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1. Define the work before you invite proposals
Start with the business result you need, not a list of marketing channels. Qualified leads, sales, or customer retention are outcomes; clicks and impressions are intermediate signals. A useful brief tells candidates what success means and what work they are being asked to do.
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- Outcome: State the business result and how you will recognize progress.
- Audience and market: Identify who you need to reach and the relevant geography.
- Channels and timing: Name channels you know are required, desired launch dates, and deadlines.
- Budget: Set the available amount and clarify whether it must include media, agency fees, production, and technology.
- Internal capacity and constraints: Note who can supply approvals, creative, customer data, or technical support, along with privacy or operational requirements.
Google advises advertisers to evaluate investment against results, while the American Association of Marketing Agencies’ agency search scorecard connects campaign measures to organizational outcomes. The practical implication is to ask candidates how their work could contribute to your business result—not merely what activity they plan to produce.
2. Match the partner to the assignment
A specialist can be a sensible fit when the brief is narrow and the required channel expertise is clear. A broader assignment may need coordinated channel strategy, analytics, creative, and operational capacity. Do not assume that a firm offering many services will deliver them all itself or that a specialist cannot coordinate with your team.
#1 Best Overall
Ask candidates to show relevant depth in planning, execution, optimization, audience strategy, measurement, and coordination. Find out which responsibilities are handled by employees and which go to subcontractors or other partners. The right scope depends on your business model, geography, channel needs, budget, data sensitivity, and available in-house support.
3. Test the evidence behind the pitch
Request examples that resemble your channel, market, audience, and assignment. For each case study, establish what the agency actually did, the baseline and period, the measures used, and the conditions that affected the result. Ask whether the team proposed for your account is comparable to the team responsible for the example.
A result without its measurement method and context is difficult to compare with your own goals. The AAMA scorecard treats references as one source of evidence and recommends checking how a prospective agency handles commitments, budgets, problems, and senior involvement. Where the engagement warrants it, speak with a client reference about those specifics rather than asking only whether they liked the agency.
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4. Meet the people who will do the work
The senior people in a pitch may not be the people managing delivery. Before choosing a partner, confirm the names and roles of the assigned team, their availability, expected involvement, decision authority, and who is accountable for continuity if staffing changes.
Ask who owns day-to-day decisions, who approves work, and how much access you will have to senior specialists. A clear staffing plan helps you assess whether the proposed level of service is realistic and whether the expertise shown in the pitch will be available after signing.
5. Examine measurement, data, and privacy
Ask how the partner will define success, calculate metrics, connect campaign activity to business outcomes, and explain attribution limits. Find out what data, accounts, analytics systems, and other access it needs; how privacy will be handled; and how the findings will change campaign decisions.
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Google’s April 2024 guidance on agency measurement recommends probing data strategy, incrementality, audience insight, privacy, creative operations, and AI plans. It reflects one platform owner’s perspective, so adapt those topics to your own business and regulatory context rather than treating them as a universal checklist.
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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →6. Compare proposals and total cost
Compare proposals on the same basis. Google notes that agency fees are additional to advertising costs and advises advertisers to obtain an official written agreement. Make sure you can distinguish service fees from media spend and any other charges before judging price.
| Proposal item | What to establish in writing |
|---|---|
| Deliverables and exclusions | What work is included, what is not, and any revision limits. |
| Fees and third-party costs | Agency fees, media budget, production, platform, technology, and other external expenses. |
| Budget handling and reporting | Who controls spending and how costs, activity, and outcomes will be reported. |
| Responsibilities and dependencies | What the agency and your team must supply, approve, or complete, and how those dependencies affect timing. |
| Scope and schedule changes | What can change the fee or schedule and how changes are approved. |
| Agreement and exit | Term, termination arrangements, ownership, account access, and what remains available if the engagement ends. |
Do not compare a low headline fee with a more complete proposal until you have identified what each candidate includes and excludes. The AAMA scorecard identifies measurement and scope clarity as default minimum requirements for evaluation.
7. Verify platform credentials—and understand their limits
If a candidate displays a Google Partner badge, click through to the profile Google identifies rather than relying on an image in a presentation. Google’s Google Partners program requirements, as stated on the help page when checked in 2026, include a minimum 70% optimization score and $10,000 USD in advertising spend over 90 days across managed accounts, along with certification requirements. Premier Partner eligibility requires meeting Partner requirements and ranking among the top 3% of participating companies in a country; Google evaluates that status annually.
These figures describe program eligibility, not a guarantee that an agency suits your assignment or will achieve a particular result. A credential is one check—not a substitute for relevant work, assigned-team fit, clear scope, and credible measurement.
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8. Compare candidates on consistent criteria
For each candidate, assess the same dimensions. Give meaningful weight to measurement and scope clarity; do not let a polished pitch or badge outweigh weaknesses in the work plan.
- Fit with the channels, market, audience, and business outcome.
- Quality and relevance of evidence, including references.
- Credibility of the outcome measurement and reporting plan.
- Experience and availability of the proposed delivery team.
- Clarity of delivery process, responsibilities, and coordination.
- Fit with your data, systems, and privacy requirements.
- Transparency of scope and full cost, including outside expenses.
The scorecard is a decision aid, not a formula that predicts success. Weight the criteria according to the work you actually need and the capacity your organization can provide.
Quick Recap
Questions to ask before you decide
- What business outcome would you optimize for, and how will we measure it?
- What comparable experience do you have in our channel, market, and audience? What were the baseline, period, and measurement method in the examples?
- Who will work on our account, how much time will they have, and who makes decisions?
- Which work is done by your staff, and which by subcontractors or partners?
- What data, access, and systems do you need? Who owns the advertising accounts, analytics, creative, and customer data, and what access remains if we leave?
- How will you report costs, activity, and business outcomes? How will you explain attribution limitations?
- What is included or excluded in the fee, and which media, production, platform, technology, or third-party costs are extra?
- What happens if scope, timing, or assumptions change? What are the agreement term and termination arrangements?
- Can we speak with a client reference about the proposed team’s communication, budget handling, problem resolution, and follow-through?
- If you display a platform badge, can we verify it directly with the platform?
Warning signs to investigate
- Guaranteed Google ad position or continuous visibility: Google says ad position is auction-based and changes dynamically, and identifies guarantees of top placement as misrepresentation. See its advertiser guidance on choosing an agency.
- Unclear separation of fees and advertising spend: Ask for cost and performance reporting and a written agreement that makes the difference clear.
- Unverified platform affiliation: Verify a badge through the platform profile. Google’s third-party policy prohibits false affiliation and misleading or unrealistic claims.
- Pressure to sign or unrealistic promises: Google’s third-party policy identifies undue pressure and false claims as unacceptable conduct. Take time to check the account structure and written terms.
- Paid advertising said to improve organic rankings: Google states that paid ads do not affect organic ranking; see its agency guidance.
- Case studies without context: Ask for the baseline, period, measurement method, and factors that affected the outcome; seek a reference when appropriate.
- Unclear account ownership or access: Confirm that your business has a separate account. Google policy requires one account per end advertiser. Put ownership and continuing access terms in the agreement.
- Vague staffing or scope: Identify assigned people, availability, exclusions, dependencies, external costs, and how changes are approved before signing.
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