Google Ads management — what we deliver and what it costs
Search "Google Ads management" and you'll mostly find agencies describing their own process in their own words. This page does the same, but sourced: what US agencies publicly list as included, what Google itself documents about campaign types, learning periods and account ownership, and our own published price list. We've run Google Ads and Meta Ads accounts since 2022 — 77 projects across 16 countries, over €1.7M in verifiable generated revenue (track record). Questions first? Free initial consultation.
What does Google Ads management include?
Five US agencies — WebFX, KlientBoost, Ignite Visibility, Hawke Media, and Directive Consulting — publish deliverable lists on their own service pages. Every quote below was checked verbatim on 2026-08-05; treat these as each agency's own marketing about its own service, not an independent industry standard.
WebFX lists "In-depth keyword research and advanced selection" and "Ongoing ad strategy management and optimization," starting at "$750 / month" (WebFX). KlientBoost promises "Google-certified PPC specialists managing your account daily" and "No outsourcing. No junior account managers learning on your dime." (KlientBoost). Ignite Visibility offers "a dedicated expert for each platform and a strategist who provides weekly syncs and real-time dashboards" (Ignite Visibility). Hawke Media runs "our three-week initiation" followed by "continual optimizations, competitor analyses, and bi-monthly strategic reviews" (Hawke Media). Directive Consulting says its "team handles all aspects of ad creation, placement, and management" with "detailed, custom reporting and dashboards for total transparency" (Directive Consulting).
What's automatically included in every one of our own plans:
| Deliverable | Market standard (5 US agencies checked) | With us, every plan |
|---|---|---|
| Campaign setup & strategy | all five agencies | Yes |
| Conversion tracking & Tag Manager | implied (WebFX, Ignite Visibility) | Yes, in the one-off setup (£99 / £179) |
| All needed campaign types | 4 of 5 name multiple types | Yes, as needed |
| Ongoing optimization | WebFX, KlientBoost, Hawke Media | Yes |
| Monthly reporting | WebFX explicit; others via dashboards | Monthly reporting PDF |
Every plan is month-to-month; setup with conversion tracking is a one-off fee. Most campaigns need time to gather enough data and learn what works. We generally recommend allowing around 90 days for proper testing and optimisation, but there is no long-term contract — you remain free to cancel monthly. Full breakdown on the pricing page. We're a small remote team, not a large agency with departments — no 24/7 coverage or specialist bench claimed.
Which campaign types do we run?
Google Ads Help defines seven campaign types we draw on, matched to goal and budget:
- Search: "Search campaigns are text ads on search results that let you reach people while they're searching on Google for the products and services you offer."
- Shopping: "Shopping campaigns are product listings that are ideal if you're a retailer looking to sell your product inventory."
- Performance Max: "Google Ads Performance Max is a goal-based campaign type that lets you to access all of your Google Ads inventory from a single campaign" [sic — reproduced verbatim from Google's own page]. It "complements your keyword-based Search campaigns to find more customers who convert across Google's channels such as YouTube, Display, Search, Discover, Gmail, and Maps."
- Display: "Display campaigns let you reach a relevant audience with visually engaging ads as they browse millions of websites, apps, and Google-owned properties, such as YouTube."
- Video: "Video campaigns let you show video ads on YouTube and other websites."
- Demand Gen: "Demand Gen campaigns are Ad campaigns that capture engagement and action across YouTube (including Shorts), Discover, Gmail, Maps, and the Google Display Network."
- App: "App campaigns help you find new app users and increase sales within your app."
Sources: Google Ads Help, "About campaign types" for Search, Shopping, Display, Video and App; Google Ads Help, "About Performance Max campaigns"; Google Ads Help, "About Demand Gen campaigns".
How does onboarding work?
- Free initial consultation — goal, budget and current setup.
- Marketing Audit & Action Plan — a written review of your account and market: what to fix, where to spend and what to launch first (see sample audits).
- Tracking and campaign build — technical setup to launch, usually 7–14 working days.
- Learning period — in Google's own words: "It can take up to 3 weeks or 1-2 conversion cycles for the bid strategy to calibrate to the new objective" (Google Ads Help).
- Ongoing optimization and monthly reporting — Google recommends judging results over "periods that have at least 30 conversions, such as a month or longer (50 conversions for Target ROAS)" (Google Ads Help).
As an outside data point on timing (not our own claim), paid ads consultant Sarah Stemen published a three-phase week-by-week framework in December 2025. Weeks 1–4: "Unstable performance, high Cost Per Click (CPC), low or zero conversions, and a negative Return on Ad Spend (ROAS). This is normal." Weeks 9–12+: "Consistent performance, an established positive ROAS/ROI, and a clear path for scaling the campaign." (Sarah Stemen, Dec 2025). It's one practitioner's framework, not a guarantee of any particular account's timeline.
What does it cost?
This is the agency management fee, not the ad spend paid to Google — those are separate line items. For market context on what other agencies charge, see our guide to what Google Ads agencies actually charge; for the media cost itself, see what Google Ads itself costs.
| Total monthly ad spend | One platform / month | Google + Meta / month |
|---|---|---|
| Up to £1,500 | £349 | £499 |
| £1,501–£2,500 | £449 | £649 |
| £2,501–£4,000 | £599 | £799 |
| £4,001–£7,500 | £749 | £999 |
| £7,501–£12,500 | £899 | £1,199 |
| £12,501–£20,000 | £1,199 | £1,599 |
| Above £20,000 | Custom | Custom |
| One-off & add-ons | Price | |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing Audit & Action Plan | £99 one-off | paid up front; credited in full toward your first month if you start with us — see sample audits |
| Tracking & conversion setup | £99 / £179 one-off | one platform / Google + Meta — separate from management, waived if tracking already works |
| AI ad creatives (optional) | £99 / month | 6 ads × 2 formats per month, separate from management |
A fixed monthly fee per band, based on your normal monthly advertising level — small or temporary changes in spend do not automatically move you into another tier. As ad spend grows, the effective management cost decreases. Above £20,000 a month, pricing is custom. Ad spend is your total across the platforms we manage; Google + Meta covers both platforms under the same band; the fee is higher only because two platforms are managed. No long-term contract — cancel monthly. Prices are set in £, with € and $ converted at the current rate. Ads in any language your market needs; reports, calls and emails in English. Calls are booked in your own time zone. Full per-plan detail on the pricing page.
Who owns the account?
A Google Ads manager account (MCC) "enables you to link and manage multiple separate Google Ads accounts from one location" (Google Ads Help) — it doesn't remove ownership from the underlying client account: "The client account still owns its data and has the ability to remove ownership access by unlinking" (Google Ads Help). Google also defines five distinct access levels — Email-only, Billing, Read-only, Standard, and Admin — rather than one all-or-nothing setting (Google Ads Help). If an account moves to a different agency, Google's own "change who pays" process gives the receiving manager seven days to approve or deny the transfer before it auto-cancels (Google Ads Help).
In practice, campaigns run in your own Google Ads account. We work through access rights inside it — the account, its data and its history stay with you, and you can remove our access at any time.
What budget does this make sense at?
Google's own documentation sets concrete conversion-volume thresholds for automated bidding. For Target ROAS bidding on Search and Shopping campaigns: "At least 15 conversions in the past 30 days at the conversion tracking level." For Video Action campaigns: "At least 30 conversions in the past 30 days." (both quotes: Google Ads Help). Generally, Google recommends measuring performance over "periods that have at least 30 conversions, such as a month or longer (50 conversions for Target ROAS)" (Google Ads Help).
Stated plainly: if a budget can't structurally reach those thresholds, automated bidding can't work reliably — no matter who manages the account. That's exactly what our project analysis or account audit is built to tell you honestly, rather than taking on any budget regardless of the numbers.
Frequently asked questions
Is Google Ads management month-to-month? Yes. Every plan is cancel-any-month, with no minimum term; only the setup with conversion tracking is a one-off charge.
Who owns the Google Ads account? You do. Campaigns run in your own account; we work through access rights you can revoke at any time.
How often do I get a report? Monthly, as a reporting PDF, included in every plan.
What language does the team work in? Ads in any language your market needs; reports, calls and emails in English. Monday to Friday, booked in your own time zone.
How long until a campaign launches? Setup usually takes 7–14 working days, followed by Google's own bid-strategy learning period.
See more pricing and strategy guides, or read about the team on the about page. Questions about your own account? Get in touch.