Short answer: Clickseek charges a fixed fee for the work. We do not take a percentage of your ad spend. You pay Google and Meta directly for media, and you pay us for strategy, setup, creative, optimisation and reporting. Your budget can grow without our bill growing with it, so our advice on spend stays honest.
Key takeaways
- Percentage-of-spend pricing ties the agency’s income to how much you spend, not to the leads you get.
- A fixed fee pays for the work: strategy, campaign builds, creative, testing, tracking and reporting.
- With a fee-only model you pay Google and Meta directly, so every rupee, dirham or dollar of media is visible on your own invoice.
- Fee-only is not automatically cheaper. It is clearer. Compare scope, not just the number.
- Ask any agency three things: who pays the platforms, what the fee covers, and what triggers a change in the fee.
How do marketing agencies usually charge?
Most performance marketing agencies use one of three models. A percentage of ad spend, usually a share of monthly media. A fixed monthly retainer for an agreed scope. Or a hybrid, a base fee plus a performance bonus. Each model changes what the agency is paid to care about, so the pricing model matters as much as the price.
Percentage of spend became common because it scales simply. More budget means more campaigns to manage, so the fee goes up. Fixed fees came later, as buyers started asking why their agency bill doubled when they doubled spend on a campaign that was already built.
Hybrid models try to fix this by paying a bonus on results. They can work, but only if both sides agree on what counts as a result and how it is tracked. A bonus on “leads” that sales later rejects is the most common source of disputes.
What is wrong with charging a percentage of ad spend?
The problem is the incentive. If an agency earns more when you spend more, it is never fully neutral when it tells you to raise the budget. Most agencies are honest about this. The model still makes it harder for them to recommend cutting a channel, pausing a weak campaign or moving money from ads into SEO or conversion work.
There are three practical side effects we see when buyers come to us from %-of-spend agencies:
- Budget creep. Spend rises each quarter, but cost per qualified lead does not fall.
- Channel bias. Paid media gets the attention because it carries the fee. Organic, CRO and email get less time.
- Unclear bills. When the agency pays the platforms and re-bills you, it is harder to see what went to media and what went to management.
None of this means every %-of-spend agency does poor work. It means you need extra checks to make sure the advice serves your pipeline, not their fee.
How does Clickseek’s fee-only model work?
We agree a fixed fee for a defined scope of work. Your ad accounts bill you directly, so Google and Meta invoice you for media, not us. We never mark up spend and we never take a share of it. If you increase your budget, our fee does not change unless the scope of work changes.
In practice it runs like this:
- Scope first. We list the channels, markets, campaign count, creative volume and reporting cadence the work needs.
- Fixed fee for that scope. You see one number for the work, separate from media.
- You pay the platforms. Media is billed to you by Google and Meta. You see every charge on their invoice.
- Scope reviews, not spend reviews. The fee changes only when the work changes, for example a new market, a new channel or a large jump in creative volume.
Google supports this set-up natively. An agency can manage your account from its manager account while billing stays on your side. See Google’s guide to billing setup from a manager account.
Percentage of ad spend vs fixed fee: side by side
The table below compares the two models on the points buyers ask us about most. Use it as a checklist when you compare proposals, whichever agency you choose.
| Factor | % of ad spend | Fixed fee (fee-only) |
|---|---|---|
| What drives the fee | How much you spend on media | The scope of work agreed |
| Incentive on budget advice | Agency earns more if spend rises | Neutral: fee stays the same |
| Who pays Google and Meta | Often the agency, then re-billed | You, directly |
| Visibility of media cost | Depends on how the agency reports | Full, on the platform invoice |
| When spend doubles | Fee roughly doubles | Fee unchanged unless scope grows |
| Willingness to shift budget to SEO or CRO | Lower, it reduces the fee | Higher, no fee impact |
| Best fit | Small, stable budgets with simple scope | Growing budgets, multi-channel work, several markets |
What does the fixed fee cover?
The fee pays for people and process, not media. It covers strategy, campaign builds, creative, conversion tracking, ongoing optimisation and reporting. The exact list depends on the channels and markets in scope, which is why we scope before we quote instead of publishing one price for everyone.
A typical performance marketing scope at Clickseek includes:
- Account audit and a written plan with targets tied to qualified leads or revenue
- Google Ads and Meta ads campaign structure, audiences and budgets
- Ad creative and landing page recommendations
- Conversion tracking set-up and checks, including offline lead quality where your CRM allows it
- Weekly optimisation and testing
- A monthly report on spend, cost per lead, lead quality and next steps
Work outside the agreed scope, like a new website, SEO or WhatsApp automation, is quoted separately so you can see what each piece costs.
Is fee-only always cheaper?
No. For a small, stable budget, a percentage model can cost less in the first months. Fee-only wins on clarity and on incentives, and it usually works out better as spend grows. The right test is not the lowest fee. It is the cost per qualified lead after six months, and how much of the bill you can see and verify.
When you compare quotes, line them up on the same scope. Two agencies can quote similar numbers and deliver very different amounts of work. Ask for the scope in writing.
Questions to ask any agency about pricing
Ask these before you sign, with any agency. Clear answers to all five are a good sign. Vague answers on billing or fee changes are the most common warning sign we hear about from buyers.
- Who pays Google and Meta, you or us? Will I see the platform invoices?
- Is any part of your fee linked to my ad spend?
- What exactly does the fee cover, and what is extra?
- What changes the fee? Spend, scope or results?
- Do I keep full admin access to my ad accounts, tracking and data if we part ways?
How Clickseek approaches this
Clickseek Digital is an AI-led digital marketing and technology agency headquartered in Bengaluru, working with brands in India, the UAE, the US and the UK. We have worked with 150+ clients and have 50+ specialists on the team. We are an official Meta Business Partner and an official WhatsApp Business API provider.
We chose the fee-only model because it lets us give the advice we would want as buyers. Sometimes that advice is to cut a campaign, move budget into conversion rate work or put more into SEO. A percentage model would make that advice cost us money. A fixed fee does not.
If you want to see what a scoped, fee-only plan looks like for your business, ask us for a proposal. You can also read more about our PPC and Google Ads services and social media marketing services.
Frequently asked questions
Does Clickseek take a percentage of ad spend?
No. Clickseek charges a fixed fee for the agreed scope of work. You pay Google, Meta and other platforms directly for media.
Who owns the ad accounts and pays the platforms?
The platforms bill you directly. We manage the campaigns with access you grant, and billing stays with your business.
Will my fee go up if I increase my ad budget?
Not by itself. The fee changes only if the scope changes, for example a new market, a new channel or much more creative work.
How do you decide the fee?
We scope the channels, markets, campaign count, creative volume and reporting needed, then quote a fixed fee for that work. We share the scope in writing.
Is a percentage-of-spend model ever the better choice?
It can suit a small, stable budget with a simple scope. As budgets grow or more channels are added, a fixed fee usually gives clearer costs and more neutral advice.
Can I switch from a %-of-spend agency without losing campaign history?
Yes, if the ad accounts are in your name. Ask your current agency to confirm admin access before you switch. Google also documents how an account moves between agencies in its guide to transferring a client account.
Ready to compare? Get a fee-only proposal from Clickseek. We will scope the work first, then quote one fixed number.
Written by Kousik Bhattacharya, Founder and CEO, Clickseek Digital (IIM Calcutta). Last updated: 6 November 2026.
