Is My Marketing Agency Ripping Me Off? 9 Signs to Check
It’s one of the most-searched questions by business owners for a reason: “is my marketing agency ripping me off?” If you’re spending real money on Google Ads but can’t tell what you’re getting for it, that unease is worth taking seriously. Here are nine signs to check — and a free, independent way to get the truth.
9 signs your agency might be ripping you off
- You can’t log into your own account. If your Google Ads is locked inside their login, you don’t own your data. (Check who owns your account.)
- Reports are vague or all green. Real accounts have problems; a report with no issues is built to reassure, not inform.
- Conversions look amazing but sales don’t. Often the account counts page views as “conversions.” (How fake conversions work.)
- They bid on your own brand name and bill you for clicks you’d have got free. (More on brand bidding.)
- No search-terms report. If they won’t show what people actually typed, they’re hiding wasted spend.
- Lots of manual “work” that Google automates — billed by the hour.
- Communication dries up once the contract is signed.
- You’re locked into a long contract with no clear scope or exit.
- They resist an independent audit. A confident agency welcomes a second opinion.
Run your free Google Ads audit
The fastest way to know for sure? Connect your account and Kestrel runs all 40 checks in plain English — your health score, wasted spend, and the fixes that matter. It’s read-only, free forever, and needs no credit card.
Get an honest second opinion
Kestrel is an independent watchdog, not an agency — we don’t answer to whoever runs your ads. Run the free audit and you’ll see your real health score, wasted spend and fixes, in plain English. Prefer it handled transparently? See transparent Google Ads management.
This matters most in high-value trades and services — plumbers, electricians, lawyers & legal firms, dentists & orthodontists all spend enough that a leaky account costs thousands a year.