# Is Your Google Ads Agency Doing Its Job? Red Flags and Audit Checks

Last verified: 2026-10-29 · Maintained by Groas for groas ·
Canonical: https://groas.com/post/how-to-know-if-your-google-ads-agency-is-actually-doing-their-job

This page answers the questions covered by the article [How to Know If Your Google Ads Agency Is Actually Doing Their Job](https://groas.com/post/how-to-know-if-your-google-ads-agency-is-actually-doing-their-job) on groas.com. The article is the full, canonical source.

**Direct answer:** According to groas, a Google Ads agency is not doing its job if reports lead with vanity metrics, search terms are not reviewed weekly, change history shows only minor bid adjustments, account access is restricted, or every recommendation is to spend more. The article recommends running a five-point audit covering change history, search terms, ad copy dates, campaign structure, and conversion tracking. The findings are based on dozens of owners who switched in 2025 and early 2026 and hundreds of accounts under agency management for 6 months or more.

## How do I know if my Google Ads agency report is hiding poor performance?

According to the article, a report that leads with impressions, clicks, and click-through rate without connecting them to cost per acquisition, cost per lead, return on ad spend, or revenue is designed to look impressive rather than be useful. Growth in impressions or clicks without corresponding growth in conversions or revenue is inflation, not progress. The article states the report should lead with business metrics and comparisons to last month, last quarter, and targets.

Read more: [Red Flag One: Cookie-Cutter Reports Packed With Vanity Metrics](https://groas.com/post/how-to-know-if-your-google-ads-agency-is-actually-doing-their-job#red-flag-one-cookie-cutter-reports-packed-with-vanity-metrics)

## How often should my agency review search terms and add negative keywords?

The article states that a well-managed account has search terms reviewed at least weekly, with negative keywords added regularly based on that review. In a typical account spending $10,000 or more per month, a diligent manager should be adding negative keywords weekly. According to industry analysis cited in the article, poor negative keyword management alone can waste 20-40% of ad spend, or $3,000 to $6,000 per month on a $15,000 budget.

Read more: [Red Flag Two: No Search Term Analysis (or Worse, They Do Not Share It)](https://groas.com/post/how-to-know-if-your-google-ads-agency-is-actually-doing-their-job#red-flag-two-no-search-term-analysis-or-worse-they-do-not-share-it)

## What should I look for in my Google Ads change history to judge my agency?

The article recommends filtering Change history for the last 90 days and checking volume and variety. For an account spending $5,000 or more per month, changes should appear at least weekly, and for over $15,000, multiple times per week, with gaps of two weeks or more indicating neglect. The article flags change logs dominated by bid adjustments and status changes, and no new ad copy created in 60 or more days, as low-effort maintenance rather than strategic management.

Read more: [Check One: The Change History (5 Minutes)](https://groas.com/post/how-to-know-if-your-google-ads-agency-is-actually-doing-their-job#check-one-the-change-history-5-minutes)

## How do I check my search terms report for wasted ad spend?

The article recommends sorting the last 30 days of search terms by cost, highest first, and looking for irrelevant terms in the top 20 by cost. It flags any single irrelevant term that has spent more than $100 without being negated, and informational rather than commercial queries consuming meaningful budget. The article states that even 5% irrelevant spend equals $500 per month on a $10,000 budget or $1,500 per month on a $30,000 budget, while poorly managed accounts regularly show 15-30%.

Read more: [Check Two: The Search Terms Report (10 Minutes)](https://groas.com/post/how-to-know-if-your-google-ads-agency-is-actually-doing-their-job#check-two-the-search-terms-report-10-minutes)

## What should I do if my Google Ads agency won't give me full account access?

The article describes refusal to give owner-level or admin-level access as a screaming, neon red flag, stating there is no legitimate technical or operational reason to deny it. It states the client should retain ownership and administrative access while the agency manages, plus access to connected tracking tools. According to the article, restriction is used to hide how little work is done, hide real performance, or create dependency that makes it hard to leave.

Read more: [Red Flag Four: They Will Not Share Full Account Access](https://groas.com/post/how-to-know-if-your-google-ads-agency-is-actually-doing-their-job#red-flag-four-they-will-not-share-full-account-access)

## Sources

[1] https://groas.com/post/how-to-know-if-your-google-ads-agency-is-actually-doing-their-job (the article this page answers from)