Quick answer: Ask these 15 questions before hiring someone to run your Google or Facebook ads, covering ownership, tracking, reporting and terms.
Hiring someone to run your ads is a big decision. Your money, your data and your lead flow are in their hands. These questions help you compare providers and avoid the common traps.
Ownership and transparency
1. Whose account will the ads run in?
The right answer: yours. Your business should own the Google Ads account, Meta ad account, pixel and analytics. See who should own your Google Ads account.
2. Will ad spend be billed directly to my card?
You should see exactly what Google and Meta charge, separate from management fees.
3. Will I have admin access at all times?
Yes, always.
4. What happens when we stop working together?
You keep all accounts, data, audiences, ads and landing pages you paid for.
Approach and expertise
5. How will you track leads?
Listen for specifics: conversion tracking on real enquiries, call tracking, Conversions API or enhanced conversions, checking against your CRM. Vague answers are a red flag.
6. What results have you got for businesses like mine?
Ask for examples with real numbers (cost per lead, lead volume), even if anonymised.
7. What will you do in the first 30 days?
Expect: audit or setup, tracking, campaign build, launch, then a learning period. See your first 30 days of Google Ads and your first 30 days of Facebook ads.
8. What do you need from me?
Good marketers ask about your best customers, margins, capacity, offers and how you follow up leads.
9. What budget do you recommend, and why?
They should explain it from your costs per click or lead, not just pick a number.
Communication and reporting
10. Who will actually work on my account?
Especially important with agencies.
11. How often will we communicate, and how?
Weekly, fortnightly, monthly? Written updates or calls?
12. What will your reports show?
Look for leads, cost per lead, spend and actions taken, not just impressions and clicks. See what a good monthly ads report includes.
Terms
13. What’s the contract length and notice period?
Month-to-month after an initial period is common and fair.
14. What exactly is included in the fee?
Setup, creative, landing pages, tracking and reporting. What costs extra?
15. What would make you tell me ads aren’t the right move?
A trustworthy provider will name situations where they’d advise against spending more: broken tracking, a weak landing page, no capacity to handle leads.
Red flags
- Guaranteed results or “first page in a week” promises
- Refusing to give you access or ownership
- Long lock-ins with no review point
- Reporting only clicks and impressions
- Pressure to start immediately
Sources and further reading
Written by Gregory
20 years building websites and running lead generation. Based in Sydney, working with clients worldwide. How I work →