What does a Google Ads agency do? The tasks from tracking to budget management

A Google Ads agency manages a company's advertising account at Google. It sets up tracking and campaigns, selects search terms, designs ads and allocates the budget.

We show what that means in practice using our own work, with results from our case studies. At the end is what you should clarify before hiring an agency.

First, we set up tracking so that Google bids on profit

Automated bid strategies in Google Ads only pursue the goal stored in the account. A sale with a 5% margin counts there just as much as one with 40%.

That's why we set up measurement first. This includes server-side tracking, in which the measurement data runs through a dedicated server, and enhanced conversions.

According to Google, enhanced conversions supplement the measured inquiries and purchases with customer data such as the email address. This data only goes to Google as a hash value, i.e. made unrecognizable.

In B2B, we also import the orders from your CRM, your customer database. We store margins, contribution margins or order values in the account. This way, the bid strategy optimizes for your profit.

At SmartFoodie, among other things, we set the submitted contact form as the most important goal. Before, only clicks counted. Since then, it has been clear which ads bring inquiries.

We describe how measurement is set up in detail in our guide to conversion tracking.

We separate search terms with purchase intent from research and comparison

It starts with the question of how and how often people search for your service. This determines the search terms we target your ads to.

For BASF, we analyzed how people in the UK search for radiator antifreeze. We then ran search ads on terms such as “Engine Coolant”, among others. The analysis showed that the target group mainly searches for “Coolant”.

The budget goes first to terms with purchase intent. We exclude terms that cost money and sell nothing. This also applies to Performance Max, the campaign type that covers all Google channels from one campaign.

According to Google, negative keywords like these let you determine which search terms your ads don't appear for. At Sotel, an account-wide list keeps away search queries that bring clicks but are economically harmful. We review the search terms every week.

We align the ad and landing page with the same search query

We check whether your ads show the offer that people are searching for. This includes all suitable extensions, i.e. additions such as further links or a phone number.

We align the ad and landing page with the same question. This turns more visitors into inquiries or purchases.

For Performance Max, Google needs images in several formats. At MANU Touristik, a provider of mountain vacations in Switzerland, the client's design team supplied images in portrait, square and landscape format in coordination with us.

We integrated text-free motifs and logos so that Google can freely combine and test them. Compared with the previous Standard campaigns, revenue per euro of ad budget rose by 335%, and the cost per booking fell by 15%.

Your ads reach people in your area and previous visitors

We target your ads to the area you serve. We adjust the bids for each location.

At Auto Grill, we targeted the search ads to the most important terms for new and used cars in the greater Munich area. In September 2026, around 53 genuine contacts came via Google Ads. In October, genuine inquiries via form and phone rose from around 16 to around 25 within 14 days.

We re-engage visitors to your website with remarketing. Only people who have already been on your website receive these ads.

With Demand Gen, we reach people in Discover, Gmail and YouTube Shorts who are not yet searching for your service. For BASF, we also raised brand awareness among car repair shops with image ads on websites outside of search. The ads achieved over 500,000 impressions among business customers.

Every week, we shift budget to the campaigns that sell

We organize campaigns by what they earn. Bestsellers, high-margin products and new customer business get their own budget and their own goals.

Every week, we shift the budget to where it brings the most profit. What brings nothing, we switch off.

At Sotel, the account was split into many tiny campaigns for individual markets. We bundled them into groups and directed the budget into the markets that are developing best. In October 2025, revenue per euro of ad budget rose by 13% to 1,580%.

Management begins with an analysis of your account

Our work on a Google Ads account follows four steps:

• Account analysis: We check tracking, structure, bid strategies and search terms and quantify where budget is lost without profit.
• Prioritization: You receive an order of measures by expected profit contribution.
• Implementation: We rebuild tracking and account structure and align the bid strategies with your profit.
• Steering: We continuously shift budget to where it generates profit and regularly discuss the development with you.

We take over existing accounts. We build on what works and first change what costs the most. Historical data is preserved.

We bill SEO and other advertising channels as separate items

On our pricing page, Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, Meta Ads, SEO and product feed management are listed as separate items. Management prices are based on your monthly ad budget. The ad budget comes on top.

For SEO as well as web design and landing pages, we have separate services. Changes to landing pages are not part of Google Ads management.

From you, we need access to your advertising accounts and web analytics, your goals and a contact person. We clarify margins and order values with you.

We describe which billing models exist and which incentives they set in our article on Google Ads agency pricing.

Before hiring, clarify account, scope, goals and term

• Account ownership: Google Ads has five access levels. Only the Admin level may grant others access and change access levels. Someone from your company should have this level. With us, advertising accounts, tracking and all data remain your property, even after the end of the collaboration.
• Scope: Ask which campaign types and channels the management includes and what is billed separately.
• Goals and values: Define which inquiries and sales count as conversions and what value they get in the account. That is what the bid strategy bids on.
• Term: With us, there is no minimum term. The contract can be canceled monthly.

Our article on the briefing for your Google Ads agency shows how to prepare goals and figures for your agency. Whether an in-house team is an option for you is covered in the article In-house team or agency.

Conclusion: tracking first, then search terms, ads and budget

A Google Ads agency takes over the ongoing work on your account. With us, it starts with tracking, because the bid strategy only bids on what is stored in the account.

Then we review search terms, ads and audiences and shift budget every week to the campaigns that sell. We show how we proceed on our Google Ads page.