16 Years Of Experience With SEO & Google AdWords PPC. Google AdWords Certified. Have Consulted For Start-Ups, Small Businesses & Multi-National Corporations.
It has always been an unwritten Google Best Practice to bid on your competitor's brand names unless it is trademarked, Google does forbid having a competitor's name in your AdWords ad,
I would think the fair market value for a Google AdWords Certified consultant is $50-$125 per hour. I would avoid anyone who wants to bill you on a monthly retainer with a locked-in contract.
I have been doing on-site, & off-site SEO for over 12 years. I have also been using Google AdWords for 12 years as well and I am AdWords Certified. I am currently an AdWords, SEO and WordPress consultant with about a dozen clients.
I would check out moz online. They have a great new learning center. https://moz.com/learn/seo