How to choose a PPC agency: the questions that actually matter

Most of the questions people ask a PPC agency do not matter. Are you a Google Partner? Everyone is. Do you know my industry? Useful, not decisive. The questions that tell you whether an agency will actually make you money are the ones they would rather you skipped. Here are the four worth asking.

Who actually manages the account, day to day?

At a lot of agencies the person who wins your business is not the person who touches your account. You get sold by a director and managed by a junior learning on your budget. Ask who logs in, how often, and how much experience they have. Then ask to speak to them before you sign. If the answer gets vague, you have your answer.

If we part ways, do I keep the account?

Your Google Ads account, your Merchant Center and your conversion data should be yours, full stop. Some agencies run your campaigns inside their own account, so when you leave you leave with nothing and start from scratch. Ask plainly whether you own the accounts and keep the history if the relationship ends. The right answer is yes, in writing.

How do you charge, and what does it reward?

A percentage of ad spend sounds harmless until you realise it pays the agency more every time they talk you into spending more. That is a bad incentive dressed up as a pricing model. Flat fees are cleaner. Either way, ask what is included and whether there are markups you are not seeing, on tools, on Comparison Shopping Service fees, on landing pages. Hidden margin is common, and it is a choice they made.

Show me a search term report

This is the one that separates the good from the rest. Ask a prospective agency to walk you through a real search term report and show you where they cut waste and why. An agency that runs accounts properly can do this in their sleep. One that cannot, or will not, is telling you something.

None of these questions are clever. They are just the ones that matter, and most agencies do not get asked them often enough. If you want a straight answer to all four and a look at your own account while you are at it, that is what the Free Audit is for.