Choosing your first digital marketing agency
Choose a digital marketing agency with clear goals, account access, reporting, costs and handover terms before you sign.
An agency proposal should explain what will change, how you will assess the work and what your business will control. Before signing, build a short brief and an account handover sheet. They make it easier to compare the relationship you are buying, as well as the services.
Write a brief around a business decision
Describe your customer, the offer you want to promote and the action you want people to take. Add your current capacity to handle enquiries, your budget and the timeframe for reviewing progress. For example, a repair business might want more enquiries for a particular service in an area it already covers. Ask each agency what it would investigate first and what could stop the plan working. business.gov.au recommends setting a target market, goals, activities, budget and evaluation process in a marketing plan.
A government starting point for defining customers, goals, channels, budget and measurement.
business.gov.au: develop your marketing planAsk for a cost map and named responsibilities
Put the proposed management fee, advertising spend, creative production, website work and software subscriptions on separate lines. Ask which items recur, which require approval and what happens if the budget changes. Beside each deliverable, name the person responsible for supplying, approving and maintaining it. A landing page needs approved information; a lead campaign needs someone to answer enquiries. Ask what is included when a form stops working or tracking breaks. This worksheet is about making assumptions visible, not demanding that every agency offer the same package.
Read the evidence behind a result
When shown a case study, ask about the period, starting position, spend, work performed and definition of the result. An enquiry, an appointment and a completed sale measure different events. Ask to see an anonymised reporting example and how the agency deals with missing information or results it cannot attribute. Google advises asking SEO providers about methods, measurement and communication, and warns that nobody can guarantee first place in search. A confident pitch should still leave room for uncertainty about your market and starting point.
Primary guidance on checking methods, evidence, access and ranking promises.
Google: questions to ask an SEO providerComplete the access and handover sheet
List the domain, website, analytics, advertising accounts, creative files and any enquiry systems the agency will touch. For each, record the account holder, your administrator access, the agency’s permissions, billing owner and the process for exporting or transferring work. For an initial SEO audit, Google recommends read access to Search Console. More access may be needed for agreed implementation; ask why and keep access proportionate to the task. Clarify rights to newly created work in the contract. Paying an invoice alone is not a substitute for clear intellectual property terms.
Guidance on scope, payment arrangements and intellectual property clauses.
business.gov.au: prepare a contractTest how an agency explains its scope
Take one offer from the shortlist and ask the agency to walk through a customer’s journey from an advertisement or search result to a conversation with your team. Where does the enquiry go? Who tests the form? What information counts as a useful enquiry? How will your team report the outcome? The related provider below lists lead generation, Meta advertising, SEO and website services. Use the same questions with it and other providers. A service list is evidence of the work offered, not evidence that your campaign will achieve a particular result.
An Australian provider of lead generation, Meta marketing, SEO and websites. Demandify shares ownership with AusIndex. This is a related business example, not an independent recommendation.
DemandifyRelated ownership: AusIndex and this business share an owner. This link provides service information, not an independent recommendation.
Agree on the review and the exit
Before starting, agree which records will be reviewed, who attends and what decisions that review should enable. You might decide to fix a weak landing page, change the offer or continue collecting evidence. Ask how enquiries will be reconciled with your own records, including duplicates and customers who were already speaking with you. Also record notice periods, outstanding charges, account transfer steps and which files you receive if the engagement ends. Ask for clarification on unclear contract terms before signing, so neither the reporting nor the handover depends on an unwritten promise.
Your quick checklist
Tick these off as you go. This checklist resets when you leave.
Useful starting points
General information to help you ask questions. Check requirements for the particular service and your state or territory.