If you’re running a Google Ads or digital marketing agency, there’s one thing that will make or break your relationship with new clients — setting proper expectations.
Most of the headaches agency owners face come from mismatched expectations. It’s not the ad performance. It’s not the budgets. It’s that the client thought one thing, and reality turned out to be another. Here are four proven ways to set client expectations that will save you stress, improve client retention, and keep your agency running smoothly.
1. Establish Clear Timelines (Setup & Results)
Most clients want leads yesterday. But Google Ads doesn’t work like flipping a switch.
How to frame it:
- Setup Time: Let them know when you can realistically have their campaign up and running. Whether it’s 24 hours or a full week out, give them a date and stick to it.
- First Results: I always say, “You might get a lead on day one — we’ve had that happen. But don’t expect it.”
- What you should expect is for the campaign to improve week over week. By month two, it should look better than month one. By month three, even better than that.
Cover this timeline twice — once on the sales call and again on launch day. Repetition helps avoid confusion down the road.
2. Explain the Budget & Billing Process
Money surprises kill trust — fast.
Therefore, you need to break down exactly how and when your clients will be charged.
Here’s how to explain it:
- Google Ads Billing: Google usually bills in $500 increments. So if a client has a $2,000 monthly ad budget, they’ll likely get charged four times a month as that $500 threshold is hit.
- Your Management Fee: Make it crystal clear when your fee is charged (e.g., first of the month) and how.
This transparency goes a long way. Clients appreciate when you’re upfront — especially when their credit card is involved.
3. Set Expectations for Campaign Performance
Most campaigns follow one of three typical patterns after launch. And if you explain these upfront, you’ll instantly reduce client anxiety.
The 3 Launch Patterns:
- Fast Start – Leads come in quickly.
- Fast Start, Then Drop – Campaigns begin strong but dip after a week due to Google’s learning phase. This is normal, and it usually bounces back.
- Slow Start – Performance is sluggish out of the gate, but picks up after optimizations.
Every campaign falls into one of these buckets — and that it’s okay. We’re monitoring and adjusting constantly. Letting clients know this in advance means fewer angry emails when the leads slow down temporarily.
4. Teach Clients How to Communicate with You
Unfortunately, this is the step most agencies skip.
Without a plan, these are likely to happen:
The client receives a lead (like an exterior painting request for a company that only does interiors), and they immediately call, email, and panic.
Here’s how to set the rules:
- Emergencies: Clients can always call if there’s something urgent. But true emergencies are rare in this business.
- Non-Urgent Issues: Ask them to email concerns like lead quality, irrelevant locations, or patterns they’re seeing. Tell them you’ll respond within 24 business hours.
- Focus Time: I remind clients that when I’m working on their campaign, I’m not distracted by five others. I’m dialed in. So when they email, they know I’ll get to it — just not immediately.
This structure sets healthy boundaries and positions you as a pro, not a helpline.
Expectations Make or Break Client Relationships
If there’s one thing to remember about how to set client expectations for Google Ads, it’s this:
“A well-informed client is a happy client.”
When you set people’s expectations properly, you are able to eliminate 90% of misunderstandings before they start. These four steps have saved my agency countless hours of frustration and helped us build long-term relationships that actually grow.
WANT TO LEARN MORE?
If you want to learn how to build, optimize, and scale your Google Ads campaigns successfully, check out my Ads Agency Unlocked course. In it, I teach everything from setting up profitable campaigns to growing your agency and managing clients.