How to Choose a Google Ads Agency: 7 Criteria, 5 Red Flags
Every agency says “let’s grow your account,” shows its certifications and sounds convincing. So who gets your ad budget — and how would you know? 🔍
How to choose a Google Ads agency isn’t a technical exam; it’s evidence-reading. The right agency starts with an audit, shows its measurement format up front, and proposes that the account open in your company’s name without being asked.
This guide gives seven criteria, six interview questions and five red flags. Walk into the meeting with this page. 🪑
The 7 Criteria for Choosing a Google Ads Agency
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- Criteria 1-2: audit and data
- Criteria 3-4: sector and scale
- Criterion 5: fee transparency
- Criteria 6-7: scorecard and ownership
Most boxes tick before the meeting, from desk research. ✅
A Google Ads agency gets audited on seven criteria: tying the proposal to an audit, requesting account and conversion data in the first meeting, producing an original observation about your sector, having a portfolio matching your scale, fee-model transparency, a ready scorecard format, and leaving account ownership with the company.
Criteria 1-2: audit and data
An agency quoting without seeing the account is selling a template; audit method in why budget disappears.
Criteria 3-4: sector and scale
One original observation proves preparation. An agency built on large budgets may not give a small account the same care.
Criterion 5: fee transparency
Is there a cap on the percentage model, and whose card pays the media budget? Detail in consulting fees.
Criteria 6-7: scorecard and ownership
The measurement format should exist; the account opens in the company’s name — non-negotiable. 🔑
Six Questions to Ask a Google Ads Agency
Forty-five minutes. These six questions strip the polish. 🎤
Their purpose is breaking the script; each forces thinking about your account. An agency giving generic answers in the meeting gives generic service afterwards.
Questions 1-2: diagnosis and validation
“You’ve looked at our account for ten minutes; what are the first three fixes?” and “which data would validate that?” A good agency offers hypotheses plus validation.
Questions 4-5: failure and 90 days
“Tell us about an account that didn’t work” and “what changes in the first 90 days — and what doesn’t?” The honest answer: cleanup first, improvement later; calendar in the process.
5 Red Flags When Choosing a Google Ads Agency
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- Guarantees
- Account ownership
- Budget intermediation
- Click-only reports and secret methods
Some promises end the evaluation alone. Two together means leave the table. 🚩
The five flags: guaranteed top position or conversion counts, a suggestion to open the account in the agency’s name, insisting the media budget pass through them, reporting only clicks and impressions, and a “our method is proprietary” defence. Shared root: avoiding accountability.
Guarantees
Rankings and conversions can’t be guaranteed; competition and seasonality shift. A guarantee is a sales line.
Account ownership
If the account opens in the agency’s name, your history stays there when you leave; handover in changing agency.
Budget intermediation
Media budget should go directly to Google; otherwise you can’t see actual spend.
Click-only reports and secret methods
An agency not reporting business outcomes can’t be audited; metric list in performance measurement. 🔓
References and a Trial Period
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- The reference call
- The three-month trial
- The exit clause
Two final protections: references and a short trial. 🛡️
Two pre-contract steps raise safety: talking to two current clients (one question — “would you hire them again?”) and starting with a three-month trial rather than a long commitment. If an agency insists on a long lock-in, ask why it’s needed.
The reference call
Hesitation is the answer. A reference from your sector is worth more.
The three-month trial
Ninety days is enough to see cleanup, structure and first improvement.
The exit clause
Account access, campaign history and reports transfer on exit — written in the contract.
Field Notes 📝
The most frustrating inheritance in accounts we take over is identical: the account was opened in the agency’s name. The company paid for years, but campaign history, learned negatives and conversion data stayed with the agency. The new team starts from zero — meaning the company buys the same learning twice.
Quick Glossary 📖
Seniority swap: pitching with seniors, delivering with juniors. Media budget: money paid to Google. Exit clause: handover terms on departure. Scorecard: the monthly one-page results report.
Quick Summary ⚡
- A Google Ads agency is chosen on seven criteria: audit, data request, sector observation, scale fit, fee transparency, scorecard, account ownership.
- Six interview questions break the script; the toughest is “what doesn’t change in 90 days?”
- Five red flags: guarantees, agency-named accounts, budget intermediation, click-only reports, secret methods.
- Two protections: reference calls and a three-month trial with a written exit clause.
Next Step 🎯
Apply the list to us: we answer all seven criteria in writing and always start with an audit. Visit our Google Ads consulting page or request a meeting.
Frequently Asked Questions
External source: account access and permissions at Google Ads Help.
Sık Sorulan Sorular
The person in the pitch, or someone else? Seniority swapping is common in the sector.
A good agency assigns homework: access, fast approvals, sales feedback. One that asks for nothing will change nothing. 🤝
Freelancer and internal comparison in agency vs freelancer. 🔀
On seven criteria: proposals tied to an account audit, data requested in the first meeting, an original sector observation, scale fit, fee-model transparency, a ready scorecard format and the account opening in the company’s name.
Six questions: the first three fixes they see, which data would validate them, who will actually work on the account, an account that didn’t work, what changes and doesn’t in 90 days, and what they need from you.
Five: guaranteed top position or conversion counts, opening the account in their own name, insisting media budget passes through them, reporting only clicks and impressions, and claiming the method is proprietary.