Choose a PPC agency by checking who will actually run your account, whether they track real leads and sales, and whether you keep ownership of your ad account and data. The right agency explains its strategy plainly, reports on business outcomes, and never asks you to sign a long contract before it has proven anything.
Google Ads has changed a lot in the last few years. Automation, AI-driven campaign types and privacy changes mean the agency's judgement matters more than ever. Here's how to pick well in Australia today.
What a good PPC agency does now
Much of the manual bid work agencies used to do is now handled by Google's Smart Bidding. That doesn't make agencies less useful. It changes what they should be good at.
A good agency in 2026 focuses on:
- Measurement: accurate conversion tracking, call tracking and offline conversion imports so the algorithm learns from real leads.
- Inputs to automation: clean account structure, strong ad copy, the right audiences and well-built landing pages.
- Guardrails: negative keywords, placement exclusions and close review of what automated campaign types are spending on.
- Business context: knowing which leads are worth the most to you and steering budget toward them.
You can read more about how we approach this on our PPC management page.
What to look for
Senior people on your account
Ask who will run your account day to day. Some agencies send senior people to the pitch and hand the work to juniors after you sign. Meet the person who will actually log in to your account.
Relevant experience
Look for case studies in your industry or one close to it. Ask what made those campaigns work. A good answer is specific about the problem, what they changed and what happened. Vague answers about growth and ROI are a warning.
Tracking before traffic
The best agencies want to check your tracking before they spend a dollar. If they skip straight to launching campaigns, they'll be optimising blind.
A view beyond the ads
Ads send people to your site. If the landing page or follow-up is weak, more clicks won't fix it. Choose an agency that will tell you when the problem is your page, your offer or your response time.
Clear communication
You should understand what the agency is doing and why. Ask how often you will hear from them and in what format. A short monthly call with a clear summary beats a long report nobody reads. If they can't explain a change in plain English, they may not understand it themselves.
Fit with your business
The best agencies ask a lot of questions early. What is a lead worth to you? Which services are most profitable? How fast does your team follow up? Who answers the phone? An agency that doesn't ask these things will optimise for whatever is easiest to measure, not what makes you money.
Questions to ask before you sign
- Who will manage my account, and how many other accounts do they look after?
- Will I own the Google Ads account? You should. If you leave, the account and its history should stay with you.
- How will you track conversions, including phone calls?
- What will you report on? Look for leads, cost per lead and, where possible, revenue. Clicks and impressions alone aren't enough.
- How do you handle automated campaign types like Performance Max? A good answer covers controls and reporting, not just enthusiasm.
- What does the first 90 days look like?
- How is your fee calculated, and what's the notice period?
- Can I speak to a current client?
Red flags
- Guaranteed results or rankings. No one controls the auction.
- The agency owns your ad account. You lose your data and history if you leave.
- Long lock-in contracts. A good agency keeps clients by performing.
- Reports full of vanity metrics. Impressions and clicks without leads or sales tell you very little.
- No access for you. You should be able to log in and see your account at any time.
- Auto-applied recommendations. Accepting everything Google suggests often raises spend without raising results.
- Hidden margins on ad spend. Ask whether your ad budget is billed directly by Google or marked up.
What the first 90 days should look like
A good onboarding has a clear order. First, an audit of the existing account and tracking. Next, fixes to conversion tracking and account structure. Then a launch or relaunch of campaigns with tight controls, followed by weekly search term reviews and early adjustments. By the end of the third month you should know which campaigns are producing leads and what they cost.
Be wary of anyone who promises big results in the first month. Automated bidding needs time and data to settle.
Specialist or generalist?
For most businesses, a capable generalist PPC agency is fine. For high-cost, regulated industries, a specialist can earn its fee faster.
Law firms are a good example. Legal clicks in Australia are expensive. Ads must comply with the Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules, your state's legal profession legislation (the Uniform Law applies in NSW, Victoria and WA) and the Australian Consumer Law, which means avoiding unsubstantiated or misleading claims such as 'best' or 'guaranteed', and some states restrict personal injury advertising. A specialist already knows the waste patterns and the compliance limits.
If you're a law firm, read our guide to the best PPC agency for law firms in Australia, see our guide to Google Ads costs for lawyers, and look at how we run Google Ads for lawyers. For LegalVision, our work delivered a 65% increase in lead volume within six months and a 50% reduction in cost per customer acquisition.
How to compare agencies
| Check | Good sign | Warning sign |
|---|---|---|
| Account ownership | You own it | Agency owns it |
| Who does the work | Senior specialist you've met | Unnamed team |
| Reporting | Leads, cost per lead, revenue | Clicks and impressions |
| Contract | Short notice period | Long lock-in |
| Promises | Realistic plan and timeline | Guaranteed results |
Before you meet any agency, it helps to know the state of your own account. Our Google Ads audit guide shows you what to check.
Talk to us
We're a senior-led Sydney agency. Senior specialists lead strategy on every account. Book a free strategy call and ask us every question on this list.
