Ask who owns the ad account, how results are defined and shown, what the fee covers and whether you can leave. A good agency answers with screenshots, definitions and ranges, not with a single impressive number. Red flags: guaranteed results, hidden fees, a lock-in contract and an account you cannot see.
What is a performance marketing agency?
A performance marketing agency plans, runs and optimises paid campaigns (Meta, Google) and the funnel behind them (tracking, landing page, lead handling), and is judged on measurable results such as cost per lead, cost per sale or return on ad spend rather than reach. Use these twelve questions to compare agencies fairly.
1. Who owns the ad account, Pixel and data?
You should. If the agency runs ads from its own account, your audiences, learning and history leave with it. Good answer: “Your accounts, our access.”
2. What exactly will you report, and how often?
Look for a recurring report on cost per lead, cost per qualified lead and revenue, with a review call. Red flag: reports full of reach, impressions and likes and silent on cost per customer.
3. Can you show native screenshots, with dates?
Ask to see Ads Manager or Google Ads views with the date range visible, not edited graphics. A case study that cannot show a screenshot is a claim. Ours all do.
4. How do you define a lead, a conversion and a result?
In Google Ads a “conversion” can be a call, a click or a form. A 60% conversion rate usually means low-value actions are being counted. Ask for definitions before you compare numbers.
5. What does your fee cover, and what is extra?
Ask whether creatives, a landing page, tracking set-up, reporting and calls are included, and what costs extra. Insist that the fee and your ad budget are stated separately, with GST.
6. How is the fee structured?
Flat monthly retainer, a percentage of ad spend, performance-linked or a hybrid. Each has trade-offs; see how agency pricing works.
7. Is there a lock-in?
A long lock-in transfers risk to you. Month-to-month terms are a sign of confidence.
8. Who will actually run my account?
Ask for the name and role of the person who sets up and optimises campaigns, and how often a senior person reviews it.
9. How do you set up tracking?
A serious answer covers the Meta Pixel, Conversions API, GA4, UTM standards and lead-outcome feedback. Here is the checklist.
10. Have you worked in my industry, and what did not work?
Ask for a case study in a similar business and ask what failed. An agency that can describe its misses is more credible than one that shows only winners.
11. How fast will you respond, and how fast must I?
Agree your response times and also the speed at which your team will answer leads. The best campaign loses money if leads wait a day.
12. What will you not do?
Honest agencies decline guaranteed results, fake reviews, fake urgency and tactics that risk your ad account.
How does Social Baniya answer these?
You own the accounts; we report weekly with a 30-minute review; every case study shows native screenshots with dates; fees are fixed per month, plus GST, with ad spend separate; and there is no long lock-in. See packages and how we work.
Key takeaways
- Ask who owns the account and how a result is defined.
- Ask for native screenshots with dates, and for what did not work.
- Insist the fee and ad budget are quoted separately.
- Avoid guarantees and long lock-ins.