The “Is My Agency Screwing Me?” Checklist for Google Ads
I’ve audited 200+ Google Ads accounts over eight years and I’d estimate 80% of them have at least 4 of these problems. Most business owners don’t even know they’re bleeding money because their agency reports look fine on the surface.
This checklist is for business owners who are paying someone $1,500+ a month to manage their Google Ads and want to know if they’re getting what they paid for. If you’re spending $5k+ a month on ads and your agency won’t let you check these things, that’s your answer right there.
Account Access & Control
1. You have admin access to your own Google Ads account Check: Go to tools → account access. Your email should be listed as “admin” or “owner.” Your agency should be listed as “manager” or “standard access.” Red flag: You only have read-only access or no direct access at all. Your agency tells you they “handle everything” so you don’t need to log in. Fix: Demand admin access immediately. If they refuse, fire them today.
2. The account is set up under your business information Check: Account settings should show your business name, your billing address, your tax ID if applicable. Red flag: The account is under the agency’s business information. They’re treating you like a sub-account of their master account. Fix: Transfer the account to your business immediately. This is non-negotiable.
3. Your credit card is the primary payment method Check: Billing settings show your payment method, not theirs. Red flag: They’re paying Google with their card and billing you back. This gives them financial control over your advertising. Fix: Switch to your own payment method. They can keep backup payment for continuity, but primary should be yours.
Activity & Transparency
4. Recent change history shows actual work being done Check: Change history tab shows multiple entries per week. Look for bid adjustments, keyword additions/negatives, ad copy tests, budget changes. Red flag: Change history is mostly empty or shows only automated Google changes. Last manual change was weeks ago. Fix: Ask for a detailed activity report. If they can’t produce one, they’re not doing the work.
5. They show you search terms reports and negative keyword actions Check: Ask to see what searches triggered your ads in the last 30 days. Ask what negative keywords they added. Red flag: They can’t produce this report quickly or they haven’t added negative keywords in months. Fix: Demand weekly search terms reviews. This is basic account hygiene.
6. You get explanations, not just numbers Check: Your reports include why performance changed, what tests are running, what they plan to do next month. Red flag: Reports are just dashboard screenshots with no commentary. Or worse, only good news every month. Fix: Insist on narrative reports. If they can’t explain the work, they’re not doing strategic work.
Conversion Tracking Foundation
7. Your conversion tracking captures 80%+ of actual leads/sales Check: Compare Google Ads conversion numbers to your actual CRM leads or sales numbers for the same period. Red flag: Google Ads shows 50 conversions but you only got 30 actual leads. Or worse, the numbers never align. Fix: Audit your tracking setup immediately. This is the foundation everything else sits on.
8. Conversion actions are properly configured Check: Tools → conversions. You should see specific actions like “form submission” or “phone call,” not generic “page views.” Red flag: Conversions are counting page views of thank-you pages or other proxy metrics instead of actual business outcomes. Fix: Reconfigure conversion tracking to measure actual leads/sales only.
9. Google Analytics 4 is properly connected and collecting data Check: GA4 shows traffic and conversions from Google Ads. Numbers should roughly match between platforms. Red flag: GA4 and Google Ads conversion numbers are wildly different, or GA4 isn’t set up at all. Fix: Professional tracking audit. This is complex enough that most agencies screw it up.
Campaign Structure & Strategy
10. You have separate campaigns for different business goals Check: Campaign list shows distinct campaigns like “Search - Services,” “Search - Emergency,” “Display,” not just “Campaign 1.” Red flag: Everything is lumped into one or two massive campaigns. Or campaign names are generic and tell you nothing about strategy. Fix: Proper campaign segmentation based on business goals and customer intent.
11. Branded search is separated from non-branded Check: Your business name keywords are in their own campaign with separate budgets and reporting. Red flag: Branded and generic keywords are mixed together. Your agency brags about “branded conversions” without separating the numbers. Fix: Split branded search immediately. You need to see how much growth you’re actually driving vs. capturing existing demand.
12. Match types aren’t all broad match Check: Keyword tab shows a mix of exact match [keyword], phrase match “keyword,” and some broad match keyword. Red flag: Everything is broad match. Your agency says “Google’s AI handles targeting now.” Fix: Start with exact and phrase match on proven terms. Broad match is for scaling what already works, not discovery.
Budget & Bidding Management
13. Budget recommendations come with data justification Check: When they recommend budget increases, they show you impression share loss and specific growth opportunities. Red flag: Budget increase is their only recommendation every month. No supporting data about why more spend will help. Fix: Demand efficiency improvements alongside growth recommendations. A good agency finds waste before asking for more money.
14. Shared budgets aren’t eating your best campaigns Check: Look for “shared budget” in campaign settings. If you have them, check if high-volume campaigns are stealing budget from high-converting ones. Red flag: One campaign consistently spends the entire shared budget while others get starved. Fix: Switch to individual campaign budgets for better control and clearer performance data.
15. Bidding strategies match your business goals Check: Campaigns optimizing for lead volume should use “Maximize Conversions.” Revenue-focused campaigns should use “Target ROAS.” Red flag: Everything is on “Maximize Clicks” or bidding strategies don’t align with what you actually want to achieve. Fix: Align bidding with business outcomes. Sounds obvious, but most agencies get this wrong.
Performance Measurement
16. Reports focus on business outcomes, not vanity metrics Check: First page of your report shows cost per lead, cost per customer, or return on ad spend — not click-through rates and quality scores. Red flag: They lead with impressions, clicks, and CTR. Business outcome metrics are buried on page 3 or missing entirely. Fix: Restructure reporting around what actually matters to your bottom line.
17. Performance Max campaigns aren’t cannibalizing search Check: Compare search campaign performance before and after Performance Max launch. Search volume and conversion costs should be stable. Red flag: Search campaigns suddenly got worse when Performance Max started. Lower impression share, higher costs. Fix: Exclude search inventory from Performance Max or pause it entirely if it’s hurting proven search campaigns.
18. You can see which keywords and ads actually drive business Check: Keyword and ad-level conversion data is available and makes sense when compared to your actual customer data. Red flag: “Everything is working” but they can’t tell you which specific keywords or ads drive the most business. Fix: Granular reporting tied to business outcomes. You should know your top 10 converting keywords by name.
Red Flag Agency Behaviors
19. They won’t let you audit the account yourself Check: Can you log in and poke around without them present? Do they encourage transparency? Red flag: They discourage you from looking at the account directly. “Don’t worry, we handle everything.” Fix: Any agency that won’t let you see the work isn’t confident in the work.
20. Communication is always reactive, never proactive Check: They reach out with insights, tests, and recommendations before you ask. Red flag: You only hear from them when you email first or when the monthly report is due. Fix: Set expectations for proactive communication. Good agencies spot opportunities before you do.
Your Score
Count how many red flags you found:
1-3 issues: Minor tune-up needed. Your agency isn’t terrible, but there’s room for improvement.
4-7 issues: You’re probably wasting 20-30% of your ad spend. Time for a serious conversation or a new agency.
8+ issues: Stop running ads until you fix this. You’re throwing money into a broken machine.
This checklist catches the obvious stuff — the things any business owner can spot with 30 minutes of digging around. The stuff that really kills your ROI is the stuff you can’t see in a self-audit. Attribution gaps that make Facebook and Google both take credit for the same conversion. Tracking drift that slowly corrupts your data over months. Audience decay that turns profitable campaigns into money pits.
That’s what a professional audit covers. The invisible problems that cost you money every single day.
If you found more than 4 issues on this checklist, you need more than a tune-up. You need someone to rebuild the foundation. Get a proper audit that covers the stuff you can’t see.
Want the downloadable PDF version of this checklist? Email me and I’ll send it over.