Fire your PPC agency when you see a pattern, not one bad month: no access to your own ad account, reports without cost per lead or sales, nothing changed in months, or no straight answers. A dip with a clear explanation is normal. Get an independent second opinion before you decide.
Start a conversationGoogle Ads performance moves. Seasonality, auction competition, algorithm changes and a good agency testing something new can all cause a dip that looks alarming on a graph. If your agency flags the drop, explains it and shows what they are doing about it, the relationship is working.
The real problem is not a dip. It is not knowing why, not being able to check for yourself, and getting the same vague reassurance each time you ask. That pattern is what the rest of this article covers.
Sometimes the right advice is to stay. I have told prospective clients their current agency was doing a solid job and they should not move. If you read the list above and none of it rings true, that is a good sign: do not fix what is not broken.
If you are asking whether to fire your PPC agency, a second opinion costs far less than a wrong decision either way. There are two options:
A free health check. My free Google Ads health check is a quick, honest review for wasted spend, tracking gaps and obvious structural problems. It is allowed to conclude that your account is run well.
An in-depth audit. My PPC audit is a one-off £450. It works through up to 190 checks across 15 areas, rates each finding by impact and effort, and ends with a prioritised fix list. You get the written report within 5 working days of giving me read-only access. It is written to be useful to whoever implements it, including your current agency.
An audit may tell you your agency is doing a good job. If it does, I will say so, and you will have saved yourself a switch you did not need.
A PPC relationship that works is the opposite of the list above. You have full access to your account at all times, reports lead with the numbers that matter to your business, and the person managing it can explain any decision in a five-minute call without reaching for jargon. Strategy evolves as the account learns, rather than sitting static.
That is the standard I hold my own client relationships to. Every client has access to their own account, there is no lock-in, and reporting says what happened and why, including the months where the honest answer is that something did not work as hoped and here is what I am changing.
When you see a pattern rather than a single bad month: no access to your own account, reports without cost per lead or sales, no changes for months, and no clear answers to direct questions. A dip with a clear explanation and a plan is not a reason on its own.
It depends on conversion volume and how much history the campaigns have, so there is no single number. What matters more is whether they tell you what is happening and why during that period, rather than going quiet until you ask.
No. Seasonality, market conditions, competitor activity and legitimate testing can all cause temporary dips. The question is whether your agency notices, explains and has a plan, or whether you find out weeks later and get a shrug.
Yes. The account and its conversion data should be owned by you, with the agency added as a user or manager. If an agency will not give you admin access to your own account, treat it as a serious warning sign.
Ask for your cost per lead or sale compared with a few months ago, what changed in the account recently, and why. A transparent agency answers in plain terms on a call; a defensive one reaches for jargon or reschedules.
Generally yes. An independent review from someone with no stake in the current setup shows quickly whether tracking, structure and strategy are sound. My free health check is a quick version; the £450 in-depth audit is the full one, with a report within 5 working days.
Usually getting access to your existing Google Ads account, a handover conversation with the outgoing agency if they are cooperative, and a period where the new agency learns the account history before making big changes. Some disruption is normal.
It can be, when conversions are tracked properly and measured against what a customer is worth. It is not worth it when nobody can trace spend back to leads or sales, which is why tracking and honest reporting come before anything else.
Common ones are layers between you and the person doing the work, junior staff on your account, and reporting built for the agency rather than you. A senior freelancer removes some of those, but the same tests apply: access, plain reporting, clear answers.
I will take an honest, independent look at your account and tell you what is going on, including if the answer is that you are in good hands and should stay put. Request an audit, or start a conversation first.
Call 07410 907 104 Request an audit