Trying to find the right digital marketing agency is a lot like getting on the apps to date. Of course, there’s some nuance to it, but let me explain.
When you’re trying to engage a provider for a service, you’ll start by looking for them (which is essentially the same as downloading the app).
If you’re doing your due diligence and have never even started looking for a provider before, then you’re going to check out a few websites to see what’s out there. This is you essentially checking out profiles and having a casual swipe.
Then finally, you’re going to examine the profiles, read all the details, do a little bit of stalking to find out who they actually are (it’s not just me, don’t lie) and then you’re going to decide if you actually want to talk to them or not in the first place.
You’ll then have a little conversation to decide if it’s worth actually meeting in person to discuss what you want from life.
But, if you’re new to dating, you might miss the red flags. Some are glaringly obvious, but if you haven’t engaged a digital marketing agency before, then you should know this first up: basically every digital marketing agency is good at crafting their footprint so you only see the best versions of them.
After all, if they weren’t very good at it, then you probably wouldn’t want to bother engaging them in the first place.
So, how do you find the red flags? And what does a green flag actually look like?
I’m going to take you through all the things I’d be looking for and how to know if a digital marketing agency is worth the quote they’re putting in front of you.
There will be no explanation, just reputation.
Now, of course, I’d argue that auditing an agency should actually begin before you even search. Depending on the services you’re looking for, do you already know the brand and like their content? Have you seen their ads before? Have you seen them pop up at marketing events that you like to go to? Do they have a good reputation?
Generally speaking, Australia’s marketing industry is pretty small (some might say incestuous) and if you’re looking for an agency, over a freelancer, then there are probably some key standouts in your local area. The one that everyone tries to get a job at, the second they’ve graduated from university.
What you’ll find is people are proud to say they’ve worked at their agencies when they do good work and you’ll notice long tenures at agencies that invest in their people. And then the dominoes fall… Typically, clients will stay longer at those agencies where they know the people and get good results. All I’m saying is that a little LinkedIn stalk of their staff isn’t going to do any harm.
That being said, natural attrition does happen. And for what it’s worth, if you have heard of a bad experience somewhere and it’s been a few years, there’s no harm in still checking them out with some cautious optimism. We all deserve a chance to change.
What comes before a first impression?
Whether you use ChatGPT, Gemini or traditional search engines, if you’re looking for a service, I imagine that you’ve searched for it. Now, if you’re looking for an SEO or AIO service, I can’t recommend this strongly enough: take a look at where they sit in the SERPs.
If they are near the bottom of the results for themselves, then why will they be able to get you to the top? Yeah, it is worth noting that the competition for marketing in digital agencies is probably one of the toughest niches there is, since they have professionals galore and all the resources you could imagine. But it’s definitely worth investigating and playing in to the overall picture.
To me, this is your first impression. The proof is in the pudding, literally. You can see how an agency markets to you, and if they aren’t good at it, then they probably aren’t going to be a good fit for you and your brand.
First impressions matter
So, now you’re sleuthing their website and their social media. The reality is that you aren’t going to read every bit of text that’s on the site (sorry, copywriters), so how can we make this an efficient process for you? Well, we’re looking for context clues.
Client logos
Firstly, do they have client logos on their website? Not only client logos, but are those client logos current? If the organisation said they’ve done work for them, it can always be good to check that they’re actually working together. Now, it’s not a foolproof method, but if they claim to have done the website, then most agencies will have their name in the footer. Typically, bigger brands will remove that, but for lots of businesses out there, they will have a ‘website by’ or ‘digital marketing by’ in the footer — so that’s something to check.
Team page
The next would be that they have a team page. Some agencies will talk as if they’re a big agency, but then their team page will only have the founder or leadership team. There’s nothing wrong with an agency using a team of contractors or freelancers, of course, that’s just business. But if they’re hiding them or are actually just outsourcing everything anyway, you may as well do the hard yards of finding your own freelancers and not pay the 200% markup you’re going to be charged on the other end.
Their team should be a wide array of people and experiences. There should also be photos of real people throughout the site. If the site is full of stock imagery, then how can you know they’re credible? Lots of people work remotely these days, so there’s no guarantee that the agency will have a physical location. That’s not a bad thing, but without real photos of real people that you can see on their team page, you don’t really know who’s working for you.
Legit testimonials (or the Ex Check)
Look at their testimonials, do they have real people’s names and real brand names? Do the testimonials match their Google Business Profile and/or case studies? Ensure the testimonials are specific. If you’re looking for genuine testimonials, most clients will mention someone by name that they’ve loved working with, not everyone, but it’s a great indication of a legitimate agency.
Badges
Don’t trust the badges on their website without actually checking the directories. These badges aren’t the be-all and end-all, but they can be difficult to gain. Any agency can pull a ‘Meta Business Partner’ badge from Google Images, but check the directories to see if they’re actually listed. Also, make sure that they’re listed as Premier Partners and not just members.
Case studies
Every digital marketing agency should have a case study part of their website, or at least a Portfolio. Some of these can look really flashy and have great numbers, but ensure there is somewhere on the website (and sometimes people will hide it in blogs), where they actually break down how they did what they did. Just make sure you get the substance behind it all.
Social media
Honestly, if you aren’t looking for an organic social agency, then don’t be surprised if your digital marketing agency’s social media isn’t up to date. I don’t think that’s a major red flag; they’re just as busy as you are. That being said, if you are looking for an organic social partner and the content isn’t engaging, relevant and up to date, then I’d steer clear.
But it’s still worth having a look. When looking at their social media, make sure that the content is relevant. If you’re a plumber doing the latest viral dances, that’s great at attracting traffic and a certain type of audience, but it’s not necessarily going to get you a $60,000 bathroom renovation type of client. So when looking at their social presence, make sure it’s catered to the marketer or business owner in you, and that the content feels relevant to attracting you. After all, you’re who they’re after!
What does this have to do with a dating app?
What I’ve just taught you is how to identify a catfish online. Someone who might talk the talk but isn’t necessarily walking the walk. It’s exactly the same as checking out that person’s dating profile — you know when they’re telling you that they love long nature hikes, but there isn’t a single photo of them outside hanging off the edge of a cliff.
Don’t always believe what you’re told; use the context clues to put everything together. If that means going for a stalk on their social media profile (that we can only hope they’ve purposely left on public because they’re an extrovert and not because they’re hoping their ex still stalks it and will one day reach out so they aren’t actually emotionally available to be dating again), then so be it. It’s important we find out if they’re worthy of our time in the first place.
How they communicate tells you everything
Okay, so you’ve swiped right, submitted an enquiry form, or given them an initial phone call — what’s next? Well, the first impression doesn’t actually stop at the profile. It continues in the first conversations you have.
Much like a first date, you can’t expect that the beautifully polite boy who remembers to actually ask you questions over dinner won’t turn into the guy who can’t remember to hang up the bath mat after his showers.
The sales team is the first line of defence at an agency, meaning that there is no room for error. If they screw up that first impression, then you’re off to somewhere else, and they’ve let the other team score.
And hey, just like with dating, you might very quickly realise that person’s favourite food in the world is peanut butter. If you’re allergic to peanuts for that reason it might just not be a good fit, then that’s okay, too.
That being said, they should be asking you all the right questions. If they tell you that they can just give you a quote on the phone without even knowing what you need from them, then they’re probably not going to be very thorough when checking what budget they’re adding to your Meta Ad Campaign. Was that $ 1,000 per day or $ 1,000 per month, again?
Now, you might have come to an agency knowing exactly what you need, but they might also be able to educate you a little on something you didn’t know. The reality is agencies are typically at the forefront of digital marketing because they have to be — if they’re still out there calling Google Business Profiles, Google My Business, then they might’ve been left behind. They’re on these platforms working on their clients every single day, so they might know a little bit more about current marketing trends than you. That’s okay.
In those conversations, no one knows the business you represent better than you. That’s the symbiotic collaboration you should be looking for.
Think about your business and its turnaround times. We all get busy, but communication with your customers should always be the priority. No matter the business. So if you’re feeling ghosted from the very get-go, or they’ve told you they’re going to get a proposal to you tomorrow, and that was a week ago, then they’re probably not the agency for you. Hitting deadlines and doing exactly what they say they’ll do should be a key focus at this early stage. If they show you that you can’t trust them, then believe them. (Good advice for dating, too, while we’re at it.)
Of course, we all get busy, and that’s fair, but if that’s their very first best step forward, then it should play in to your consideration process.
We have a thing
That crucial first message will make or break you if you’re dating. I literally once had a man bypass a dating app and message me via his dog’s Instagram account, telling me his dad thinks I’m cute. As you can imagine, that conversation broke down fairly quickly, and I changed my profile to private at lightning speed. However, it shows that a profile is only one part of dating. You need to get to know each other to decide if it’s worth making a go at a relationship. We call this the thing or talking stage.
I think much of the older generation will roll their eyes at Gen Z for the ‘thing’ stage. The moment when you’re dating but not official. The getting to know each other phase, where it’s kind of a relationship, but we aren’t going to label it. You know when you’re talking every day and learning about each other.
However, it’s the success of this stage that determines whether the relationship is successful or not. You could dive right into a relationship if you wanted to, sure, but that wouldn’t make much sense. It would be like buying your dream home from an ad online, only to find out it has a highway on one side and a local swimming pool on the other, not exactly the perfect serenity you were looking for whilst you enjoy your Sunday morning coffee. That’s why it’s important to learn about each other, ask the hard questions and ensure the relationship is reciprocal. Do they want it as much as you do?
Will they or won’t they?
I feel like they already know me
Okay, so we’ve begun talking, and we’ve decided we like the pace at which they reply, and they’re saying all the right things, but there comes a time when we need to start asking each other the hard questions. It’s the part of everyone’s wedding vows where they say, “I felt like you already knew me.” That’s what you’re looking for in the perfect agency relationship.
Now, of course, there’s going to be teething during any relationship. You need to learn if they’re a morning person or a night person. If you don’t match perfectly, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing — as long as you make it work. But you need to be asking the right questions here.
If price is a dealbreaker for you, then you probably aren’t looking for a bespoke agency that only takes on three clients at a time, and you need to be understanding of that. If an omni-channel approach is what you’re after, then you don’t want to be looking at a smaller five-person agency. You need a large team with a range of specialists in their specific channels.
The key aspect to this stage —where you’re deciding to take the plunge— is their willingness to listen and that the answers were hopefully what you were wanting to hear, and if not, better than expected. If you get a bad feeling during this stage, it’s time to bolt. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself in a position where they’re working to overcome your bad feeling — potentially with them not even knowing that’s where the strain is coming from. And that’s not fair to you or them.
Vet your own prospects
I’d also add, if you aren’t the point of contact for your account, make sure the at person who is, meets the agency first. You need to make sure that the person gels with the team you’re going to be paying to work on your account. If those personalities don’t mesh, then it is unlikely to work out — it happens with different working styles. You’ll find that most agencies have a plethora of people you can choose to work with.
In fact, it was a strength of the agency we worked with that there was an Account Manager who suited every personality type with specific industry knowledge. It just works.
You wouldn’t want your Mum to vet your future husband, so make sure that the decision makers bring the daily on-the-ground person to a few meetings.
Customised tailored solutions
‘Innovative’, ‘guarantee’, ‘solutions’, ‘goal-oriented’: all words that sound promising, right? Well, to an experienced marketing professional who values quality, it sounds like a bunch of bullshit made up at the end of an essay to try and reach the word count.
You want to ensure that any proposal or plan that has been put together is made for you. A key way to see this is to check if they’ve used your name and business name throughout. Seems like a simple find and replace, right? But you wouldn’t believe the amount of times I, Rebecca, have been called Rachel. If they don’t have that simple attention to detail, it’s an immediate no.
Another way is to ensure they haven’t just run your website through a SEMRush or Ahrefs tool and screenshotted a report. Are there actual paragraphs that are relevant to your business, social profile and website that resonate with your industry? Have they looked at your competitors and discussed them like it’s part of their native tongue? That shows experience and thoroughness.
No one can talk about what they could do for you without having a proper look at your business. Sure, you can go on a rough plan that might get you 60% of the way there, but without a thorough understanding of your business and checking it first, they don’t actually know what you need. It’s like deciding to order for your date before they arrive, and you choose the satay chicken because you know it’s a good dish and everyone loves it and you want to try and show proactiveness and self-assuredness but instead you look like a dickhead for not knowing she’s allergic to peanuts.
Did you actually ask for it?
Also, does the solution offer you what you actually asked for when you first enquired? We’re huge advocates for agencies advising you on what you actually need. But it’s important that the proposal matches the conversations you’ve been having.
Sure, it might have some cool graphics and a fancy flowchart about how it’s going to get you from point A to point B. But have they told you how they’re going to measure that? Remember, marketing takes many iterations. It’s not a one-and-done exercise where you can run the same ad on Meta for the next 10 years and be a fully occupied hotel. You’ll need to trial things for different seasons and multiple target audiences.
A guarantee isn’t a sure thing
I always say to stay away from a guarantee. Sure, they can seem attractive at the time when you’re looking at your budget, but it’s at this time that you need to focus on opportunity cost. Agencies that offer a results guarantee are kind of lying to you. Sure, they can get you to #1, but was the keyword relevant? Did it bring in leads? They can get you 15 form submissions in a week, but are they actually customers or just tyre kickers that have wasted your time? A guarantee can offer you financial reassurance, but an agency that backs their work will trust their method to iterate to get you good results over time.
A guarantee that you’re happy and enjoying the relationship is slightly different. That’s about customer service. However, any agency that guarantees you a result is manipulating you — they don’t control your audience or the algorithms.
Reinvent the wheel, but only somewhat
We all like something that looks shiny, bright, and new. It’s a strategy you’ve never seen before. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, after all, we all need something that’ll make us stand out from the infinite scroll. From a creative perspective, if the strategy being presented to you is different from everyone else you’re considering, and you vibe with it. Yes, go with it.
That being said, if you’ve spoken to ten agencies and one of them tells you that your customers aren’t on Meta, when everyone else says they are. The majority has to rule.
We all want to reinvent the wheel and stand out from the crowd, but don’t fall for peacocking. The idea where someone becomes something larger than life just to get your attention. More often than not, you’re better off choosing the guy with a steady 9-5 job than the guy pretending to be a DJ and flying all over the world, who then ends up secretly being the Tinder Swindler.
The Future Talk
So we’re about ready to commit, but what do we need to make sure we cover first? There are a few i’s to dot and t’s to cross before you commit to an agency. You don’t want to get ten years down the road and think you can change their mind about never wanting children.
Make sure you’ve asked the following questions and know the answers:
- Am I locked into a contract?
- Do I own the content and/or accounts that you work on if we decide to part?
- Do I have complete ownership of any website, landing pages, or accounts you set up for me, including while you work on them?
- What type of reporting will I receive?
- Can I meet the team working on my account?
- Is my ad spend included in my management fee? (Avoid agencies that bake ad spend into their management fee. It leads to a lack of transparency on how much is actually being spent on your marketing.)
- At what point do we review the results and revisit our strategy?
- Are there any upcoming price increases or annual CPIs I should be aware of?
- Do you purchase backlinks or use techniques such as expired domain redirections for traffic building?
- Will I receive a clear outline of completed deliverables each month?
- In the event, I want to pivot platforms or redistribute ad spend, is this included in my management fee, or will it incur an additional charge?
- For any implementation of deliverables, is that included in the management fee?
- What do you expect of me as a part of this relationship?
Many internal teams will typically ask the question, ‘How long are you going to spend on my account each month?’ In complete honesty, it’s not really a relevant metric of success. You’re not paying for time on an account. You’re paying for the results. Any typical agency will spend a varying amount of time on an account every month, depending on the activity. And anyway, there’s a big difference between a graduate’s grueling five hours and a seasoned professional who’s seen it all’s one hour.
Essentially, swipe left if the commitment comes with red tape and you can’t get clear answers. Swipe right on clarity and mutual trust.
The fool-proof way to find an agency you’ll love
So, just like online dating, finding the right digital marketing agency isn’t about rushing in and swiping right on the flashiest profile. It’s about taking your time, doing a bit of stalking (the good kind), and paying attention to those little red and green flags. You wouldn’t jump into a relationship with someone who ghosted you after one message or bragged about things they didn’t actually do, so why settle for that now?
Think of your agency search like going on a bunch of first dates. Some might seem perfect on paper, but don’t quite vibe when you talk. Others might surprise you with how well they get you and your goals. The best relationships happen when there’s good communication, a little bit of chemistry, and shared expectations. And just like dating, sometimes you have to kiss a few frogs (or endure some awkward phone calls) before you find your perfect match.
Remember, it’s okay to ask the hard questions and walk away if it doesn’t feel right. You’re not just picking any old provider. You’re looking for a partner who’s going to have your back, understand your business, and celebrate your wins like they’re their own. So take your time, trust your gut, and don’t be afraid to swipe left if the vibe is off.
At the end of the day, your business deserves an agency that’s not just good on paper but feels like the kind of relationship you want to invest in long term.