How to Choose a Digital Marketing Company: Questions and Red Flags

How to choose a digital marketing company

Choosing a digital marketing company is easier when you know what you need before you start talking to agencies. Start with your goals and budget, decide which services you actually need, ask every candidate the same questions, check their work and references, and make sure the contract says who owns your accounts and data. Be wary of any company that promises a guaranteed number one ranking on Google.

This guide walks through that process step by step, with the questions Google itself suggests asking an SEO provider, the red flags to look for and what a good contract should include. At PROSeCommerce, part of PROS Global in San Diego, we work with ecommerce and small business owners on SEO, paid ads and email, and this is the checklist we would use if we were hiring an agency ourselves. Facts below come from Google Search Central and the US Federal Trade Commission, checked as of October 2026.

Start with your goals, not the agency

Before you contact anyone, write down:

• What you want to achieve. More online sales, more leads, more calls or more foot traffic. Pick one or two goals you can measure.
• How you will measure it. For example, purchases or form submissions tracked as key events in Google Analytics 4.
• Your budget. Include both agency fees and any ad spend, which is usually paid separately.
• Your timeline. Paid ads can bring visitors quickly, while SEO usually takes longer. Google’s SEO starter guide notes that some changes take effect in a few hours and others could take several months.
• What you will handle in-house. Writing product descriptions, posting on social media or answering reviews may stay with your team.

A clear brief lets agencies give you comparable proposals, and it makes it obvious when a pitch does not match what you asked for.

Decide which services you need

Digital marketing companies range from specialists that do one thing to full-service agencies that cover everything. Match the agency to the work.

Full-service agency or specialist?

A full-service agency gives you one team, one report and one point of contact, which helps when channels need to work together. A specialist often goes deeper in one area. Many businesses use one main agency and add a specialist for a single channel. Either way, ask who will actually do the work and whether any of it is outsourced.

Questions to ask before you hire

Google’s Search Central guide “Do you need an SEO?” suggests questions to ask any SEO you are considering. They work for most digital marketing companies:

1. Can you show me examples of your previous work and share some success stories?
2. Do you follow the Google Search Essentials?
3. Do you offer any online marketing services or advice to complement your organic search business?
4. What kind of results do you expect to see, and in what timeframe? How do you measure your success?
5. What is your experience in my industry and in my country or city?
6. What is your experience in developing international sites?, if you sell abroad
7. What are your most important SEO techniques?
8. How long have you been in business?
9. How can I expect to communicate with you? Will you share with me all the changes you make to my site and provide detailed information about your recommendations and the reasoning behind them?

Add a few of your own:

• Who will manage my account day to day, and how often will we meet?
• What will the monthly report include, and which numbers do you treat as success?
• What do you need from me to get started?
• What happens to my accounts, content and data if we stop working together?

Red flags to watch for

Google’s guidance lists warning signs worth knowing before you sign:

• Guaranteed rankings. Google says no one can guarantee a number one ranking on Google.
• Unsolicited email offers. Be wary of companies that contact you out of the blue promising search results.
• Claims of a special relationship with Google. Advertising with Google does not affect where your site appears in Google’s organic search results, according to the same guide.
• Secret methods. If an agency will not explain what it is doing, that is a reason to walk away.
• Shortcuts that break the rules. Ask whether the agency buys links or creates large amounts of low-quality content. Practices like these can go against Google’s spam policies, and Google notes that you are ultimately responsible for the actions of companies you hire.

If you believe you were deceived by an SEO or marketing company, the FTC accepts complaints at ReportFraud.ftc.gov or 1-877-FTC-HELP.

Check their work and references

• Ask for case studies with context. Results mean more when you know the starting point, the time it took and what the agency actually did.
• Speak to current clients. Ask how the agency communicates, how it handles problems and whether it hit its targets.
• Look at their own marketing. Their website, content and reviews show how they work.
• Check reviews carefully. The FTC’s rule on consumer reviews and testimonials, in effect since October 21, 2024, bans fake reviews, so a pattern of identical glowing reviews is a warning sign.

How agencies price their work

Agencies use a few common pricing models, and knowing them makes proposals easier to compare:

• Monthly retainer. A fixed fee for an agreed set of ongoing work, such as SEO or campaign management. Ask exactly what the retainer includes each month.
• Project fee. A one-time price for a defined job, such as a site audit, a store redesign or setting up email flows.
• Hourly rate. Common for consulting and smaller tasks. Ask for an estimate and a cap.
• Percentage of ad spend. Some agencies charge for paid ads management as a share of what you spend on the ads. Check whether there is a minimum fee and how the fee changes as spend grows.
• Performance-based fees. Fees tied to leads or sales. Agree in writing how results are counted and which tracking data is used.

Ad spend is normally paid to the ad platform, not the agency, so ask each agency to show its fee and your ad budget as separate lines. A cheaper proposal that leaves out reporting, tracking setup or creative work may cost more once those are added.

What a good contract includes

A clear contract protects both sides. Look for:

• Scope of work, listing the services, deliverables and how often they happen
• Fees and ad spend, stated separately, with what is included in the monthly fee
• Term and notice period, including how to end the agreement
• Ownership of accounts and assets. Your ads account, analytics, Search Console, domain, website and content should be in your business’s name, with the agency given access.
• Access levels. Google suggests that if an SEO only needs to audit your site, you can grant read access in Search Console rather than full control.
• Reporting, naming the metrics and the schedule
• Compliance, including how the agency handles email under the CAN-SPAM Act and endorsements under FTC rules

This is general information, not legal advice. Have your own adviser review any contract before you sign it.

Compare proposals side by side

Score each agency against the same criteria so the decision is not based on the best pitch alone:

1. Understanding of your business and goals
2. Relevant experience and verifiable results
3. A clear plan with priorities for the first 90 days
4. Transparent pricing
5. Reporting tied to your goals
6. Communication and team fit
7. Contract terms, especially ownership and notice period

Once you choose, agree on a starting plan and the first set of measurements, then review progress at a set point, such as after the first quarter.

Your first 90 days with a new agency

A good start sets up the rest of the relationship. In the first weeks, expect the agency to:

1. Get access the right way. You add the agency as a user on your accounts, rather than handing over your passwords or letting it open new accounts in its own name.
2. Check your tracking. Confirm that purchases, leads and other key events are recorded correctly in Google Analytics 4 before judging any results.
3. Record a baseline. Note current traffic, conversions and sales so you can compare progress later.
4. Share a written plan. List the first priorities, who does each task and when you will review progress.

Ask for short, regular updates and a fuller review at the end of the first quarter. If the agency cannot explain what it has done and what changed, raise it early.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Choosing on price alone, without comparing what each proposal includes
• Signing a long contract before seeing a clear plan
• Letting the agency own your ad, analytics or domain accounts
• Judging results before tracking has been checked
• Hiring for a service you do not need because it was part of a package

Frequently asked questions

Get the most from the agency you choose

The best results come when you and your agency share the same goals and measurements from day one. Our guide to what a digital marketing strategy is can help you write that brief, and our six ways to get more website traffic explain the main channels an agency will work on. If you would like to talk through what your store needs, contact PROSeCommerce.