Agency launched Google ads without my approval?

ctrjunkie

I run a small business and hired an agency to handle radio ads and Google campaigns. They took me out for coffee during the sales pitch, seemed to get what I needed, promised over 400 clicks a month from Google and radio. Paid four grand upfront, and they said they'd get started.

They sent me three radio ads - two were dreadful, completely off-brand, and the third was just about passable. I told them the third one was in the right direction. They then used that radio ad and my entire website to build the Google campaign. Thing is, I only wanted to focus on the parts of my business with the highest ROI, not a blanket spend. I assumed they'd show me the campaign structure, let me approve keywords and negative keywords - standard stuff.

Nope. They launched the Google ads without telling me, and when I asked what keywords they were using, they refused to say. Just told me to 'trust the process' and I'd get clicks. When I pushed back on why I couldn't approve the campaigns first, they basically said they're the experts so I should shut up and let them work.

I got pretty angry. Someone pointed out they're probably running a Performance Max campaign on autopilot - Google's automated campaign type that just churns out traffic to hit click numbers, regardless of quality. I'm watching my analytics now, and I bet I'll see garbage engagement rates and low time on site.

Is this normal behaviour for agencies? Because I feel completely left out of the loop on something I paid for. Am I wrong to expect approval before launch?

weekendhustle

Oh no, that sounds incredibly frustrating 😞. They're probably running a PMAX or DemandGen campaign on full autopilot - you might hit that 400-click target, but real results won't follow. Keep a close eye on engagement rates and time on site in your analytics, my guess is you'll see mostly garbage traffic. Honestly, it sounds like they've scammed you, and I'm sorry.

dailygrind

Absolutely. This violates a few of my core rules for any business I'm involved with on the marketing side. Here's where it goes wrong:

1) Own the ad account - full stop. If you don't own the account, you're flying blind. That means you can't audit quality, spot wasted spend, or walk away with your data intact. Sounds like this agency holds the keys, which is never a good idea.

2) Never touch an agency that comes from legacy media roots - newspaper, TV, radio, yellow pages. I've seen the same pattern repeatedly: they treat digital like an afterthought, run vanity metrics, and have zero understanding of CAC-to-LTV hygiene.

Sorry you're in this mess. Looks like a £3k-£4k lesson in account ownership. Hopefully that radio spend actually converts, but I'd be auditing every click path the day it goes live.

brandvoice

This is absolutely not normal, and I completely understand why you're unsettled. Any decent agency should present a full campaign structure for sign-off before a single ad goes live - keyword groups, match types, negatives, ad copy, landing page alignment. "Trust the process" tends to be code for "we don't want to be held accountable."

The fact they won't share what keywords they're targeting is a separate, glaring red flag. That's your budget, your campaign. you should have direct Google Ads access - not just a manager account where they can control what you see. if they push back on giving you that level of access, you've got your answer right there.

four grand upfront with zero transparency and no approval flow doesn't feel like a professional relationship. I'd get a campaign review call booked in and ask for all targeting documentation in writing before another pound goes out the door

pixelperfect

Honestly, this sounds like a classic case of an agency chasing vanity metrics. Promising 400+ clicks a month? That's utterly meaningless and they know it. Any half-decent agency understands that clicks without conversion are just noise. Fire them.

The real KPIs should always tie back to revenue, plain and simple. They should have presented a proper marketing plan before touching your account, and you should have signed off on every step. Anything less is them treating your budget like a playground.

ryanseo

Sack them, yesterday. $4k for 400 clicks is an absolute joke - I've seen this pattern way too often. here's the breakdown:

Clicks are vanity. conversions are the only metric that matters, and if they're not tracking those properly, they're burning cash. 400 clicks at that price point suggests either insanely high CPCs or a poorly structured account that's bleeding budget on irrelevant queries.
Generating clicks is painfully easy - broad match keywords with no negative list, display network placements with no site exclusions, or even just running on brand terms. any junior can do it. real value comes from targeting intent and optimising for ROAS.
Of course you should approve campaigns before they go live. any agency worth their retainer will have a clear process: strategy, build, review, launch. if they're skipping that step, it shows complete disregard for client oversight - and likely for performance too.

I'd fire them immediately and move to an agency that treats your budget like it's their own. if you're open to it, I'd also re-evaluate whether paid search is the right channel for your funnel - sometimes a technical SEO overhaul or programmatic content build delivers a far better long-term return

liamcopy

That's a disaster waiting to happen.

400 clicks of pure garbage.

burned through budget before you've even had coffee.

Cut the contract. Yesterday.

Find an agency that actually asks questions first.

setup matters. Silence doesn't

bigcoffee

what did the contract actually say about campaign launches? Key things to check:

Was there a clause about client approval before any new campaigns go live?
Did it specify notification timelines (e.g. 48 hours notice)?
Were budgets and targeting locked in the original scope, or could they add new campaigns under an existing retainer?

without seeing the exact language, hard to say if this is a breach or just poor communication. But if it wasn't explicitly prohibited, an agency might argue they were within scope. Always worth reviewing the MSA before pointing fingers.

ppcnerd

There's a recurring pattern here that mirrors the fundamental tension in agency life: the need to show immediate value often overrides the patience required for real strategy. Campaigns get flicked on without discussion because templated setups are the fastest path to demonstrating 'delivery' for that upfront fee. But what you're really buying is often just a brand search harvest - traffic that would have found you organically regardless.

I'd request view-only access to the Google Ads account straight away. If they hesitate or stall, that's more telling than any proposal they'll write. And pull the search terms report for the past fortnight. When the majority of conversions are people typing your business name, you're not generating new demand - you're skimming what already exists. It's efficient for the agency's reporting dashboard, but rarely effective for the business.

dusting

Two things come to mind here.

First, when you chase vanity metrics like a few hundred clicks, you're practically inviting mediocre work. That sort of target looks neat on a dashboard but tells you nothing about real value. If the agency's aiming at that, the output will match.

second, there's no way I'd work with a client who wants to sign off every move before a campaign goes live. some trust has to exist. You either want to generate revenue, or you don't. If the answer's yes, you need to give the people running it enough room to make sensible calls

ctrjunkie

That whole lack of transparency thing really gets me. You ask simple questions, they go quiet - it's such a red flag.

miaaffiliate

Exactly. Seen too many agencies burn through a client's budget before they've even had a chance to say "hold up". I've always insisted on approving every campaign launch myself when I'm working with a partner - if they can't give you that control, they're treating your money like it's theirs.