the echelonn blog

In-House vs Agency Google Ads: Which Delivers Better ROI in 2025?

Jackson Blackledge

June 27, 2025

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7 minutes

The decision between agency vs. in-house marketing for Google Ads management is a huge debate. And it’s easy to understand why. Whoever works on your account will significantly affect your marketing ROI and business growth.

Especially in eCommerce where digital advertising spend continues to rise. That’s why we thought we’d put together analysis on when it would and wouldn’t make sense.

Just for some context, we get contacted by 20+ eCommerce brands per week, but we often turn a lot of them away due to the exact factors you’ll see below.

Long story short, it’s not about the cost. Not that you can’t afford an agency. It's about understanding what drives results and which approach best delivers those results for your specific business stage, budget, and goals.

Understanding Your Google Ads Management Needs

Before you decide between Google ads agency vs in-house management, identify what type of marketing supports your business needs. Companies typically need help at one of three levels:

Support Level	Description	Key Activities
Execution-Level	Day-to-day campaign management	Campaign setup, ad copy creation, bid adjustments, performance monitoring
Strategic-Level	Campaign strategy and optimization	Strategy development, cross-channel coordination, advanced optimization
Analytical-Level	Performance insights and planning	Performance interpretation, competitive analysis, strategic planning

In-House PPC vs Agency: When You Should Choose In-House Management

You should choose in-house Google Ads management when you spend under $15,000-$20,000 monthly on ads, run simple product lines, or operate in highly specialized niches that require deep industry knowledge.

Choose in-house when you want to prioritize learning and control, or when you already have marketing talent that you can train.

Why In-House Marketing Could be Some Agency Approaches

Your internal team knows your business deeply. Internal marketers understand your product positioning, receive direct customer feedback, and pivot quickly based on business needs. This alignment with your business objectives creates more targeted, effective campaigns.

You achieve cost efficiency at lower spend levels. Search Engine Land's PPC guide shows that businesses with smaller budgets achieve better cost efficiency through in-house management, especially when spending less than $15,000 monthly.

You build valuable skills and knowledge. Managing campaigns internally develops your marketing capabilities, creates institutional knowledge, and reduces your dependence on external providers over time.

Why In-House PPC vs Agency Management Has Drawbacks

You face limited expertise and resources. Single-person or small teams have knowledge limitations, struggle to stay current with platform changes, and lack exposure to diverse campaign types. Technical skill gaps become apparent as campaigns grow complex.

You run into resource constraints. Teams struggle with testing capabilities and optimization frequency. You may struggle with multiple simultaneous campaigns, face team burnout with high-volume accounts, and lack backup when key members leave.

You work with limited data. In-house teams access only single-account data, have limited competitive intelligence, fewer cross-industry learning opportunities, and potential optimization blind spots.

Google Ads Agency vs In House: When Outsourcing Google Ads Management Works Better

You should choose outsourcing Google Ads management when you spend over $20,000-$25,000 monthly, especially when running complex campaigns across multiple product lines. Choose agencies when you need rapid growth, have resource limitations, or face persistent performance issues that require specialized expertise.

Why Outsourcing Google Ads Management Delivers Results

You access specialized expertise. Agency teams include platform specialists with deep knowledge, exposure to diverse industries, access to advanced tools, and continuous training. Single hires cannot match this.

You leverage proven processes and systems. Agencies bring documented optimization procedures developed across hundreds of accounts.

You gain cross-account insights. Agencies managing multiple accounts across various industries provide industry benchmarking data, best practice identification, pattern recognition across business models, and competitive intelligence that in-house teams cannot replicate.

You benefit from scalability and flexibility. Agencies handle campaign volume fluctuations, provide additional resources during peak periods, and reduce risk from individual team member changes.

Why Agency vs In-House Marketing Decisions Have Challenges

You can face higher costs. Some agency fees typically range from 10-20% of ad spend, with additional costs for specialized services. This creates higher total costs with smaller budgets and less predictable expense structures.

You create dependency risks. You rely on external teams for critical business functions, face potential knowledge gaps if the relationship ends, and develop less internal skill.

Google Ads Management Cost Comparison: Real Numbers

You need to examine all expenses, not just obvious fees, in this Google ads management cost comparison.

In-House Marketing vs Agency Pros and Cons: Cost Analysis

Position Level	Annual Salary	Benefits/Taxes (30%)	Tools & Training	Total Annual Cost
Entry-Level Manager	$45,000–$65,000	$13,500–$19,500	$3,500–$7,000	$62,000–$91,500
Experienced Specialist	$65,000–$95,000	$19,500–$28,500	$4,500–$9,000	$89,000–$132,500
Senior Manager	$85,000–$120,000	$25,500–$36,000	$5,000–$10,000	$115,500–$166,000

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We based salary data on Indeed salary reports and PureVisibility industry analysis. We calculated benefits at 30% of salary and estimated tools and training costs from industry standards.

Agency vs In-House Marketing: Agency Pricing Structure

Agency fees vary significantly by provider, service level, and contract terms.

Get an accurate cost estimate for your specific situation by requesting a free Google Ads audit to understand your current performance and potential agency costs.

Agency expertise typically justifies additional costs through improved performance around the $15,000-$20,000 monthly ad spend break-even point.

The Decision Framework: Google Ads Agency vs In-House

You should base your choice between in-house and agency management on specific criteria rather than assumptions or preferences in this critical agency vs in-house marketing decision.

Choose in-house management when you:

Spend under $15,000-$20,000 monthly
Run simple and straightforward campaigns
Operate in an industry requiring highly specialized knowledge
Prioritize learning and skill development
Have existing marketing talent you can train
Face budget constraints that make agency fees prohibitive
Need immediate, direct control over campaigns

Choose agency management when you:

Spend over $20,000-$25,000 monthly
Run complex and multi-channel campaigns
Need rapid scaling capabilities
Face performance issues requiring specialized expertise
Have limited internal resources
Need advanced tools and technologies
Prefer focusing internal resources on other priorities

Many successful businesses use hybrid approaches. You can combine in-house strategy with agency execution, use agency setup with in-house management, implement consultant guidance with internal execution, or get freelancer support for specific tasks.

Making the Right Choice in Agency vs In-House Marketing

Ask yourself these key questions to determine the best approach when weighing agency vs in-house marketing options.

Assessment Area	Questions to Consider
Budget and Scale Assessment	How much do you currently spend monthly on ads? What do you target for spend in 6–12 months? What percentage of revenue can you allocate to marketing management?
Capability Evaluation	How much PPC experience does your current team have? How quickly do you need results? How much appetite do you have for learning and experimentation?
Strategic Alignment	How important is marketing to your business growth? What level of control do you need? How do you prefer to allocate internal resources?
Risk Tolerance	What does poor performance during a learning period cost you? How quickly can you identify and correct problems? What backup plan do you have if your chosen approach doesn't work?

Conclusion: Making the Right Agency vs In-House Marketing Choice

The best businesses don’t just choose one between agency and in-house, they keep re-evaluating. They adjust based on what’s working, what resources they have, and where they want to go. Whether you go in-house, agency, or a mix of both, the key is the same: know what drives results, and make sure your setup actually delivers them.

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