This document provides a checklist of questions to ask when hiring or evaluating a digital marketing agency. It outlines 8 key questions to ask, including whether the agency has experience in your industry, can provide references and case studies, what core and additional services they offer, how they measure and report on success, and whether they will integrate with your systems. It also provides a separate checklist of 5 additional questions for evaluating an existing agency, such as how they are measuring results, how often they provide reports, the level of work they should be doing, if they discuss new solutions, and how campaigns are managed.

1. C H E C K L I S T
What to Look For When Hiring (or Evaluating)
a Digital Marketing Agency
The
Digital Marketing AGENCY
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1
Has the agency done work with clients in your industry or business sector
(B2B, B2C, Nonprofit, etc.)?
Find out if the agency has a proven track record in industries like yours. Companies and organizations in
different industries and sectors can have very different digital marketing needs and goals. Be sure your agency
knows your industry or business type and has relevant experience.
2
Does the agency have references, testimonials or case studies?
This is absolutely critical. Find out what types of case studies your agency has for the specific digital marketing
services you need, and ask for testimonials from their clients. Look for case studies in similar industries or
companies like your own to really make an accurate comparison.
3
What are the basic services offered?
Depending on your specific needs, look for an agency that offers a full set of core digital marketing services that will
meet those needs. Services to look for include:
a. Search Engine Optimization
b. Paid Search Advertising
c. Display Advertising and Retargeting
d. Social Media Advertising
e. Content Marketing
4
What additional services are offered?
A truly full-service digital marketing agency will also offer additional services that complement their core
offerings and are part of a holistic and fully-integrated online strategy. These may include:
a. Analytics consulting to help you set up analytics and determine the best way to measure the success of your
marketing.
b. Marketing automation consulting to help you get the most from your marketing automation platform.
c. Landing page creation and testing for paid media campaigns.
d. Buyer persona development to help you better understand your buyers and target them with relevant
marketing.
Hiring a Digital
Marketing Agency
8 Questions to Ask

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©2014, All information in this document is the property of Marketing Mojo.
5
What is included in your monthly digital marketing engagement?
Depending on the specific services you need, find out from the agency everything they do on a monthly basis
as part of your contract.
The following checklists provide greater detail on what to look for when
hiring an agency for specific services:
• 13 Questions to Ask When Evaluating an SEO Agency
• 12 Questions to Ask When Choosing a PPC Agency
• 8 Questions to Ask When Evaluating a LinkedIn Advertising Agency
• 5 Questions to Ask When Evaluating a Facebook Advertising Agency
6
Does the agency provide regular reports on their progress?
If you’re making the substantial investment in a digital marketing agency, then you will obviously want regular
reports from them so you can gauge their performance and determine if they’re worth the investment. Ask
them if they provide reporting, and how often.
7
How does the agency plan to measure success?
Monthly reporting is important, but what is a good measure of success? Clicks? Conversions? Find out how the
agency plans to measure their success for you and ensure that matches your definition of success.
8
Will the agency work within your current CRM or marketing automation
platform?
Ideally, you’ll want your leads or sales information generated from your marketing to automatically integrate
into your existing systems. For instance, if your company uses Salesforce, does the agency integrate their work
with your web-to-lead forms to track success down to the CRM record level? Ensure that the agency can work
with your system and integrate the data properly.
Hiring a Digital Marketing Agency cont.

4. 800-939-5938 | Marketing Mojo
©2014, All information in this document is the property of Marketing Mojo.
Agency Name
1. Has the agency done work with clients in your industry
or business sector (B2B, B2C, Nonprofit, etc.)?
2. Does the agency have references, testimonials or case
studies?
3. What are the basic services offered?
a. Search Engine Optimization
b. Paid Search Advertising
c. Display Advertising and Retargeting
d. Social Media Advertising
e. Content Marketing
4. What additional services are offered?
a. Analytics consulting
b. Marketing automation consulting
c. Landing page creation and testing
d. Buyer persona development
5. What is included in your monthly digital marketing
engagement?
6. Does the agency provide regular reports on their
progress?
7. How does the agency plan to measure success?
8. Will the agency work within your current CRM or
marketing automation platform?
Notes
Digital Marketing AGENCY CHECKLIST
Use the checklist below as you’re evaluating each agency you’re considering for hire.

5. 800-939-5938 | Marketing Mojo
©2014, All information in this document is the property of Marketing Mojo.
1
How are they measuring results?
Is your agency measuring the success of their efforts against your goals? Ask yourself what you want (and need)
them to be doing for your company, then determine if their strategies and results are meeting those goals. If they
provide reports, analyze them to find out if their metrics match your KPIs.
2
How often are they providing reports?
Hopefully your agency is actually reporting on their progress regularly. If they’re not, ask them for reports, on a
monthly basis at minimum.
3
How much should your agency actually be doing?
If your agency is full-service, they should be doing most of the heavy lifting for you by offering advice and executing
strategies. Consulting agencies, on the other hand, will provide advice, but the onus is on you to execute (although
they may help execute to an extent). Depending on this, you should be able to make a determination if they’re doing
everything they’re supposed to be doing.
4
Is your agency proactively discussing new solutions and opportunities with
you?
The digital marketing industry is a constantly changing one, and it’s the job of your agency to stay on top of
those changes. They should be discussing new relevant opportunities and solutions with you as they arise, and
leveraging those for you.
5
Are campaigns managed using automated tools, or by real people?
In the case of paid search campaigns, many agencies will utilize proprietary tools that manage bidding and
spending on an automated basis. While it can be time-saving for them, it can also be costly for you. Ask them
how they’re managing your paid media campaigns and if someone is actively monitoring the performance of
your accounts on a daily basis.
Evaluating Your
Digital Marketing Agency
5 Questions to Ask

6. 800-939-5938 | Marketing Mojo
©2014, All information in this document is the property of Marketing Mojo.
Agency Name
1. How are they measuring results?
2. How often are they providing reports?
3. How much should your agency actually be doing?
4. Is your agency proactively discussing new
solutions and opportunities with you?
5. Are campaigns managed using automated tools,
or by real people?
Notes
Digital Marketing AGENCY CHECKLIST
Use the checklist below as you’re evaluating the agency you already work with.