The five-record test
How do I know if my Google Ads agency is wasting my money?
Ask for five records before you renew, fire the agency, raise the budget, or move the account. The records show what Google bought, what changed, what counted, where the ads ran, and which inquiries became real opportunities.
Direct answer
Ask for the record. Then ask what it changed.
Request the search terms that spent the money, the account change history, the conversion actions Google is optimizing toward, the location settings, and the inquiries that became qualified leads or customers. A report can look polished while those five records disagree. The disagreement is the useful part. It tells you what to investigate before the next contract or budget decision.
What to request
Five records your agency should be able to open with you
These are operating records, not presentation slides. Each answers a different part of the money question.
01
Search terms
Google's search terms report shows the searches that triggered ads. Ask which searches spent money, which were blocked, and which produced qualified inquiries or sales. Search terms show demand quality. They do not show lead quality by themselves.
Google Ads Help: search terms reportAsk: "Which searches spent the money, and what happened after the click?"
02
Change history
Google Ads change history records two years of account changes by user and change type. It can show budget, bidding, targeting, location, and conversion changes. It cannot explain why a decision was made or whether the business result improved.
Google Ads Help: change historyAsk: "What changed, who changed it, and what result were you trying to create?"
03
Conversion actions
Open the conversion summary and identify every action marked primary. Google can flag actions as inactive, unverified, or needing attention. A working tag still may count the wrong business event. Ask which action informs bidding and whether it matches a real inquiry, purchase, booking, or customer step.
Google Ads Help: conversion tracking statusAsk: "What event is Google optimizing toward, and can sales verify it?"
04
Location settings
Google's advanced location options can include people in a place and people who show interest in it. Presence targeting can reduce interest-based traffic outside the service area, though device and location signals are not perfect. Compare campaign settings with the places the business can actually serve.
Google Ads Help: advanced location optionsAsk: "Are we targeting people in the service area or people interested in it?"
05
Qualified leads and customers
Google Ads supports qualified-lead and converted-lead goals. The business still has to define qualification and record the outcome. Match raw inquiries to qualified leads, booked work, customers, or purchases. Without that record, campaign reports stop before the revenue decision.
Google Ads Help: qualified and converted leadsAsk: "Which inquiries became qualified leads or customers, and was that outcome sent back to Google?"
Work product
Five-Record Google Ads Agency Control Sheet
Use this during the agency meeting. Mark what was received, what is missing, and what still needs a plain answer.
Stan Consulting LLC
Five-Record Google Ads Agency Control Sheet
Agency / account:
01
Search terms
Period reviewed:
High-spend searches explained:
02
Change history
Important changes named:
Reason and expected result:
03
Conversion actions
Primary actions identified:
Business outcome verified:
04
Location settings
Target and exclusion settings:
Service-area mismatch found:
05
Qualified leads and customers
Qualification definition:
Outcome recorded or imported:
What the evidence means
A red flag starts a question. It does not finish the case.
Look for missing ownership, conflicting records, and decisions that cannot be connected to a business result.
A
The record cannot be opened
The agency withholds access, cannot find the setting, or sends a screenshot that avoids the requested period or field.
B
The records disagree
Google Ads reports conversions while the call, form, CRM, Shopify, booking, or sales record cannot identify the same outcomes.
C
The decision has no recorded reason
Change history shows activity, but no one can connect the change to a buyer problem, account constraint, or expected result.
D
The campaign serves the wrong market
Location settings, search terms, or the landing page invite inquiries the business cannot serve or does not want.
E
The report stops at the form
The agency reports leads, but the business never records which inquiries qualified, bought, booked, or failed.
The agency meeting
Five questions that force a useful answer
- 01
Which search terms spent the most, and which created a qualified lead or customer?
- 02
Which account changes mattered, and what result did you expect from each one?
- 03
Which conversion actions influence bidding, and can our business records verify them?
- 04
Do the location settings match the places we can serve?
- 05
How does a raw inquiry become a qualified lead, customer, purchase, or booked job in the reporting?
Choose the next move
Keep, correct, replace, or pause
Keep
The records agree
The agency can explain the work, the tracking matches the business record, and the next decision is clear.Correct
One layer is broken
Tracking, location settings, search-term control, the landing page, or sales feedback needs a defined correction.Replace
Control stays missing
Access, records, explanations, or ownership remain unresolved after a direct request.Pause
The path cannot convert
The offer, page, intake, or follow-up cannot handle qualified traffic yet.Build the missing control
Your Google Ads account should connect spend to qualified demand.
Stan Consulting builds the marketing path across the account, conversion tracking, landing page, lead qualification, and reporting. Start with the problem you can see. We will scope the system that needs to be built after intake.
Have us run itDirect questions
Before you change the agency
How do I know if my Google Ads agency is wasting my money?
Ask for the five records on this page. Missing or conflicting records justify an investigation. One weak month alone does not prove waste or mismanagement.
What should a Google Ads agency report every month?
The report should connect spend and search demand to conversion actions, qualified inquiries, customers, and the account changes made during the period.
Does a quiet change history prove the agency did nothing?
No. Change history records account edits. It does not record every analysis, meeting, landing-page decision, or sales follow-up.
Should I fire the agency after finding a red flag?
Start with the missing record and ask for a direct explanation. Correct a fixable layer when the evidence supports it. Consider replacement when access, ownership, records, or repeated business-outcome questions remain unresolved.
Primary sources
The records come from Google Ads. The business outcome comes from your operation.
- Google Ads Help: About the search terms report
- Google Ads Help: About search terms insights
- Google Ads Help: About change history
- Google Ads Help: Troubleshoot conversion tracking status
- Google Ads Help: About advanced location options
- Google Ads Help: Target ads to geographic locations
- Google Ads Help: Qualified leads and converted leads
- Google Ads Help: Enhanced conversions for leads
