When to change your advertising agency — and when not to

Changing the advertising contractor is justified for a recurring problem, not because of one weak month. Results move because of season, competition, stock and changes in the platforms; that is normal fluctuation. The worrying signal is a different one: when nobody can explain why something happened, when the report does not reconcile with the real orders, and when the answer to the question of what is being tried next month is vague. Before you decide, do three checks yourself: whether the conversion tracking works, whether the numbers from the platform match the orders actually paid, and whether new ads have been tested. Then ask for a conversation with specific questions. A second opinion often clarifies the picture before the switch itself.

My name is Hristiyan Panov — a performance marketing consultant with over 5 years’ experience and over €2 000 000 managed ad budget for more than 90 companies on Google and Meta. Below are the signs in both directions — and what to check before you decide.

Which complaints are NOT a reason to switch?

• One weak month. With monthly fluctuations this is noise, not a trend.
• A higher cost per click. The price in the auction moves with the competition, not with the contractor.
• Falling return with growing revenue. It often means you are buying new customers instead of collecting old ones — usually the right move.
• A “poor” rating of the ads in the platform. These ratings are not a judge of the result.

Each of these is a reason for a conversation, not for parting ways.

Which signs are serious?

• The numbers do not reconcile with reality. The report shows more orders than there are in your system, and nobody explains it.
• There are no changes in the account. If the structure, the ads and the keywords look the same as six months ago, you are not paying for management.
• You do not know what is being tested. The lack of a plan that you can retell in one word is a lack of a plan.
• The report is a list of metrics with no conclusions. Impressions and clicks with no link to profit.
• The account is not yours. This is also the most expensive problem — if you part ways, you lose the history, the audiences and what the algorithm has learned.

What should you check yourself before deciding?

Three checks for which you need no outside help:

• Compare the orders in the advertising platform with the real ones for the same period. A difference of the order of two times usually means double counting.
• Open the search terms report in Google Ads and see what you are paying for.
• Calculate your break-even point and see which side of it you are on.

These three answers change the conversation — from “am I satisfied” to “what exactly is not working”.

How do you conduct the conversation before switching?

With specific questions, not general dissatisfaction. What were the three biggest findings of the last quarter. What was tested and what was the result. How the platform is reconciled with the real orders. What the plan is for the next 90 days. Ask them in writing and ask for the answers in writing too — that way you can see what is measured and what is opinion.

• On the findings: which campaign or ad set was changed, on what date and what happened to CPA and ROAS afterwards.
• On the tests: what was compared, how many conversions each variant collected and which one was stopped.
• On the reconciliation: what the platform is compared against — the number of paid orders in your system for the same period, not a rough estimate. Also specify the attribution window by which it was counted.
• On the plan: what the next changes are, in order, and by which metric each is reported.

If the answers are clear and backed by data, the problem is probably not the contractor. If they are not, you already have your answer.

What should you ask for when parting ways?

• Full administrator rights over the ad accounts, the tag manager and analytics.
• Access to Business Manager and to the pixel or dataset, not just to the campaigns.
• The catalogues and audiences should stay in an account that you own.
• A short document on what was done and why — saves the next person a month.

If the accounts belong to the contractor, that is a conversation you need to have now, not on the day of parting.

A second opinion instead of a switch?

This is often the better first move. An independent review shows whether the problem lies in the management, in the tracking, in the website or in the margin — and some clients use it to ask more precise questions of the team already working on the account.

The review is done by reading the account, with no changes to it, so it does not interfere with the current work. The usual scope:

• Tracking: whether the purchase is duplicated between the pixel and the server event, whether a value is passed, whether GCLID and UTM reach the order.
• Reporting: which conversions are primary in GA4 and in the ad account and whether they match the paid orders.
• Structure: CBO or ABO, how many conversions a single ad set collects, what the search terms report shows.
• Website: where the path to payment breaks, by device and by source.
• Economics: margin per product and the break-even threshold against which ROAS is read.

The result is a list of findings ordered by severity, not an assessment of a person.

FAQ — Frequently asked questions about changing contractor

How long should I give it before I judge?

With a new account, usually one quarter — data needs time to accumulate. With an inherited account, the first meaningful improvements show earlier.

Will I lose results if I switch?

If the accounts stay yours and are handed over properly — usually not. If you start from zero, the learning begins again.

Should I switch during the season?

Better not. Switching in your strongest period multiplies the cost of every mistake.

How do I find out whether the problem is the website?

Compare the conversion rate by source and device. If all channels break at the same place, the problem is after the click.

Can I work with two in parallel?

On the same account — no, it creates chaos and the two spoil each other’s settings. On different channels — yes, as long as someone watches the overall picture.

Conclusion

Changing contractor costs money and time, and half of the problems that provoke it are not in the management of the campaigns — they are in the tracking, the website or the margin. That is why the first step is not an advert for a new contractor, but an exact diagnosis.

If you do not know exactly what is not working, start with an independent review.

Request a quote for a digital audit →

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