Agencies are pitching "Google Ads management" packages — what do they actually do, and what should the pricing model look like?

I'm always wary of percentage-based commissions. When your ad spend jumps from 35k to 70k, the agency's workload doesn't double but their paycheck does. Plus, it works in their favor to leave underperforming keywords running just to burn budget.

When we were running a 40.000 TL budget, we paid an agency an 8.000 TL flat fee and it was a total disaster. Then we switched to a 4.000 TL monthly base plus a small revenue share. Because the agency only made real money when they drove sales, our conversion rate jumped from 1.2% to 2.4%.

Here’s what an actual account manager does each week: combs through search term reports, adds irrelevant queries to the negative list, refreshes underperforming ad copy, and tests conversion tags to make sure they're tracking properly. If they aren't doing that, they're just burning your cash.

Ask the people you're interviewing this: Who owns the account? The account must be created under your name, and the agency should be invited as a manager. If you part ways tomorrow, all the historical data and conversion history should stay with you.

asking 10k management fee for a 35k budget is pretty ridiculous tbh... nearly a third of the budget goes to management. tbh around 4-5k is reasonable for that scale.

The first agency we hired kept telling us they were 'optimizing everything.' Three months later, we poked around the account and realized the negative keyword list was completely empty. People searching for furniture were clicking through from searches for wooden toys or raw timber—thousands of liras down the drain.

The service agreement should clearly spell out the monthly reporting cadence, core target metrics (cost per acquisition, cost per click), and confidentiality clauses.

just steer clear of agency packages where they set up shiny campaigns the first month, and from month two onward only touch the keyboard to send the invoice at the end of the month.

I went through the same thing two years ago. Ask who prepared the quote and who will actually do the work.

Just because everyone does it doesn't mean it's right. If you post the result here, it will help others too.

do you think this works at any scale? honestly don't hesitate to ask; those who don't ask always pay more.

this is my opnion I'm not claiming it's absolute truth.

Timely topic. Everything goes well for the first three months; problems arise in the fourth.

If you have questions, write them; I'll answer as best I can.

How did you solve this? When making a decision, first look at what data you have on hand.

I have an objection here. The harder it is to reverse a decision, the slower you should make it.

Hope this helps.

I think it's hard to be that definitive about google ads management. Access credentials should be opened in the company's name, not personal accounts.

That's all, sorry if I went on too long.

I can't fully agree with this. Solutions that work at a small scale collapse when you grow; I learned this late.

Taking notes for two weeks yields better results than a six-month estimate. Good luck with that.

I felt relieved reading this answer, so it's not just me. The cheapest quote is usually the least thought-out one.

Of course, it varies if your situation is different.

Great work.

The most overlooked point about google ads management is this: Start with a small trial; don't commit to everything at once.

Of course, it varies if your situation is different.