Is it time to change who manages your Google Ads?

You find yourself telling your agency about issues you’ve found in the account.

If you’re in the account poking around and you find:

• URL destination not working
• Keywords below first page bid
• Keywords with little or no conversions
• Policy violations or account suspension
• Keywords with a lot of impressions and little to no clicks
• Keywords that have spent a lot of money with no conversions

Any signs of large-scale neglect are an issue. You can always check the “change history” to see how much actual management is happening within the account. Don’t fall for “the account is new” and it takes time. This is only partially true. Even while you’re waiting for things to ramp up there will be irrelevant terms that pop up that should be added as negative keywords. There is also a lot of keyword bid adjustments that happen when a new ad group is launched.

If you’re not seeing any management for 30 days it’s not a good sign. You’re paying for management if you’re not getting it – cut them loose.

The agency changes account managers frequently

If every month you have a new person managing your account it’s a major red flag. This means their internal turnover is high. This can lead to them hiring people with less experience in order to fill vacancies and that’s not good for your business. You want a manager that understands your specific needs and a good account manager becomes great at managing your account the longer they are optimizing it. Every manager has their own style and too many hands in your account could make performance much worse. 

You’re not receiving monthly reports

This is one I hear too often. You’re paying for management, it’s only fair that you receive a report on the performance of your account. The report should include how the account performed over the previous month as well as the last 13 months. You’ll also want to know if things didn’t perform well, why.

There should be a plan of action for the next month to expand on what worked and a strategy to fix what hasn’t done well. Your management fee includes strategy – every month. 

Costs have increase but leads have not

Are you noticing that the cost per sale / lead is increasing? Your management person or agency should be addressing these concerns in the reporting they provide you. If it’s not brought to your attention it means they aren’t concerned or they hope you don’t notice. The absence of reporting is a clear sign that it’s probably happening in your account. 

It’s hard to get a hold of the person in charge of your account

Regardless of whether you work with an individual or an agency communication should be reasonable. The same business day is important to some business owners while 24 hours works for others. However, if it takes more than one business day to get a response it may mean they are too busy to address your concerns. I’ve spoken to business owners that wouldn’t hear from their management company for an entire week. 

A major warning sign you should not ignore

There are so many great agencies and managers that do a fantastic job at managing ads. However, for every great management company that are at least four horrible and dare I say shady companies. If you’re current agency is doing any of the following I would cut ties with them ASAP. If any company you plan to work with in the future operates this way do not work with them.

Your agency doesn’t use your Google Ads account.

A shady practice is when an agency doesn’t use your account or doesn’t tell you that you need to have your own Google account. What they end up doing is adding a campaign to their own account. This is a huge problem for a number of reasons.

1. Most of the time the agency will not provide you with the data in the account. This means that the ad groups, settings, negative keywords will not be given to you. You’ll have to start all over – from scratch.
2. This type of set up also means you will not be paying Google directly. This allows the shady agency to hide how much you’re spending in Google Ads and how much is going to them. Agencies who give an “all in” cost never report on the amount of money going into their pocket versus Google.
3. You won’t be able to login and view the account at all. Why would you pay someone to manage something you yourself can’t even view?

Always have your own Google Ad account and grant access to users using their email. Never give anyone your login information. This ensures you stay in control of your valuable data!

Misconceptions about Google Ads management

Cheap management isn’t best. Many times, if you’re paying “cheap” $300 PPC management chances are no one is going to manage your account. 

You’re not just paying for the time an account manager spends in the account but also the experience of the account manager. Someone who is willing to charge you $300 to manage an account may not have enough experience to confidently run your campaigns. 

Other times agencies are counting on you not expecting much for what you’re paying for and therefore neglect the account. There are many great management companies and managers out there. It’s important to look at results and not just the management cost. 

✅ How to justify paying a management fee

Some business owners feel that paying a management fee isn’t worth the expense. I’m here to tell you that it is and for the right reasons.

• If done properly you’ll be profitable and generated more leads and sales for the same or less advertising budget.
• You’ll free up more of your time to work on other aspects of your business.
• If you save money, generate more business, and free up more of your time the management fee is worth it.

If you feel your account is not being managed well you can reach out to me for a free Google Ads account audit. When I conduct an audit, I’ll identify issues ranging from poorly structured campaigns and irrelevant keywords to lack of basic account set up. I’ll even point out any lack of ongoing management.