Choosing an advertising agency is less about finding the “best” one than finding the one that fits your goals, your budget and the way you like to work. This guide gives you a practical way to compare agencies and to brief the one you choose.
Start with what you need
Before you contact anyone, write down three things:
- The goal. More enquiries, more online sales, a product launch, or awareness in a new market. One main goal is easier to brief and to measure than five.
- The audience. Who you want to reach, where they are, and what they need to know before they buy.
- The budget and the time frame. Include both the media budget (what the platforms are paid) and the agency’s fees. Ask yourself how long you can wait for results.
What an agency can take on
Most agencies combine several of these services. Knowing which ones you need helps you compare like with like.
- Search engine optimisation (SEO). Long-term work on your pages and content so that people find you when they search. Results build over months.
- Paid search and shopping ads. Visibility as soon as the campaign starts, for people who are already looking for what you sell. It stops when the budget stops.
- Social media advertising. Useful to reach a defined audience and to bring previous visitors back.
- Content and video. Articles, guides and videos that answer your customers’ questions and support the other channels.
- Email marketing. The most direct way to stay in touch with people who already know you.
Six questions to ask every agency
- Who will work on my account? Ask to meet the person who will manage it day to day, not only the person selling.
- What have you done for a business like mine? Ask for examples you can check: a live website, a campaign, a client you can call.
- How will we measure results? Agree on a small number of indicators linked to your goal, and on how tracking will be set up before launch.
- What will I receive, and how often? A regular report you can read in ten minutes is worth more than a long one you never open.
- Who owns the accounts and the data? The advertising accounts, the analytics and the creative work should stay yours if you leave.
- What are the fees, and what is not included? Ask for the split between media budget and fees, and for the notice period.
Signs of a good fit
- They ask about your business and your margins before proposing channels.
- They explain what they would not do, and why.
- They are clear about what depends on you: content, approvals, access to tools.
- They propose to start small, measure, then extend.
Warning signs
- Guaranteed rankings or guaranteed sales. No agency controls search engines or your market.
- A price that is far below the others without a clear explanation of what is left out.
- Reports full of impressions and clicks, with no link to enquiries or sales.
- Accounts opened in the agency’s name that you cannot access.
How to brief the agency you choose
A one-page brief is enough: your goal, your audience, your budget and time frame, what has already been tried, and who approves the work on your side. Agree on a first review date. The first weeks are for setting up tracking and learning; judge the work on the trend, not on the first days.
Next step
If you would like a second opinion on a brief or on current campaigns, book a 15-minute call. You can also read how we approach digital advertising.
