Paid $500 for a PPC audit that just told me to 'try harder'

Hired an agency to look at our Google Ads account, they sent back a 3 page report that basically said our keywords were bad and we should bid higher. No actual fixes, no data breakdowns, just vague advice I could have gotten from a YouTube video. Has anyone else gotten a useless review from a paid agency and how did you get your money back?

2 comments

2 Comments

kellyr183d ago

Ugh, that is so frustrating I'm annoyed for you. I shelled out $750 for a "full funnel audit" a few months ago and got back a report that literally said "your ad copy is too boring" with zero examples or suggestions. One of the "insights" was to add more negative keywords but they didn't list a single one we should add. I tried to get a refund by disputing it with my credit card company, but since the report was technically delivered they said it was nonrefundable. Total waste of money, I feel your pain.

jessew833d ago

These types of services are everywhere now and it's a real shame. It's like people figured out they can charge these big fees for consulting or audits without actually delivering any real value. What you described happens all the time in different industries, not just marketing. My wife paid a "home organization expert" $200 to basically walk around our house and tell us our closets were messy. That was the whole advice. It's this weird trend where someone labels themselves an expert, throws out a high price, and then just gives you common sense wrapped in a fancy PDF. The credit card companies not helping with refunds only makes it worse because these people know they can get away with it. At this point I think you have to ask for specific samples of their past work and even talk to a previous client before handing over any money.