Managing Google Ad Grants In-House or Through an Agency: What the Work Actually Involves

The grant is awarded. The account is live. Now someone has to run it, every month, to rules that change without much notice. The question every executive director eventually asks is whether that someone should be on staff or outside it.

There is no universal answer, and anyone who gives you one is selling something. There is, however, a clear picture of what the work involves, which is what the decision should rest on. Here is the monthly work, the conditions under which each choice succeeds, and the questions to ask before you hand the account to anyone, including us.

What the monthly work actually involves

A compliant, spending Google Ad Grants account needs the following done every month, and some of it every week.

• Read the Search Terms report and add negative keywords, so broad matches do not drag the click-through rate toward the 5 percent floor.
• Check the account-level click-through rate before the month closes, and pause high-impression, low-click keywords if it is near the line.
• Confirm at least one meaningful conversion recorded, and test the tracking after any website change.
• Pause keywords whose quality score dropped to 1 or 2, or keep the automated rule that does it running.
• Add new multi-word keywords from the five families so the daily budget has searches to spend against.
• Refresh the weaker ad in each ad group, and keep sitelinks current with programs and events.
• Check geo-targeting, bid strategies, and campaign settings, since Google can change bidding automatically.
• Watch the in-product notifications, which is where Google primarily communicates non-compliance, and answer the annual program survey.
• Write a short report: what deployed, what it produced, what changes next.

For a modest account that is several hours a month of focused work by someone who knows the rules. For an account spending most of the award across many campaigns, it is closer to a part-time role. The full list of rules is in our complete guide to Google Ad Grants.

When in-house works

In-house management succeeds when three things are true at once. There is a person with the hours, protected on the calendar rather than squeezed in. That person has, or will learn, Google Ads well enough to read a quality score and a Search Terms report. And the organization has a plan for the day that person leaves, because the accounts we see suspended or lapsed almost always trace to a departure nobody planned for. If those three hold, in-house is a sound choice, and the articles on this blog are written to support it.

The account does not need a hero. It needs an owner and a routine that survives the owner.

When outside help works

Outside management earns its place when the hours do not exist, when the account is already suspended or spending a fraction of the award, when the organization wants the campaigns tied to measurable results rather than maintained, or when the person who understood the account has gone. It also fits organizations that want the monthly report without building the skill. The trade is obvious: you pay for expertise and time on an award that is otherwise at no cost to you. Whether that trade is worth it depends on what the account is doing today and what it could do.

If you want that comparison in writing before deciding anything, that is what our audit is: eligibility, unused budget, suspension risk, and the first fix, delivered within one business day with no meeting and no obligation. Get your written audit.

How agencies charge, and how we are different

Most agencies charge a flat monthly fee, sometimes with a setup fee, and some charge a share of the award's value. A flat-fee agency bills the same amount every month whether the results were good or bad. We are paid only on positive results: the advertising we actually deploy and the dollars we help you raise. That means every incentive we have points at spending your award well and raising money for your mission. It also means we do not guarantee results, and we would be cautious of anyone who does. Google itself maintains a directory of Ad Grants Certified Professionals and publishes a checklist for choosing among them; use it, ask hard questions, and compare answers.

Questions to ask before you hand over the account

• Whose name is the account in? Yours. Always. An agency should manage access to your account, never own it. Our engagements begin by verifying or establishing the account in your name.
• What will we see every month? A written report of what deployed and what it produced. An invoice without a report is a subscription to silence.
• What is the compliance plan? Ask how they keep the click-through rate above 5 percent, how they track conversions, and what happens if the account is deactivated.
• What are the contract terms? Be wary of long commitments with cancellation fees. Whatever is agreed should be confirmed in writing before anything is signed.
• What do you promise? Effort, expertise, and reporting are honest answers. Guaranteed spend or guaranteed donations are not, because Google's rules and search volume decide both.
• Will you tell us if the grant is not the right fit? The answer should be yes, in writing, before any agreement.

A middle path many organizations choose

Some organizations have outside help build or rebuild the account and set up tracking, then run the monthly routine in-house with a checklist. Others keep the routine outside and the strategy inside, deciding which programs to advertise while someone else keeps the account compliant. Both work when the roles are written down. What does not work is the arrangement nobody chose: the account left with whoever set it up, until they leave. Our article on accounts that lapsed years ago is the story of that arrangement, told many times.

Questions nonprofits ask about managing the grant

How many hours a month does the account need?

Several for a modest account, more for one spending most of the award. The weekly Search Terms review and the monthly compliance check are the parts that cannot be skipped.

Can a volunteer or board member run it?

Yes, with the same three conditions: hours, skill, and a succession plan. Put the admin role on an organization-owned address so access does not leave with the volunteer.

Is outside management worth it on an award that costs nothing?

That depends on what the account spends and produces today. An account using a few hundred dollars of a 10,000 dollar monthly award is leaving most of its reach unused; an account already spending well and compliant may need no help at all.

What should the first conversation with an agency include?

A written reading of your account before any proposal. If the first thing you receive is a contract, keep looking.

Find out what your account needs before you decide

Tell us where to look: your nonprofit, your website, and whether you already have the grant. Within one business day you will have a written audit covering whether you qualify, what is unused, what puts the account at risk, and the first thing to fix. Whatever you decide after that is confirmed in writing before anything is signed. Get your Google Ad Grants audit, or call (313) 364-8828.

Zoya Syal is Content and Production Manager at Nonprofits Engine, where she leads the content and testimonial work for a team that helps small nonprofits get set up and funded.