Choosing a Google Ads agency is harder than it looks, because most accounts look fine from the outside. Campaigns run, clicks arrive, a report comes every month. The difference between a careful agency and an expensive autopilot shows up in the details: which searches your money is spent on, what Google is being told counts as a conversion, and how often anyone actually opens the account.
Here are the eight checks we would make before handing over a Google Ads account, including to us.
Eight checks for a Google Ads agency
1. The account stays in your name. The agency should get access to your account through its manager account, not run your spend from an account it owns. If you part ways, the history, data and learnings stay with you. Who owns your ad account explains why this matters.
2. They talk about search terms, not just keywords. Keywords are what you bid on; search terms are what people actually typed. Ask how often they review the search terms report and how they handle negatives. Our negative keywords audit shows what that work involves.
3. Conversion tracking is checked first. If Google is counting page views or button clicks as conversions, Smart Bidding optimises for the wrong thing. A good agency audits tracking before changing anything else.
4. They have a view on Performance Max. It can work well, and it can quietly spend on your own brand name and low-quality placements. Ask how they would control it; Performance Max brand exclusions covers the main issue.
5. The account structure is simple. Fewer campaigns with enough conversions to learn beat dozens of tiny ones. Google search campaign structure describes what good looks like.
6. The landing page is part of the job. Clicks to a slow, vague page waste money however well the campaign is built. Ask whether they will work on the page.
7. The fee is clear. A percentage of spend, a fixed fee or a hybrid. Each has trade-offs; Google Ads management cost compares them. What matters is that you understand the incentive.
8. The report leads with business results. Enquiries, sales, cost per customer. Not impressions, clicks and click-through rate on their own.
How much attention a Google Ads account needs
Search accounts drift: new search terms appear, competitors change bids, conversion rates shift with the season. An account that is looked at properly a few times a week behaves very differently from one reviewed monthly. Ask who will be in the account and how many others they manage.
The first thirty days with a new Google Ads agency
A tracking audit, a search terms clean-up, a structure plan, and a written list of the first changes with dates. If the first month is only "learning the account", ask what specifically is being learned.
Our Google Ads page describes how we manage search accounts, and the free audit will check an existing account against the list above.
Questions people ask before hiring
What should I look for in a Google Ads agency?
An account kept in your name, regular search terms reviews, conversion tracking checked first, a simple account structure, attention to landing pages, a clear fee, and reports that lead with enquiries or sales.
How much do agencies charge for Google Ads management?
Models vary: a percentage of ad spend, a fixed monthly fee, or a fixed fee with a performance bonus. Compare what the fee buys in attention and scope, not just the headline number.
Should a Google Ads agency use Performance Max?
Where it fits, with controls such as brand exclusions and a close watch on where it spends. An agency that uses it everywhere without controls, or refuses it outright, has not thought it through.
How often should an agency check my Google Ads account?
Several times a week for active accounts, with a search terms review at least weekly. Monthly check-ins let wasted spend build up unnoticed.