20 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Marketing Agency

Questions

1. What would you do first?
2. Who works on my account?
3. How do you report?
4. What KPIs matter?
5. Who owns accounts?
6. What's included?
7. What's extra?
8. Contract length?
9. Notice period?
10. Setup fees?
11. How do you test?
12. Case studies?
13. References?
14. Tools used?
15. Communication cadence?
16. Response times?
17. How do you handle bad months?
18. Industry experience?
19. Onboarding needs?
20. How will we know it's working?

Common mistakes to avoid

• Judging success on clicks instead of enquiries and sales
• Letting the agency own your ad accounts
• Spreading a small budget across too many channels
• Sending paid traffic to the homepage instead of a focused landing page

Quick checklist before you start

• Weekly review of results and search terms
• A follow-up process for every enquiry
• Accounts and data in your business name
• Clear goal and budget for the next three months
• Landing page that matches the offer

Key takeaway

Twenty questions to ask a digital marketing agency before hiring: strategy, team, reporting, contracts, ownership and results. Start with one clear goal, measure results from day one and keep accounts and data in your own name, so you stay in control whatever partner you work with.

How Pixelence can help

Pixelence Digital Studio is a full-service digital marketing agency working remotely with small businesses, startups and e-commerce brands across the United States, with calls in your time zone and clear USD pricing. See our digital marketing services for US businesses or request a free marketing audit.