The legitimate case for commitment
Both channels genuinely reward continuity. SEO compounds over six to twelve months, and judging it at month two punishes the work precisely when it is building. Google Ads accounts accumulate conversion data that bidding algorithms learn from, and a revolving door of managers resets strategy before any version of it can prove itself.
So a commitment expectation is not automatically a trap. The question is whether the agency earns the continuity with results and transparent reporting, or enforces it with clauses that make leaving expensive regardless of performance. Those are two different businesses wearing the same contract. A fair commitment protects the work; an unfair one protects the agency from the work's results.
Fair terms versus hostile terms
Read the structure, not just the duration. Fair terms look like this:
- A defined scope and monthly reporting against agreed metrics.
- A reasonable notice period rather than a hard lock.
- Your ownership of the ad account, the data, and all work produced.
Hostile terms look like this: the agency owns the ad account, reporting access is limited, or leaving means losing campaign history. Hostile structures exist for one reason, which is making departure costly enough that results stop mattering. Any single hostile term is grounds to negotiate or walk.
Why ownership beats contract length
Account ownership matters more than contract length. If you own your ad account, your analytics, and your rankings, the worst case of a bad engagement is lost months. If the agency owns them, the worst case is starting your advertising history from zero, which is a far bigger loss than any monthly fee.
Etari Digitals clients always own their ad accounts, data, and rankings, and commitment terms are agreed per engagement before work starts. Continuity is earned with results rather than enforced with clauses, because a client who can leave at any time keeps the work honest. Ask for the ownership terms in the first call, because the answer predicts everything else.