Agency selection guide
The wrong PPC agency can burn through thousands of pounds, strip you of months of account history, and leave you with nothing when you walk away. These ten questions change that, before you sign anything.
Why This Decision Carries More Risk Than Most
Handing a chunk of your marketing budget to an external team is a significant call. Get it right and you have a scalable channel with measurable returns. Get it wrong and you can burn through thousands of pounds, lose months of account history, and sometimes find you don't even own the data at the end of it.
Knowing how to choose a PPC agency, before you sign anything, is the best protection you have. The ten questions below are designed to be taken into any agency conversation, including ours. A good agency will welcome them. A bad one will hedge.
What You're Actually Buying (and What's at Stake)
Two agencies can both manage Google Ads, charge similar fees, and produce wildly different results depending on how they structure campaigns, handle tracking, and interpret data.
There are three things you should care about from the first call:
Your budget. Ad spend goes to Google or Microsoft directly. Management fees go to the agency. If the agency takes a percentage of spend, their financial interest is for you to spend more, which may or may not align with your goals.
Your account. The Google Ads account holds your conversion history, Quality Scores, audience lists, and campaign structure. This data is valuable. If the agency owns the account, leaving means starting from scratch.
Your account history. Google's algorithm rewards accounts with consistent, relevant history. An old account with clean data outperforms a brand-new one, all else being equal. Losing that history when you switch agencies is a real cost.
The 10 Questions to Ask Any PPC Agency
1. Who owns the ad account and the data?
Why it matters: If the agency owns the account, you lose everything when you leave: your conversion history, audience lists, and campaign learning data.
A good answer sounds like: "You own the account. We manage it as an authorised user. If you leave, you keep the account and we remove our access."
At Sayu, all client accounts are set up under, or transferred to, the client's Google/Microsoft account. The ad spend is billed directly to you by Google. We never hold your account hostage.
Your ad account should always be yours. If an agency won't give you full access from day one, that tells you everything you need to know.
Simon PittsFounder & CEO, Sayu2. How do you charge, and are there set-up fees or minimum terms?
Why it matters: Fee structures vary enormously. Some agencies charge a flat monthly retainer, others take a percentage of ad spend, and some combine both. Set-up fees and long lock-ins add financial risk before you've seen any results.
A good answer sounds like: A clear, written breakdown with no hidden fees and a reasonable exit point.
As a worked example, here's how we structure it at Sayu: PPC management is charged at 11% of monthly ad spend (minimum £199, maximum £3,500) on a rolling contract, so you can leave with one month's notice after the initial three months. There's no set-up fee. For clients who commit to 12 months, the rate reduces: 10% for spends up to £4,999, scaling down to 6% for spends of £20,000 or more (maximum fee £2,500). Ad spend goes directly to Google or Microsoft. It never passes through us.
The common ways agencies charge, side by side:
| Fee model | How it works | Suits | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of ad spend | A share of what you spend with Google or Microsoft | Growing accounts; fees scale with the work | Make sure there is a minimum and a cap, and that the agency isn't rewarded for wasted spend |
| Flat monthly fee | The same fee whatever you spend | Stable budgets | The fee may not cover extra work as you grow |
| Hybrid | A base fee plus a smaller percentage | Larger or more complex accounts | Two moving parts to compare between quotes |
| Set-up fee | A one-off charge to build or rebuild the account | New accounts | Ask exactly what it covers; many agencies, including us, don't charge one |
3. Are you a Google Partner or Premier Partner, and what does that actually mean?
Why it matters: Google's Partner programme has two tiers. Partner status means meeting a minimum spend threshold and passing Google's certification exams. Premier Partner status is awarded to the top 3% of Google Partners in the UK and is re-evaluated every year, so it signals consistent performance over time.
A good answer sounds like: Confirmation of current status, plus honesty that it doesn't guarantee results for your specific business.
Sayu has been a Google Premier Partner every year since 2023 and is also a Microsoft Advertising Select Partner. One practical benefit for new advertisers: through a Premier Partner, you may be eligible for £380–£3,000 in Google promotional credit, depending on your spend in the first 60 days (this is set by Google and subject to its own terms).
What the badges actually require, according to Google's own help pages:
| Google Partner | Google Premier Partner | |
|---|---|---|
| Optimisation score across managed accounts | At least 70% | At least 70% |
| Ad spend across managed accounts | $10,000 every 90 days | $10,000 every 90 days |
| Certified account strategists | At least half | At least half |
| Ranking | Not required | Top 3% of participating companies in the country, decided every year |
Source: Google Ads Help, "How to become a Google Partner or Premier Partner". More on what Premier Partner means.
4. Who will actually manage my account, and how many accounts do they handle?
Why it matters: Agencies often pitch senior staff and then hand the account to a junior. High account-to-manager ratios mean your campaigns get less attention.
A good answer sounds like: A named account manager, their experience level, and a realistic sense of how many other accounts they look after alongside yours.
5. How will you measure success?
Why it matters: Agencies focused on vanity metrics (clicks, impressions, traffic) can look busy without producing revenue. You want measurable outcomes: conversions, cost per lead or sale, and return on ad spend (ROAS).
A good answer sounds like: "We'll agree on the KPIs before we start. Our reports will centre on cost per conversion and ROAS."
6. What will you do in the first 30 and 90 days?
Why it matters: The first month is usually an audit and account restructure. Months two and three involve testing and optimisation. If an agency can't tell you what they'll do and why, that's a problem.
A good answer sounds like: A phased plan (audit, restructure, test, then iterate) with clear milestones.
7. How will you report, and how often will we speak?
Why it matters: Reporting frequency and format affect how quickly you can spot problems and make decisions. Monthly reports with no calls in between mean you can be four weeks into a failing campaign before anyone flags it.
A good answer sounds like: Regular reporting (at least monthly, ideally with a live dashboard), plus a scheduled call to discuss findings.
8. Can you show me results for a business like mine?
Why it matters: PPC strategy differs by sector, budget size, and business model. An agency experienced in e-commerce ROAS targets won't necessarily have the same grip on lead generation for a B2B service business.
A good answer sounds like: Relevant case studies or references, with context about the client's situation and what changed as a result of the work.
9. How do you handle conversion tracking, GA4, and offline sales?
Why it matters: Poor tracking means you're optimising on bad data. This is one of the most common reasons campaigns underperform. GA4 integration, call tracking, and CRM imports for offline conversions should all be part of the conversation.
A good answer sounds like: "We audit your existing tracking setup in the first two weeks and fix any gaps before we start optimising."
10. What happens if I leave?
Why it matters: Contracts end. Business needs change. A good agency makes leaving clean and professional; a bad one makes it deliberately difficult.
A good answer sounds like: "You keep the account, all the data, and all the campaign work. We hand over access and answer any questions during the transition."
Red Flags to Watch For
A few patterns that should give you pause:
- The agency owns your account and won't put your name on it. Walk away.
- Vague or verbal-only fee structures. If it's not in writing, it doesn't count.
- Guaranteed results. No agency can guarantee a specific cost per lead or ROAS before seeing your account, your market, or your conversion data.
- Lock-ins longer than 12 months with no performance break clauses. Even a 12-month contract is worth scrutinising.
- Reports that lead with impressions and clicks. These aren't business results. They're activity metrics.
Agency, Freelancer, or In-House: A Fair Comparison
A freelancer often costs less and can be an excellent choice for lower-budget accounts or straightforward campaigns. The risks are capacity (one person can only do so much) and cover (illness, other clients). If your spend is modest and your campaigns aren't complex, a good freelancer may serve you better than a mid-tier agency.
An in-house hire makes sense once PPC is a significant enough channel to justify a full-time salary, benefits, and training budget. The upside is total focus on your business; the downside is the ramp-up time and the difficulty of staying current across a fast-moving platform.
An agency suits businesses that want managed expertise, the breadth of a team, and the accountability of a commercial relationship. The SEO and PPC management model works well where there's strategic overlap between paid and organic: both channels inform each other, and a single team can join up the data.
None of these options is universally right. The honest answer is that the best choice depends on your budget, your internal capability, and how complex your campaigns are likely to become.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to see results from PPC?
Most accounts show meaningful data within four to six weeks. However, the first three months are typically used to build reliable conversion data, test ad copy and bidding strategies, and stabilise performance. Setting expectations around a 90-day runway is more realistic than expecting immediate returns.
What's a reasonable management fee for PPC?
Fee structures vary: flat retainer, percentage of spend, or a hybrid. What drives the price is account complexity, the number of campaigns, and the seniority of the people managing them. Ask any agency to break down exactly what the fee covers, what's excluded, and how performance is measured against it.
Do I need to run Google Ads and Microsoft Ads together?
Not necessarily. Google typically reaches a broader audience in the UK, so it's usually the starting point. Microsoft Advertising (which covers Bing, Yahoo, and DuckDuckGo) can be cost-effective for certain sectors and demographics. A good agency will give you an honest view of whether the additional channel is worth your budget at this stage.
What is ROAS and why does it matter?
ROAS stands for Return on Ad Spend. It's calculated as revenue generated divided by the amount spent on ads. If you spend £1,000 and generate £4,000 in revenue, your ROAS is 4:1. It's one of the cleaner ways to assess whether a paid campaign is profitable, though it needs to be read alongside margin and customer lifetime value.
Can I switch agencies without losing my campaign data?
Yes, if you own the account. Your conversion history, audience data, and campaign structure all sit inside the Google Ads account. As long as that account is in your name, you can grant access to a new agency and revoke it from the old one. This is why account ownership is the first question on this list.
If you'd like to run through these questions with us, we're straightforward to reach. Our PPC management work is based in Stockton-on-Tees and covers UK businesses across a range of sectors and budgets. No obligation, no hard sell: just a conversation to see whether we're the right fit.
