The key points
- Your ad, analytics and search accounts should be in your name from day one.
- Judge reporting by leads and cost per lead, not impressions or followers.
- Meet the people who will run your account, not only the sales lead.
- Prefer short notice periods over long lock-in contracts.
- Compare written plans for your business, not general capability decks.
What matters most when comparing agencies?
Ownership and measurement come before creativity. If the agency opens ad accounts, analytics properties or the Google Business Profile under its own login, your history leaves when it does, and the next team starts from nothing. Ask directly whose name each account will sit under, and insist on admin access for yourself before any spend begins.
Then look at what they plan to measure. An agency that reports reach, impressions and clicks can always show a rising line. One that reports enquiries, cost per enquiry and which channel produced each one is accepting a harder standard, and that standard is the one that tells you whether the money is working.
Should I hire a full-service agency or a specialist?
It depends on how many channels you genuinely need now. A small service business usually needs one channel working well before it needs five working adequately. A specialist in search or paid ads can be the better first hire if that channel is where your customers already look. And if you would rather build the skills in-house, our 12-week digital marketing course covers SEO, paid ads, social media and email automation.
A broader agency earns its place when the channels depend on each other: paid campaigns that need landing pages built, search work that needs site changes, or tracking that has to tie it all together. The test is whether the same team can actually do each piece, or whether parts are quietly passed to subcontractors you never meet.
- One channel, clear demand: a specialist is often enough.
- Ads plus landing pages plus tracking: one accountable team avoids finger-pointing.
- Ask which parts of the work are subcontracted, and to whom.
Which warning signs should make me walk away?
Promised rankings or promised lead numbers are the clearest one, because nobody controls search results or auction prices. Close behind are long contracts with no exit, reporting that avoids cost per lead, and reluctance to explain what they will do in the first month. Vague answers before you sign rarely become clearer after. There are more warning signs in our agency red flags and questions to ask.
Watch how they handle your questions about failure. A good agency can describe what it does when a campaign underperforms, including recommending lower spend or pausing a channel. One that never suggests spending less is optimizing for its retainer rather than your results.
How do I compare proposals fairly?
Give every agency the same brief: your services, your best customers, what a new customer is worth, your current site and any past campaign data. Ask each for a written plan covering the first three months, the channels they would start with and why, what they need from you, and how results will be reported.
Plans written for your business are easy to compare. Generic packages that would look the same for a dentist and a software company are a sign the thinking has not started yet. Pricing should map to named work, so you can see what changes if you reduce the scope.
Signals of a strong agency compared with warning signs
| Aspect | Strong signal | Warning sign |
|---|---|---|
| Accounts | Created in your name, you hold admin access | Held under the agency's login |
| Reporting | Enquiries, cost per lead, source of each lead | Reach, impressions and clicks only |
| Team | You meet the people running the account | Only the salesperson is named |
| Contract | Short notice period, clear handover terms | Long lock-in with no exit |
| Plan | Written for your business and goals | A fixed package sold to everyone |
A simple way to run the selection
Write one brief
Describe your services, best customers, what a customer is worth and any past campaign data.
Shortlist three agencies
Pick ones that work with businesses of your size and in the channels you need first.
Ask for a written plan
Request a first-quarter plan, the reporting they will send and what they need from you.
Meet the delivery team
Speak to the people who will run the account day to day, not only the account lead.
Check the contract
Confirm account ownership, notice period and what is handed over if you part ways.
Before you sign with an agency
- Will every ad, analytics and search account be in your name?
- Does the report show enquiries and cost per enquiry each month?
- Have you met the people who will do the work?
- Can you leave with short notice and keep everything built for you?
- Is there a written plan for the first three months?
Sources
Rules and guidance this answer relies on. Policies change, so check the current version before acting on it.