Paid search management services, judged on the numbers an agency has to show

Agencies with a verified published price

How to choose a paid search management service

1. Fix the fee model before the budget. Agencies charge a flat fee, a share of ad spend, a performance fee or a mix, and each changes the agency's incentives: a share of spend rewards spending, a performance fee rewards whatever it is measured on. Decide which incentive the business wants, then compare agencies on that model only.
2. Own the ad account, the data and the conversion tracking. The ad account, the analytics and the conversion tracking are created in the business's name and the agency is granted access, never the reverse. An agency that insists on its own account is keeping the history and the data when the engagement ends, and the business starts again from nothing.
3. Set the reporting as leads and sales, not clicks. The monthly report shows cost per lead and per sale by campaign, the share of leads that were real prospects, and the search terms the money went to, with the negative terms added. A report of impressions, clicks and click-through rate is the agency's activity; the business's result is in the leads and sales.
4. Ask for the same numbers from a comparable client. A named client with permission, the starting cost per lead, what the agency changed, and the cost per lead and per sale after, over a stated period. Google's own advertising policies, linked below, govern what can be claimed in an ad; a comparable client's numbers govern what can be claimed by the agency.

The fee models, and what each one rewards

A flat monthly fee rewards keeping the account and is indifferent to spend; it suits a business with a stable budget and a clear goal. A share of ad spend rewards raising the budget and is the model most agencies default to; it suits nobody unless the share falls as spend rises. A performance fee, per lead or per sale, rewards the metric it is paid on and needs the definition of a lead written down first, or the agency is paid for form spam. A mix of a small flat fee and a performance fee is common and workable when the lead definition is tight.

The index marks which agencies publish their fee model and which do not; a published model is a term the agency has to keep.

Account ownership: the question that decides the ending

Every paid search engagement ends, and the business that owned its own ad account, analytics and conversion tracking keeps the history, the audiences, the negative keyword lists and the learning the algorithm did on its money. The business that did not owns nothing and starts again. Ownership is settled in the first week, in writing, and an agency that resists it has explained its business model.

The same applies to landing pages built for the campaigns: the pages live on the business's site or the business owns the copies.

Claims to test before signing

A guaranteed cost per lead before seeing the account is a guess. A certification badge is a training record, not a result. A dashboard is not a report until it shows leads and sales. A minimum spend that suits the agency's fee model rather than the business's market is a claim about the business the agency has not earned. Google's advertising policies, linked below, decide what an ad may say; the agency's own comparable-client numbers decide what the agency may say about itself.

The agencies in the index are listed on what they publish, and the digital marketing and SEO services guide on this site covers how to read the rest.

Questions people actually ask

How do paid search management services charge?

A flat monthly fee, a share of ad spend, a performance fee per lead or sale, or a mix. Each rewards something different; decide which incentive the business wants first, and compare agencies on that model.

Who should own the Google Ads account?

The business, always, with the agency granted access. The account holds the history, the audiences and the learning done on the business's money, and an agency that keeps it keeps all of that when the engagement ends.

What should a paid search report show?

Cost per lead and per sale by campaign, the share of leads that were real prospects, the search terms the money went to and the negatives added. Impressions and click-through rates are the agency's activity, not the result.

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