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Guide · 6 min read

How to choose a marketing agency: 10 questions to ask first

By MarketPup ·

A good agency saves you time and makes you money. A bad one costs both and can leave you without access to your own accounts. Ask these ten questions before you sign anything, including with us.

The 10 questions

  1. Do you guarantee rankings or results? The honest answer is no. No one controls search engines. Be wary of anyone who promises a number-one spot or a set number of leads.
  2. What exactly will you do each month? You should get a written scope: how many pages, listings, guides or tests, and when.
  3. Who owns the accounts? Your website, domain, analytics, ad accounts and business profiles should be in your name. The agency should get access, not ownership.
  4. How much access do you need? A careful agency asks for the least access the job needs and explains why.
  5. What do you report, and from where? Ask for visits, leads and sales from your own analytics, not only impressions or likes.
  6. Will anything go live without my approval? You should see changes to your site, profiles and ads before they're published.
  7. How do you build links and reviews? Buying links or reviews breaks search engine and platform rules and can get you penalized. The right answer involves real customers and useful content.
  8. What are the prices, minimum term and cancellation terms? Get them in writing, including what happens to your work and accounts if you leave.
  9. Who will actually do the work? Ask whether it's done in-house, by contractors or with software, and who your point of contact is.
  10. Can I see a sample report or audit? A sample shows how they think and how clearly they explain things.

Red flags

  • Guaranteed rankings, followers or "page one in 30 days".
  • Vague monthly retainers with no written deliverables.
  • Asking to own your domain, analytics or business profile.
  • Reports full of numbers that never connect to leads or sales.
  • Pressure to sign a long contract before you've seen any work.

A low-risk way to start

Ask for a small paid audit or a free sample before committing to a retainer. You'll see the quality of the work, and you'll have a list of fixes you can use even if you don't hire them. That's why we start everyone with a free Mini Sniff, and why our prices are on our pricing section.

Need a hand? Compare our prices, or ask for a free Mini Sniff below.