What to ask before hiring a Google Ads manager

Before hiring a Google Ads manager, ask questions that let you inspect the proposed work, understand the spending, and keep control of the business decision. A confident presentation is not enough. You should be able to explain what you are buying after the conversation ends.

The questions below are selected for local Search advertising: service scope, separate costs, account access, landing pages, inquiry definitions, review, and exit. They are not a technical exam or a promise that a good answer guarantees results. Look for specific written answers, then compare them with the actual arrangement.

1. Which advertising product and work does this cover?

Ask the manager to name the campaign type, intended placements, services being promoted, and areas involved. "Google Ads" can describe more than the Search campaign you have in mind.

Find out whether setup, ad writing, ongoing review, landing pages, tracking, and reporting are included. Ask which tasks belong to the owner, such as supplying approved information and answering inquiries.

Do not assume profile management, SEO, Local Services Ads, Display, or Performance Max are bundled into Search management. If additional work is proposed, it needs its own explanation and scope.

A useful answer describes what will exist and who maintains it. "We handle everything" leaves too many boundaries undefined. Ask for the written list before comparing prices.

2. What is the management fee, and what is separate?

Request the management charge, advertising spend, any setup costs, and any separately charged tools or page work. Confirm how scope changes affect the quote.

Google's third-party policy requires management fees to be clearly disclosed in advance. It also says shared Google advertising cost figures should exclude the provider's fees.[29] Your proposal and reports should make the two costs understandable.

Ask how spending is authorized and how proposed changes reach you. Do not approve a vague "recommended budget" without knowing the amount, period, and change process.

Payment arrangements also need a specific explanation. "Ad spend is separate" does not, by itself, establish who handles billing or how invoices will arrive. Get that answer for your engagement rather than borrowing another agency's process.

3. What account access will I have?

Ask for the customer account identifier, the access level you will hold, and the method the manager uses to access the account. Avoid arrangements that require casually sharing a personal password.

Google documents different user access levels with different capabilities.[24] Ask the provider to show the permissions in the real account rather than relying on a label such as "full ownership" in a sales slide.

Google's third-party transparency rules require providers to supply customer IDs when requested.[29] An identifiable account and inspectable access make later questions easier to resolve.

As general buying guidance, prefer an arrangement that preserves the business's authorized access and a clear handoff path. That is not a claim about LeadSpark's account-creation or billing process. Those details should be confirmed directly before agreeing to service.

4. Who controls the landing pages, and what happens to them later?

Find out which destinations the ads will use, who creates and edits them, where they run, and whether their cost is included. Ask how you approve service claims, coverage, and availability wording.

A page can be suitable for paid traffic without being part of a new full website. Do not accept a larger website project as an unexplained prerequisite. Our quote request form guide can help you evaluate the contact step the proposed page will use.

Also ask what happens when management ends. Can the page stay live, be exported, or be handed off? Does another arrangement need to be made? Get the answer in writing rather than assuming "included" means permanently transferred.

For LeadSpark, current terms say the advertising landing pages are part of the managed service and are taken offline when Google Ads Management ends.[32] Consider that dependency when evaluating your next provider or an exit plan.

5. What exactly will the report call a lead?

Ask the manager to show the conversion definitions. Does the count mean a phone-link tap, a measured call, a submitted form, or an inquiry reviewed for suitability?

Google's phone-conversion guidance distinguishes mobile phone clicks from tracking the calls themselves.[18] A label saying "calls" should not hide that distinction.

Ask how duplicates, existing customers, unsuitable work, and pending opportunities appear. The manager should be able to explain the count without implying that every recorded action became a booked job.

You also need to decide which business outcomes you will record yourself. A campaign report does not automatically know which requests became accepted estimates, completed work, or collected payments. Set those definitions before judging the first update.

6. How will you choose the first service and area?

Look for a proposal grounded in work you can deliver, not simply the biggest possible audience. Ask why the proposed service fits current capacity and how the manager will separate relevant buying searches from other interest.

Request an explanation of the location settings. Google's default "Presence or Interest" can include people interested in the area as well as people likely there, and its location signals are not completely accurate.[10] A city selected in the account is not a perfect boundary.

The answer should connect targeting with real job coverage and a plan to review requests. "We will dominate the whole region" says little about suitability or spending.

Keep authority over the business promise. A manager can suggest a campaign scope; they should not quietly expand the service you offer.

7. What will the first review show, and who approves changes?

Ask for an explanation of the update format: what ran, what it spent, what inquiries arrived, what changed, and what the manager recommends next. A sample report can help, provided it is anonymized and shared with appropriate permission.

Clarify the regular update arrangement and how urgent problems are handled. Do not infer a staffed support desk from the word "managed."

Agree which changes the manager may make within the authorized scope and which need approval. Spending increases, new services, and materially different promises deserve explicit boundaries.

A useful review preserves uncertainty. If the data is thin or jobs remain undecided, the manager should say so instead of filling the gap with a flattering percentage.

8. What does the contract promise, and what does it not?

Separate delivery commitments from performance forecasts. A provider can commit to preparing approved ads and pages, maintaining the agreed campaign, and supplying defined updates. It does not control every customer decision.

Ask directly about guarantees of lead volume, cost, placement, or approval. Google's review process begins after ads are created or edited, and complex reviews can take longer than the usual guidance.[21] Nobody should promise a platform decision they do not control.

If a numerical forecast appears, ask for assumptions, evidence, and limitations. A past result from another market is not your expected outcome.

Read the actual agreement. For contract-specific legal concerns, use an appropriate adviser rather than treating an advertising checklist as legal review.

9. How do cancellation and handoff work?

Ask about notice, fees, the paid service period, campaign management, page availability, access removal, and records you receive. Identify what needs preparation before the relationship ends.

Google's manager-account guidance says unlinking retains the individual account's campaign history but can affect shared tracking, lists, and billing arrangements.[23] Do not assume clicking "unlink" completes a safe handoff in every setup.

Ask who checks those dependencies and what the next provider will need. Keep a written exit plan even when the relationship is expected to continue.

Month-to-month service and transferable assets are separate questions. You can have a flexible cancellation term while still relying on pages or infrastructure that end with the service. Understand both before choosing.

Compare the answers, not the polish

After the conversation, make a short side-by-side note for each proposal: included work, fee, separate spend, access, destinations, measurement, approval boundaries, and exit. Use the same questions for every provider.

Mark unanswered points as questions, not assumptions. You do not have to choose the offer with the longest feature list. Choose a scope you understand and a manager whose explanation stays consistent with the agreement.

Be wary of guaranteed customer counts, unexplained spending, and account access that cannot be demonstrated. A lower fee does not compensate for a purchase you cannot inspect.

LeadSpark's Google Ads Management includes setup, ongoing management, landing pages, tracking, and regular plain-English updates. It has a quoted flat monthly fee, no setup fee, and month-to-month service; advertising spend is separate.[31] Account and engagement details still deserve direct questions.

Start a Google Ads conversation with the service you want to advertise and these questions. You should leave understanding the proposal, not simply impressed by the pitch.

Sources

[10] https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/1722038?hl=en: About advanced location options - Google Ads Help

[18] https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6100664?hl=en: About phone call conversion tracking - Google Ads Help

[21] https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/1722120?hl=en: About the ad review process - Google Ads Help

[23] https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7458428?hl=en: About unlinking accounts from your manager account - Google Ads Help

[24] https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/9978556?hl=en: About access levels in your Google Ads account - Google Ads Help

[29] https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16489093?hl=en: Transparency requirements - Advertising Policies Help

[31] https://leadsparkmarketing.com/google-ads-management: Google Ads Management for Local Service Businesses | LeadSpark Marketing

[32] https://leadsparkmarketing.com/terms: Terms of Service | LeadSpark Marketing