The people who work to get your business may not be the same people who will manage your account on a day-to-day basis. Unless you’re talking to a single consultant or very small SEO company, it’s common to have your account handed over to a project manager or account service executive, so this isn’t a red flag. You should, however, gain a good understanding of what to expect, including whether agency leaders will be available to you as time goes on.

If you have in-house marketing or sales teams, ask prospective agencies about their processes for working with these teams. Your digital marketing efforts shouldn’t be in a silo—the more coordinated all of your marketing and advertising work is, the more powerful it can be. While you’re on the topic of collaboration, ask agencies what they will need from you. Your team’s time and attention are important to the success of your digital marketing campaigns.

Unlike almost all other forms of marketing and advertising, digital marketing is all about data, from strategy development to quantifying results. No agency should offer vague answers about how goals are set, what metrics will be tracked, or what you can realistically expect in the way of results. You should be kept regularly and fully informed of the ROI your campaigns deliver.

It shouldn’t be a deal breaker if an agency calls on outside companies or contractors for a service such as content writing, because it often makes sense from the perspective of cost-effectiveness and efficiency. What does matter, however, is which services won’t be managed by agency staff. Strategy development and critical parts of your campaign, such as technical SEO, should be done by the agency itself.

You don’t want your data and assets to be held hostage if you want to get out of the relationship with your agency. If you’ve held up your end of your contract, you should have complete ownership. Ask agencies about their position on this and check the contract carefully for ownership terms.

Since it takes time to build solid campaign performance, some agencies may want you to sign up for a year or more. At BroadProximity, we work differently. We do not require long-term contracts — we do offer extended contracts, but we also have clients that are month-to-month (and have been with us for close to a decade). Because you get a full report on all of the results we achieve for you each month, you know if you’re getting your money’s worth, and we work to earn and keep your business every month. You can end the relationship with us with just 30 day’s notice.

A testimonial quote isn’t a substitute for references. An agency that isn’t willing to provide them isn’t one that will be forthcoming about the work they do for you.

Even though SEO has matured as an industry and is now considered essential to online marketing, there are still some service providers who aren’t good stewards of your money. They may take shortcuts or even use tactics that can harm your SEO in the long run. As a result, they don’t want their clients knowing too much about their day-to-day work. Ask prospective agencies for a sample report and expect to be given one at least every month.

A digital marketing agency will need to take a look at your website and your current SEO or PPC campaigns before an accurate estimate can be created, but you should be able to get a general idea in your early conversations of what services may cost. Effective digital marketing is labor-intensive, so if it sounds surprisingly inexpensive, ask for a detailed breakdown of just what the agency plans to do for you.

Digital marketing can improve some metrics within the first three months, but sustainable improvements are made incrementally over a relatively long period of time. When you begin to work with a digital marketer, their initial work will likely focus on issues in need of immediate correction and establishing a good foundation on which to build your campaigns. In subsequent phases, the focus (and budget) turns to achieving long-term goals with content creation, link building, and adjustments to your technical SEO.