How to vet a marketing or web agency before you sign

Questions, reference checks and contract clauses that separate strong agency partners from expensive mistakes.

Agencies sell expertise you cannot easily verify before you buy, which makes the selection process the most important part of the engagement. Use this checklist to compare proposals on substance.

Start with a written brief

Share your goals, budget range, timeline and what success looks like. Agencies responding to the same brief produce proposals you can compare.

Ask for evidence, not adjectives

• Case studies with numbers, from businesses like yours.
• Two references you can call, chosen by you from their client list where possible.
• Examples of monthly reports they send real clients (anonymised).

Meet the actual team

The people who pitch are often not the people who do the work. Ask who will run your account day to day, how many other accounts they manage and what happens if they leave.

Insist on ownership

Your business should own the domain, website code and design files, ad accounts, analytics properties and content. Agencies can be given access; they should not hold the keys.

Contract clauses to check

• Scope of work with deliverables and revision limits.
• Notice period and exit terms, including handover.
• Payment schedule tied to milestones.
• Who pays for third-party tools and media.
• Confidentiality and data protection.

Red flags

• Guaranteed rankings or results.
• Pressure to sign quickly for a "discount".
• Reluctance to share references.
• Accounts set up in the agency's name.

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