If you’ve changed who manages your ad accounts more than once, there’s a good chance your tracking has been rebuilt on top of itself. Nobody told you, and nothing looks broken. But the numbers you’re making decisions on may not be accurate.

We recently took over an account where this had happened approximately three times.

1. The brand started with a full Google Tag Manager (GTM) tracking set up completed by us.
2. Hired someone in-house to run paid media who installed the Google & YouTube App
3. When that person moved on, the brand brought in a freelancer: Who either did nothing, or just added on top of the existing settings

By the time the account landed back with us, the account was a complete mess. What was previously a highly efficient revenue driving ad account was now struggling to generate daily performance.

Here’s what we found, why it happens, and what to ask before your next handoff.