The essentials
- Outsourcing threshold: beyond €1,500 to €2,000 of monthly budget, or as soon as no one in-house can devote four hours a week to the account.
- Billing in 2026: a retainer of €300 to €1,500 per month for an SME, or 10 to 20% of the media budget with a minimum; pure performance pay is rare and often a trap.
- Non-negotiable clauses: a Google Ads account in the advertiser's name, administrator access retained, monthly reporting on conversions, one to two months' notice.
- What stays in-house: the definition of what a conversion is, the value of a customer, sign-off on the landing pages.
Managing a Google Ads account takes technical skills, time every week and a watch on frequent changes. Many SMEs hesitate between doing it themselves, recruiting or outsourcing. This article deals with the decision to outsource and its contractual framing; the choice between an agency and an independent is covered in choosing a Google Ads agency and working with a freelancer.
When outsourcing makes sense
In-house management works when three conditions are met: a modest budget (less than €1,500 per month), a trained person who devotes at least four hours a week to it, and a simple account (one or two Search campaigns, one area, one offer). As soon as one of them is missing, the cost of the mistakes exceeds that of a provider. On the SME accounts audited in 2026, the accounts managed in-house “now and then” show on average 25 to 40% of spend on off-target queries, against 10 to 15% for the accounts reviewed every week.
| Situation | The most rational option | Indicative annual cost |
|---|---|---|
| Budget below €1,000/month, one offer, one area | In-house management after 2 days of training, plus an annual audit | €1,500 to €3,000 (training and audit) |
| Budget of €1,500 to €5,000/month | Freelancer or small agency on a retainer | €4,000 to €12,000 of fees |
| Budget of €5,000 to €20,000/month | Specialist agency, or a senior consultant working part-time on site | €10,000 to €30,000 |
| Budget above €20,000/month | Recruiting an in-house profile (€45,000 to €60,000 fully loaded) or an agency with a dedicated team | €30,000 to €60,000 |
| Several countries, several accounts, an e-commerce catalogue | Agency with Merchant Center and feed skills | On quote, often 15% of the media |
Billing models and their effect on the provider's behaviour
| Model | 2026 range (SME) | Effect on incentives |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly retainer | €300 to €1,500 excl. VAT | Neutral on the budget; risk of under-investment in time if the retainer is low |
| Percentage of the media budget | 10 to 20%, minimum of €300 to €500 | Encourages growing the budget, not necessarily profitability |
| Retainer plus a variable share on objectives | Reduced retainer plus a bonus on the cost per conversion or the ROAS | The healthiest, provided the conversion is defined and verifiable |
| Performance pay only | Cost per lead or commission on sales | Pushes towards counting easy conversions; reserved for short-cycle offers |
| Set-up fee | €500 to €3,000 depending on the size of the account | Justified for an account to be created or restructured, not for taking over a healthy account |
A provider paid as a percentage of the budget has an interest in that budget growing; this is not dishonest, it is structural. Offset it with a contractual cost per conversion or ROAS objective and with reporting that measures it. The metrics to write into the contract are in the KPIs for judging your SEA provider.
The clauses that protect the advertiser
- Ownership of the account: the Google Ads account is created in the advertiser's name, with the advertiser's payment method; the provider accesses it through their manager account (MCC). An account created in the agency's name makes you lose the history when the relationship ends.
- Access retained: you keep administrator access to Google Ads, GA4, Tag Manager and Merchant Center.
- Media transparency: the Google invoice is addressed to you directly, or the agency re-invoices the media to the euro with the Google invoice attached.
- Monthly reporting: spend, conversions by type, cost per conversion, impression share, actions taken and planned; not an automated export of clicks.
- Term and notice: a commitment of 3 to 6 months maximum the first time, then monthly with 1 to 2 months' notice. A 12-month commitment with no exit clause tied to objectives is a bad sign.
- A named contact: the person who actually manages the account, not just the salesperson.
What the advertiser must keep in-house
Outsourcing the management does not mean outsourcing the strategy. Three decisions stay with the advertiser, because the provider does not have the information to take them:
- The definition of a conversion: which form, which call, which purchase counts, and which does not. This definition governs everything else; see Google Ads conversions.
- The value of a customer: average margin, the rate at which quotes are signed, value over twelve months. Without this figure, no target cost per conversion means anything.
- Lead quality: monthly feedback to the provider on the proportion of useful contacts. It is the only information that allows them to correct the keywords and audiences that produce volume without value.
The signs of management that is not doing its job
- The monthly report talks about clicks and impressions, never about cost per conversion or lead quality.
- The negative keywords have not been updated for more than a month (visible in the change history).
- Google's automated recommendations are applied without review.
- The provider suggests moving the whole budget to Performance Max without explaining what control is lost.
- No ad or landing page test in six months.
An independent audit halfway through, whose content is described in what a good SEA audit should contain, makes it possible to check these points without conflict.
How GreenRed helps
Rather than juggling several tools, GreenRed's return on investment module brings these metrics together in a single dashboard, compares them over time and tells you which actions come first. You can try it free, with no card, from the Pricing.
Frequently asked questions
What minimum budget justifies paying an SEA provider?
From €1,500 to €2,000 per month of media budget, the fees (€300 to €600) represent 20 to 30% of the spend and are generally paid back by the reduction in off-target clicks. Below that, two days of training and an annual audit cost less than delegated management and are enough for a simple account.
Do you need a commitment of several months with an SEA provider?
A first commitment of three to six months is reasonable: that is how long it takes to restructure an account, get through the learning phases and measure a stable cost per conversion. After that, a monthly contract with one or two months' notice is enough. Refuse a twelve-month commitment with no exit clause tied to results.
Does the provider need Google Partner certification?
The Google Partner badge attests to a volume of managed spend and to certifications passed by employees; it does not guarantee the quality of the management and it encourages the adoption of Google's recommendations, some of which mainly increase the budget. Look instead at accounts managed in your sector, the reporting method and the actual contact.
How do you take back control of an account after ending the relationship?
If the account is in your name, remove the provider's access from the access settings and check the payment method. If the account belongs to the agency, ask for it to be transferred; Google does not compel it, hence the importance of the ownership clause. Export the campaigns with Google Ads Editor beforehand to keep the structure.