Ongoing Digital Marketing Consultant – Google & Meta Ads, SEO/GEO, Email for DTC & Trade Brand

Project Overview

We are an integrated agency that specializes in working with home and garden products and several other allied sectors. We are launching a new DTC brand to Consumers (Shopify) and to the trade in 2026. We are looking for a seasoned digital marketing consultant to help us design, implement, and optimize the performance marketing and lifecycle marketing components.

Our in-house team will lead strategy, creative, and client communication. We’d like a partner with deep hands-on expertise in:

• Google Ads (Search, Performance Max, Shopping, Display)
• Meta Ads (Facebook / Instagram)
• SEO and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) (including expertise with on-page/off-page/technical SEO, Keywords, Search Rankings, etc.)
• Email marketing (platform setup, flows, and optimization)
• Customer journey / marketing funnel strategy and analytics

This will be an ongoing, monthly engagement; we anticipate recurring work and regular collaboration. - This will be a retainer-style arrangement in that the number of hours may vary based on the contractor's experience level.

We intend to turn over the management of Google Ads to the chosen contractor while working with the contractor on consultation and optimization for the remainder of the above items.

NOTE: We are seeking a consultant/freelancer able and willing to clearly and flexibly participate as follows:

• Tag-team the above types of digital marketing/digital advertising activities with members of our agency team.
• Serve as an experienced and professional consultant with plenty of clear communication and quick responses (within 24 business hours) and proactive emails to/with us.
• Collaborate with our team via virtual meetings, with weekly meetings within the month’s retainer payment.
• Administer ample service and consultation each month to connect/work, advise, and meet with us in a two-way style of collaboration versus working in a silo and only connecting with occasional one-way updates to us.
• Send weekly updates to us, with concisely listed items to include “Completed this Week” and “Planning for Next Week” for each of the numbered 4 Scope categories below in bulleted lists. These can be short to the point as long as clear.
• Be well-spoken, professional, and available / active on email and for scheduled virtual meetings in U.S. Eastern Time Zone hours.
• U.S.-based preferred.

The monthly retainer will be $1,500 to $2,000 based on experience and qualifications for the chosen freelancer.

Note: Since our team will tag-team and/or assist you with the activities, your role would be participatory, guidance and collaboration vs. managing all of the activities completely on your own. This is part of how we have identified our retainer budget above. - There is also a potential opportunity to increase or supplement the retainer amount in select months, depending upon evolving needs. Especially during the months of: February – May

________________________________________

Scope of Work

1. Google Ads & Meta Ads Strategy + Execution

• Audit or help set up new Google Ads and Meta Ads accounts for the client.
• Propose campaign structure for full-funnel marketing (awareness, consideration, conversion, retention) for both consumer and trade audiences.
• Build and/or refine campaigns, including:

o Campaign and ad set structure

o Keyword strategy, match types, and negative keywords (Google)

o Audience targeting and lookalikes (Meta)

o Creative testing plans (ad copy, images, video hooks)

o Budget allocation and bid strategies

• Set up conversion tracking and UTM parameters (in coordination with our team’s work in GA4 / Shopify).
• Provide ongoing optimization recommendations: bid and budget adjustments, query pruning, audience refinement, creative tests, and landing page suggestions.
• Assist in reporting set up.
• Deep experience in Google Looker Studio or other Reporting Dashboards is helpful.

2. SEO & GEO Strategy Support

• Assist in consultation on how to optimize existing strategies.
• Provide guidance on technical SEO priorities (site architecture, schema for products, core web vitals, mobile experience), with action lists our team and developers can implement.
• Help us structure content and FAQs so the brand is well-positioned for AI-driven / generative search results (GEO), including Chat GPT, Claude, and Google’s Gemini AI overviews.

3. Email Marketing & Lead Nurturing

• Recommend an email platform appropriate for a growing DTC + trade brand (e.g., Mailchimp, HubSpot, Klaviyo, etc.) and assist with initial configuration. We are leaning towards HubSpot as a priority because that is what we have the most experience with. MailChimp is a second runner-up consideration.
• Advise on domain authentication and deliverability best practices.
• Help Co-design or help outline key flows and campaigns:

o Welcome / first-purchase incentive sequence

o Educational drip sequences

o Abandoned cart emails (once Shopify site is live)

o Post-purchase and review-request flows

o Trade lead nurturing sequences

o Note: HTML email template creation is not required for this scope, but collaboration on some concepting ideas may be required.

4. Analytics, Reporting & Monthly Consultation

• Ensure proper measurement and attribution setup across Google Ads, Meta Ads, GA4, and the email platform.
• Define the core KPI set for launch and steady-state phases (e.g., ROAS, CPA, CTR, CVR, list growth, LTV indicators, organic traffic growth).
• Co-design with our team a simple but clear reporting format (slides or shared doc) that we can review together monthly and share with the client. We are open to adding a dashboard reporting platform to our technology stack if needed.
• Join a standing weekly call (and occasional ad-hoc calls) with us to walk through results, insights, and next-step optimization priorities.
• Send weekly updates to us, with concisely listed items to include “Completed this Week” and “Planning for Next Week” for each of the numbered 4 Scope categories below in bulleted lists. These can be short to the point as long as clear.

________________________________________

Key Deliverables

Examples of key deliverables

1. Audit & Setup Pack

o Written audit (or setup summary) of Google Ads, Meta Ads, and measurement stack, including key risks and quick wins. We are starting from the ground up.

o Tracking and UTM framework recommendations.

2. Channel Roadmaps

o Test & optimization roadmap for Google Ads and Meta Ads.

o Email marketing roadmap (platform choice, must-have flows, launch order).

3. Campaign & Structure Documentation

o A clear outline of campaign & ad group structure, audience definitions, and naming conventions.

o Keyword map and negative keyword framework.

4. Ongoing Monthly Output

o Short written performance summary and recommended optimizations across ads, SEO, and email.

o Prioritized task list for the following month.

5. Weekly

o Weekly virtual meetings.

o Weekly Update Reports

Estimated ad spend will range from the low end of $90K to $180K for Google and Meta combined for the year.

Ideal Experience & Skills

• 5–7+ years hands-on experience managing Google Ads and Meta Ads for e-commerce or DTC brands (home & garden, outdoor, landscape products, or similar verticals is a plus).
• Proven track record improving ROAS, lowering CPA, and growing qualified traffic and revenue.
• Strong understanding of SEO foundations and at least working familiarity with GEO / AI search (e.g., how to structure content for AI summaries and overviews).
• Experience planning and implementing email flows and campaigns, not just one-off newsletters.
• Comfortable working inside or alongside Shopify, GA4, Google Tag Manager, and Google Search Console (you don’t need to be a developer, but you should know what to request and how to Q&A).
• Excellent written communication and comfort collaborating with a team; you will be our behind-the-scenes specialist rather than the primary client contact.
• Availability for ongoing, monthly work (ideally, we would like this to be a set monthly fee for the services).

Bonus points for

• Experience with affiliate marketing or influencer / creator-driven campaigns.
• Experience supporting B2B/trade segments alongside DTC for the same brand.

________________________________________

How We’ll Work Together

• All work is remote.
• We will also need to create a white-labeled agency-branded email address for you for login and access. We’ll likely need to do the same thing with a Gmail account for access.
• We’ll collaborate via the Upwork platform, through email and video calls; we may even grant you access to our Microsoft Teams so you can have easy access to us.
• We’ll provide a detailed outline, brand background, and any existing account access after NDA / contract.
• We are looking for a long-term, practical partner who can help us make smart decisions and keep campaigns moving and improving each month.

________________________________________

Application Questions

When you apply, please answer these questions in your proposal:

1. Briefly describe a recent project where you managed both Google Ads and Meta Ads for an e-commerce or DTC brand. What were the goals, and what results did you help achieve? Provide detail, 2-3 different types of created ad assets, 2-3 reports you provided to your client, etc. for the same case study.

2. When you start with a new account, what are your first 3–5 steps in the first week?

3. How would you structure a simple full-funnel setup (campaigns + audiences + messaging) for a brand-new DTC product with limited historical data?

4. What KPIs do you monitor weekly vs. monthly for:

o Paid media

o SEO

o Email marketing

5. Have you implemented any tactics related to GEO / AI search optimization (e.g., for Google’s AI overviews or other generative search features)? If so, please describe.

6. Which email platforms do you prefer for small but growing e-commerce brands, and why?

7. Please share an anonymized example of performance improvements you’ve driven (e.g., ROAS, CPA, organic traffic growth, list growth, or revenue impact).

8. Do you have the bandwidth and availability to be readily available, as this product has a February launch, so we will begin working immediately after the contractor's selection.

9. What U.S. state and time zone are you in, and what is your availability for a recurring weekly call with our agency team? More calls in the beginning will be needed for set up. See “Weekly” items listed above.