Google reps, the unsung heroes of campaign optimisation! It’s a Google rep’s world, and we’re just optimising in it.

Google reps are the people you reach out to help optimise your campaign, and when they aren’t just recommending the info from the recommendations tab, they can provide valuable insight on how to improve your campaign, or elements you may have not considered. Much to the disbelief of a lot of agencies, Google reps are not telemarketers. Over the years, they have developed a bad rap, these reps went from being your friendly troubleshooting buddy, giving useful insight and technical support, to having a sale–first approach. Gone are the days when marketers could flaunt to their peers about scoring a personal Google account rep for their AdWords accounts, now known as Google ads.?

Even with that said, occasionally, you come across a rep who really knows their stuff and genuinely wants to get the best out of your ad campaigns, and once you’ve found a rep that ads to your campaign (excuse the pun), and brings invaluable insight, there are ways to nurture that relationship.?

For you to extract the most value from these relationships, there are three cardinal rules to follow:?

• Numbers don’t lie: Request reports.

Reps can furnish you with an industry report, a competitive benchmark report, and a housekeeper report. From this trinity of reports you can learn and have a holistic understanding of your industry - from a search perspective, growth in the industry, quarter by quarter, and yearly too. The reports also identify trends, spikes, competitive pressure, and anomalies.?

To get started, you must provide your Google rep with 5 of your closest competitors and?let them share?how your account compares to the average of those 5 competitors. The combination of these results could give you insights into the direction your campaign should take.?

• Do what you do best: Communicate.

After understanding just how they can help you and your campaign, you need to communicate the parameters of your brief, the assistance you’ll need, if any, and of course, your boundaries. Leading us to our 3rd and final (and arguably the most important one) cardinal rule, boundaries.

• Every game has rules: Establish boundaries.

At the risk of sounding like we took a page out of a self-help book, we have to warn against the dangers of a lack of boundaries. Many agencies have horror stories about Google reps overstepping. Some less credible reps are known to go over the heads of agencies and contact clients directly. This tactic aims to sow seeds of doubt in the client’s mind, leaving them questioning your capabilities or commitment to your account. Client-agency relationships are ones tethered by trust, and naturally, if a rep does this, it threatens the very nature of the relationship.

Needless to say, the only way to dominate is by having respectful and functional working relationships with everyone involved in making your campaign a success. It really does take a village, and with these rules in one hand, and pure tenacity in the other, any agency can unlock greatness and operate at an optimal level. Don’t ignore that pun.?