Hiring a digital advertising agency can offer immense value to your business. These agencies bring specialized skills, experience, and access to cutting-edge marketing tools that can significantly enhance the performance of your campaigns. Moreover, they offer flexibility and scalability, allowing you to adjust your marketing efforts as needed without the burden of hiring and training new staff. While agencies can seem expensive upfront, they are often more cost-effective in the long run because you only pay for the services you use—without the overhead of benefits, training, or software costs.
However, successful collaboration with an agency is a two-way street. It’s not simply about outsourcing tasks and hoping for results. You need to engage in a transparent, communicative partnership where both sides work together toward a common goal. Agencies can only be as effective as the information and resources you provide. With that in mind, here are six key factors to consider when working with or hiring a digital advertising agency.
1. They Don’t Place a Huge Importance on Research
A solid digital marketing strategy begins with thorough research. If your agency doesn’t prioritize research into your industry, audience, competitors, and market trends, that’s a red flag 🚩. Effective digital advertising relies on data, not guesswork. Without deep insights, the agency is flying blind—and so are you.
Your agency should take the time to understand your business environment and the challenges you’re facing. If they don’t, they’re more likely to implement a cookie-cutter approach, which rarely leads to sustainable success. Remember, your agency’s job is to bring expertise and data-driven insights to the table, but they need your input to do so effectively. This collaboration ensures that the strategies they develop are not just technically sound but also aligned with your business objectives.
When evaluating potential agencies, ask about their research methodologies and how they incorporate insights into their campaign strategies. A thorough research approach will not only help in crafting more targeted ads but also in refining your overall marketing strategy.
2. Did They Ask You About Your Challenges?
One of the most telling signs that an agency may not be the right fit is if they don’t ask you about your business challenges. Digital advertising is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It must address your specific pain points. If an agency isn’t interested in understanding the hurdles your business is facing, they won’t be able to craft a strategy that genuinely solves your problems.
The best agencies ask lots of questions. They want to know what obstacles stand in your way, what’s worked for you in the past, and what hasn’t. If an agency skips this essential step, they’re likely more focused on selling you services than helping your business grow. Again, this is where the two-way process comes into play. You have to share your experiences, pain points, and business goals openly to ensure that the agency can develop a tailored, effective strategy.
Be wary of agencies that don’t take the time to understand the broader context of your business challenges. They might not deliver the results you’re looking for if they aren’t fully informed about the issues you need to address.
3. Account Ownership Is Yours, Not the Agency’s
This is a critical point that cannot be overstated. When you work with a digital advertising agency, the ad accounts they set up—whether on Google Ads, Facebook, or other platforms—should belong to you, not the agency.
If an agency insists on retaining ownership of your ad account, it’s a massive 🚩 red flag 🚩.
For example, Google Ads only allows one account per website. If your agency owns that account and you eventually decide to part ways, you may find yourself in a tricky situation. If the agency refuses to transfer ownership or provide access, you might be forced to start from scratch leading to a loss of historical data and performance metrics, and Google could prevent you from creating a new account for your website. This can severely impact your ability to continue running ads, making it nearly impossible to reclaim control without legal entanglements or considerable downtime.
Moreover, you’re the one footing the bill for these ad campaigns, so you should have full access and control over the account. Agencies that refuse to provide this access might be hiding inefficiencies or using this tactic as leverage to keep your business. Either way, this practice is harmful, and you should avoid any agency that doesn’t clearly state that account ownership belongs to you.
4. Clear & Frequent Communication
Communication is the backbone of any successful agency-client relationship. A good digital advertising agency should provide clear, transparent, and frequent updates on the progress of your campaigns. They should keep you informed about performance metrics, challenges, and any necessary adjustments. Communication isn’t just about receiving reports; it’s about ensuring that you have a clear understanding of how your investment is performing and what steps the agency is taking to improve results.
Frequent communication also means being proactive, not just reactive. If issues arise, the agency should notify you immediately and offer potential solutions. Conversely, you need to be open to communication as well—offering feedback, providing updates on your business’s changing needs, and responding to requests for input. Without regular and open communication from both sides, campaigns can quickly lose focus or stray from the agreed-upon goals.
An agency that doesn’t make communication a priority is one that’s likely not prioritizing your success. Make sure you and your agency agree on communication expectations, including how often you’ll receive updates and through what channels.
5. Be Wary of Agencies That Charge a Percentage of Ad Spend
Agencies that charge a percentage of your ad spend can lead to conflicts of interest. While it may seem like a straightforward payment structure, it creates an incentive for the agency to push for increased ad budgets, regardless of whether those increases will benefit your business.
Instead, look for agencies that charge a flat fee or have a payment model tied to performance metrics that are meaningful for your business. This structure ensures that the agency’s interests are aligned with yours—driving better results rather than simply increasing your spending. Transparency in pricing and billing is critical, so make sure you fully understand how the agency charges for its services.
6. Big Emphasis on Pleasing Ad Platform Reps
While ad platform representatives can offer valuable insights, they are not unbiased advisors. Representatives from platforms like Google or Facebook are primarily focused on promoting their latest tools and features, which may not always align with your business goals. Agencies that blindly follow every suggestion from ad reps might not be working in your best interest.
A good agency will strike a balance between listening to platform reps and making decisions that are right for your specific business. Just because a platform is pushing a new feature doesn’t mean it’s right for your marketing strategy. Agencies that consistently prioritize platform reps’ suggestions without critical evaluation could be acting in the platform’s interest—not yours. Ensure your agency acts as your advocate, filtering the platform’s recommendations based on what will actually drive results for your business.
7. They Guarantee Fast Results
No reputable agency will guarantee fast results. Any agency that promises you overnight success, whether through increased leads, conversions, or top search engine rankings, is setting you up for disappointment—or worse, for long-term damage.
For example, search engine optimization (SEO) is a long-term strategy that can take several months to show meaningful results. Agencies that guarantee immediate outcomes may resort to tactics like buying leads or bad backlinks, which can harm your brand’s credibility and performance. Always be cautious of guarantees in digital marketing. Instead, look for agencies that focus on sustainable, long-term growth rather than quick, often unreliable wins.
Bonus Tip:
You Can Only Hold Your Marketing Team Accountable for What They Can Control
Here’s a reality check: no matter how good your marketing agency is, they can’t fix underlying issues in your business that fall outside of their control.
For example, if you have a poorly designed website and choose not to invest in improvements, no amount of marketing will compensate for this fundamental issue. Your agency should provide recommendations for website enhancements or highlight areas that need improvement. You need to be willing to listen to their feedback and make necessary improvements to areas like your website or internal processes if you want to see the full potential of your marketing efforts.
Effective marketing relies on a solid foundation, and collaboration with your agency involves addressing internal issues as well.
Conclusion
Working with a digital advertising agency can deliver significant benefits for your business, but only if you approach the relationship as a two-way process. Both you and the agency need to collaborate openly and transparently for the partnership to work. From ensuring research is thorough and relevant, to making sure you retain ownership of your ad accounts, there are numerous factors to consider when hiring an agency. Be wary of agencies that guarantee fast results or prioritize their relationship with ad platform reps over your business goals. By maintaining clear communication and mutual accountability, you’ll set the foundation for a successful, long-term marketing strategy.
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