Short answer: run Google Ads yourself if you have a small budget, one clear service and a free hour or two every week for the account. Hire a Google Ads agency (or a freelancer) when you cannot keep up that weekly work, when you run several services or locations, or when wasted spend costs more than the fee. Whichever you pick, open the Google Ads account in your own business’s name and give the agency access to it. Google lets the account’s admins unlink an agency’s manager account at any time, so your data and history stay with you.
We manage Google Ads for small businesses from our teams in Toronto and India. Owners often ask us “do I even need you?”, and sometimes the honest answer is no. For this guide we read Google’s help pages on access levels, manager accounts, search terms, conversions and the Google Partner rules on 2 November 2026, and pulled Canadian search data for 12 related searches.
What does running Google Ads yourself take each week?
Setting up a campaign is the easy part. This is the weekly routine we follow on a small search campaign, and what you sign up for if you do it yourself:
- Read the search terms report. Google says it shows “how your ads performed when triggered by actual searches”. This is where you find out that your “furnace repair” ad also showed for “furnace repair course” or “furnace repair jobs”.
- Add negative keywords. Google’s advice is plain: “If a search term isn’t relevant enough to the products or services you offer, add it as a negative keyword.” Negative keywords stop your ad from showing for those searches again.
- Check conversions, not clicks. Conversion measurement in Google Ads can count website actions such as forms and purchases, phone calls from ads or from your website, app actions and offline sales you import. Without it, you cannot tell which keywords bring customers.
- Adjust bids and budgets. Move money toward the keywords and ads that bring leads, and away from the ones that only bring clicks.
- Test ads. Keep a second version of your ad text running and replace the weaker one every few weeks.
None of this is hard. The problem is doing it every week, in your busy season too. In our view, self-run accounts rarely go wrong at setup. They go wrong weeks later, when nobody has opened the search terms report since launch.
Who should own the Google Ads account?
You should, always. This is the most useful point in this article.
Google Ads gives each user an access level. In Google’s access level table, Standard users “can edit campaigns”, while only Admin users can “give account access, change access levels, and cancel invitations from other users” and “unlink manager accounts”. Whoever holds admin access holds the keys.
Agencies usually work through a manager account, which Google says “works well for third parties such as agencies”. Linking to one does not hand your account over. Google says your account’s admins “can terminate the relationship with the manager account at any time by unlinking their account from the manager account”.
Two more details. A manager account can be given “ownership” of your account, and then its admins “can also edit user access, managers, and product links within your account”. Only agree if you know why it is needed. And Google warns that if an account “has only one administrator, you may lose access to your tags if that user becomes unavailable”.
So the safe setup looks like this:
- Create the Google Ads account yourself, with a business email you control.
- Add your own card, so you pay Google directly and see every charge.
- Keep yourself as an admin and add a second admin you trust, such as a partner or manager.
- Accept the agency’s manager account link request, or invite its people as Standard users.
- Set up conversion tracking inside your account, so the data stays with you if the agency leaves.
DIY vs agency vs freelancer: which fits you?
| Do it yourself | Freelancer | Agency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your time each week | Highest: the whole routine above | Low: reviews and approvals | Low: reviews and approvals |
| Control | Full | High, if the account is yours | High, if the account is yours |
| Cost on top of ad spend | None in fees, but your hours | Fee | Fee |
| Main risk | Wasted spend from skipped weeks and missing tracking | One person: holidays, illness, they move on | Your account handed to a junior, slow replies |
| Best for | One service, one area, small budget, an owner who likes numbers | One or two campaigns that need an expert eye | Several services, locations or ad types, or a bigger budget |
In our Semrush check for Canada on 2 November 2026, far more people search for an agency than for a freelancer:
| Search (Canada) | Monthly searches | Keyword difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| google ads agency | 2,400 | 14 |
| google ads management | 1,300 | 68 |
| ppc agency | 1,300 | 39 |
| google ads agency toronto | 590 | 19 |
| google ads consultant | 390 | 33 |
| google ads expert | 210 | 38 |
| google partner agency | 40 | 0 |
| hire google ads expert | 40 | 0 |
| google ads freelancer | 30 | 0 |
| google ads management cost | 20 | 0 |
One more number from the same check: Semrush estimates a click on “google ads management” at about US$127. Advertisers bid high on that search, so expect plenty of sales pitches once you start looking.
What does Google Partner status mean?
Many agencies show a Google Partner badge. We read Google’s current requirements so you know what it stands for. Google checks three things daily, on the agency’s manager account:
- Performance: a “minimum optimization score of 70%” on its manager account.
- Spend: “a 90-day ad spend of $10,000 USD across managed accounts”.
- Certifications: at least 50% of the agency’s account strategists certified in Google Ads, plus a certification in each product area with US$500 or more of spend in 90 days.
Premier Partners must also be in the top 3% of participating companies in their country, judged once a year.
Our view: the badge shows an agency is active, spends real money for clients and has certified staff. It does not show how it will do for a roofer in Mississauga. Only about 40 people a month in Canada search “google partner agency”, so most buyers do not start there either. Treat it as a minimum filter.
How do Google Ads agencies charge?
We will not quote market prices, because they vary too much. These are the models you will see:
- Flat monthly fee. The agency has no reason to push your budget up. This is how we charge, and the ad account stays in the client’s name.
- Percentage of ad spend. The fee grows with your budget, so ask how the agency decides when to raise spend.
- Per lead or pay for results. Agree in writing what counts as a lead. A spam form fill is not a booked job.
- Setup fee plus monthly. Ask what the setup includes and who owns what is built.
Is an agency worth the fee? Our arithmetic
Our arithmetic, example only: say you spend $2,000 a month on ads and do it yourself. If 15% of that goes to searches that never could have become customers (because the search terms report went unread), that is $300 a month. Add your time: 3 hours a week at $60 an hour is 3 × 60 × 52 ÷ 12 = $780 a month. Together, $1,080 a month of cost that does not appear on any invoice. If a manager’s fee is lower than that and they cut the waste, the fee pays for itself. These are not benchmarks: the 15% and the $60 are example inputs. Use your own search terms report and your own hourly value.
What should you ask a Google Ads agency before hiring?
This is the checklist we would use if we were the client:
Ask these
- Will the Google Ads account be in my business’s name, with me as admin?
- Will you link through your manager account, and will you ask for ownership? Why?
- What conversions will you track, and will they live in my account?
- How often will you read the search terms report and add negatives?
- Who will work on my account day to day, and are they certified?
- What will the monthly report show: leads and cost per lead, or only clicks?
- How does your fee work, and what is the notice period to leave?
Walk away if
✗ They will only run ads from an account they own.
✗ They will not show you the search terms or let you log in.
✗ The report shows clicks and impressions but never leads.
✗ They promise a ranking or a number of leads before seeing your account.
✗ Leaving means losing your ad history or your conversion data.
Still deciding between Google and Facebook or Instagram ads? Read Google Ads vs Meta Ads for a small business first.
How we run Google Ads for small businesses
We set up and manage Google Ads campaigns and wider PPC management for small businesses in Canada, Australia and India. We charge a flat monthly fee, the ad account stays in your name, and conversion tracking goes into your account first. If doing it yourself suits you better, we will say so.
In Canada, see our Toronto website and SEO page or call +1 437-563-8080. In India, book a free 30-minute call or phone our Fatehabad office on +91 70151 78387.
Common questions
Who should own the Google Ads account, me or the agency?
You should. Create the account with your own business email, keep yourself as an admin and add the agency as a user or link it to their manager account. Google says your admins can unlink an agency’s manager account at any time, so your history stays with you.
What access level should I give a Google Ads agency?
Standard access lets a user edit campaigns but not give account access or unlink managers, which are admin-only. Many agencies use a manager account link instead, which you approve as an admin. Keep at least two admins on your side.
Does a Google Partner badge mean the agency is good?
It means the agency meets Google’s thresholds: a 70% optimization score, US$10,000 of ad spend across managed accounts in 90 days, and at least half of its account strategists certified. It does not show how it will do for a business like yours.
Is a freelancer cheaper than a Google Ads agency?
Not always. A freelancer is one person, so ask who looks after your account during holidays or illness. Compare the weekly work and the report first, then the fees.
How many hours a week does running Google Ads take?
For one small search campaign, plan on a short check every few days and a longer weekly review of search terms, negatives, conversions and bids. A new account takes more time in its first month.
Data: our own Semrush keyword check for Canada (database ca), 12 searches, 2 November 2026. Search numbers are monthly averages and estimates. Sources read 2 November 2026: Google Ads Help, About access levels; Google Ads Help, About manager accounts; Google Ads Help, About the search terms report; Google Ads Help, About negative keywords; Google Ads Help, About conversion measurement; Google Ads Help, How to become a Google Partner or Premier Partner. Google changes these pages and the Partner rules from time to time.