Nine times out of ten it's one of three things — wrong keyword intent (attracting researchers, not buyers), a landing page that doesn't match the ad promise, or broken tracking hiding the real picture. A search terms audit, match type cleanup, and conversion verification usually unlocks what was already there.

Ask for three things: full account access, the search terms report from the last 90 days, and proof that conversions are tracked at transaction level — not page views. If they hesitate on any of these, that's your answer. A genuinely good agency has nothing to hide.

Search captures people typing a query — best for services and lead gen. Shopping puts your product image in results — best for ecommerce. PMAX runs across all Google surfaces simultaneously — best when you already have 50+ conversions per month. Starting PMAX on a cold account with no data is one of the most expensive mistakes we fix.

Before a single dollar is spent, you need verified conversion tracking — purchases, leads, calls — confirmed working in GA4 and GTM. Then one tight Search campaign targeting your highest-intent keywords, not broad terms. Data first, budget second. Launching campaigns before fixing tracking is spending blind.

Agencies optimise for metrics they control — clicks, CTR, impressions. Revenue is harder to show in a slide deck, especially when tracking is broken. We almost always find: conversions tracking the wrong event, budget skewed toward brand keywords, or Smart Bidding optimising toward a goal with no revenue connection.

Pausing has a real cost — Smart Bidding re-enters learning phase on restart and takes 4–6 weeks to recover. A better approach: cut campaigns with the worst ROAS first, reduce Display and broad spend, and protect your highest-intent Search keywords at all costs. Running lean is always better than going dark.