If you are shopping for a Google Ads management agency, the sales pitch will sound similar from one firm to the next. The difference shows up later, in what the agency reports and what it can explain. A law firm or med spa does not need more clicks. It needs signed cases and booked consultations, and an agency that can show you how the ad account produces them.
The short answer
A good Google Ads manager owns the account structure, the search terms, the ad copy, the bidding and the landing pages, and reports on cost per signed case or booked consultation. If the monthly report stops at impressions, clicks and click-through rate, you are not seeing the numbers that matter.
What Google Ads management should actually include
- Account structure built around your services and case types, so a personal injury campaign is not mixed with a general legal-services campaign, and Botox is not mixed with body contouring.
- Weekly review of search terms, with negative keywords added so budget stops going to the wrong searches.
- Ad copy that is specific to the service and reviewed against your compliance requirements.
- Conversion tracking for calls, form fills and booking events, set up before spend begins. See call tracking for law firms.
- Landing pages built for one service and one action. See landing page optimization for PPC.
- A budget plan tied to what a client is worth. See how to set a PPC budget.
The monthly report you should insist on
- Spend by campaign and service line.
- Qualified calls and form submissions, with the unqualified ones separated out.
- Cost per qualified inquiry.
- Cost per signed case or booked consultation, matched to your intake log or CRM. See cost per signed case and tracking booked consultations from Google Ads.
- Wasted search terms found and blocked.
- The change planned for next month and the reason for it.
Red flags
- Reports that show clicks, impressions and click-through rate but no inquiries or clients.
- No access to your own ad account, or an account opened in the agency's name.
- Fees set only as a percentage of ad spend, with no outcome reporting.
- Guaranteed lead counts, rankings or case volume. Nobody controls those.
- Long contracts with no clear exit and no handover of the account and its history.
- An inability to explain why a particular search term is in the account.
Eight questions to ask before you hire
- Which numbers will I see each month, and can you show me an anonymized sample report?
- How will you track a phone call or form fill back to the ad that produced it?
- How do you connect signed cases or booked consultations back to the ad account?
- Whose name is the ad account in, and what happens to it if we part ways?
- What exactly does the management fee cover, and what costs extra?
- How often do you review search terms, and who does it?
- Who reviews ad copy for compliance in my profession?
- When would you tell me to spend less?
Google Ads is one channel, not the whole plan
For law firms, paid search sits next to local search and, in some markets, Local Services Ads. Read Local Services Ads for law firms: what Arizona attorneys should know before you decide how to split spend. An agency that only offers one channel will usually recommend that channel.
Frequently asked questions
What does Google Ads management include?
Account setup and structure, keyword and search term management, ad copy, bidding, conversion tracking, landing page recommendations and monthly reporting. Ask for the scope in writing so you can compare agencies on the same basis.
How much does Google Ads management cost?
Fees vary by agency and by scope, and they are separate from the money you spend on ads. Ask whether the fee is flat, tiered or a percentage of spend, and what is included. Compare proposals on what you will receive, not only the price.
How do I know if my agency is performing?
Look at cost per signed case or booked consultation over several months, not at clicks. If your agency cannot report it, ask how they plan to start, and check that call tracking and form tracking are working.
Should a law firm use Google Ads or Local Services Ads?
Many firms test both, since they work differently and are billed differently. See our guide to Local Services Ads for law firms in Arizona, and track both against cost per signed case.
Can I take my ad account with me if I leave?
You should be able to. Make sure the account is opened in your business's name with you as an administrator, and that the agreement says you keep the account and its history.
Not sure how your current account stacks up?
Minding Your Media is a Phoenix-based agency that works with law firms, med spas and other healthcare practices across the western U.S. Our free Growth Audit looks at your tracking, search terms and cost per signed case or booked consultation, and tells you plainly what we see. Request your free Growth Audit. More on our paid advertising services, legal marketing and med spa marketing.