{"id":3819,"date":"2026-10-31T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-31T02:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seocompanybangkok.com\/?p=3819"},"modified":"2026-10-28T09:52:05","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T02:52:05","slug":"google-adwords-vs-google-ads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seocompanybangkok.com\/en\/google-adwords-vs-google-ads\/","title":{"rendered":"Google AdWords vs Google Ads: Same Thing? What to Ask an &#8220;AdWords&#8221; Agency"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Yes. Google AdWords and Google Ads are the same advertising platform. Google renamed AdWords to Google Ads in 2018 to reflect that it covers more than search text ads, including YouTube, Display, Shopping and Maps. If an agency offers &#8220;AdWords management&#8221;, it should be managing Google Ads campaigns, and you should judge it by the same standards.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>By the <a href=\"https:\/\/seocompanybangkok.com\/en\/about\/\">SEO Company Bangkok team<\/a>, Google Ads specialists \u00b7 Updated 27 October 2026<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Many businesses in Bangkok still search for &#8220;AdWords management&#8221;, &#8220;AdWords agency&#8221; or &#8220;AdWords Bangkok&#8221;. That is not a mistake on their part: AdWords was the name for many years, and it is still how many owners and managers remember it. This guide explains what changed when the name did, what stayed the same, and what to ask any agency that offers to run your &#8220;AdWords&#8221; account.<\/p>\n<h2>Is Google AdWords the same as Google Ads?<\/h2>\n<p>Yes. Google announced the change in its post <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.google\/technology\/ads\/new-advertising-brands\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Introducing simpler brands and solutions for advertisers and publishers<\/a> in June 2018. AdWords became Google Ads, and the account you log into, the billing, the campaign history and the auction all carried over.<\/p>\n<p>Google&#8217;s own help centre now defines <a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/google-ads\/answer\/6319\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Ads<\/a> as an online advertising solution that businesses use to promote their products and services across Google Search, YouTube and other sites on the web.<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th><\/th>\n<th>Google AdWords (before 2018)<\/th>\n<th>Google Ads (today)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Name<\/td>\n<td>AdWords<\/td>\n<td>Google Ads<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Account and history<\/td>\n<td>Same account<\/td>\n<td>Carried over<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Search text ads<\/td>\n<td>Core product<\/td>\n<td>Still core<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Display, YouTube, Shopping<\/td>\n<td>Available, separate feel<\/td>\n<td>Unified under one platform<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Automation and AI bidding<\/td>\n<td>Limited<\/td>\n<td>Central to most campaigns<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Campaign types like Performance Max<\/td>\n<td>Did not exist<\/td>\n<td>Available<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2>What actually changed after AdWords became Google Ads?<\/h2>\n<p>The rename was more than a new logo. Since then, the platform has moved steadily towards automation:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Smart bidding<\/strong> uses Google&#8217;s machine learning to set bids for each auction, based on your goal (conversions, value or clicks).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Broader match types<\/strong> mean keywords now match more search variations than they used to.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Performance Max<\/strong> campaigns run across Search, YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail and Maps from a single campaign.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/seocompanybangkok.com\/en\/how-to-set-up-a-google-ads-campaign-a-step-by-step-guide\/\">Conversion tracking<\/a><\/strong> has become essential, because automated bidding learns from the conversions you report.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>What did not change: you still pay in an auction, quality and relevance still matter, and a poorly set up account still wastes money quickly.<\/p>\n<h2>Why do people still search for &#8220;AdWords&#8221;?<\/h2>\n<p>Habit, mostly. Business owners who first advertised before 2018, staff trained on the old name, and older articles and courses all keep it alive. In Thailand you will also see both names used in Thai-language searches and proposals.<\/p>\n<p>That creates a small risk. Some providers market &#8220;AdWords&#8221; services because the term still gets searches, while managing campaigns the way they did in 2015: manual bids, a long keyword list and no conversion tracking. The name on the proposal tells you nothing about how current the work is.<\/p>\n<h2>What should you ask an &#8220;AdWords&#8221; agency?<\/h2>\n<p>Use these questions on any agency, whatever name it uses for the platform:<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Question<\/th>\n<th>A good answer<\/th>\n<th>A red flag<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Whose account will the campaigns run in?<\/td>\n<td>Your own Google Ads account, with you as admin<\/td>\n<td>The agency&#8217;s account, so you lose history if you leave<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>How will you track conversions?<\/td>\n<td>Google Ads conversion tracking and GA4, tested before launch<\/td>\n<td>&#8220;We report clicks and impressions&#8221;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Which campaign types do you recommend, and why?<\/td>\n<td>A reason tied to your goals and budget<\/td>\n<td>The same setup for every client<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>How do you use automation?<\/td>\n<td>Smart bidding where data supports it, with checks<\/td>\n<td>&#8220;We avoid automation&#8221; or &#8220;we automate everything&#8221;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>How do you manage search terms?<\/td>\n<td>Regular search term reviews and negatives<\/td>\n<td>No mention of search terms<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>What do you charge, and how?<\/td>\n<td>A management fee separate from ad spend, in writing<\/td>\n<td>Fees hidden inside the ad budget<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>What does a monthly report include?<\/td>\n<td>Spend, conversions, cost per conversion, actions taken<\/td>\n<td>Only impressions and clicks<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>What will you not promise?<\/td>\n<td>No guaranteed sales or positions<\/td>\n<td>Guaranteed &#8220;top position&#8221;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>For a deeper look at agencies in the city, see our list of the <a href=\"https:\/\/seocompanybangkok.com\/en\/best-google-ads-agencies-bangkok-thailand-2026\/\">best Google Ads agencies in Bangkok<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>How is Google Ads management priced in Bangkok?<\/h2>\n<p>There are two separate costs:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Ad spend<\/strong> paid directly to Google. You control this, and you can set and change an average daily budget for each campaign, as described in Google&#8217;s help on <a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/google-ads\/answer\/2375420\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">setting a daily budget<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Management fee<\/strong> paid to the agency for setup, optimization and reporting. This is usually a fixed monthly fee or a percentage of spend, sometimes with a minimum.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Ask for both in writing and make sure they are separate. Our <a href=\"https:\/\/seocompanybangkok.com\/en\/google-ads\/\">Google Ads management service<\/a> explains how we structure our management fee. Our sister agency Digital Agency Bangkok also explains <a href=\"https:\/\/digitalagencybangkok.com\/google-ads-cost-pricing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Ads cost and pricing in Thailand<\/a> in more detail.<\/p>\n<h2>Should you set up Google Ads yourself first?<\/h2>\n<p>If your budget is small and your offer is simple, setting up a first search campaign yourself is a good way to learn what works. Our step-by-step guide on <a href=\"https:\/\/seocompanybangkok.com\/en\/how-to-set-up-a-google-ads-campaign-a-step-by-step-guide\/\">how to set up a Google Ads campaign<\/a> walks through it.<\/p>\n<p>An agency becomes worth it when:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>you are spending enough that small improvements save real money<\/li>\n<li>you need several campaign types, languages or locations<\/li>\n<li>you do not have time to review search terms and results each week<\/li>\n<li>conversion tracking and reporting need to be set up properly<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Google Ads or another channel?<\/h2>\n<p>Google Ads captures people who are already searching. Facebook and Instagram ads reach people based on interests and behaviour, before they search. Many Bangkok businesses use both. Our comparison of <a href=\"https:\/\/seocompanybangkok.com\/en\/different-between-facebook-ads-google-ads\/\">Facebook Ads and Google Ads<\/a> explains when each one makes sense.<\/p>\n<h2>What does a well-run Google Ads account look like in 2026?<\/h2>\n<p>Whether your agency calls it AdWords or Google Ads, a healthy account has the same features. You can check most of them yourself in ten minutes, even without deep platform knowledge:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Conversions are tracked and tested.<\/strong> Open Goals, then Conversions. You should see your real business actions (form submissions, calls, purchases, LINE contacts) with recent activity, not only page views.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Campaigns match your goals.<\/strong> A lead-generation business usually needs search campaigns around high-intent keywords. An online shop may add Shopping or Performance Max. Ask why each campaign exists.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Search terms are reviewed.<\/strong> The search terms report shows what people actually typed. Irrelevant terms should be added as negative keywords regularly.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ads and landing pages match.<\/strong> Each ad group should send people to a page that answers exactly what the ad promised, in the same language as the ad.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Locations and languages are deliberate.<\/strong> For Bangkok businesses, check that targeting covers the right areas and that Thai and English audiences get ads in their language.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Change history shows activity.<\/strong> The change history in your account shows what was adjusted and when. Months without changes are a warning sign.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If several of these are missing, the problem is not the platform&#8217;s name. It is how the account is being managed.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n<h3>When did AdWords become Google Ads?<\/h3>\n<p>Google announced the rename in June 2018. Existing AdWords accounts became Google Ads accounts with the same history and settings.<\/p>\n<h3>Is &#8220;AdWords management&#8221; a different service from Google Ads management?<\/h3>\n<p>No. It is the same service under the old name. Judge it by how the agency tracks conversions, uses automation and reports results.<\/p>\n<h3>Do I lose my data if I switch agencies?<\/h3>\n<p>Not if the campaigns run in your own Google Ads account. Always insist that you own the account and give the agency access, not the other way round.<\/p>\n<h3>Can an agency guarantee the top ad position?<\/h3>\n<p>No. Ad position is decided in each auction by bid, ad quality and other factors. An agency can improve your chances, but a guarantee is a red flag.<\/p>\n<h2>Need your AdWords or Google Ads account reviewed?<\/h2>\n<p>We set up and manage Google Ads campaigns in Thai and English for businesses in Bangkok and across Thailand, in your own account and with clear monthly reporting. Start with our <a href=\"https:\/\/seocompanybangkok.com\/en\/google-ads\/\">Google Ads service<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/seocompanybangkok.com\/en\/contact\/\">contact us<\/a> for an account review.<\/p>\n<p><script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\", \"@type\": \"FAQPage\", \"mainEntity\": [{\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"When did AdWords become Google Ads?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"Google announced the rename in June 2018. 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An agency can improve your chances, but a guarantee is a red flag.\"}}]}<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yes. Google AdWords and Google Ads are the same advertising platform. Google renamed AdWords to Google Ads in 2018 to reflect that it covers more than search text ads, including YouTube, Display, Shopping and Maps. If an agency offers &#8220;AdWords management&#8221;, it should be managing Google Ads campaigns, and you should judge it by the same standards. By the SEO Company Bangkok team, Google Ads specialists \u00b7 Updated 27 October 2026 Many businesses in Bangkok still search for &#8220;AdWords management&#8221;, &#8220;AdWords agency&#8221; or &#8220;AdWords Bangkok&#8221;. That is not a mistake on their part: AdWords was the name for many years, and it is still how many owners and managers remember it. This guide explains what changed when the name did, what stayed the same, and what to ask any agency that offers to run your &#8220;AdWords&#8221; account. Is Google AdWords the same as Google Ads? Yes. Google announced the change in its post Introducing simpler brands and solutions for advertisers and publishers in June 2018. AdWords became Google Ads, and the account you log into, the billing, the campaign history and the auction all carried over. Google&#8217;s own help centre now defines Google Ads as an online advertising solution that businesses use to promote their products and services across Google Search, YouTube and other sites on the web. Google AdWords (before 2018) Google Ads (today) Name AdWords Google Ads Account and history Same account Carried over Search text ads Core product Still core Display, YouTube, Shopping Available, separate feel Unified under one platform Automation and AI bidding Limited Central to most campaigns Campaign types like Performance Max Did not exist Available What actually changed after AdWords became Google Ads? The rename was more than a new logo. Since then, the platform has moved steadily towards automation: Smart bidding uses Google&#8217;s machine learning to set bids for each auction, based on your goal (conversions, value or clicks). Broader match types mean keywords now match more search variations than they used to. Performance Max campaigns run across Search, YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail and Maps from a single campaign. Conversion tracking has become essential, because automated bidding learns from the conversions you report. What did not change: you still pay in an auction, quality and relevance still matter, and a poorly set up account still wastes money quickly. Why do people still search for &#8220;AdWords&#8221;? Habit, mostly. Business owners who first advertised before 2018, staff trained on the old name, and older articles and courses all keep it alive. In Thailand you will also see both names used in Thai-language searches and proposals. That creates a small risk. Some providers market &#8220;AdWords&#8221; services because the term still gets searches, while managing campaigns the way they did in 2015: manual bids, a long keyword list and no conversion tracking. The name on the proposal tells you nothing about how current the work is. What should you ask an &#8220;AdWords&#8221; agency? Use these questions on any agency, whatever name it uses for the platform: Question A good answer A red flag Whose account will the campaigns run in? Your own Google Ads account, with you as admin The agency&#8217;s account, so you lose history if you leave How will you track conversions? Google Ads conversion tracking and GA4, tested before launch &#8220;We report clicks and impressions&#8221; Which campaign types do you recommend, and why? A reason tied to your goals and budget The same setup for every client How do you use automation? Smart bidding where data supports it, with checks &#8220;We avoid automation&#8221; or &#8220;we automate everything&#8221; How do you manage search terms? Regular search term reviews and negatives No mention of search terms What do you charge, and how? A management fee separate from ad spend, in writing Fees hidden inside the ad budget What does a monthly report include? Spend, conversions, cost per conversion, actions taken Only impressions and clicks What will you not promise? No guaranteed sales or positions Guaranteed &#8220;top position&#8221; For a deeper look at agencies in the city, see our list of the best Google Ads agencies in Bangkok. How is Google Ads management priced in Bangkok? There are two separate costs: Ad spend paid directly to Google. You control this, and you can set and change an average daily budget for each campaign, as described in Google&#8217;s help on setting a daily budget. Management fee paid to the agency for setup, optimization and reporting. This is usually a fixed monthly fee or a percentage of spend, sometimes with a minimum. Ask for both in writing and make sure they are separate. Our Google Ads management service explains how we structure our management fee. Our sister agency Digital Agency Bangkok also explains Google Ads cost and pricing in Thailand in more detail. Should you set up Google Ads yourself first? If your budget is small and your offer is simple, setting up a first search campaign yourself is a good way to learn what works. Our step-by-step guide on how to set up a Google Ads campaign walks through it. An agency becomes worth it when: you are spending enough that small improvements save real money you need several campaign types, languages or locations you do not have time to review search terms and results each week conversion tracking and reporting need to be set up properly Google Ads or another channel? Google Ads captures people who are already searching. Facebook and Instagram ads reach people based on interests and behaviour, before they search. Many Bangkok businesses use both. Our comparison of Facebook Ads and Google Ads explains when each one makes sense. What does a well-run Google Ads account look like in 2026? Whether your agency calls it AdWords or Google Ads, a healthy account has the same features. You can check most of them yourself in ten minutes, even without deep platform knowledge: Conversions are tracked and tested. Open Goals, then Conversions. You should see your real business actions (form submissions, calls, purchases, LINE contacts)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3829,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-google-ads-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seocompanybangkok.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/seocompanybangkok.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/seocompanybangkok.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seocompanybangkok.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seocompanybangkok.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3819"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/seocompanybangkok.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3819\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3841,"href":"https:\/\/seocompanybangkok.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3819\/revisions\/3841"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seocompanybangkok.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seocompanybangkok.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seocompanybangkok.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seocompanybangkok.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}