Quick answer: Before hiring a Google Ads agency, ask who will actually manage your account and how often, confirm that you own the Google Ads account, and find out which conversions they track. Ask for reporting on leads and cost per lead, not just clicks, and get clear answers on contract length, fees, and how often they review search terms. A short trial is the safest way to test an agency before you commit.
Hiring a Google Ads agency is one of the bigger marketing decisions a small business makes. You are trusting someone with real money every month, and a weak agency can burn through a budget for months before anyone notices. The good news is that the right questions, asked up front, separate the careful managers from the ones who set up a campaign and walk away. Here are the questions we would ask if we were in your seat, plus a scorecard you can use on every agency you talk to.
Who will actually manage the account, and how often?
The person on the sales call is often not the person who touches your campaigns. Ask directly:
- Who is my account manager by name, and how many other accounts do they manage?
- How often do they log in and make changes? Weekly is a reasonable minimum for most local accounts. Busy accounts need more.
- Is any of the work outsourced or offshore? That is not automatically bad, but you deserve to know.
- Who do I call when something breaks? A real person with a phone number, or a ticket system?
A manager juggling 80 accounts cannot give yours much attention. Ask to see the change history in your account after the first month. Google Ads keeps a record of every edit, so activity (or the lack of it) is easy to verify.
How often will you review search terms?
The search terms report shows the actual searches that triggered your ads. It is where wasted spend hides. A plumber can easily pay for clicks on “plumbing jobs” or “how to fix a toilet yourself” if nobody is watching.
Ask how often they review search terms (weekly for newer accounts is ideal), how they build negative keyword lists, and whether they can show you examples of terms they excluded for similar clients. Their answer tells you a lot about how hands on they really are.
Who owns the Google Ads account and the data?
This is the question owners most often forget, and the one that hurts most later. Some agencies run your ads inside an account they own. When you leave, your history, conversion data, and audiences stay with them, and you start from zero.
The safer setup is simple: the account is created under your business, billed to your card, and the agency is granted access through their manager account. Google offers several access levels in a Google Ads account, so you can keep admin access yourself and remove an agency at any time. Ask the same question about Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, call tracking numbers, and landing pages. If they built it with your money, you should own it.
What conversions will you track, and how will you report on leads?
Clicks and impressions are not results. A good agency measures the actions that make you money: phone calls, form fills, booked appointments, and for ecommerce, purchases and revenue.
Questions about tracking
- Which actions will count as conversions, and which will be set as primary for bidding?
- How will you track phone calls, including calls from the website, not just from the ad?
- Will you filter out junk, like short calls or spam form fills?
- Can you tie leads back to the keyword or campaign that produced them?
Questions about reporting
Ask to see a sample report. You want to find cost per lead, number of qualified leads, and what changed this month and why. A report that is mostly charts of clicks and click through rate is a warning sign. The goal is a report you can read in five minutes and understand whether your money is working.
Contracts, fees, and ad spend: what hiring a Google Ads agency really costs
There are two separate numbers: your ad spend, which goes to Google, and the management fee, which goes to the agency. Make sure both are spelled out in writing. We cover typical price ranges in detail in How Much Does Google Ads Management Cost in 2026, but here are the questions to ask:
- Is the fee flat or a percentage of ad spend? Percentage models can reward spending more, not spending well.
- Are there setup fees, and can they be waived with a longer agreement?
- How long is the contract, and what is the cancellation notice period?
- Is any of my budget marked up or paid through the agency instead of directly to Google?
- What is included? Landing page changes, call tracking, and Google Business Profile help are sometimes extras.
Long lock in contracts with no exit are a red flag for small businesses. A confident agency is comfortable earning your business month to month, or at least offering a trial period first.
What does Google Partner status mean when hiring a Google Ads agency?
A Google Partner badge is a useful signal, but it is not a guarantee of results. According to Google, Partner status requires a minimum optimization score of 70 percent on the agency’s manager account, $10,000 in ad spend across managed accounts over 90 days, and Google Ads certifications for at least half of the company’s account strategists. You can confirm an agency’s status rather than taking their word for it.
In short, the badge shows an agency meets Google’s baseline for activity, spend, and training. It does not tell you how they treat small accounts or whether they report honestly. Use it as a starting filter, then ask the other questions in this guide. Universally Found is a Google Partner, and we still expect owners to check our work.
Red flags to watch for
- They will not give you admin access to your own account.
- Guaranteed rankings, guaranteed leads, or “first page” promises.
- Reports that show only clicks, impressions, and click through rate.
- No clear answer on who manages the account day to day.
- Twelve month contracts with no trial and no exit clause.
- Vague answers about how much of your money goes to Google.
Agency scorecard
Score each agency from 0 to 2 on every row. Anything under 12 out of 16 deserves a hard second look.
| Question | Strong answer (2 points) | Weak answer (0 points) |
|---|---|---|
| Who manages my account? | Named manager, reasonable account load | “Our team” with no name |
| How often is it optimized? | Weekly or more, visible in change history | “As needed” |
| Who owns the account? | You own it, agency has manager access | Agency owns it |
| What conversions are tracked? | Calls, forms, bookings, with junk filtered | Clicks or page views only |
| What is in the report? | Leads, cost per lead, changes made | Clicks and impressions |
| Contract terms | Trial or short term, clear exit | Long lock in, no trial |
| Fees vs ad spend | Flat fee, spend billed by Google | Unclear markup on spend |
| Search terms review | Weekly, with examples | Rarely or never |
Frequently asked questions
Should I own my Google Ads account if I hire an agency?
Yes. Your business should own the account and the billing, and the agency should be added as a user or linked through their manager account. That way your data stays with you if you ever switch.
How long should a Google Ads agency contract be?
For most small businesses, month to month or a short initial term with a clear exit is fair. Longer agreements can make sense when they come with something in return, like waived setup fees.
Is a Google Partner agency always better?
Not always. Partner status confirms certifications, spend, and account health standards, but you should still judge an agency on communication, tracking, and reporting.
How soon should I see results from a new agency?
You should see clear tracking and a written plan within the first couple of weeks. Lead volume and cost per lead usually take a few weeks of data to settle as campaigns are refined.
Try Universally Found before you commit
The best way to evaluate any agency is to watch them work on your account. That is why Universally Found offers a 14 day free trial of Google Ads management with no management fee. You keep ownership of your account, we set up proper conversion tracking, and you get clear reporting on leads, not just clicks. If we are not the right fit, you walk away with a cleaner account.
Start your 14 day free trial, learn more about our Google Ads management and pricing, or call us at (234) 254-2578.
