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Choose a digital marketing partner by matching its demonstrated skills to your actual assignment, verifying who will do the work, and comparing how each proposal measures business results, handles data, and defines its full cost. A polished pitch, platform badge, or low fee is not enough evidence by itself.
1. Define what you need before inviting proposals
Start with the business result you want—not a list of channels or a request for “more traffic.” Specify whether the priority is qualified leads, sales, retention, or another measurable outcome. Clicks and impressions may help diagnose performance, but they are intermediate signals rather than the result itself. Google advises advertisers to evaluate investment against results, and the AAMA agency scorecard frames measurement around organizational outcomes (Google Ads advertiser guide; AAMA agency selection scorecard).
Write down the audience, markets, channels, timing, budget, internal resources, and constraints. Include existing systems, data access, approval processes, and any work your staff will retain. A focused need—such as a particular channel or a measurement problem—may call for a specialist. A broader assignment may require coordinated planning, execution, analytics, creative, and account operations.
2. Match the partner’s capabilities to the assignment
Ask candidates to show relevant depth for your channel, market, and audience, as well as the practical skills needed to deliver the work: planning, execution, optimization, measurement, and coordination. Find out which tasks their own employees perform and which they subcontract or assign to other partners. The AAMA scorecard recommends assessing both capability and how the agency handles commitments, budgets, and problems.
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Do not assume one agency is equally strong in every discipline. Evaluate the capability you need rather than the breadth of a service list. If several channels or specialist functions must work together, ask how the proposed team will coordinate them and who is accountable for decisions.
3. Test the evidence behind claims
Request examples that resemble your assignment. For each case study, ask what the agency actually did, the baseline and time period, how results were measured, and what conditions affected the outcome. Also ask whether the people proposed for your account resemble the team that delivered the example. A result without context is difficult to compare with your situation.
References can help validate claims, especially for a substantial engagement. Ask a reference about follow-through, communication, budget handling, problem resolution, and the involvement of senior staff. The AAMA scorecard treats references as one source of evidence, not a substitute for examining capability and measurement.
4. Meet the people who will do the work
The people presenting a pitch may not be the people managing your account. Before deciding, identify the proposed team and clarify each person’s role, availability, senior involvement, and decision-making authority.
- Who will lead the account and who will perform each major task?
- How much time will the team allocate, and how will you be told if staffing changes?
- Who approves strategy, creative, budgets, and optimization decisions?
- Which responsibilities sit with your team, the agency, or subcontractors?
5. Evaluate measurement, data, and privacy practices
A credible proposal explains how activity will be connected to your business outcome—not just which dashboard or report the agency will send. Ask how metrics are defined and calculated, what data and systems are needed, what attribution can and cannot show, and how the team will use findings to change decisions.
For campaigns where it is relevant, ask how the agency considers incrementality, audience insight, privacy, creative operations, and AI. Google Media Lab discusses these areas from the perspective of Google’s own marketing organization; treat that guidance as one platform owner’s perspective, not a universal standard. Its April 2024 article says 15% of its retained agency team were data scientists, a description of that team rather than an industry benchmark (Google Media Lab on agency measurement).
Confirm who owns the advertising accounts, analytics, creative files, and customer data. Establish what access each party receives and what remains available to your business if the engagement ends. Data and access arrangements should be explicit before work starts.
6. Compare proposals on the full scope and cost
Put candidates on the same decision axes instead of comparing headline fees alone. Give meaningful weight to measurement and scope clarity: the AAMA scorecard identifies both as default minimum requirements.
| Decision area | What to compare |
|---|---|
| Fit and proof | Relevant channel, market, and audience experience; quality and context of comparable evidence |
| Measurement | Business outcome, metric definitions, attribution limits, reporting, and how findings inform decisions |
| Team and delivery | Named staff, availability, senior involvement, responsibilities, and coordination process |
| Data and technology | Required systems and access, data handling, privacy practices, and ownership arrangements |
| Scope and value | Deliverables, exclusions, revisions, dependencies, third-party expenses, and conditions that may change cost or timing |
| Trust and accountability | References, budget transparency, problem handling, and written terms |
Require a written breakdown of agency fees separately from media spend. Also identify production, platform, technology, and other third-party expenses; what is included or excluded; revision limits; budget handling; reporting cadence; and the responsibilities and dependencies on both sides. Google’s advertiser guidance notes that agency fees are additional to advertising costs and advises getting an official written agreement (Google Ads advertiser guide).
Record the agreement term, termination arrangements, and how changes to scope, timing, or assumptions affect price and schedule. A proposal is only comparable when its boundaries and likely extra costs are clear.
7. Verify platform badges and challenge risky claims
If an agency displays a Google Partner badge, click through to the profile Google identifies rather than relying on an image or claim on the agency’s site. As of Google’s help-page criteria researched on October 7, 2026, Partner requirements include a minimum 70% optimization score, $10,000 USD in 90-day spend across managed accounts, and certification requirements. Premier Partner eligibility requires meeting Partner requirements and ranking among the top 3% of participating companies in a country, with eligibility evaluated annually (Google Partners program requirements). These are program qualifications, not guarantees of suitability or results; confirm current criteria directly with Google because they can change.
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- Opaque fees or spend: Require separate, understandable reporting of service fees, advertising costs, and performance.
- Pressure or unrealistic promises: Google identifies undue pressure and misleading or unrealistic claims as unacceptable conduct. Pause if you cannot verify claims or get time to review terms (Google Ads policy).
- Unclear account ownership: Confirm that advertising accounts are set up for your business. Google policy requires one account per end advertiser (Google Ads policy).
- Unexplained case studies or staffing: Ask for the measurement context, assigned people, availability, exclusions, dependencies, and change conditions before signing.
8. Use a consistent interview checklist
Ask every finalist the same core questions, then follow up on gaps specific to its proposal:
- Which business outcome would you prioritize, and how would we measure it?
- What comparable experience do you have in our channel, market, and audience? What were the baseline, period, and measurement method?
- Who will work on our account, how much time will they have, and who makes decisions?
- What work is done by your staff, and what is handled by subcontractors or other partners?
- What data, account access, and systems do you need? Who owns the accounts, analytics, creative, and customer data, and what access remains if we leave?
- How will you report costs, activity, and business outcomes, and explain attribution limits?
- What is included 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?
- May we speak with a client reference about communication, budget handling, problem resolution, and follow-through?
- If you display a platform badge, can we verify it directly with the platform?
9. Make the decision on evidence and fit
Choose the candidate with the clearest match to your work, credible evidence, a capable assigned team, a practical measurement approach, transparent scope and costs, and references that support its claims. A narrow assignment can favor a specialist; a multi-channel program may justify broader coordination. The right choice depends on your business model, geography, budget, data sensitivity, channel needs, and internal capacity—not on a badge or a single headline metric.
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