Who owns the client's Google Ads account in a white-label partnership?
Your client owns the Google Ads account, your agency manages it, and we get access through you. White-label shouldn't change who owns the account, the data or the billing.
The clean setup looks like this. The account sits under the client's business with their billing, it links to your agency's manager account, and we work through your manager account or as users you invite. Under Google's manager account rules, an owner manager can control users and links, but the client account still owns its data and can unlink. So ownership stays with you or the client, never with the partner. The same goes for GA4, Tag Manager and Merchant Center: built under the client's logins, not ours.
The test is simple. Could you remove us tomorrow without asking our permission? If yes, the structure is right. We set it up that way on day one, because a partner you can't remove is a partner you can't fully trust. If tracking needs rebuilding, our GA4 setup work follows the same rule.
Sources: Manager Accounts (MCC): About Google Ads manager accounts - Google Ads Help, Manager Accounts (MCC): About ownership of client accounts - Google Ads Help
How should I price white-label PPC to my clients?
Price it from your full cost to serve the client, not from the partner's invoice alone. Our fee covers the execution. Your price has to cover account management, client calls, report review and the risk you carry on the relationship.
Partners usually charge in one of three ways: a flat fee per account, a percentage of ad spend, or a mix of both. For direct clients we use the mix, a flat monthly retainer plus a small percentage of spend. For agency partners we quote per account based on spend and complexity. Ask any partner for their pricing in writing so you can quote new clients without checking in every time.
Then build your client retainer to match the scope, with spend-based step-ups written into the contract so growth doesn't quietly eat your margin. Watch pure percentage deals on both sides. When a client cuts budget in a slow month, your revenue drops while the workload doesn't. Our Google Ads management page shows how we price direct work, which is a useful sense check.
Is white-label PPC better than hiring an in-house PPC specialist?
White-label is usually the better first step when you have a handful of paid media clients. An in-house hire makes sense once you have steady volume to keep a full-time specialist busy and someone senior to manage them.
A single hire gives you one person's skill set, one person's vacation schedule and a ramp-up measured in months. A partner gives you senior coverage across Google, Microsoft, Meta and the tracking underneath from the first week, and you can scale it up or down. With us, John approves every change, and we work month to month with 30-day cancellation, so the commitment is small.
The trade is control and margin per account. In-house, every hour is yours and the knowledge stays in the building. With a partner, you're renting expertise. Plenty of agencies do both: white-label while they grow, then hire and keep a partner for audits, pitch support and overflow. If you go that way, our AI implementation work can set up Buddy for your new hire so they inherit the same checks we use.
What questions should I ask a white-label PPC partner?
Ask who actually does the work, how changes are recorded, whose manager account holds the client accounts, and what a handover looks like if you part ways. Those four answers tell you most of what you need.
Subcontracting is the one people forget. Ask whether any work goes further down the chain, and ask to meet the person who will be in the accounts. Ask for a sample monthly change log. Ask how fast they respond and who covers when they're out. Ask whether they will ever contact your client, or your client's web developer, directly. Then get the non-solicit in writing.
Our answers, for the record. John runs the work and approves every change. Buddy labels each change it makes, so the log is readable and reversible. Accounts live under the client and your manager account. We sign NDAs and non-solicitation agreements, and we don't talk to your clients unless you put us on the call. If a partner gets vague on subcontracting, ownership or handover, that's your answer. Want to see the work before committing? Start with a pitch audit on one account.
What should a white-label PPC report include?
A good white-label report shows results against the client's business goal, what changed this month and why, and what's planned next, all in your agency's branding and wording. A page of charts is not a report.
We build reports to answer the questions your client will ask on the call. Spend, conversions and cost per result against target, with brand and non-brand split so a strong brand campaign can't hide weak prospecting. A short change log in plain English. Anything that needs the client's input, like a landing page fix or a new offer. And the numbers should reconcile to the Google Ads interface, so nobody gets caught out when the client logs in.
Lead with what the numbers mean, then the detail for whoever wants it. If you already have a template, we fill it. If not, we draft one under your logo and you adjust the voice. When the client wants ads tied to revenue rather than form fills, pair reporting with our measurement work.
What happens if we end a white-label partnership?
You remove our access and keep everything: the accounts, the history, the conversion setup and the documentation. A good exit should take an afternoon, not a negotiation.
Because the accounts sit under the client and your manager account from the start, there's nothing to transfer back. We work month to month with 30-day cancellation. During that last month we hand over a written summary of each account: structure, bid strategies and targets, open tests, negative keyword lists and anything half finished.
Change history covers the rest. Google Ads keeps a record of changes along with who made them, and Buddy labels each change it makes, so whoever takes over can see what was done and why without calling us. The non-solicitation terms in our agreement continue after the work ends, so your clients stay yours. If you'd rather bring the work in-house, the tools we use are open to your team too.
Sources: Review your account history - Google Ads Help
