Common fee models
| Model | How it works | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Flat monthly fee | One set price for management | Clear scope, so you know what it covers |
| Percentage of spend | The fee grows with your ad budget | An incentive to spend more, not better |
| Hybrid | A base fee plus a smaller percentage | Rising cost as you scale |
| Performance-based | A fee per lead or a share of results | Disputes over what counts as a lead |
None of these models is wrong. What matters is that the fee covers real work and that incentives point toward your profit.
What a management fee should cover
- Account structure, keywords and negative keywords
- Ad copy, assets and testing
- Landing page advice or builds
- Conversion tracking for calls, forms and bookings
- Weekly optimization and search term reviews
- Clear monthly reporting on leads and cost per lead
Red flags
Be careful with agencies that bundle ad spend and fees into one number. Avoid any that keep your ads in their own account or hide Google's invoices. You should always see exactly what Google charged.
Good example. A roofing company pays Google directly for $3,000 of ad spend and pays its agency a separate flat fee. Both appear clearly in its books.
Bad example. A roofing company pays an agency $4,000 a month "for ads" and later learns only $2,000 reached Google.
How we charge
Our PPC management is a flat fee that starts at $1,000 a month, with no long contract. Your ad spend goes directly to Google or Meta from your own account. You own the account and its data.
Read who pays for PPC clicks, or see our PPC management.