Best Google Ads Courses in 2026: An Honest Comparison

20 Minute Marketing publishes this guide and ranks its own course first for small business owners. Here is why, and where other options fit better.

Search "best Google Ads course" and you get Google's own free training, huge Udemy courses, advanced programs built for agencies and local classroom days. They are built for different people, which makes it hard to work out which one is for you.

We teach a Google Ads course ourselves, so read this with that in mind. We have tried to be straight about where other options beat ours. Prices below were checked on 24 October 2026, mostly on each provider's own page, and the sources are listed under the table. Where a provider does not show a price, we say so. Providers change prices often, so confirm before you buy.

First, work out which of the three you are

• The career builder. You want Google Ads on your CV or you are moving into a marketing role. You want an official certification.
• The advanced advertiser. You already run campaigns, or you run them for clients, and you want to scale results and stop wasting spend.
• The business owner or freelancer. You want leads from Google Ads without paying an agency, or without wasting your budget while you learn. You need the steps in the right order, not a certification.

The comparison

Our ranking

1. 20 Minute Marketing PPC Powerhouse ($149 NZD, paid once). Our #1 pick for small business owners and freelancers: short, practical lessons that cover search, Shopping, Performance Max and remarketing, and you finish by building a real Search campaign.
2. Google Skillshop (free). The best free option and the only place to earn official Google Ads certifications. Better for your CV than for your own account.
3. Institute of Digital Marketing NZ (NZ$489.99). Better if you want a short workshop run in New Zealand.
4. ClickThrough. Better if you want private training on your own account.
5. God Tier Ads (US$595). Better if you already run campaigns, especially for clients.

The best free Google Ads course

Google Skillshop, free

Google's own Skillshop training is free, self-paced and the only route to official Google Ads certifications, starting with the Google Ads Search Certification. Certifications need renewing each year.

Choose it if you want an official badge or you want to learn the product the way Google describes it. Skip it as your only course if you are spending your own money: it teaches how the platform works, not which settings quietly waste a small budget.

The big online courses

Isaac Rudansky, Ultimate Google Ads Training (Udemy)

One of the most popular Google Ads courses on Udemy: 35+ hours of video from campaign setup through to bidding strategies, with a Udemy certificate of completion. Udemy prices change constantly, so the course is often heavily discounted.

Choose it if you want depth and you have the hours. Skip it if you need to get a campaign live this month.

God Tier Ads (Ed Leake), US$595

An advanced, self-paced program with video lessons, checklists and account audit walkthroughs, often recommended in the r/PPC community and covered in this review. It is aimed at people who already know the basics.

Choose it if you manage accounts for clients or spend serious money each month. Skip it if you are starting from zero.

Google Digital Marketing and E-commerce Certificate (Coursera), US$49 a month

Eight courses over about six months. Google Ads is covered mainly in Attract and Engage Customers with Digital Marketing, about 14 hours. It is a broad digital marketing certificate rather than a Google Ads course.

New Zealand workshops and training

Institute of Digital Marketing NZ, NZ$489.99

The Paid Search Marketing Masterclass is a short, NZ-run workshop on paid search. Check the current format and dates on their site.

ClickThrough, private training

Private Google Ads training: about five hours of live training on your own account plus an account audit. Packages and prices change, so check their site.

The Knowledge Academy, NZ$3,395 + GST

A one day Google Ads course, live online or in an Auckland classroom, with the provider's own certificate rather than a Google one. Sales are common, so the list price is rarely what people pay.

Where ours fits, and where it does not

Our PPC Powerhouse Google Ads course is $149 NZD once: 12 lessons of about twenty minutes on paid search, building a campaign, free PPC tools, keyword and competitor research, budgeting, display and video, analytics, Google Shopping, remarketing and Performance Max. You finish with a portfolio brief: you build and submit a draft Google Search campaign and get feedback on it.

Do not buy ours if you need an official Google certification: Skillshop is free and is the only place to get one. 20 Minute Marketing is not an accredited institution and the course is not an NZQA qualification; it ends in a Certificate of Completion. Do not buy ours if you already manage large accounts: God Tier Ads will stretch you further.

Frequently asked questions