What to Ask Before You Sign a Contract with a Marketing Company

The cold pitch is universal. "I was just looking at your website and noticed you're not ranking on Google." Contractors get these emails weekly. Some are outright scams. Most are agencies that will take a retainer, produce some activity, and deliver results that vary from marginal to zero, usually by the time the contract locks you in for a year.

Separating legitimate marketing companies from time-wasters is simpler than it seems. Six questions, asked before signing, will surface the ones worth taking seriously. We build contractor websites at a fixed price and don't take retainers, so there's no stake in which company you choose, only that you choose one you can verify in advance.

Question 1: Do I own the website if I leave?

This is the first question because the answer determines how much control you have for the rest of the relationship. If a marketing company builds your website on its own proprietary platform, you don't own that site. When you cancel, you lose the site, and potentially the domain and business listings they've been managing.

The right answer: you own the domain, registered in your name. You own the website and can take it to another host. Content produced on your behalf belongs to you. If the company hedges on this, the website they build is collateral to keep you paying.

Ask specifically: "If I cancel tomorrow, who owns the website, who controls the domain, and what happens to my Google Business Profile?"

Question 2: Can you show me ranking results for businesses similar to mine in comparable markets?

Any marketing company with real results has documented them. Not testimonials, not "before and after" screenshots from their own reporting tools. Actual local pack positions for real businesses in real markets that a contractor can verify by searching Google independently.

Ask for two or three specific examples. Then search Google for those businesses. If the company says they can't share client names for confidentiality: that's a yellow flag. Most successful businesses are willing to be referenced by their marketing company. If the examples they share don't check out when you search, that's a red flag.

Tampa service businesses vetting marketing companies in a competitive coastal market have found this test reliable. The agencies with real results welcome the verification request. The ones who hedge or offer only vague references are the ones contractors later report poor outcomes with.

Question 3: What metrics will you report monthly, in plain numbers?

The answer should include: organic call volume traceable to Google, local pack position for your core queries, Google Business Profile impressions and call clicks, website organic sessions, and lead form submissions from organic traffic. All of these are measurable in free tools. None require proprietary dashboards.

If the proposed reporting mentions only "keyword rankings," "domain authority improvements," or "traffic increases" without connecting to calls and booked jobs, ask how those metrics connect to revenue. If they can't explain the connection clearly, the reporting is designed for optics, not accountability. Once you have signed, the follow-up framework in is my marketing company actually working gives you the five questions to ask at the 90-day mark.

Question 4: What is the minimum term and how do I cancel?

Legitimate marketing companies do not need 12 or 24-month lock-ins to do their work. Organic SEO takes time, and 3-6 months is a reasonable evaluation window. But a contract that requires 12 months upfront, auto-renews unless you cancel in a specific 30-day window, and charges exit fees is structured for retention, not results.

Ask for the cancellation policy in writing before signing. Read it. The FTC's business guidance on unfair practices covers contract terms that limit your ability to exit, and many marketing contracts for small businesses push against those boundaries.

Portland contractors evaluating marketing vendors report that the contract term question is where the most revealing answers surface. Companies that hedge on cancellation terms in the sales process are the ones most likely to make cancellation difficult later.

Question 5: Who specifically will be working on my account?

The person who sold you the contract and the person who actually does the work are often different people at larger agencies. The sales rep has strong incentives to close. The account manager who takes over has a portfolio of 30 clients to manage. The difference matters.

Ask for the name of the person who will handle your account day-to-day and request a 15-minute call with them before signing. Any agency that pushes back on this is structuring the relationship so you don't know who to hold accountable. That's a significant warning sign.

Question 6: What happens to my Google Business Profile and ad accounts if I leave?

Some marketing companies manage your Google Business Profile and Google Ads from their own Google accounts rather than yours. This gives them control. When you leave, they may remove their optimizations, your ad history resets, and you lose access to accumulated performance data.

The right answer: your Google Business Profile is managed from your own Google account, with the agency added as a manager (not the primary owner). Your Google Ads account belongs to you and the agency has manager access. If you leave, you retain all historical data and maintain control of both.

Boston service businesses and marketing contracts in a high-demand market have found that this question alone identifies a significant share of agencies structuring the relationship for lock-in rather than results. Companies confident in their work don't need to hold your accounts hostage.

Companies confident in their work don't need to hold your accounts hostage. If the answer to any of these six questions is unclear, that's the answer.

What to do with the answers

Any marketing company that answers all six questions clearly, provides verifiable references, and produces a contract with reasonable terms is worth evaluating on the merit of their proposed work and pricing.

Any company that hedges on ownership, cannot provide verifiable references, proposes reporting that doesn't connect to booked jobs, or requires a 12-month lock-in with significant exit penalties: move on. There are enough legitimate options that settling for unfavorable contract terms is not necessary.

For the specific review of one of the most common contractors' marketing companies, see Hibu reviews from contractors. For the broader evaluation framework, see how to evaluate a contractor marketing agency.