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A client of mine is currently working with an agency that does not provide access to the Google Ads account (bad business practice but here we are). The Google Ads account is linked in Google Analytics so I have basic information about campaigns but not much else. What now?
Any idea how to get most information out of the setup? It’s basically a blackbox.
(I find this practice ridiculous. I think it’s best practice to always give the client ownership and just manage their accounts. I mean come on.)
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1 Reply
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Do they send monthly reports at least ?
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Stop working with the old account and make a new one from scratch.
Depending on the agreement your client had with the agency, it could be a fairly normal practice. Some agencies don’t want the client to leave and take the Google Ads strategy to another agency. If the agreement is for the agency to generate leads, the client technically doesn’t need access to the account. Especially if agency owns the landing pages.
Besides, some clients end up messing around with the account, which causes more problems than anything else.
If you know what you’re doing, you don’t need the old ad account. Just make a new one.
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Are you able to link Google Analytics to a Data Studio report, and perhaps explore/visualize information in a better format? Not ideal, but beyond having access to Google Ads I’m not sure there’s much more you can do.
I would echo another commenter and say – just start advertising in a separate account, build up a campaign with data you can own.
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Sometimes access isn’t given for financial liability if the current agency has their billing profile associated with the account! Or in the case that they’re concerned that a client without functional ads knowledge will go in and accidentally mess something up.
You might be able to ask for the account’s assets (text ads with campaign/ad group) with historical data; it’s relevant info and it would give you a peak into account structure and current copy, etc. If they don’t provide access, they’ll likely be happy to provide whatever reports or info that you need; especially in the case that access isn’t granted for a liability concern.
I’ve also seen access denied if there’s a non-disclosed markup, in which case the agency might be hesitant to share historical data. In this case, you can still gather info about the account structure and assets with ad and keyword reports without historical data.
Best of luck!
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Have client fire agency and start from scratch. Analytics should give you enough to get an idea on what worked. Losing history sucks but will be the case either way…mine as well rip the band-aid off sooner than later
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You can get some decent reporting on keywords but that’s about it really. As this is one of the most important assets you should definitely utilize it.
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Let me guess, this agency claims to be a “Google Partner” with access to beta programs too…
Ask them for View only access to the account so you can see it, can verify they are actively managing it (via change history) and view the stuff you want to.
If they won’t even do that, then do what others have said and start building your own account that you own and ditch the agency/find a new one.
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