Is Your Marketing Agency Actually Working? 10 Questions to Ask

The report arrives on the fifth of every month. Impressions are up 18%. Clicks are up 7%. You rank for 34 keywords. There's a chart with a line going up.

And you're sitting there thinking: is the phone ringing more? Did any of this bring a customer?

If that's how your monthly report feels, you're not alone, and you're asking exactly the right question. Here are 10 questions to ask your agency, what a good answer sounds like and when to worry.

Why marketing reports often don't answer the real question

Most reports show what's easiest to measure, not what matters most to you. Platforms give agencies endless numbers: impressions, clicks, click-through rate, average position. Connecting those to an actual phone call or booked job takes more work: call tracking, form tracking and asking customers how they found you.

None of those numbers are wrong. They're just one or two steps away from your bank account. Your job as the owner is to ask for the last step.

The 10 questions

1. "What did you do for my business this month?"

Good answer: a short, specific list. "Published four Google profile updates, added 12 negative keywords to stop wasted clicks, rewrote the quote form on the AC repair page." Worry if: the answer is vague ("optimizations," "ongoing SEO work") and they can't name a single change.

2. "How many calls and form requests came in, and from where?"

Good answer: a count of inquiries by source: Google Maps, organic search, ads, direct. Where something can't be tracked, they say so honestly. Worry if: they only talk about traffic and can't tell you whether any calls came from their work.

3. "How many of those became paying customers?"

They might not know this without you, and that's fine. Good answer: "Let's set up a quick monthly check-in so we can find out." The best agencies want to know which leads turned into jobs, because it tells them which work to do more of. Worry if: they're not interested in the answer.

4. "What's the one thing you'd fix next, and why?"

Good answer: a clear priority tied to your business. "Most people visit the pricing page on mobile and leave. We want to simplify it." Worry if: every month is "more of the same" with no plan.

5. "What did you try that didn't work?"

Good answer: an honest example, and what they learned from it. Marketing involves tests; not every test wins. Worry if: everything is always great.

6. "Do I own my accounts?"

You should own and have admin access to your domain, website, Google Business Profile, Google Ads account, Analytics and Search Console. The agency should be a user or manager, not the owner. Worry if: they hesitate, or the account was created under their name. If you change agencies later, you could lose your history and data.

7. "Where is my ad money going?"

Good answer: they can show you the search terms people typed before clicking your ads, and which ones they blocked because they were irrelevant. Worry if: you can't see the account, or the ad spend and their fee are bundled into one number you can't break apart.

8. "How do you know when a lead comes from your work?"

Good answer: they can explain their tracking in plain words: call tracking numbers, form tracking, notes from your intake. Worry if: the answer is "trust us" or jargon you can't follow even after asking twice.

9. "What happens to my inquiries after they arrive?"

This one surprises agencies. Good answer: they've looked at how fast inquiries get answered and whether follow-up happens, even if that's not their job, because it affects the results. Worry if: they say it's not their problem. If your calls go unanswered, no amount of traffic will help. See how fast you should respond to a new lead.

10. "If you were me, would you keep paying for this?"

Good answer: an honest one, even if it's "this channel isn't paying off yet; let's move that budget." Worry if: every service they sell is always essential.

How to read the answers

Count the worries:

• 0–2: your agency is probably doing fine. Ask for a report that leads with inquiries and next steps.
• 3–5: have a direct conversation. Agree on what will be measured and reported each month, and check again in 60 days.
• 6 or more: it may be time to make a change. Before you do, make sure you have admin access to every account.

Before you switch

If you decide to move on, do it in this order:

1. Confirm you have owner or admin access to your domain, website, Google Business Profile, ads account and Analytics.
2. Download your reports and ad history.
3. Ask for a written list of the work in progress.
4. Change passwords and remove access only after the new team has what it needs.

And when you choose the next agency or partner, ask these 10 questions before you sign.

What we'd do

We'd make the report answer your question first: what we did, how many inquiries came in and from where, what's being fixed next. The clicks and rankings go underneath, as detail. That's how our Growth Partner program reports to the businesses it works with: a short monthly summary of completed work, a private dashboard and clear priorities for next month, with no hours and no guarantees. If you're paying for lead sites as well as an agency, also read are Angi and Thumbtack leads worth it, and if your calls come in waves, busy one month, slow the next.

Sources

• Google Search Central: Do you need an SEO?, including Google's warning about guaranteed rankings.