15 Questions to Ask a Digital Marketing Agency Before You Hire Them

Why These Questions and Not the Usual Ones

If you're reading this, there's a reasonable chance you've already paid an SEO company, a Google Ads manager, a website firm, or a full-service agency and gotten less than you were promised. Maybe a lot less. You're not looking for a list of icebreakers. You're looking for questions that expose whether the next one actually knows what they're doing.

So there's nothing here like "what makes your company unique?" or "what's your process?" Those invite a rehearsed answer. The questions below are harder to fake, because a strong answer requires understanding, and a weak answer reveals its absence. For each one I've included why it matters, what a good answer sounds like, and what should concern you.

We wrote the companion piece on red flags when choosing an agency first. This is the practical follow-up: the interview.

The 15 Questions

1. How will you determine what marketing channels we actually need?

Why ask it. Most agencies sell what they're set up to deliver. If they're an SEO shop, you need SEO. If they run ads, you need ads. The question forces them to describe a diagnostic process, or reveal that there isn't one.

Strong answer. They describe an audit of your current situation: where leads come from today, what your site does with visitors, what tracking exists, what the competitive landscape looks like in search, and what a customer is worth. The recommendation follows from that. They're comfortable saying a channel might not be right for you.

Concerning answer. The recommendation is already decided. "Every business needs to be on page one" or "we'd start with a campaign audit" of a channel you haven't chosen yet. Or the answer is a package tier rather than a process.

2. What does success look like, and how will you measure it?

Why ask it. If success isn't defined before the engagement, the agency gets to define it afterward, and it will define it as whatever went up.

Strong answer. Business outcomes: qualified leads, cost per qualified lead, booked appointments, revenue, and eventually customer acquisition cost. They'll name leading indicators too, but they'll be explicit that rankings and traffic are means, not ends. They'll want your input on what a good lead is.

Concerning answer. Rankings, traffic, impressions, engagement, followers. Or a vague "growth." Or a guarantee. Google's own guide on hiring an SEO lists "what kind of results do you expect to see, and in what timeframe, and how do you measure your success" as a question to ask, and warns that nobody can guarantee a number one ranking.

3. What conversions will you track?

Why ask it. This is the most important question on the list. Every performance claim rests on it.

Strong answer. A specific list: contact form submissions, quote requests, phone calls (with call tracking if needed), chat starts, purchases, booked appointments, and which of those count as primary versus secondary. They explain how each will be captured, whether through Google Tag Manager, GA4 key events, imported Google Ads conversions, or CRM integration, and they insist on setting this up before spending. Google's conversion measurement documentation is explicit that this is what tells you which keywords, ads, and campaigns drive valuable customer activity.

Concerning answer. "We track everything." "We'll use the standard conversions." Or they don't mention phone calls, which for most service businesses are the majority of leads. Or they plan to count thank-you page views without deduplication.

4. Who will actually be doing the work?

Why ask it. The person in the sales meeting is frequently not the person in your account.

Strong answer. Names and roles. Who manages the ads, who does the SEO, who writes, who builds. Whether you'll speak with them directly. Whether they were involved in scoping your plan.

Concerning answer. "Our team." "Your dedicated account manager." An unwillingness to let you meet the people doing the work before signing.

5. What work happens internally and what is outsourced?

Why ask it. Outsourcing is common and often fine. Concealed outsourcing is not, because it breaks accountability when something goes wrong.

Strong answer. A candid breakdown. Maybe design is in-house and video is contracted. Maybe they use a specialist for technical SEO audits. They know their vendors and take responsibility for their output.

Concerning answer. Everything is "in-house" but no one can tell you who specifically does it. Or they get defensive. In my experience, an agency that's honest about using specialists is usually honest about everything else.

6. Who owns our Google Ads account?

Why ask it. Business owners regularly discover during a breakup that the ad account, its history, its conversion data, and its audiences belong to the agency.

Strong answer. You own the account. The agency links its manager account to yours or uses a login you control, and you hold administrative access. Google's access level documentation spells out five levels, and admin is the one that can grant, change, and remove other users' access. That's the level your business should hold. Google's transparency requirements for third parties also say agencies must report the exact amount Google charged, separate from their fees, or let you sign in directly to see it.

Concerning answer. "We'll set up the account for you" under their manager account with no admin login for you. Or "we'll transfer it if you leave," which is a promise you'll be relying on at the moment the relationship is worst.

7. Who owns GA4, Search Console, our domain, website, and other accounts?

Why ask it. Same problem as ad accounts, spread across every platform.

Strong answer. You own all of it. Google Analytics has an Administrator role that manages users. Search Console has verified owners who can add and remove everyone else. Google Tag Manager has account admins. Google Business Profile has a primary owner. Each of those top-level roles should be a login your business controls, with the agency added underneath. Your domain should be registered to you, and your website should be exportable or hosted on an account you own.

Concerning answer. Any hesitation. Or "we handle all of that so you don't have to." We break every platform down in the companion article on who owns your marketing accounts.

8. What happens if we stop working together?

Why ask it. The exit is where the true terms of the relationship show up.

Strong answer. A clear offboarding: you keep every account, they remove their own access, they hand over site files and credentials, campaigns keep running, and there's a reasonable notice period. Ideally it's in the contract.

Concerning answer. Long lock-in terms with no performance exit. Fees to release the website. "Proprietary" landing pages that disappear. Or they haven't thought about it, which means the first time they will is when you try to leave.

9. How do you determine which SEO keywords are worth pursuing?

Why ask it. Anyone can pull a list of high-volume terms from a tool. The skill is knowing which ones will produce customers, and in what order to go after them.

Strong answer. They talk about intent, not just volume. They look at what's already earning you leads, what your paid campaigns have proven converts, what the current search results tell them about the kind of page that ranks, and what your site can realistically win given its authority. They'll tell you which keywords they'd skip and why. This is the approach behind our SEO management.

Concerning answer. A list of head terms with search volumes and a promise to rank for them. No discussion of intent, competition, or what the ranking page would need to contain.

10. How do SEO, PPC, our website, and CRO work together in your approach?

Why ask it. Businesses rarely have an SEO problem or an ads problem in isolation. They have a system problem, and the channels affect each other.

Strong answer. They can describe the interactions: paid search data informing SEO priorities, SEO landing pages being tested for conversion before ads send traffic to them, site changes being checked for SEO impact, and one set of tracking measuring everything. We wrote about that feedback loop in why SEO and PPC work better together.

Concerning answer. They only talk about one channel. Or they treat the website as a separate vendor's problem. If a prospective agency has never looked at your site's conversion path, ask how they plan to send traffic to it.

11. How often do you review performance, and what's in the report?

Why ask it. "Monthly reporting" can mean an automated dashboard export nobody reads.

Strong answer. A regular cadence with an actual human review: what changed, what worked, what didn't, what's next, and what they need from you. The report leads with leads and cost per lead, not impressions. They're comfortable showing you the raw account.

Concerning answer. A branded PDF of platform screenshots. Reports that only go up. Or the agency controls the reporting so completely that you've never logged into your own analytics.

12. How do you know whether leads are actually qualified?

Why ask it. Lead volume is easy to inflate. Spam form fills, wrong-service inquiries, and out-of-area calls all count as conversions unless someone is checking.

Strong answer. They ask for feedback on lead quality, ideally through CRM data or a simple monthly review with your sales team, and they use it to adjust targeting, negative keywords, and page copy. Some campaigns get cut because the leads were bad even though the numbers looked good.

Concerning answer. They report leads without ever asking what happened to them. Or they push back on tracking quality because it "isn't their job."

13. Can you show a relevant case study, and what did you personally do?

Why ask it. Results pages are easy. Explaining the mechanics is not.

Strong answer. A real example with the work described: what the situation was, what they changed, why, how it was measured, and what didn't work. The Springhetti Group case study is the format we try to hold ourselves to. The FTC's endorsement guidance is also worth keeping in mind: testimonials and results presented as typical need to actually be typical, so treat a wall of exceptional numbers with no context skeptically.

Concerning answer. Big percentages with no explanation. Logos of companies they can't discuss. Or work that was done by people who no longer work there.

14. What will you need from us?

Why ask it. Marketing results depend on the client too. An agency that hasn't thought about this hasn't thought about how results get produced.

Strong answer. A specific list: account access, a picture of your best customers and most profitable services, feedback on lead quality, timely approvals, and honesty about what happens to leads once they reach your team. They may also tell you what they'll need you to stop doing.

Concerning answer. "Nothing, we handle it all." That sounds convenient. It usually means a generic playbook.

15. What would make you tell us not to hire you?

Why ask it. It's the fastest way to find out whether you're talking to an advisor or a closer.

Strong answer. A real answer. Budgets too small for the channel to work. A business model that doesn't fit search. A situation where a freelancer or an in-house hire would serve you better. An honest agency has turned down work and can tell you why.

Concerning answer. They can't think of one.

The Printable Checklist

Bring this to the meeting. A strong agency will have clear answers to every line.

Frequently Asked Questions

What questions should I ask a digital marketing agency before hiring them?

Ask how they will decide which channels you need, what success looks like and how it will be measured, which conversions they will track, who will do the work and what is outsourced, who will own your Google Ads, analytics, domain, and website, what happens if you part ways, how they choose keywords, how SEO, PPC, the website, and conversion optimization work together, how often they review performance, how they judge lead quality, whether they can show a relevant case study, what they need from you, and what would make them tell you not to hire them.

What is the most important question to ask a marketing agency?

Ask what conversions they will track and how. Every other promise depends on it. If an agency cannot describe exactly which form submissions, calls, and sales it will measure, and how those will be connected back to specific campaigns and keywords, then it cannot honestly report whether your money worked.

Who should own the Google Ads account, the business or the agency?

The business should own it and hold administrative access. Google Ads provides distinct access levels, and admin access is what allows a user to grant or remove other users. An agency should work through a linked manager account or a user login that you can revoke, so the campaign history, conversion data, and audiences stay with you if the relationship ends.

How can I tell if a marketing agency outsources its work?

Ask directly who will do the SEO, build the website, write the content, and manage the ads, and whether those people are employees or contractors. Then ask to speak with the person who will handle your account. An agency that uses specialists openly is fine. An agency that gets vague or defensive about who does the work is usually reselling white-label vendors.

What should a marketing agency need from me to do a good job?

Access to your accounts, a clear picture of your best customers and most profitable services, feedback on lead quality, time from someone who can approve work, and honesty about what your sales team does with the leads. An agency that says it needs nothing from you is either planning to run a generic playbook or has not thought about how results actually get produced.

How long should I give a marketing agency to show results?

It depends on the channel. Paid search should show measurable lead activity within the first month if tracking is in place. SEO typically takes several months to show meaningful movement, depending on competition and the state of the site. What you can judge immediately is process: within the first 30 days you should see tracking set up, a written plan, and a clear explanation of what is being done and why.

Ask Us the Same Questions

We'd rather you interview us hard than sign quickly. If you want to see how we'd answer these for your business, start with a free Revenue Opportunity Analysis, which shows you what we'd actually recommend and why before any contract exists. You can also look at how we scope PPC management, websites, and our plans. Book a strategy call or call 321-401-7016.