How to choose amarketing agency,and what to avoid.

Marketing is one of the easier professional services to sell badly, because results take months to become clear and the vocabulary is unfamiliar enough that most buyers cannot immediately tell competence from confidence. So rather than assert that we are the best choice, here is how to evaluate anyone, us included.

Ask who your account manager actually is

Every agency gives you an account manager, and that is a good thing, because somebody has to own the relationship and keep work moving. The question worth asking is what that person actually does. At many agencies they are a coordinator who relays messages and cannot answer a strategic question without going away to ask someone else. Our answer: our account managers are marketing strategists. They help build your plan, so they can answer the question themselves.

Ask what you own and what you are renting

This is the question most buyers forget to ask, and the one that costs them later. Some agencies register domains in their own name, run ads through their own accounts, or build on a platform you cannot take with you, without ever making that clear. The problem is not the arrangement, it is the surprise.

Our answer: it depends on the engagement, and we put it in writing before you sign. Some clients own their site, domain and ad accounts outright. Others lease a managed website, where hosting and maintenance are bundled into a lower monthly cost and the site stays with us if the relationship ends. Ask us which one you are getting and we will tell you plainly.

Ask about the contract term

Ask what you are committing to and what happens if you want out early. Our answer: we work on twelve month agreements. Search, content and brand building do not produce meaningful results in eight weeks, and a term shorter than a year tends to mean both sides give up before the work has had a chance. A twelve month commitment cuts both ways: it is what lets us plan properly rather than chase quick wins that look good on a first report.

Be sceptical of guarantees

Nobody can guarantee a specific ranking. Search engines do not sell organic placement. An agency promising a number one position is either targeting terms nobody searches for, or is not being straight with you. Our answer: we commit to the work and to showing you exactly what changed.

Ask to see a real report

Ask for a sample of the monthly reporting, redacted if necessary. If it is fifty pages of automated charts with no commentary, that is what you will receive every month. Our answer: one report, in plain English, tied to enquiries.

Ask how long they have been doing this

Longevity is not everything, but in an industry with this much churn it does tell you something. Our answer: independent since 2001, and still working with clients we started with many years ago.