Hiring a Google Ads Agency in Thailand: 10 Things to Check Before You Spend (2026)

Hiring a Google Ads agency looks simple: hand over a budget, set some keywords and wait for customers. Yet many business owners find that months later the budget is gone and they still don’t know how many customers it produced. Some only discover after ending the contract that the ad account was never in their name, and the entire data history leaves with the provider.

Whether you call it Google Ads management or simply “running ads,” what you’re really paying for is managing ad spend to generate customers. This is a 10-point checklist to run before signing a contract, and you can use it to audit your current provider too.

Why You Need a Checklist Before Hiring

Google Ads spends money every day. Small mistakes, like not excluding irrelevant searches or counting conversions twice, add up to wasted budget without you noticing. And most business owners don’t have time to look inside the account themselves.

A checklist helps you:

Ask the right questions before work begins
Separate providers who work systematically from those who “launch and leave”
Protect your business’s data and account history for the long term

Points 1–2: Account Ownership and Access

Point 1: The Google Ads account must belong to your business

This is the single most important point. The ad account should be created under your business email, with billing tied to your business card or account. Then add the provider as a user or link it to their manager account (MCC).

Campaign history, conversion data and audience data built up over time are valuable. If the provider owns the account, you may have to start from zero when you part ways.

Point 2: Other measurement tools must belong to your business too

GA4, Google Tag Manager, Google Search Console and Google Business Profile should also be under your business account, with the provider given only the access they need.

Question to ask: “If we stop working together, will we still have admin access to every account?”

Points 3–4: Conversion Tracking

Point 3: Track conversions that matter to the business

Without conversion tracking, Google Ads can’t tell which clicks produce customers, and your provider can only report clicks and impressions. Conversions worth tracking include:

Calls from ads or from the website
LINE messages or chat button taps
Quote request form submissions
Completed room or service bookings
Online purchases

Point 4: Make sure nothing is double-counted or miscounted

A common problem: counting “thank you” page views, so a user refreshing the page counts twice; or counting visits to the contact page as conversions when nobody actually got in touch. The numbers look better than reality, and automated bidding learns the wrong lessons.

Question to ask: “Which conversions will you set up, with what tools, and how will you test that they count correctly?” Setup is usually done through Google Tag Manager together with GA4.

Points 5–6: Keywords, Negative Keywords and Search Terms

Point 5: A plan for negative keywords

Negative keywords tell Google not to show your ads for certain terms. A premium resort, for instance, probably doesn’t want to appear for searches containing “free” or “jobs.” Without them, budget flows to people who will never become customers.

A good provider has a starter negative keyword list from day one and keeps adding to it.

Point 6: Regular search terms reviews

The keywords you set and the terms people actually type are not the same thing. The Search Terms report shows which searches triggered your ads and is the main source of new negative keywords.

Question to ask: “How often do you review search terms? Can I see examples of terms you excluded last month?”

What to check	Systematic provider	Warning sign
Negative keywords	Starter list, updated continuously	None, or never edited
Search terms	Reviewed on a schedule, with evidence of exclusions	Can’t say whether they’ve ever looked
Campaign structure	Split by service or customer segment	Every keyword in one group
Landing pages	Each ad goes to a matching page	Every ad goes to the homepage

Point 7: The Landing Page Your Ads Send People To

However good the ad, if the landing page loads slowly, doesn’t match what the ad promised, or hides the contact button, the budget is wasted. A good provider always asks about landing pages and recommends improvements. For more, see our guide to landing pages that convert.

Page copy matches the search term and ad text
Call, LINE or form buttons are clearly visible on mobile
The page loads quickly on mobile
It includes information that helps people decide, such as reviews, real photos and service steps

Question to ask: “What should we change on our landing pages before ads go live?”

Point 8: Reporting and Communication

A good report isn’t the longest one. It’s one that answers business questions. Ask for a sample before hiring and check it includes:

Actual spend, broken down by campaign
Number of conversions and cost per conversion
What changed this month, and why
Next month’s plan
Explanations in language a business owner understands

For e-commerce, judge value with ROAS (return on ad spend). For service businesses that take enquiries by phone or chat, cost per lead is usually the more meaningful figure.

Question to ask: “How often will you send reports, and will we have review calls?”

Point 9: Transparency on Ad Spend vs Management Fees

Keep a clear line between ad spend paid to Google and the fee for managing campaigns, and you should be able to see actual spend in the account at any time.

Google’s ad invoices are issued in your business’s name
You know how the management fee is calculated and what it covers
No hidden mark-up inside the ad budget

Point 10: Red Flags to Walk Away From

If you see any of these during conversations, think carefully before deciding.

Guaranteed sales or a permanent top ad position. Results depend on many factors: competition, your website and your product.
Refusing to give you admin access, or saying the account belongs to them.
Reporting only clicks and impressions, never conversions.
Campaigns set up and never adjusted, with no change log.
Long lock-in contracts with no trial period and no data hand-over terms.
No questions about your business: they don’t know your customers or what makes your product stand out.

Printable Summary Checklist

#	Question	Answer you want to hear
1	Who owns the Google Ads account?	The business; the provider is a user
2	Whose account are GA4 / GTM in?	The business’s
3	Which conversions are tracked?	Calls, LINE, forms, bookings or real purchases
4	How are conversions tested?	Tested before launch and checked for double counting
5	Are there negative keywords?	A starter list, updated continuously
6	How often are search terms reviewed?	On a clear schedule, with evidence
7	What should change on landing pages?	Specific recommendations
8	What’s in the report?	Spend, conversions, cost per result, changes, next steps
9	Are ad spend and fees separate?	Clearly separate; real spend visible in the account
10	What do we get back if we stop?	Full access and a campaign summary document

At Southern Whale we’re a freelance team managing Google Ads for businesses in Southern Thailand, on the principle that accounts and data always belong to the client. If you’d like us to review your current account against this checklist, or start a new campaign, message us on LINE. We don’t guarantee results, but we’ll do our best and report transparently.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does a Google Ads agency actually do?

Generally it sets up and manages your ad campaigns on Google, but scope varies between providers. Ask clearly whether conversion tracking setup, ongoing optimisation and reporting are included.

What if my Google Ads account is in the provider’s name?

Ask them to transfer admin access or move to an account in your business’s name as soon as possible. If that’s not possible, create a new account in the business’s name and ask for an export of keywords, ad copy and past reports.

How often should search terms be reviewed?

It depends on budget and click volume. Accounts with lots of clicks need more frequent checks, and new campaigns need closer attention because that’s when irrelevant terms show up most.

Can I run Google Ads without a website?

Some ad formats work without a full website, such as call-only ads. But a good landing page makes measuring and improving results much easier.

How quickly will I see results from Google Ads?

Ads start showing much faster than SEO, but early on the system is still learning and the provider is refining keywords. Give it some time before concluding whether a campaign works.

Should I use Google Ads together with SEO?

They work well together. Google Ads quickly reveals which searches produce customers, which feeds into long-term SEO planning, while SEO reduces your reliance on ad spend as your rankings improve.