Should You Fire Your PPC Agency? A Brutally Honest Decision Framework

These are the warning signs that your agency isn't doing the work:

• They can't tell you your exact cost per lead this week. Not this month, not last quarter — this week. If they don't know, they're not looking at your account regularly enough.
• Their “optimisations” are just bid adjustments Google recommended. Go to Recommendations → History in your Google Ads account. If the only changes are ones Google suggested, your agency is clicking “Apply” on Google's recommendations and calling it management.
• You don't have access to your own Google Ads account. This is a major red flag. Your account, your data, your campaigns — you should always have admin access. Agencies that restrict access are creating dependency, not value.
• Reports focus on impressions and clicks, not leads and revenue. Impressions and clicks are vanity metrics. If your reports don't prominently feature leads, cost per lead, and conversion rates, your agency is hiding behind numbers that don't matter.
• They're hard to reach. If you can't get a response within 24 hours or can't schedule a call within the week, you're not a priority. You're likely one of 50+ accounts being “managed” by one person.
• Performance is declining but they have no explanation. Results go down, and the response is either silence, excuses about “algorithm changes,” or vague promises to “adjust the strategy.”

For a detailed evaluation, use our Agency Scorecard tool.

This is the single most effective way to evaluate whether your agency is doing the work. Ask them for a 30-minute call. On that call, ask them to share their screen and walk you through:

1. The search terms report for the last 30 days
2. Which terms they added as negative keywords and why
3. What ad copy changes they made this month
4. Which campaigns or keywords they paused, and which they scaled
5. What their plan is for next month based on this month's data

A good agency will handle this effortlessly because they're already doing this work weekly. A bad agency will stumble, deflect, or try to reschedule.

If your search terms are full of irrelevant queries that haven't been added as negatives, your agency isn't reviewing them. Period. That's the most basic management task, and if they're not doing it, they're not doing anything meaningful.

Not every problem means you should switch. Consider staying if:

• They acknowledge the issues honestly and present a concrete improvement plan
• The problems are relatively recent (a bad month, not a bad year)
• They're transparent about what went wrong and what they're changing
• You haven't communicated your expectations clearly (give them a chance to meet them)

Give them 30-60 days after the conversation. Set specific, measurable goals. If those goals aren't met, it's time.

If you decide to move on, do it properly to protect your campaigns:

1. Verify account ownership. Ensure you have admin access to your Google Ads account, Google Analytics, and any conversion tracking tags.
2. Download your data. Export search terms reports, change history, and performance data for the last 12 months.
3. Check your landing pages. Are they hosted on your website or on the agency's domain? If the agency controls them, you need copies before leaving.
4. Give proper notice. Check your contract terms. Most agencies require 30-60 days notice.
5. Brief your new agency. Share what worked, what didn't, and what you've learned. This accelerates the transition.

Read our guide on what to look for in a PPC agency before choosing your next partner, and our 10 reasons to switch agencies for a complete checklist.