data. Coaching bridges that gap.
How real coaching scenarios play out:
Watching a live search terms review: You see firsthand which actual search queries triggered your ads over the past 30 days. Half the terms might be completely irrelevant—people searching for jobs, free resources, or products you don’t sell.
Asking why certain queries are wasted spend: You learn to spot patterns. Maybe broad match keywords like “software” are matching to “free software download” and burning $500 a month. Now you understand why the practice of negative keywords matters.
Building a negative keyword list together: Instead of copying a generic list from the internet, you create one based on your actual search term data. You learn the process so you can repeat it next month.
Every coaching call should end with specific homework inside your real account. Not vague advice like “optimize your campaigns.” Concrete tasks: restructure one campaign by tomorrow, fix conversion tracking before next call, pause three broad match terms that wasted $800 last week.
How My PPC Coaching Program Works (Built Around Your Google Ads Account)
The Protective PPC™ approach starts with risk reduction and tracking, not “get more clicks.” If your conversion tracking is broken, scaling traffic just means paying more for data you can’t trust. If your campaign structure is a mess, adding budget feeds chaos.
Protect first. Then scale winners.
My coaching breaks into three core offers, each designed for a different situation:
| Offer | Investment Range | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| One-Hour Clarity Call | $350 | Quick sanity check, specific question, deciding next steps. |
| Protective PPC™ Audit | $750 | Full diagnostic when you suspect something’s wrong but can’t pinpoint it. |
| 90-Day In-House Protocol | Custom Quote (Starting at $3,000+) | Building complete in-house capability with a defined end date. |
Typical client profiles:
Small B2B SaaS company at roughly $10,000/month in ad spend, frustrated by low lead quality
Local service business at $3,500/month, unsure if their agency is actually helping
In-house marketing team at a mid-sized company inheriting a messy account from a previous vendor
Therapists who are starting and building their practice and don’t want to feel like they are “marketing”
Agencies, I consult to alot of good agencies on their most challenging clients
All ppc coaching sessions are live screen-shares via Zoom or Google Meet. Sessions are recorded for replay. We use shared docs or checklists to track progress week by week—so nothing gets lost and you can reference decisions months later.
Protective PPC™ Audit: Your Starting Line
What it is: A flat-fee diagnostic—not a disguised sales pitch—completed within 7–10 business days after you grant access to your accounts
What gets reviewed: Campaign structure, search term reports, conversion tracking setup, location settings, bid strategies, and automation usage over the last 90 days
In depth audit reviewing covers: The entire account, not just the campaigns that look problematic on the surface
Common “automation tax” issues discovered:
Smart bidding running on campaigns with no real conversions (or fake conversions like page views)
Broad match keywords matching to completely irrelevant queries, burning 20-30% of budget
Performance Max campaigns inflating performance by cannibalizing your branded searches
“Maximize conversions” bidding strategies optimizing for form views instead of qualified leads
What you walk away with:
A written findings document covering every significant issue
A prioritized action list (what to fix this week vs. this quarter)
A 60–90 minute live walkthrough where I explain findings and answer questions
No ongoing retainer required. You get the information, you decide what to do with it. That’s transparency in practice.
90-Day In-House PPC Protocol: Build, Train, Hand Off
This is for business owners and teams ready to own their paid search internally instead of relying on agencies long term. It has a defined 90-day calendar with a clear end point, not a relationship designed to last forever.
The three phases:
Days 1–30: Account build, rebuild or repair plus conversion tracking clean-up. We fix the foundation so every dollar of future ad spend produces trustworthy data.
Days 31–60: Testing ad copy, audiences, and bidding strategies. We run experiments based on actual performance, not guesses.
Days 61–90: Documenting processes and training your team to take full control. I work myself out of a job.
Typical call cadence:
Weekly or bi-weekly live sessions of 60 minutes
Async support via email or shared workspace between calls (typically within one business day)
Real homework: negative keyword sweeps, building exact-match “winners” campaigns from proven search terms, pausing obvious waste
By day 90, you or your team should be able to run weekly optimizations and monthly reporting without ongoing coaching. Some clients schedule quarterly check-ins afterward; others fly solo. Either is fine.
Ongoing Strategy & “Second Opinion” Coaching
Designed for marketing leaders or agencies who want a senior PPC brain on call without adding a full-time director-level salary
Sessions often focus on specific decisions: “Should we trust this Performance Max recommendation?” or “Is now the right time to scale beyond branded search?”
Many clients schedule monthly or quarterly strategy calls to sanity-check budget shifts over $20k/month, new product launches, or attribution model changes
Ideal once your internal team is trained but still wants guardrails and up-to-date platform insights
Includes competitive analysis when relevant, understanding what’s happening in your market, not just your account
Who PPC Coaching Is (and Is Not) For
Coaching works best when there’s skin in the game: real ad spend, real goals, and someone responsible for implementation between sessions.
PPC coaching IS for:
Business owners spending at least $2,000/month on paid ads who want to understand where every dollar goes
Marketing managers inheriting messy accounts built by past agencies who need strategic clarity
Agencies wanting a senior PPC mentor to upskill their junior team without hiring a full-time director
Teams willing to log in, make changes, and treat coaching calls as working sessions rather than passive listening
PPC coaching is NOT for:
People who want a set-and-forget magic switch (that doesn’t exist anywhere, despite what some marketers promise)
Those unwilling to log into their accounts between calls to implement changes
Businesses with no tracking, no landing pages, and no capacity to act on personalized recommendations
Anyone expecting guaranteed results without doing the work, a costly trial of throwing money at problems without understanding them
Positivity, curiosity, and willingness to test are non-negotiables. I don’t work with blame culture. “Just make it work” without implementation isn’t a coaching relationship, it’s a fantasy.
What You’ll Learn with a PPC Coach Like Sarah Stemen
Coaching builds permanent skills: reading data, making decisions, and protecting your budget from platform quirks that favor Google’s revenue over your ROI.
Key skills covered in PPC coaching:
Campaign setup and structuring for clarity: Splitting branded vs. non-branded traffic, separating Search from Performance Max, organizing ad groups by intent rather than chaos
Keyword research that matches actual buyer intent: Finding the right keywords based on what your customers actually search, not just high volume terms that look impressive in reports
Ad copy testing: Writing and testing ads that align with search terms and landing pages—not generic messages that apply to everyone and resonate with no one
Conversion tracking fundamentals:
Setting up primary vs. secondary conversions in your account so bidding algorithms optimize for what matters
Using Google Tag Manager correctly so tracking doesn’t break every time your site updates
Identifying “fake conversions” like page views or button clicks that distort performance and trick you into thinking campaigns work when they don’t
Ongoing optimization skills:
Reading search term reports and finding wasted spend in under 15 minutes
Deciding what to pause, bid down, or move to a separate campaign
Understanding when to trust automation and when to override it
A local therapist and an e-commerce store selling t shirts need completely different strategies. Coaching adapts to your business model, not the other way around.
Fixing Ad Spend Waste and the “Automation Tax”
Ad spend waste in plain language: Budget going to irrelevant searches, low-intent users, or duplicate clicks that never convert. Industry audits consistently find that 20-30% of typical PPC budgets evaporate this way.
The automation tax: The hidden cost you pay when you let platform automations run without sufficient conversion data or human oversight. Smart Bidding, Performance Max, and auto-applied recommendations can inflate costs by 15-25% when deployed blindly.
Common red flags discovered in a campaign audit:
Broad match keywords like “insurance” or “software” with no negative keyword guardrails
Performance Max campaigns with no asset segmentation, secretly feeding on your branded searches and taking credit for sales that would have happened anyway
“Maximize conversions” bidding while tracking micro-conversions like newsletter signups instead of actual qualified leads
Location targeting set to “presence or interest” instead of “presence only,” showing ads to people who will never become customers
A good coach teaches you how to detect and fix these patterns yourself, not just patch them once and disappear until the next problem surfaces.
Building a Reliable PPC Measurement System
Without trustworthy conversion tracking, no amount of coaching or optimization will reliably improve ROI. You can’t optimize toward goals you can’t measure.
Core components of reliable measurement:
Google Tag Manager configured correctly and firing on the right events
GA4 connected to your ads account with proper attribution settings
Conversion actions in your account set with clear values and correct priorities
What happens in coaching sessions:
Live debugging of tracking: testing forms, calls, and e-commerce checkouts to ensure data matches reality
Verifying that what shows as a “conversion” in reports actually represents a qualified lead or sale
Teaching you to test your own tracking so you catch problems before they corrupt months of data
Common fixes implemented:
Removing duplicate conversions that double-count the same action
Separating micro-conversions (like PDF downloads) from macro-conversions (like demo requests) so bidding algorithms focus on what matters
Setting data-driven attribution correctly instead of defaulting to last-click
This work might feel technical, but it’s always grounded in business outcomes: qualified leads, actual sales, real revenue.
One-on-One vs Group PPC Coaching (And Why I Choose a Hybrid Approach)
The difference:
One-on-one: Deep dives into a single account, tailored to one business model, with full privacy around sensitive data
Group formats: Shared learning, Q&A, and pattern recognition across multiple industries
I structure work primarily as one-on-one coaching, with optional group Q&A or workshops when appropriate. Sensitive data, budgets, lead quality, revenue numbers, stays private in solo sessions. More general topics like “how to read a search terms report” can work in group teaching formats.
Benefits of hybrid learning:
You get personal attention on your specific account and challenges
You also see what works in other markets and verticals
Pattern recognition accelerates when you hear questions from business owners facing similar problems
Community learning surfaces issues you wouldn’t have thought to ask about
The focus is always strategic value, not vague “networking” promises.
How to Get the Most from Each Coaching Session
Preparation steps:
Come with clear goals (e.g., “reduce cost per lead by 30% in 90 days”), not vague hopes
Have current metrics accessible—don’t wait until we’re on the call to find last month’s numbers
Grant access ahead of time (read-only is fine initially for audits)
Between-session practices:
Keep a running document of questions and ideas so calls become working meetings, not vague status updates
Implement at least one meaningful change after every call—new negative keywords, updated bids, fixed conversion actions
Document what you changed and when, so you can correlate results
After making big changes:
Schedule quick check-ins after switching from manual CPC to tCPA to review early data
Don’t wait 30 days to discover a bid strategy change tanked performance
Small course corrections early prevent costly mistakes later
Show up ready to work, and every coaching call becomes a force multiplier for your next month’s strategy.
How to Choose the Right PPC Coach for Your Business
Not all PPC coaches are equal. Your platform, budget, and business model should inform your choice.
Start with clarity on your situation:
What’s your main platform? Search campaigns? Performance Max? YouTube? Facebook?
What’s your average monthly spend?
Are you B2B, B2C, or e-commerce?
What to look for:
Coaches with documented hands-on experience managing real budgets (six- or seven-figure annual spend), not just course sellers
Someone who can answer questions about current platform changes, not just strategies from 2019
Willingness to teach the “why” behind recommendations, not just deliver a list of changes
Red flags in coaching arrangements:
Long-term retainer contracts for “coaching” (true coaching should stand on value, not lock-in)
Guaranteed results before seeing your account
Bundling coaching with mandatory management retainers
Credentials and Experience That Actually Matter
Prioritize these when evaluating a PPC success coach:
Years actively managing PPC (I’ve been in paid search since 2007—that’s nearly two decades of platform evolution)
Variety of roles: in-house, agency, consultant experience provides broader perspective than just one vantage point
Evidence of strategic thinking beyond button-clicking: scaling accounts during major platform changes, navigating algorithm shifts, advising on important decisions
De-emphasize:
Certificates alone, Google Partner badges are easy to obtain and don’t indicate teaching ability or strategic depth
HubSpot Academy certifications without real account management experience to back them up
My specific background:
Former in-house marketer at Nationwide (insurance lead gen with complex compliance requirements) and BMW (high-intent luxury automotive searches)
Agency leadership experience managing multi-million dollar budgets across industries
Current President of the Paid Search Association, contributing to industry-wide best practices
Still hands-on with current platform changes: Performance Max nuances, GA4 migration, consent mode in 2026
A coach should be featured in their work, not hiding behind outdated tactics and refusing to discuss what’s changed.
Red Flags When Evaluating PPC Coaches
Warning signs to watch for:
Guaranteeing fixed ROAS or lead costs before seeing your account and numbers (nobody honest can promise specific results without data)
Refusing to explain the “why” behind recommendations, this indicates a lack of teaching focus and lack of understanding
Pushing long contracts or bundling coaching with mandatory management retainers
Only teaching one tactic (like branded-only campaigns) without addressing full-funnel demand generation
Platform and tools red flags:
Relying solely on automated recommendations without critical review
Never questioning Google’s suggestions (Google’s incentives aren’t always aligned with yours)
Ignoring conversion tracking setup early in the engagement—that’s usually where the truth of performance lies
A quality coach should be comfortable saying “no” if they’re not the right fit for your industry or ad spend level. Sign of integrity: turning away clients they can’t genuinely help.
PPC Coaching Costs: What to Expect and How to Think About ROI
Coaching is an investment in building in-house capability—not another line item that disappears when the contract ends. You’re paying for skills and knowledge your team keeps forever.
Realistic investment ranges:
| Coaching Format | Industry Price Range | The "Value Driver" (What you pay for) |
|---|---|---|
| One-Hour Strategy Session | $300 — $1,000+ |
Practitioner: Technical solving & architecture. Guru: Brand access & "celebrity" premium. |
| Full Account Audit | $750 — $2,500+ |
Practitioner: Deep forensic diagnostic (SEL/SEJ standards). Guru: High-level overview & automated tool reports. |
| In-House Build & Train | $3,000 — $15,000+ |
Practitioner: Documentation, SOPs, & transferring skillsets. Guru: "Mastermind" access & motivational mindset coaching. |
How to think about ROI:
Compare coaching cost to your current monthly spend and likely waste. If you’re spending $10,000/month and audits typically find 20-30% waste, even a 15-20% reduction quickly repays coaching fees. On a $10k monthly budget, that’s $1,500-$2,000 saved per month going forward.
Look beyond short-term gains. The skills you build reduce cost per acquisition and improve lead quality over the next 12-24 months. Email marketing, landing page optimization, and strategies for traffic quality compound over time.
How to Measure the Impact of a PPC Coach Over 90 Days
Track a small set of core metrics before and after:
Cost per qualified lead or sale (not just “conversions” that might include junk)
Percentage of budget spent on irrelevant queries (run search term reports)
Number of campaigns/ad groups with clear, consistent structure
Where early wins typically come from:
Eliminating obvious waste: turning off two or three broad-match terms that eat 30% of budget with no conversions
Fixing conversion tracking so optimization actually targets real outcomes
Restructuring campaigns so reporting makes sense and bidding algorithms get clean signals
Timeline for deeper gains:
Weeks 1-4: Waste elimination and tracking fixes
Weeks 5-8: Testing and process refinement
Weeks 9-12: Handoff preparation and documentation
Document decisions made in coaching sessions. When performance improves, you can directly link changes to specific actions—not vague “we’re doing better now.”
Meet Your PPC Coach: Sarah Stemen, Google Ads Consultant & PSA President
I’ve spent 17+ years in paid search, starting in 2007 when the industry was still figuring out what “quality score” meant and whether this whole pay-per-click thing would last. (It did.)
My path wound through in-house roles at Nationwide and BMW, where I learned that enterprise-scale campaigns demand precision and accountability. Then agency leadership, where I saw how the retainer model often traps clients in relationships that serve the agency more than the advertiser. Now I work independently as a google ads coach and consultant, focused on transparency and education.
The “Third Door” philosophy:
You shouldn’t have to choose between struggling alone with your Google Ads account or being locked into a forever agency retainer. Coaching offers a third path: learn enough to protect your own budget, make informed decisions, and hire help only when you genuinely need it.
The Protective PPC™ methodology:
Protect first: Stop waste, fix tracking, eliminate the automation tax
Then grow: Scale what works with clear guardrails and solid data
Always teach: Clients understand the “why” behind every change so they can replicate the process
As President of the Paid Search Association, I’m committed to industry standards and ethical practices—not just my own clients, but the broader community of marketers trying to do right by their advertisers.
Practice What I Preach: Live, Over-the-Shoulder PPC Coaching
All guidance is grounded in current, real-world account work. No theory from old slides. No untested ideas from demo accounts nobody actually spends money in.
How sessions work:
Live screen share of your actual account, not a generic example
Collaborative review of campaigns, search terms, and conversion data
Real-time edits when appropriate, or clear homework with step-by-step instructions you can implement before our next call
The point is confidence. I’ve watched clients go from “afraid to touch anything in the account” to “running weekly optimizations without waiting for anyone’s permission” within a few months. That’s the goal: you don’t need me forever. You build the skills to make your own decisions.
One client—a B2B services company—came in spending $8,000/month with no idea which campaigns generated actual sales. Within 90 days, they’d cut waste by 40%, fixed tracking, and started running their own search term reviews weekly. No ongoing coaching required. That’s what success looks like.
How to Get Started with PPC Coaching
Simple next-step process:
Fill out a short intake form sharing your current ad spend, main goals, and platforms (takes about 5 minutes)
Schedule a no-pressure discovery call to see if coaching, an audit, or a one-off consult is the right place to start
Grant read-only access to your accounts for an initial review before the first working session
You can start small with a clarity call if you just need to decide on next steps. Or jump straight into a Protective PPC™ Audit if you already know something’s off in your account and you’re tired of guessing.
Timeline expectations:
Typically you can have your first working session within 1-2 weeks of reaching out, depending on availability
Audit turnaround is usually 7-10 business days after access is granted
90-Day Protocol starts with kickoff scheduling within a week of agreement
What stays in your control:
You retain full ownership of your accounts—no agency logins claiming your data
No multi-year contracts
No pressure to continue beyond what’s useful
If you’re struggling to figure out whether your paid search is actually working, or you’re tired of agencies that take your money without teaching you anything, let’s talk. The goal isn’t to create dependency—it’s to give you the tools and knowledge to protect your own budget and grow on your own terms.
Ready to stop guessing? Reach out for a Protective PPC™ Audit or coaching consultation and take the first step toward understanding exactly where your ad dollars go.
