I recently created a Google Ads campaign for a towing company that helped me out when I was stranded on the side of the road. To thank him, I offered to set up a campaign for him at no cost.

Turns out, his existing Google Ads account was a disaster. The agency managing it—a friend of a friend based out of town—hadn’t updated anything in years. They were running one generic ad targeting a broad keyword like “towing service” with zero optimization.

I stepped in, did keyword research, updated the account to align with Google’s best practices, added responsive search ads, and optimized everything. His cost per conversion dropped from $50 to $8 almost immediately.

But then, the agency got mad. They took offense to the changes and deleted all the work I had put in. The owner called me and said he didn’t want to “step on their toes” since his friend is close with them.

Lesson: Don’t let relationships or fear of conflict keep you stuck in a bad business arrangement. If your agency isn’t actively managing your ads and improving performance, you’re just wasting money. Always check on your Google Ads account to make sure it’s being properly managed!