Most agency advice online is sales copy in disguise. These five plain-language guides hand you the actual evaluation criteria: how the agency is paid, who owns the ad account, what its method really is, and whether your current account shows red-flag spend.
The full selection framework: how the agency is paid, who owns the account, what its method is, and whether the spend shows red flags. Guide 1 of 5 · The pillar
Flat retainer vs percentage of spend, in plain language. Your fee structure decides whether your agency earns more when you spend more. Guide 2 of 5 · Settles the money question
Your ad account, your data, your exit. The contract terms to demand in writing so a breakup never costs you your campaign history. Guide 3 of 5 · Settles what you keep
How to audit your own account for garbage spend: the red flags that show where budget is leaking right now, before you pay for another month. Guide 5 of 5 · Settles whether to act
Five criteria separate agencies that grow accounts from ones that drain them: specialization, account ownership, pricing model, method. 8 min read →
Percent of spend, flat retainer, performance fees: what each pricing model rewards, where incentives break, and how to evaluate yours. 9 min read →
Who should own your Google Ads account? You. The five assets to keep in your name, the contract clauses that trap you. 9 min read →
Good management is checkable: verified tracking before spend, the right campaign types, tROAS bidding and landing pages. 8 min read →
Seven red flags that show where a Google Ads account leaks budget, from broad match defaults to PMax overlap, plus a 20-minute self-audit. 8 min read →
Years — IMG Media / Robert Ste-Marie
10+
Impeccable service, great integrity, always listening and always ready to act.
Google review
5★
Translated from French — verified Google review from a client of over ten years.
Fee structure
Flat
Flat retainer, published on Our Model page — no percentage-of-spend incentive to inflate budgets.
Named method
MaxV™
Documented benchmark: qualified lead value over raw volume, graded publicly.
Because an agency that publishes its own evaluation checklist can be graded by it. Hiding criteria only protects bad agencies. These exist so you can grade anyone, including us.
MaxV™ measures qualified lead value over raw volume — the quality bar for good Google Ads management, documented on its own page and used to grade our own accounts.
Guide 1: How to Choose a Google Ads Agency. It is the pillar. The four guides that follow each settle one question it raises: pricing, ownership, quality, and red flags.
No. Flat retainer, no contract. You keep your account either way. The audit applies the red-flag checklist to your actual account and shows you where budget leaks.
Martin Genesse, Founder and Director of Strategy, reviewed by Nathanaël Morin. Written by a current Google Partner that publishes its own pricing model and contract terms.
Reading about garbage spend is step one. Step two is having a current Google Partner apply the same checklist to your actual account and show you where the budget leaks.