How much should I pay a Google Ads agency?

Most reputable agencies charge either a percentage of ad spend (typically 10-20%, with 15% being the median) or a flat retainer ($1,500-5,000/month for SMB accounts, more for enterprise). Below $1,000/month, you're getting a freelancer or an offshore template-based service — possible to get value, but rare. Above $10K/month for a sub-$50K spend account, you're overpaying.

What's a fair Google Ads management fee?

Fair fees scale with the value the agency genuinely creates. For a $10K/month spend account, a $1,500-2,000/month management fee is reasonable IF the agency is doing weekly optimization, monthly strategy reviews, and providing real reporting. If you're paying $2K/month and getting an automated PDF report once a month, you're being overcharged regardless of the absolute number.

How can I tell if my agency is using AI tools to manage my account?

Three tells: optimization changes happen at exactly the same time of day each week (script-driven), reports use identical language month-over-month with just numbers swapped, and recommendations cite Google's own auto-recommendations score as a primary KPI. AI-assisted management isn't inherently bad — but if you're paying agency rates for what's essentially Google's free auto-management, you're being overcharged.

Should my agency provide login access to my Google Ads account?

You should always own the Google Ads account directly. Your agency should access it via Manager Account (MCC) link, NOT by logging into your account with shared credentials. If they're holding your account hostage or refusing to give you direct access, leave immediately — you legally own your account and your data, regardless of what the contract says.

How long should I give a new agency before judging results?

60-90 days minimum. The first 30 days are setup, audit, and groundwork — performance often dips slightly as old patterns are restructured. Days 30-60 show whether the new structure is producing results. Days 60-90 confirm the improvement is sustainable, not a one-time bump. Switching agencies before 90 days means you never get to see whether their work actually performed.

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How to Tell If Your Google Ads Agency Is Actually Doing the Work

9 signals that separate Google Ads agencies actually managing your account from agencies charging you while doing nothing. From an ex-Googler.

April 2, 20266 min read

The most expensive lie in marketing is the lie of activity. A Google Ads agency can charge you $3K/month for "campaign management" while doing approximately 30 minutes of actual work — and you'd never know until you saw the change history.

Our team spent 10+ years inside Google before launching MyLeadsFactory. From inside Google, our team saw which agencies actually managed accounts at a high level — and which ones were collecting retainers while their accounts auto-piloted. The signals that separated them are the same ones we use today when prospects ask whether their current agency is worth keeping.

Here are 9 signals that tell you whether your agency is actually working — or just billing.

1. Look at the Change History tab

This is the first thing I check on any audit. Google Ads → Tools → Change history.

Filter by the last 30 days. Filter by your agency's user (if they have a separate login).

What you're looking for:

✅ Healthy account: 30-150 changes/month — bid adjustments, new keywords, paused underperformers, ad copy refreshes, audience tweaks, negative keywords added.

❌ Dead account: Fewer than 10 changes/month. Or worse: zero changes for 60+ days.

If your agency has been "managing" your account but the change history shows nothing happening, they aren't managing your account. They're collecting your check.

2. Ask for a list of changes made last month

A real agency can answer this question in 2 minutes. They have a working doc or weekly report tracking every change.

A fake agency will:

Need a few days to "pull together" the report
Send you something vague like "we optimized bidding"
Send you the change history dump and call it a report

Specifically demand: what was changed, why, and what was the measurable result.

3. Check the negative keyword list growth

Negative keywords are the unsexy work of paid search. They're also the highest-ROI work — every irrelevant click you stop is direct savings.

A real agency adds 20-50 negative keywords per month based on the search terms report. A fake agency hasn't touched the negative list since onboarding.

How to check: Tools → Shared library → Negative keyword lists. Look at the count. Compare to 3 months ago (some accounts log this).

4. Look at search terms report — when was it last reviewed?

The Search Terms report (Keywords → Search terms) shows what queries actually triggered your ads. This is where waste lives.

Real agency: regularly adds wasteful terms as negatives. The list shrinks over time as Smart Bidding learns.

Fake agency: searches like "free version", "salary", "wikipedia", "tutorial youtube" are still triggering ads months after launch.

Run this report yourself for the last 60 days. Sort by cost descending. Look for terms that have spent $50+ with zero conversions. Each one of those represents money your agency should have caught.

5. Are conversion-tracking changes happening?

Conversion tracking is the foundation of everything in modern Google Ads. If it's not maintained, every optimization decision is built on broken data.

Healthy account signs:

Conversion actions get added/updated as your business evolves
Offline conversion imports are running (Salesforce/HubSpot/CRM data flowing back)
Enhanced Conversions is enabled
Multiple conversion actions are tracked, not just "form submission"

Dead account signs:

Tracking hasn't been touched since initial setup
Only one generic "form submission" conversion is tracked
No CRM integration

6. Check the asset library — when were ads last refreshed?

Click any campaign → Ads & assets → Ads. Sort by "Date created."

A real agency refreshes Responsive Search Ads every 6-8 weeks at minimum. Headlines and descriptions get added or rotated. Underperforming variants get paused.

A fake agency has the exact same ads from your launch date. Maybe one or two have been auto-paused by Google for poor performance. Nothing has been added.

7. What's their reporting cadence — and what's IN the reports?

Real reports answer:

What did we change this period?
Why did we change it?
What was the impact?
What are we testing next period?

Fake reports show:

Generic dashboard with impressions/clicks/CTR
"Performance is up X%!" (often misleading)
No mention of specific optimizations
No forward-looking plan

If your monthly report could have been auto-generated by Google's default dashboard, it probably was.

8. Test their depth: ask a specific tactical question

Try this. Email your account manager:

"I want to understand — what are the 3 specific things you'd change if our budget got cut 30% next quarter?"

A real agency answers in 24 hours with a thoughtful response: which campaigns to pause first, which keywords to protect, which audience modifiers to adjust, what conversion data they'd preserve.

A fake agency gives a generic non-answer: "We'd review performance and make recommendations to optimize within the new budget."

The depth of their answer reveals the depth of their actual work.

9. Demand transparency on their team

Most agencies sell you a senior strategist on the pitch call. Then a junior runs your account. This is the dirtiest open secret in the agency industry.

Ask:

"Who specifically is touching my account every week, and what's their level of experience?"

Real agencies answer with named people, their experience level, and direct contact information. They might explain a structure (e.g., senior reviews monthly, junior implements weekly under supervision).

Fake agencies dodge with phrases like "our team" or "we have specialists working on your account." They don't want you to know it's an entry-level associate with 6 weeks of training.

What to do if your agency fails 4+ of these signals

Don't fire them yet. Have one direct conversation:

Show them the patterns you found (change history, negatives, ad creative dates).
Ask for a concrete plan for the next 30 days addressing what's missing.
Give them 30 days to demonstrate change.

If after 30 days the patterns haven't changed, leave. They're either short-staffed, undertrained, or — the most common case — running 50 accounts with one junior person and there's no version of "trying harder" that fixes a structural problem.

What a real agency relationship looks like

You should know your account manager's name, voice, and probably their kid's age. You should get unprompted Slack messages about things they're testing. You should see your account improve month over month, not flatline. You should be able to ask any tactical question and get a real answer in 24 hours.

If that's not what you have, you have an expensive subscription to a default Google Ads experience.

Want a second opinion?

We offer free audits — including a walkthrough of these 9 signals applied to your specific account. We record it as a Loom you can keep. If your current agency is doing good work, we'll tell you that and you'll have peace of mind. If they're not, you'll have specific evidence to work with.

Either way, the audit is free, ours to give, yours to keep.

Frequently asked questions

How much should I pay a Google Ads agency?: Most reputable agencies charge either a percentage of ad spend (typically 10-20%, with 15% being the median) or a flat retainer ($1,500-5,000/month for SMB accounts, more for enterprise). Below $1,000/month, you're getting a freelancer or an offshore template-based service — possible to get value, but rare. Above $10K/month for a sub-$50K spend account, you're overpaying.
What's a fair Google Ads management fee?: Fair fees scale with the value the agency genuinely creates. For a $10K/month spend account, a $1,500-2,000/month management fee is reasonable IF the agency is doing weekly optimization, monthly strategy reviews, and providing real reporting. If you're paying $2K/month and getting an automated PDF report once a month, you're being overcharged regardless of the absolute number.
How can I tell if my agency is using AI tools to manage my account?: Three tells: optimization changes happen at exactly the same time of day each week (script-driven), reports use identical language month-over-month with just numbers swapped, and recommendations cite Google's own auto-recommendations score as a primary KPI. AI-assisted management isn't inherently bad — but if you're paying agency rates for what's essentially Google's free auto-management, you're being overcharged.
Should my agency provide login access to my Google Ads account?: You should always own the Google Ads account directly. Your agency should access it via Manager Account (MCC) link, NOT by logging into your account with shared credentials. If they're holding your account hostage or refusing to give you direct access, leave immediately — you legally own your account and your data, regardless of what the contract says.
How long should I give a new agency before judging results?: 60-90 days minimum. The first 30 days are setup, audit, and groundwork — performance often dips slightly as old patterns are restructured. Days 30-60 show whether the new structure is producing results. Days 60-90 confirm the improvement is sustainable, not a one-time bump. Switching agencies before 90 days means you never get to see whether their work actually performed.

Want this applied to your own account? We'll record a free Loom walkthrough showing exactly what we'd fix in your Google Ads. Get a free audit →