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Before you hire a marketing agency, ask what the monthly price includes, how long you are locked in, and who owns your website, domain, Google Business Profile and ad accounts. Then ask who actually does the work, how results are reported, and what is realistic to expect and when. Clear, specific answers are a good sign, and vague ones are your red flag.
Below are 15 questions grouped by topic, each with what a good answer sounds like and what should make you pause. Print it, bring it to every sales call, and ask every agency the same questions so you can compare their answers side by side.
What Will It Cost, and What Are You Signing?
Most agency regret starts here: a price that looked simple until the first invoice, or a contract that was easy to sign and hard to leave.
1. What exactly is included in the monthly price, and what costs extra?
- Good answer: A written list of what you get each month (for example, number of posts, pages, ad channels or reports) and a clear list of what is billed separately.
- Red flag: "We do whatever you need." That sounds generous until you ask for something and learn it was never in the scope.
2. Is ad spend included, and where does that money go?
- Good answer: Ad budget is separate from the agency fee and is paid directly to Google, Meta or the ad platform, ideally on your own card in your own account.
- Red flag: One bundled number for "management plus ads" with no breakdown, so you cannot tell how much actually reached the platform.
3. How long is the contract, and how do I cancel?
- Good answer: A plain term (month to month or a stated length), a stated notice period, and no penalty for leaving after that notice.
- Red flag: A long contract with an early termination fee, or cancellation terms they cannot explain on the call.
4. Are there setup fees, and can my price go up?
- Good answer: Any setup fee is stated up front, and they tell you in writing whether and when your monthly rate can change.
- Red flag: "Introductory pricing" with no word on what it becomes, or a fee that only shows up in the contract.
If you want a sense of what drives the number up or down before these calls, our guide to what marketing costs a small business walks through it.
Who Owns the Website, Domain and Accounts?
This is the group people skip and later regret the most. When an agency relationship ends, whatever is in the agency's name can leave with them.
5. Who owns my domain name and website, and what happens to them if I leave?
- Good answer: You do. The domain is registered in your business's name with you as the account holder, and the agency can tell you exactly what you take with you if you leave (the site files, content, images and logins).
- Red flag: The domain is registered to the agency, or the site lives on a platform only they can access, and "we'll work something out" is the answer to what happens if you leave.
6. Will my Google Business Profile and ad accounts be in my name, with me in control?
- Good answer: Yes. You are the owner of your Google Business Profile and the agency is added as a manager. Google's help page on Business Profile owners and managers explains the difference: managers can do the day-to-day work, but they cannot add or remove users or remove the profile. For Google Ads, the account is yours, billed to you, and you hold Admin access. Google lists the Google Ads access levels, and only Admins can give account access and change access levels. An agency can work in your account at a lower level or by linking it to their manager account.
- Red flag: They want to create the profile or ad account under their own login "to keep things simple," or they ask you to make them the only owner.
7. Will I have my own logins to everything?
- Good answer: You get your own access to the website, analytics, Business Profile, ad accounts and social pages, and they show you how to log in.
- Red flag: Everything runs through a shared agency login, or they need to "get back to you" on whether you can have access to your own accounts.
A practical tip: before you sign, write a simple list of every account (domain registrar, hosting, website, analytics, Business Profile, ad accounts, social pages, email platform) and next to each one, whose name it is in. If you cannot fill it in, ask.
How Will You Report on the Work?
Reporting is how you find out whether you are paying for activity or for results.
8. What will you report, how often, and in what format?
- Good answer: A regular report on a set schedule that ties the work to business numbers you care about, like calls, form leads, bookings or sales, with a short note on what changed and what is next.
- Red flag: Reports full of impressions and "reach" with nothing connecting them to calls or customers, or no fixed schedule at all.
9. Can I see the data myself, not just your report?
- Good answer: Yes. The numbers come from tools you can log into yourself, such as your analytics, your ad accounts and your Business Profile performance.
- Red flag: The only place you can see results is the agency's own dashboard or PDF.
Who Actually Does the Work?
The person who sells you the service is often not the person who does it. That is normal, but you deserve to know who is on the other end.
10. Who will work on my account, and do you outsource any of it?
- Good answer: They name the people or roles doing the work, say what is done in house and what is not, and tell you who is responsible for quality either way.
- Red flag: Dodging the question, or a team you never meet after the contract is signed.
11. What experience do you have with businesses like mine?
- Good answer: Real examples of past work they can show you, and questions about your business, your customers and your area. Google's own advice on hiring an SEO suggests asking for examples of previous work and about experience in your industry and city.
- Red flag: A pitch that is the same for every business, with no curiosity about how yours actually makes money.
How Will We Communicate?
Most agency relationships that go bad do not fail on strategy. They fail on silence.
12. Who is my main contact, and how fast do you reply?
- Good answer: One named point of contact, the best way to reach them, and a typical response time they will commit to.
- Red flag: A general inbox, a different person every time, or "we're pretty responsive" with nothing more specific.
13. Will you tell me about every change you make?
- Good answer: Yes, changes to your website, profile and ad accounts are shared with you, and big ones are approved by you first. Google lists "Will you share with me all the changes you make to my site" among the questions to ask an SEO.
- Red flag: "Trust us, we handle the technical side," especially for changes to your website or ad budgets.
What Results Should You Expect, and When?
Honest agencies are careful here, because good marketing results depend on things nobody fully controls.
14. What results do you expect, in what timeframe, and how will we measure them?
- Good answer: A realistic range tied to your starting point, an explanation of what moves faster (like paid ads) and what takes longer (like search rankings), and agreement up front on the numbers you will both watch.
- Red flag: Specific promises before they have looked at your business, or no clear way to tell whether it is working.
15. Do you guarantee rankings or results?
- Good answer: No guarantee of rankings, with a clear explanation of what they will do and how they will report on it. Google states plainly that "No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google."
- Red flag: A guaranteed first-page or number-one spot. Google's guidance also notes that the Federal Trade Commission handles complaints about deceptive or unfair business practices, and points to ftc.gov to file one.
What Should You Do With the Answers?
Score each agency the same way. Put the 15 questions down the side of a page and each agency across the top, and mark every answer as clear, vague or a red flag. A single red flag on ownership or contract terms is usually worth more weight than a polished pitch.
Ask for the important answers in writing. Pricing, contract length, cancellation terms and account ownership should all be in the agreement, not just said on a call.
Watch how they handle the questions, too. An agency that welcomes them, answers plainly and says "I don't know, let me find out" when that is true is showing you what working with them will feel like. The same goes for how they treat your customers: if they will be replying to reviews on your behalf, ask to see how they would handle one, using a guide like ours on responding to negative Google reviews as a yardstick.
How Does The Voice of Cash Answer These Questions?
Since you will ask us too, here are our answers on price. We are a local marketing team with flat monthly plans: Foundation is $750 a month, Growth is $1,500 a month and Operator is $3,000 a month. There is no setup fee, plans are month to month with 30 days' notice to cancel, and your price is locked for as long as you stay on your plan. A free new website and hosting are included with month-to-month plans. The full breakdown of each plan is on our pricing page.
Whoever you hire, ask all 15 questions. The right agency will be glad you did.
Cash Colligan
Founder of The Voice of Cash, a local senior marketing team in Las Vegas. Raised in Vegas, with 15+ years in marketing.
