Two Malaysian agencies can quote the same monthly figure for “Google Ads management” and deliver work that has almost nothing in common. One rebuilds your account structure and reviews search terms weekly. The other changes a budget slider twice a month and sends a dashboard screenshot.
The word “management” carries no defined scope. Google publishes plenty about how the platform works, but nothing about what an agency must do for a fee. That gap is where most disappointing engagements begin, not in dishonesty, but in two parties assuming different work behind the same word.
This guide sets out what a complete scope contains, which parts of it actually move performance, what usually sits outside the fee, and how to check what you are paying for now. It is written to be used while comparing quotes, not after signing one.
The video below is a useful reality check before we get into the detail, practitioners describing the work in their own words.
What Do Google Ads Managers Actually Do?
Source video: What Do Google Ads Managers Actually Do?, Google Ads Agency Roundtable
PART 1 · DIAGNOSE
Why Google Ads Management Means Different Things
IN BRIEF“Management” has no standard definition, so identical fees can buy very different work. The only reliable comparison is a written deliverables list, which is why every one of our Google Ads packages publishes its scope rather than a service description.
Most quotes describe a level of attention rather than a set of tasks. “Ongoing optimisation”, “dedicated account manager”, “continuous monitoring”, none of these tell you what will happen to your account in an average month.
Three scope models sit behind that vague language, and they cost roughly the same to buy:
- Maintenance. The account keeps running. Budgets are watched, disapprovals fixed, a report is sent. Nothing is rebuilt.
- Optimisation. Search terms, bids, ad copy and landing pages are worked on continuously against a target cost per enquiry.
- Growth. Optimisation plus deliberate expansion, new campaign types, new markets, testing that risks short-term efficiency for scale.
None of the three is wrong. A stable account genuinely may need maintenance only. The failure is paying growth fees for maintenance work, which is what happens when nobody names the model in writing.
BENCHMARK BRIEFING 1 OF 4
What a Monthly Google Ads Scope Covers
IN BRIEFIn a healthy steady-state month, the bulk of the effort goes into search terms, testing and measurement, not reporting. Seeing the split as a shape makes an unbalanced scope obvious, and it is the same view we build during Google Ads management planning.
| Task group | Modelled share of effort | What it produces |
|---|---|---|
| Search terms and keywords |
Largest |
Wasted clicks removed, buying terms added |
| Ad and landing page testing |
Large |
Higher enquiry rate on the same spend |
| Bidding and budget control |
Moderate |
Spend follows the campaigns that convert |
| Conversion tracking upkeep |
Small but critical |
Decisions made on real enquiries |
| Structure and settings review |
Small |
Locations, schedules and networks stay correct |
| Reporting and review call |
Smallest |
A decision, not a data dump |
Illustrative model by IZI Digital Marketing, structured around the account tasks Google documents in its search terms report and conversion measurement guidance. Typical shape, not measured client results.
Reverse this shape, most of the effort in reporting, least in search terms, and you are buying a monthly document rather than account work.
PART 2 · DESIGN
The Six Deliverables Worth Insisting On
IN BRIEFSix deliverables carry almost all the value in a management fee. Each is a thing that either happened or did not, which makes the scope checkable, the same test we apply to a management fee against ad spend.
| Deliverable | What it should mean in practice |
|---|---|
| Search term review | A named frequency, with negatives added and new terms captured |
| Ad testing | New variations written and retired on evidence, not left running |
| Bid and budget management | A stated target, and spend moved towards what meets it |
| Conversion tracking | Forms, calls and WhatsApp taps tracked and checked monthly |
| Landing page input | Written recommendations, even where building is out of scope |
| Reporting with a recommendation | What changed, what it cost per enquiry, what happens next |
Holding two quotes that look identical?
Send us both and we will map them against the six deliverables so you can see what each one actually buys. See how a Blueprint diagnostic runs
BENCHMARK BRIEFING 2 OF 4
Which Management Tasks Actually Move Results
IN BRIEFNot every task in a scope earns its place. Ranking them by likely effect on cost per enquiry tells you which lines to protect when a budget tightens and which to treat as hygiene, a judgement that shapes every SEM engagement we scope.
| Task | Modelled effect | Why it sits there |
|---|---|---|
| Fixing conversion tracking |
Very high |
Every other decision depends on it |
| Cutting wasted search terms |
High |
Removes spend that could never convert |
| Improving the landing page |
High |
Lifts every campaign at once |
| Testing ad variations |
Moderate |
Compounds slowly, needs volume |
| Chasing optimisation score |
Low |
A guide to review, not a target to hit |
Illustrative model by IZI Digital Marketing, ordered by dependency and reach. Google describes optimisation score as recommendation-based guidance in its optimization score documentation. Indicative ranking, not measured results.
The bottom row is worth naming plainly. A high optimisation score is easy to report and easy to raise by accepting recommendations wholesale, which is exactly why it appears so often in reports where cost per enquiry does not.
PART 3 · DESIGN
Setup Work and Ongoing Work Are Not the Same Purchase
IN BRIEFBuilding an account and running one are different jobs with different costs. How a provider splits them tells you whether you are locked in, and it is the first thing to settle before comparing any Google Ads package against another.
Setup is front-loaded and largely one-off: account structure, tracking installation, keyword research, first ads, conversion actions. Ongoing management is the repeating work that keeps the account improving after launch.
DECISION BOX · HOW TO BUY SETUP AND MANAGEMENT
| Structure | Upfront cost | Risk | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Separate setup fee | Higher in month one | Low, you can leave freely | First-time advertisers testing a channel |
| Setup absorbed into a contract | Lower in month one | Tied to a minimum term | Businesses committed to twelve months |
| Percentage of ad spend | Scales with budget | Rewards spending more | Larger accounts with stable budgets |
Verdict: Most Malaysian SMEs should pay a separate setup fee and a flat monthly management fee. Whichever structure you choose, Google’s third-party policy requires any management fee to be disclosed to you in writing and shown on invoices separately from what Google charged.
BENCHMARK BRIEFING 3 OF 4
Setup Month Compared With a Steady-State Month
IN BRIEFThe first month should look nothing like the fourth. Knowing what changes tells you whether month four is normal or quietly empty, and gives you a checkpoint to raise before the first quarterly review.
| Period | Dominant activity | What you should expect to see |
|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | Build and instrument | Structure, tracking live, first ads running |
| Month 2 | Cut waste | Long negative keyword lists, tighter targeting |
| Month 3 | Stabilise cost per enquiry | A cost per enquiry you can plan against |
| Months 4–6 | Test and expand | New ads, pages or campaign types each month |
Illustrative model by IZI Digital Marketing, sequenced by what each stage depends on. Typical shape, not measured client results.
The useful question at month four is simply: what was tested this month? If the honest answer is nothing, the account has slipped into maintenance while you are still paying for optimisation.
PART 4 · DEPLOY
How to Check What Your Fee Is Buying
IN BRIEFFive checks inside your own account will tell you whether the work is happening, no technical skill required. It is the same discipline as running an SEO audit checklist, look at the evidence before you argue about the outcome.
How to audit your Google Ads scope
- Confirm you own the account. Your business should hold the account, with the agency added through a manager account link that can be revoked.
- Open the change history. It records every edit by date and user, so you can see how many changes were made last month and by whom.
- Check the negative keyword lists. A managed account accumulates negatives steadily. A short, stale list means search terms are not being reviewed.
- Verify the conversion actions. Confirm they are recording real enquiries, not page views, not clicks on a phone number that nobody answered.
- Compare the report to the account. Pick one claim from last month’s report and find it in the interface. Any gap is worth a direct conversation.
None of this requires a second opinion to start. Change history alone settles most disputes about whether an account is being actively worked on.
BENCHMARK BRIEFING 4 OF 4
What Sits Outside a Standard Management Scope
IN BRIEFMost mid-engagement friction comes from work both sides assumed the other had scoped. Naming the usual exclusions upfront prevents it, which is why our published scopes list exclusions as plainly as inclusions.
| Excluded work | Usually carried by | Ask before signing |
|---|---|---|
| Ad spend itself | You, paid direct to Google | Whose card is on the account? |
| Landing page build | Separate web scope | Are recommendations included? |
| Creative and video production | You or a third party | Who writes the ad copy? |
| Answering the enquiries | Your own team, always | Who replies, and how fast? |
| Other channels | Separate scope entirely | Is this fee Google Ads only? |
Illustrative model by IZI Digital Marketing, drawn from the boundaries Google sets out in its advertiser guide to working with third parties. Indicative guidance, not measured client results.
The last row causes the most avoidable damage. Ads deliver enquiries; they cannot make anyone answer a WhatsApp message on a Saturday. Where response is slow, no management scope will rescue the numbers.
PART 5 · DRIVE
When the Scope Is Wrong for Your Business
IN BRIEFA scope can be well-executed and still be the wrong purchase. IZI would rather name that in a first meeting than sell twelve months of competent work into a situation that cannot repay it.
Three situations call for changing the scope rather than the provider:
- The budget is too small for the work to matter. When the management fee approaches the ad spend, a lighter scope or a different channel usually serves you better.
- Nobody searches for what you sell. Google Ads captures existing demand. If the demand is not there, no amount of management creates it.
- The enquiries are not being handled. Fix response time first. Buying more enquiries into a leaking process only raises the cost of the leak.
None of these mean the advertising failed. They mean the scope was matched to a service rather than to the business, which is the decision worth getting right before the first invoice, not after the third.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is included in Google Ads management?
A complete scope covers account structure, search term and keyword work, ad and landing page testing, bid and budget control, conversion tracking, and reporting that ends in a recommendation. It depends on the model you buy, a maintenance scope keeps the account running, while an optimisation scope actively works to lower cost per enquiry.
2. Does the management fee include my ad spend?
No, the management fee pays for the work, and ad spend goes to Google separately. It depends on the billing arrangement whether you pay Google directly or through the agency, though Google requires any management fee to be disclosed in writing and shown separately from advertising costs on your invoices.
3. Is conversion tracking setup part of management?
It should be, and if it is not, ask why before signing. It depends on whether tracking is treated as one-off setup or ongoing upkeep, both matter, because tracking quietly breaks whenever a website form, thank-you page or phone number changes.
4. How often should an agency work on my Google Ads account?
Weekly attention suits most accounts spending meaningfully each month, with a deeper monthly review. It depends on spend and volatility, a low-spend account with steady performance may only justify fortnightly work, and paying for daily attention it does not need is waste of a different kind.
5. Who should own the Google Ads account, me or the agency?
You should, with the agency granted access through a manager account link. It depends on nothing, this is the one point worth being firm about, because account ownership carries your conversion history, negative keyword lists and campaign learning if you ever change provider.
Not sure what your current Google Ads fee is buying?
Book a free Blueprint consultation, bring your last three monthly reports and account access, and we will map what is actually being done against the six deliverables, then tell you plainly whether the scope fits your budget.