10 Reasons to Switch PPC Agencies

If your agency won't clearly explain what they're doing in your account, that's a major red flag. Vague reports full of vanity metrics (impressions, clicks) without tying them back to actual business outcomes — leads, sales, revenue — suggest they're hiding poor performance behind jargon.

What to look for instead: An agency that provides clear, honest reporting focused on the metrics that matter to your business. They should proactively explain what's working, what isn't, and what they plan to do about it.

A competent agency should deliver measurable improvements within 90 days. If your cost per lead hasn't improved, your return on ad spend is stagnant, or your conversion rates are flat after 3-6 months, something is wrong. PPC isn't a "set and forget" channel — it requires continuous testing and optimisation.

What to look for instead: An agency that sets clear KPIs from day one and shows a track record of improving them month on month. Ask for case studies with real numbers, not just testimonials.

Every business is different, and your PPC strategy should reflect that. If your agency uses the same campaign structure, bidding strategy, and ad copy templates for every client, you're getting a generic service that won't deliver exceptional results. This is especially common with agencies that manage hundreds of accounts with a skeleton team.

What to look for instead: An agency that takes the time to understand your business, your customers, and your competitive landscape before building a tailored strategy. Your campaigns should be as unique as your business.

If you're chasing your agency for updates, waiting days for responses, or only hearing from them when it's time to renew your contract — that's not a partnership. Good PPC management requires regular communication, especially when market conditions change or new opportunities arise.

What to look for instead: Regular check-ins (at least monthly), prompt responses to queries, and proactive communication about changes in your account. You should feel like a valued client, not an afterthought.

Many agencies charge 10-20% of your ad spend as their management fee. This means as your budget grows, so does their fee — regardless of whether the extra spend is delivering better results. Worse, it creates a perverse incentive: the agency profits from you spending more, not from you getting better returns.

If you're spending £20,000/month, a 15% fee means £3,000/month going to the agency. Scale to £50,000/month and that jumps to £7,500 — for managing the same account. The work doesn't increase proportionally.

What to look for instead: A flat-fee pricing model where costs are predictable and don't punish you for scaling your ad spend. This aligns the agency's incentives with your results, not your budget.

If your agency only makes changes when you ask, they're not doing their job. PPC management should be proactive — testing new ad copy, refining audiences, adding negative keywords, adjusting bids based on performance data, and exploring new campaign types. A reactive agency is simply collecting a fee for babysitting your campaigns.

What to look for instead: An agency that brings ideas to you. They should be regularly testing new approaches, sharing insights from their other accounts (without revealing confidential data), and suggesting strategic changes before you have to ask.

If you've been handed from account manager to account manager, each time having to re-explain your business and goals, that's a sign of a poorly run agency. High turnover means lost institutional knowledge about your account, inconsistent strategy, and wasted time re-onboarding new staff.

What to look for instead: An agency with experienced, stable teams. Ask about staff retention rates and how long the person managing your account has been with the agency. Ideally, you should work directly with the specialist managing your campaigns, not a rotating cast of junior account managers.

Google Ads evolves constantly — Performance Max campaigns, broad match changes, automated bidding updates, new ad formats, privacy changes affecting tracking. If your agency is still running campaigns the same way they did two years ago, you're falling behind competitors who are adapting.

What to look for instead: An agency that stays ahead of platform changes and proactively adapts your strategy. They should be able to explain how recent Google Ads updates affect your campaigns and what they're doing about it. Google Partner status is a good baseline indicator of up-to-date expertise.

If your agency can't properly set up and maintain conversion tracking, they can't optimise your campaigns effectively. Accurate tracking is the foundation of everything in PPC — without it, you're flying blind. Yet many agencies outsource tracking setup or simply skip it, relying on Google's automated signals instead.

What to look for instead: An agency with in-house expertise in Google Tag Manager, GA4, and server-side tracking. They should audit your tracking setup as part of onboarding and ensure every meaningful action on your site is being recorded accurately. This includes offline conversion imports if you have a sales team.

Your Google Ads account belongs to you — full stop. If your agency refuses to give you owner-level access, runs campaigns from their own MCC without giving you visibility, or makes it difficult to leave by holding your data hostage, that's unacceptable. This tactic is designed to create dependency, not deliver results.

What to look for instead: An agency that insists you own your account and gives you full access from day one. You should be able to see everything they're doing, and if you decide to leave, your account, data, and campaign history stay with you.