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Should I replace my Google Ads manager or give him a chance?
Posted by on October 13, 2025 at 6:50 pmHi everyone! Need some outside perspective from people who live in PPC.
I hired a new Google Ads manager recently to handle campaigns for my local service business. On the surface he seems knowledgeable, talks about data, intent, quality score, representation of performance etc. But here’s where I’m not sure if he’s actually good or just good at talking:
Concerns so far:
- He works slow. Everything takes days and I have to follow up constantly. I move fast and I hate waiting around when things need to get done.
- He spends a lot of time analyzing and explaining but execution is slow.
- His just built a new campaign ove mine. His campaign structure feels outdated, like splitting Phrase and Exact match into separate campaigns.
- I feel like he’s overcomplicating things instead of building simple, scalable structure that gets results.
- Haven’t seen real performance yet — still “building foundation” after too long (almost 3 weeks)
My dilemma:
He seems like he knows what he’s talking about but I’m not getting momentum, speed or clarity from him. I’ve worked with Google Ads enough to know what good looks like, and I’m not feeling it yet.
So I’m stuck between:
A. Cutting him now and finding someone more aggressive and ROI-focused
B. Giving him one more shot and setting clear expectations for speed + structure + performanceWhat would you do?
Anyone been in this situation before? Is this just the “slow builder” type who needs time, or is it a red flag when someone explains everything but doesn’t execute fast?
Also, if I give him a shot, what kind of clear expectations would you set (KPIs, timelines, structure rules, communication, etc)?
Appreciate any honest takes. Not trying to bash the guy — just don’t want to waste time and money.
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1 Reply
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Hi,
How long ago did you hire him?
What KPI’s were agreed upon before agreeing to work together? By your message, I’m assuming you didn’t set any?
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How much are you paying him compared to your monthly ad spend?
I know its cliche but you can get any combo of Good, Fast, and Cheap but you rarely get all 3.
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Splitting campaigns per match type in this day and age is crazy, and that’s a fireable offense for me, honestly. No wonder he takes so long to do anything. It could be that his knowledge is outdated, he lacks practical experience, or it’s just plain bad judgment. Either way, this guy can’t be trusted, and you’re already ahead of him anyway.
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Are they aware what you’re unhappy about or did you communicate them that you expect lower cpc sooner and that you think he’s slow in execution?
Hiring someone new is usually more work, I’d keep interviewing some candidates and give your employee a few weeks more, as long as it’s not going to hurt you financially. Then if you’re still not happy, then it’s probably not a good match and you’ll have some candidates on hands already.
How long have they been working for you? -
What is your monthly budget
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Depending on the complexity of the business environment and the level of spend I’d say 3 weeks is not a long time.
That said, he should have some kinda coherent plan for where he wants to go with it.
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In my opinion the only 2 metrics you should really be caring about are lead volume and CPA and even then the market somewhat dictates what is possible there. Metrics like CPC, conversion rates, CTRs can all vary a ton based on campaign structure and style. But if you are getting the volume you want at a realistic and profitable CPA then keep it rolling. Maybe you should simplify your KPIs.
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Your expectations for performance improvements are way out of control along with your move fast mentality. Let your campaigns run and then make changes based on performance. Since you haven’t said how much your ad spend is or your business category, this is another concern that your expectations are not aligned with your business category.
And you’re expecting on demand service for a pittance. That’s not how the real world works.
In other words… simmer down and focus on servicing your customers.
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tbh this just sounds like you’re being a bit impatient. 3 weeks is super normal if he’s rebuilding stuff from scratch and trying to get some good data upfront. Most ads don’t hit full stride overnight, especially in a high-CPC niche like yours.
the phrase/exact split isn’t “outdated,” it’s just a control thing. yeah, some people keep it simple with mixed match types, but separating them can still make sense if you’re managing bids well.
feels like you know enough to be dangerous but not enough to run it yourself — which is fine, but that’s why you hired someone. If you wanna move forward, set clear expectations instead of just saying “he’s slow.” Which really, he’s not if you’re getting a 20-40% conversion rate, which is pretty damn good for a multi-thousand dollar install. That tells me he’s getting *quality* leads which is way more important than a huge volume of shitty leads.
Anyway, have a conversation with him about:
* Realistic (agreed upon by BOTH of you) KPIs like CPC, CPA, lead volume
* the cadence for updates (weekly check-ins?)
* plans to scale/ramp up your efforts and checkpoints along the way. Again though, realistic.then give him a few more weeks before judging. if nothing moves, you’ve got your answer. Also, maybe it’s also just not a good fit if you’re a really “involved” client and he’s someone that works more independently.
Anyway, hope you work it out.
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I work with local businesses, mostly helping them rank top 3 on Google Maps and run Google’s pay-per-lead system (LSA). We don’t really focus on clicks or impressions anymore, those can drain budget fast. With LSA, you’re paying only when an actual lead calls or messages you, which makes it way easier to track ROI.
When you combine that with solid local SEO, it’s a strong setup, SEO builds long-term visibility, and LSA keeps leads coming in consistently week to week.
It takes some tweaking to get the targeting and reviews right, but once it’s dialed in, it’s super reliable.
Happy to help more if you want, DM me. 🙂 -
If conversion rate and revenue is good, why do you care about cpc? That means nothing. Focus on Cpa and let the man work.
Do i agree with his structure? Prob not, but you should only care about results.
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Working slow is the biggest red flag more than anything. You cannot afford to be slow.
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My honest take – I think the red flags are mainly from your side. Being impatient, needing to move quick (not even a full month) and thinking of getting rid already.
Not bashing you, but if you get rid of the guy, you’re probably doing him a favour. I know I would feel like that
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OP if you’re not happy with his performance then mention it to him. You don’t need peoples validation. Base the conversation on reasonable expectations like a 5-10% decrease in cost per click or lowering CPL month over month, clear communication is imperative. Best of luck.
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Do you pay him to run the campaigna daily? Or a few hours in the month?
Also 3 weeks is defenitly not a long time to properly set up a good foundation.
From what you describe there are a few things that probably could be done better, but i get the feeling that you are the problem and you got expectations that dont match up with reality
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