Pick the agency that answers ten simple questions clearly: what work can I check, what will you not promise, who owns my accounts, what will it cost in total, how will we measure enquiries, and how do I leave if it isn’t working. A good agency is happy to be asked. One that dodges these questions is telling you something.
Why does choosing an agency carefully matter so much?
Because you hand over your website, your ad money and often your customers’ first impression of you. A poor choice costs months, not just fees.
Search for a marketing agency in Asansol and you’ll find a long list of pages that all claim to be the top choice in the city. Many of them belong to firms in other states that have simply made a page with Asansol in the title. That isn’t wrong in itself, but it makes it hard for a school, clinic, hotel or shop owner to tell who actually knows the area and who will do the work.
A fair disclosure before we start: RIGZZ GROWTH is a marketing agency based in Asansol, so we have an interest here. That’s exactly why this post doesn’t rank anyone. It gives you the questions we think every agency should answer, including us, and Google’s own advice on hiring help. Use them on everyone you speak to.
Questions 1 to 3: can they prove it, and what do they promise?
Ask for work you can check yourself, ask what they won’t promise, and ask who will actually do the work.
Google’s guide to hiring an SEO suggests asking for examples of past work and success stories, how they measure success and over what time, and what experience they have in your industry and your city [1]. Those questions apply just as well to ads, websites and social media.
- Can you show me work I can check? Look for named businesses and live websites you can open, not just logos on a slide. If they can’t name clients, ask why.
- What won’t you promise? Google says plainly that no one can guarantee a top ranking on Google [1], and it warns that nobody can guarantee a specific ad position either [2]. A good agency tells you what it can influence and what it can’t.
- Who will do the work, and can I meet them? You want to know the person who writes your ads or builds your site, not only the person who sold you the plan.
Questions 4 to 6: who owns what, and what will it really cost?
Your accounts should stay in your business’s name, the full cost should be clear up front, and leaving should be simple.
This is where small businesses most often get stuck. An agency sets up the ad account, the website and the analytics under its own name, and when the relationship ends, years of history leave with it.
Google’s advice to advertisers is that an agency must set up a separate ads account for you, that you have the right to know at least the clicks, impressions and total cost of your Google ads, and that you should understand any fees the partner charges and get the agreement in writing [2]. On Facebook and Instagram, Meta lets a business give an agency partner access to its Pages and ad accounts while ownership stays with the business, and only the owner can share those assets with anyone else [3].
- Google Ads accountYour business, with the agency added as a user or manager.
- Facebook Page and ad accountYour business portfolio, shared with the agency as a partner.
- Website and domainRegistered to your business, with the login details handed to you.
- Google AnalyticsYour property, with you as an administrator.
- Will my ad accounts, website, domain and analytics be in my name? The right answer is yes, with you as an administrator and the agency added as a partner or user.
- What will I pay in total? Ask them to separate the agency fee from the money that goes to Google or Meta for ads, and to say whether anything is marked up.
- How do I leave? Ask about the notice period, and confirm that you keep the website files, the content and the campaign history if you go.
Questions 7 and 8: how will we know it’s working?
Agree on business results, like enquiries and bookings, before the work starts, and get direct access to the numbers.
Likes, reach and impressions are easy to grow and easy to report. They don’t pay salaries. In Google Analytics you can mark the actions that matter, such as a form being sent or a WhatsApp chat being started, as key events, and see which channels lead people to take them [4]. Ask the agency to set that up in the first month.
- What will you measure, and what counts as success at three months? A clear answer names enquiries, calls, bookings or admissions, not only followers.
- How will you report, and can I see the accounts myself? Monthly reports are useful, but you should also be able to open the ad and analytics accounts whenever you like.
Questions 9 and 10: do they know your area, and do they play fair?
Local knowledge helps more than most people expect, and shortcuts like bought reviews break Google’s rules.
A family in Burnpur, a nursing aspirant in Kulti and a wedding guest booking a hotel in Durgapur search, compare and decide in different ways. Many will prefer Bengali or Hindi for a first conversation. An agency that understands this writes better ads and better pages, and it knows the difference between Asansol and Kolkata buyers.
Then ask about methods. Google’s Maps policy forbids fake engagement and offering incentives for reviews, and it also bars selectively asking only happy customers for reviews [5]. Google’s SEO guide warns against firms that are secretive about what they will do, and reminds you that you are responsible for what the company you hire does [1].
- What do you know about my city and my sector? Listen for specifics: admission seasons, festival peaks, local search habits, languages.
- Will you ever buy reviews, followers or links for us? The only good answer is no.
Which answers should make you walk away?
Promises nobody can keep, secrecy about methods, and accounts held in the agency’s name.
Google’s guide also warns about firms that email you out of the blue, claim a special relationship with Google, or offer priority submission to search [1]. None of these is a reason to panic, but each one is a reason to ask more questions before you sign.
- “You’ll be on page one, promised.”Nobody can. Ask how they’ll measure progress instead.
- “We have a special relationship with Google.”Google warns about this claim. Ask for evidence.
- “We’ll run the ads from our own account.”Ask for an account in your business’s name.
- “Our methods are confidential.”Ask them to explain every change in plain words.
- “We can get you hundreds of reviews fast.”Walk away. Bought reviews break Google’s rules.
How RIGZZ GROWTH answers these questions
Openly. We’re based in Asansol, we name the work you can check, and we tell you what we can’t promise.
You can check our work: the website rebuild for Burnpur Hirapur Educational Society, and the telecaller app and admissions dashboard for PN Das Academy of Nursing, where every inbound enquiry now gets followed up. We don’t guarantee rankings, ad positions or AI mentions, because nobody can.
Your Google, Meta and analytics accounts stay in your business’s name. We agree the measures that matter with you at the start, usually enquiries, admissions or bookings, and our analytics and growth reviews report them every month in plain language. Our services page explains what we do across search, websites, ads and follow-up, and our Asansol page covers how we work with local businesses.
Please ask us all ten questions. Book a call, or start with our free AI visibility check to see what Google and AI assistants say about your business today.
- ShortlistPick two or three agencies with work you can check.
- AskPut the same ten questions to each of them.
- ComparePrefer clear, specific answers over big promises.
- Start smallAgree a first three months with clear goals in writing.
FAQ
Is it better to hire a local agency or one from a big city?
Either can work. A local agency usually understands your customers, languages and seasons better, and is easier to meet. Whoever you choose, ask the same questions and check their work yourself.
Can any agency promise first-page rankings on Google?
No. Google says no one can guarantee a top ranking. An agency can improve the things that influence rankings and show you the progress honestly, but it cannot promise a position.
Should the agency own our ad accounts?
No. Your Google Ads account, Facebook Page, ad account, website and analytics should be in your business’s name, with the agency given access as a partner or user. That way your history stays with you.
How long before we see results from digital marketing?
Ads can bring enquiries within weeks once tracking is right. Search visibility usually takes a few months. Agree on what progress should look like at the start, so you can judge the work fairly.
What should a small business ask for in writing?
The scope of work, the total monthly cost split into agency fee and ad spend, who owns each account, how results will be reported, and the notice period and handover if you decide to leave.
Sources
- Do you need an SEO?, Google Search Central
- Advertiser guide: Working with third parties, Google Advertising Policies Help
- Give a partner access to business assets in your business portfolio, Meta Business Help Centre
- Mark events as key events, Google Analytics Help
- Prohibited and restricted content, Google Maps User Generated Content Policy Help
How this article was made: researched and written by Ritam Ghosh of RIGZZ GROWTH, Asansol, with AI assistance, from the sources listed above. Every figure links to its source. Spotted something wrong? Email admin@rigzz.com and we'll correct it.
