How to Tell If Your Google Ads Agency Is Wasting Budget

Question 1

How can I tell if my agency's reports are hiding poor performance?

Accepted Answer

According to the article, a report that leads with impressions, clicks and click-through rate without connecting them to revenue is a vanity-metric report. The article recommends checking Tools > Conversions for status issues such as “No recent conversions” or tracking page views instead of purchases or qualified leads. It also recommends checking the last three monthly reports for whether revenue or ROAS appear above the fold.

Question 2

How do I check if my Google Ads agency is actually working on my account?

Accepted Answer

The article states advertisers should open Change history in Google Ads and filter by the last 30 days to see timestamped changes by user. According to the article, long stretches of zero activity or only automated rules firing indicate the agency is not actively managing campaigns. The article describes a healthy cadence as daily or near-daily activity, with multi-day gaps without human intervention not the norm.

Question 3

How many negative keywords should my Google Ads account have?

Accepted Answer

According to the article, there is no universal number, but an account running for more than six months with fewer than 50 terms in its negative keyword lists is almost certainly not receiving regular search term reviews. The article states a well-managed ecommerce account will typically have hundreds of negative keywords built up over time. It states a well-managed lead generation account will have even more because the potential for irrelevant traffic is higher.

Question 4

When is it risky to run broad match keywords in Google Ads?

Accepted Answer

The article states broad match should be checked by filtering the keyword list by match type and reviewing the bidding strategy for broad match keywords. According to the article, broad match keywords in campaigns with fewer than 15 to 20 conversions per month, or using manual CPC bidding, create a budget siphon. The article notes this is especially common in newer accounts where volume is shown quickly without foundational work.

Question 5

What should a properly managed Performance Max campaign include?

Accepted Answer

According to the article, a properly managed Performance Max campaign has multiple asset groups segmented by product category or audience intent. The article states each asset group should contain custom headlines, descriptions, images and videos for its segment, with audience signals from first-party data, custom segments and relevant in-market audiences, plus deliberately chosen search themes. The article describes a single asset group named “All Products” with auto-generated headlines as the minimum-effort pattern.

Question 6

My cost per acquisition keeps climbing — when is that my agency's fault?

Accepted Answer

The article states rising cost per acquisition is not automatically a red flag, but a trend upward for three or more months with no documented plan to reverse it is. According to the article, a proactive agency surfaces the trend with a diagnosis of what changed and a plan including actions such as testing new ad creative, restructuring campaigns or adjusting bidding strategies. The article states silence or a vague promise to “keep an eye on it” indicates the account is not being managed.