You have been with your agency for a year. An invoice arrives every month, and so does a report. But when you ask "how many customers did the ads bring in this month?", you never get a straight answer. You are thinking about switching, but you are not sure the next agency will be any different.
Short answer: The way to choose a digital marketing agency is to ask the right questions before you sign. If account ownership, conversion tracking, reporting, the team and the exit terms are not settled up front, you end up in the same place a year later. This guide covers the 10 questions to ask, how agency fees work and the red flags to watch for. Our Google Ads management and Meta Ads pages show how we answer each of these questions ourselves.
The most common complaint: "We don't know what they're doing"
Businesses that switch agencies tell remarkably similar stories. Ad spend went up, reports got longer, yet nobody could connect any of it to sales. Meetings were about clicks, impressions and reach, never about leads or closed deals.
The root cause is rarely bad faith. It is a relationship set up the wrong way from the start: nobody agreed what would be measured, what the report would show, or who owned the accounts. Ask the same vague questions of the next agency and you will get the same result.
Growth Diagnostic
Ready to Build a System, Not Just Run Campaigns?
We map your full digital ecosystem in 48 hours — analytics, funnels, CRM, and automations.
Get an impartial review of your current setup10 questions to ask a digital marketing agency before you sign
Ask these questions in the same order at every meeting and get the answers in writing. How clearly an agency answers often tells you more about how it works than the proposal itself.
1. Whose name will the ad and analytics accounts be in?
The right answer is yours. Google Ads, Meta Business, Google Analytics, Tag Manager and Search Console should be owned by your business, with the agency added as a user. Otherwise you can lose campaign history and data when you part ways.
2. Which conversions will be tracked?
Form submissions, phone calls, WhatsApp messages, sales. The agency should be able to say exactly which ones it will track, how, and who sets the tracking up. Advertising without conversion tracking is advertising blind.
3. What will the monthly report show?
The report should center on leads and, where possible, sales, not spend and clicks. Every month you should be able to read: "We spent X, we got Y leads, the cost per lead was Z."
4. Who will manage our account?
The person in the sales meeting may not be the person running your account every day. Ask who that is, how experienced they are and how many accounts they manage.
5. What did you do for a business like ours?
Ask for an example from your industry or a similar sales model. Ask them to explain the work behind the numbers: what was the problem, what changed, how was it measured?
6. What happens in the first 90 days?
A good agency can describe the first three months in concrete terms: tracking setup, account structure, first tests, first optimization round. "Leave it to us" is not a plan.
7. How is the fee calculated, and where does the ad spend go?
The agency fee and the ad budget are separate items. Ad spend should be paid directly to Google or Meta from your own payment method. Ask whether the fee is flat or a percentage of spend, and what it covers, in writing.
8. How and how quickly will you communicate?
Find out who you will talk to, on which channel and how fast they respond. When a campaign breaks, you need to know in advance who fixes it and how quickly.
9. Who is responsible for the website and landing pages?
The website is where ad traffic becomes customers. Will the agency only run ads, or are landing pages and conversion improvements part of the scope? If this stays unclear, responsibility falls between the cracks.
10. How do we leave the contract?
Notice period, handover process, return of account access and ownership of creative should all be in the contract. A contract that is hard to exit only prolongs a bad relationship.
How digital marketing agency fees work
Agencies usually charge in one of three ways. Whichever you choose, ad spend is separate from the fee.
| Model | How it works | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Flat monthly fee | A fixed fee with a defined scope, independent of spend | Scope and deliverables must be written down |
| Percentage of ad spend | A share of what you spend on ads | Creates an incentive to raise the budget |
| Hybrid | Base fee plus a tiered percentage as spend grows | Tiers and scope need to be explicit |
How we charge: for Google Ads and Meta Ads management, our fee is a minimum management fee or 10% of the relevant ad budget, whichever is higher. Ad spend is paid directly from your own account and card to Google or Meta; we take no commission on it. Account, campaign and budget limits are written into the proposal. See our Google Ads management page, or ask for a proposal through our contact form.
When comparing proposals, line up the work, not just the fee: how many channels, which tracking setup, how many reports and meetings, and whether landing pages are included. If a website is part of the project, the comparison table in our website cost guide works the same way.
Red flags in the first meeting
- Offering to open the ad account in the agency's own name
- Guaranteeing first place on Google or a specific sales figure
- Reports limited to impressions, clicks and reach
- Postponing conversion tracking until "later"
- Not being able to say who will manage your account
- Billing ad spend through the agency without itemized detail
- Long contracts with unclear exit terms
One of these alone may not rule an agency out. Two or more and you should ask for much more detail.
Agency vs freelancer vs in-house team
| Agency | Freelancer | In-house team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scope | Several channels together | Usually one specialty | Whatever the business prioritizes |
| Continuity | High, because it is a team | Depends on one person | Depends on hiring and turnover |
| Cost structure | Monthly fee | Hourly or per project | Salaries, tools and training |
| Tracking and reporting | Should be a standard process | Varies by person | Has to be built |
| Best when | Ads, SEO, website and tracking run together | One channel, limited budget | Large, steady budget |
For many businesses the most effective setup is a mix: one person in-house who owns strategy and day-to-day decisions, and an agency that runs execution and measurement.
Example: three businesses, three different agency needs
E-commerce brand: Sales happen on the site, so the agency must manage the product feed, shopping campaigns and sales tracking together. The key questions are 2 and 3: are sales being measured correctly?
Clinic: Most enquiries come by phone and WhatsApp, and healthcare advertising has legal limits. The key questions are 2 and 5: are calls tracked, and has the agency worked in healthcare? Our health tourism page shows how we structure it for clinics with international patients.
B2B services firm: Long sales cycle, few but valuable leads. The key questions are 6 and 9: what is the 90-day plan, and who owns the quote form and landing pages?
Hiring a digital marketing agency in Turkey
More European and international businesses now work with agencies in Turkey. The practical reasons: rates are often lower than in Western Europe or the US for comparable work, Istanbul overlaps with the European working day, and multilingual campaigns are routine for agencies whose local clients sell abroad. None of that replaces the ten questions above. Ask them exactly as you would of an agency next door, and insist on the same written answers.
Analyze, build, measure
Seeing an impartial picture of where you stand today makes it much easier to ask the right questions. As a digital marketing agency in Istanbul, we start every engagement with three steps:
- Analyze: We review your ad accounts, tracking, website and competitors. Output: a report showing where the budget is being wasted.
- Build: Accounts in your name, complete conversion tracking and a campaign structure built around your goal.
- Measure: Every month, spend, leads and cost per lead in one report.
Who this approach is for
- Businesses that expect their agency to report leads and sales, not spend
- Decision makers switching agencies who want to get it right this time
- Teams that want ads, SEO and the website run as one system
Who it is not for
- Anyone looking only for the lowest agency fee
- Businesses unwilling to share access to ad accounts and data
- Anyone expecting guaranteed sales by the end of month one
Checklist: prepare these before you meet an agency
- Who owns your ad, analytics and Search Console accounts?
- Which conversions are tracked today?
- What did you spend over the last 3 months, and how many leads came in?
- What is a lead worth to you on average?
- What is the notice period on your current agency contract?
- What do you want to change in the first 90 days?
If you want an impartial review of your current setup before choosing a digital marketing agency, we will go through your accounts and reports and send you a written list of gaps. We reply within 1 business day and deliver the free audit within 48 hours: get your current setup reviewed.
Frequently asked questions
How do I choose the right digital marketing agency? Ask about account ownership, conversion tracking, what the monthly report shows, who manages your account day to day, the plan for the first 90 days, how fees and ad spend are handled, and the exit terms. Get the answers in writing and check references from similar businesses.
How do digital marketing agencies charge? Usually through a flat monthly management fee, a percentage of ad spend, or a hybrid of both. Ad spend is separate from the agency fee and should be paid directly to Google or Meta. A good proposal states that split clearly.
Should the agency own my ad accounts? No. Google Ads, Meta Business, Google Analytics and Search Console should be owned by your business, with the agency added as a user. Otherwise you can lose your account history and data when the relationship ends.
Agency, freelancer or in-house team: which is better? An experienced freelancer can be enough for one channel and a modest budget. An agency is more efficient when several channels (ads, SEO, website, tracking) need to work together. With a large, steady budget, an in-house lead working alongside an agency is often the strongest setup.
How soon should I expect results from a new agency? Ad campaigns produce first data within weeks; optimizing them to a stable level typically takes a few months. SEO takes longer. Ask for a written target and a date when it will be measured.
Is it a good idea to hire a digital marketing agency in Turkey? It can be, particularly for European or multilingual campaigns. Rates are often lower than in Western Europe or the US for comparable work and Istanbul overlaps with European business hours. Apply the same ten questions as you would anywhere else.