Time and time again we’re coming across disgruntled businesses who are frustrated with their current agency because of the lack of clarity they have around their reporting and spend across paid search channels.
If you’ve had much exposure to the search industry, you’ve probably noticed there’s a grey cloud hanging over its head in terms of transparency, misrepresentation in reporting and the ownership of IP, specifically in relation to Google Ads and Analytics accounts.
A worrying trend
All too often when on-boarding new clients we’re hearing about the battles they’re having to fight with their incumbent agency when attempting to transfer their Google Ads or Analytics accounts across to us, with some quite simply being refused access to their accounts.
How is this possible? Some agencies will claim ownership of your businesses search IP in their terms and conditions which not only inhibits any new agencies who win your business from accessing your accounts, but also from the business itself.
While there are a few reasons behind this worrying trend, unfortunately, most of them relate to unethical practice.
Case in point
Take for example the experience we had on-boarding a new client from another agency a little while back where both we and the client were refused any level of access to their Google Ads account.
When we first start out with a new client, a large part of what we do revolves around learning more about the account and the behaviour of their consumers by analysing recent and historic performance data. Without access to the client’s existing account, we were forced to rely exclusively on antiquated historical reports which only recorded click and impression metrics.
Then it got worse… When we conducted a deep dive into analytics data and the client’s invoices, we uncovered a much more unsettling issue—the previous agency had been charging the client for a monthly Google Ads budget while misrepresenting what it was actually spending. In short, they were charging the client for media spend they hadn’t used.
The limited system access and sub-standard reporting ensured the deception couldn’t be picked up by the client (sad but true), allowing the agency to pocket a large portion of the money that should have been used as advertising spend.
How you can protect your business
While it can be difficult to spot unethical practice, the best thing you can do to protect your business is to ask your search agency who owns the IP for your Google Ads, Facebook Ads and Google Analytics account. If the answer isn’t “your business”, that’s a good determinant of how ethical the agencies practices are. Collectively, as the good guys in the industry, we all need to get better at being transparent and IP ownership.
We do things differently at Synq
At Synq, we always adopt a fair and transparent approach to IP ownership. When you entrust us with your search advertising, you’ll retain full ownership of your advertising and analytics IP and we’ll act as an extension of your business, working with you, not against you.
Want to partner with a search agency that will work with you, and not against you? Contact the team at Synq today.