Hiring the wrong marketing agency is expensive twice: once in fees, and again in the months of lost growth while you figure out it is not working. Whether you are a small business in the USA, a startup in Dubai or a brand in India, these twelve questions will help you separate agencies that deliver from agencies that only sell.
1. “Who will own my ad accounts, website and data?”
The only acceptable answer is you. Your Google Ads account, Meta Business Manager, Google Analytics, domain and website should all be in your business’s name, with the agency given access. Agencies that keep accounts in their own name make it painful — sometimes impossible — to leave.
2. “How will you measure success?”
Good agencies talk about leads, cost per lead, sales and revenue. Be cautious if the answer is mostly impressions, reach, followers or “brand awareness” — unless awareness is genuinely your goal.
3. “Can you show me real work?”
Ask for live websites they built, campaigns they ran and, where clients allow it, real results. Be wary of portfolios full of mock-ups or logos with no detail. It is fine for newer agencies to have fewer case studies — what matters is that what they show is real.
4. “Do you guarantee results?”
This is a trick question. No honest agency can guarantee rankings or a fixed number of sales, because platforms, competitors and markets change. What a good agency can commit to is clear targets, transparent reporting and a plan to adjust when something is not working. “Guaranteed page one in 30 days” is a red flag.
5. “What exactly is included in the monthly fee?”
Get the scope in writing: how many campaigns, how many landing pages, how much content, how often they optimise, what reporting you get and how often you will meet. Also confirm that ad spend is separate and paid directly to Google or Meta.
6. “How long is the contract?”
Month-to-month or short initial terms show confidence. Long lock-ins with heavy cancellation fees protect the agency, not you. It is reasonable for an agency to ask for a few months to optimise — just not a year with no exit.
7. “Who will actually work on my account?”
At some agencies, a senior person sells the deal and a junior person you never meet runs the campaigns. Ask who does the work and whether you can speak to them directly.
8. “How do you track leads from ads to sales?”
A competent agency will talk about conversion tracking, call tracking, form and WhatsApp tracking, and ideally connecting leads to your CRM or sales process. If they cannot explain how they know which campaigns bring customers, they cannot optimise properly.
9. “What will you do in the first 30, 60 and 90 days?”
A clear onboarding plan — audit, tracking setup, website fixes, campaign launch, first optimisations — shows the agency has a process and is not improvising.
10. “How do you handle ad policy and compliance?”
For clinics, finance, real estate, supplements and some other industries, Google and Meta have strict rules. An agency that ignores them risks disapproved ads or suspended accounts. Ask how they keep your campaigns compliant.
11. “What happens if results are not good?”
Listen for specifics: what they will test, what they will change and how quickly. An agency that has thought about failure is more trustworthy than one that promises it will never happen.
12. “Can I see a sample report?”
You will read these reports every month. They should be clear, focused on business outcomes and honest about what did not work.
Red flags to watch for
- Guaranteed rankings or guaranteed sales numbers.
- Refusing to give you ownership of accounts.
- Vague pricing with “custom packages” they will not explain.
- Claims of hundreds of clients with no verifiable work.
- Pressure to sign today.
Should you choose a local or an offshore agency?
Many US and UAE businesses now work with agencies in India because the quality of execution can be the same at a much lower monthly fee. The same twelve questions apply. Make sure you get working-hour overlap, a direct line to the people doing the work, and full ownership of your accounts.
How Adnexa answers these questions
We set up every account in the client’s name, report on leads and cost per lead, work month-to-month, and show only real work in our portfolio. You can read more about how we work, or request a free audit and ask us all twelve questions yourself.
