You're paying your Google Ads agency a management fee every month. Maybe it's £500. Maybe it's £5,000. But here's the question most business owners never ask: what should you actually be getting for that money?
The answer depends entirely on what you're paying. Agency fees vary wildly, and so does the level of service. The problem is that most businesses have no benchmark for what "good management" looks like at their fee level.
Let's fix that.
What you're really paying for
Before we break down fee tiers, let's be clear about what an agency management fee covers — or should cover:
- Strategic thinking: Campaign structure, audience targeting, budget allocation
- Active optimisation: Regular changes to keywords, bids, ad copy, and negatives
- Search term management: Reviewing what people actually search for and refining targeting
- Testing: Running ad copy experiments, landing page tests, audience tests
- Reporting and insights: Not just numbers, but analysis and recommendations
- Communication: Regular updates and being available when you need them
The more you pay, the more of this you should expect. But even at the lowest tier, some baseline level of active management is non-negotiable. If your agency isn't making regular changes to your account, you're paying for nothing.
What to expect at each fee tier
£300 – £500/month
At this level, you're paying for basic management. The agency likely has a large portfolio of small accounts and can't dedicate significant time to yours.
What you should expect:
- At least 15–20 human-initiated changes per month
- Monthly reporting with basic performance metrics
- Negative keyword additions at least fortnightly
- Quarterly ad copy refreshes
- Email support with 1–2 business day response time
Red flag: Fewer than 10 changes per month, or no negative keywords added in 30+ days.
£500 – £2,000/month
This is the most common fee range for SMBs. At this level, you should be getting genuinely active management with a named account manager.
What you should expect:
- 30–60+ human-initiated changes per month
- Weekly or fortnightly check-ins (at least by email)
- Search term reviews and negative keyword management weekly
- Ongoing ad copy testing (new variations every 4–6 weeks)
- Audience and extension optimisation
- Monthly report with written commentary and action items
Red flag: Templated reports with no specific insights, or changes clustered right before your monthly call.
Not sure what your agency is actually doing?
Upload your Google Ads Change History CSV and see exactly how many changes your agency made — and what kind. Free, instant, private.
Audit Your Agency Now Not sure how to export your data? We'll show you.£2,000 – £5,000/month
At this tier you should be getting a senior account manager, proactive strategy, and real competitive advantage from your agency partnership.
What you should expect:
- 60–100+ human-initiated changes per month across all categories
- Dedicated account manager (not a junior handed your account)
- Proactive strategy — they bring ideas to you, not just react
- A/B testing frameworks for ads, landing pages, and audiences
- Competitor analysis and market insights
- Monthly strategy calls with clear agenda and action items
- Campaign structure reviews at least quarterly
Red flag: No proactive recommendations, inability to explain their strategy, or the same person managing 30+ accounts.
£5,000+/month
At premium fee levels, you're paying for partnership-level service. The agency should feel like an extension of your marketing team.
What you should expect:
- 100–150+ human-initiated changes per month
- Senior or director-level involvement in strategy
- Custom reporting dashboards and real-time access
- Cross-channel strategy (not just Google Ads in isolation)
- Conversion tracking and attribution expertise
- Weekly or bi-weekly strategy calls
- Rapid response times (same-day for urgent issues)
- Clear ROI measurement tied to business outcomes, not just clicks
Red flag: Generic reporting, no attribution tracking, or inability to tie ad spend to actual revenue.
How to evaluate your agency's ROI
Fee tiers are useful, but the real question is whether your agency is generating a positive return. Here's a practical framework:
1. Calculate your true cost per acquisition
Add your ad spend and agency fee together, then divide by the number of customers you acquired. If you're spending £5,000 on ads and £1,500 on management, and you got 50 customers, your true CPA is £130. Is that profitable for your business?
2. Compare managed vs unmanaged performance
If you have historical data from before the agency took over, compare the key metrics. Has cost per conversion improved? Has conversion volume increased? If performance is flat or worse after 3+ months of management, that's a problem.
3. Look at the trajectory
A good agency should show improving results over time. The first month is setup and learning. Months 2–3 should show optimisation taking effect. By month 6, you should see clear improvement in efficiency and/or volume. If nothing is trending upward after 6 months, the management fee isn't earning its keep.
4. Check the activity
This is the most objective measure. Pull your Google Ads Change History and look at what's actually happening. Are there regular human-initiated changes? Are they across multiple categories? Is the activity consistent week over week?
The Change History doesn't lie. It's the receipt for what your agency has done.
Signs your agency is worth every penny
Not every agency is underperforming. Here are the signs you're getting genuine value:
- They teach you things. A good agency helps you understand your account, not just manage it in a black box.
- They say no. If your agency pushes back on bad ideas (like running brand campaigns when you don't need to), they're thinking strategically, not just keeping you happy.
- They bring you opportunities. New keyword opportunities, competitor moves, seasonal trends — they're proactive, not reactive.
- Your results improve over time. Not just clicks, but actual business outcomes: leads, sales, revenue.
- They can explain exactly what they changed and why. No vague "optimisation" talk. Specific actions, specific reasoning.
Signs you're overpaying
- Monthly reports that look the same every month
- Can't name what they changed last week
- Your Change History is mostly automated changes
- They avoid giving you account access or ownership
- Performance has been flat for 3+ months with no strategic pivot
- They charge a percentage of ad spend with no performance incentive
The most expensive agency isn't the one that charges the most — it's the one that charges anything while doing nothing.
What to do next
If you're unsure whether your agency is delivering value, you don't need to guess. The data is already in your account.
Export your Google Ads Change History, upload it to our free audit tool, and see exactly what happened. You'll know in 60 seconds whether the activity level matches what you're paying for.
From there, you can either have a data-backed conversation with your agency or start looking for one that actually earns their fee.
Find out if you're getting what you pay for
Upload your Google Ads Change History and get your free Agency Activity Score. See if the management matches the fee.
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