Media TrafficsHow to choose a paid ads agency: questions to ask before you sign
Choose a paid ads agency that knows your industry, lets you own the ad accounts and the data, reports on booked appointments and cost per sale, and refuses to guarantee results. Ask who will work on your account day to day, ask to see results in your niche, and read the agency's negative reviews along with the good ones.
Questions to ask, and the answers you want
| Ask | Good answer | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns the ad accounts, pixel and lead data? | You do. The agency works inside your accounts as a partner or admin. | The agency runs everything in its own account and you lose it if you leave. |
| What do you report on? | Cost per lead, contact rate, appointments, cost per appointment, sales | Impressions, reach and clicks only |
| Have you run ads in my industry? | Specific examples, compliance rules they already know | "We can do any industry" |
| Who touches my account each week? | A named person, and how often they optimize | Vague answers about "the team" |
| Can you guarantee results? | No, and an explanation of what they do commit to | A guaranteed number of leads or a revenue promise |
| What happens to leads after the form? | CRM routing, instant follow-up, speed-to-lead tracking | "That's your sales team's job" |
| How do I cancel? | Clear terms in writing before you pay | Terms that only show up after you sign |
What a Google Partner badge does and doesn't tell you
Per Google Ads Help, a Google Partner must keep $10,000 in ad spend across managed accounts over 90 days, hold a minimum 70% optimization score, and have certified account strategists. Premier Partners are the top 3% of participating companies in a country each year.
The badge tells you the agency spends real money on Google and keeps its accounts in line with Google's recommendations. It says nothing about your industry, your cost per appointment or whether they pick up the phone. Use it as a minimum bar and ask the questions above.
Industry experience shows up in compliance
An insurance agency's ads run under Meta's financial products and services special ad category, which removes age, gender and ZIP targeting (Meta for Developers). Medicare marketers must use the CMS TPMO disclaimer (eCFR). An agency that has run insurance campaigns knows this before the first call. For home services, the tell is whether they bring up Local Services Ads, call tracking and service-area negatives without being asked. Our guides on Facebook ads for insurance agencies and Google Ads for HVAC show what that looks like.
Read the bad reviews too
Every agency that has worked with hundreds of businesses has unhappy clients. What matters is how they respond. Look for public replies, refunds handled in writing and a published refund policy. We publish ours, and we answer the hard questions on our Is Media Traffics legit? page, including the negative reviews.
How Media Traffics answers these questions
We have run paid ads since 2013, for 500+ clients, and generated $3.35M for them. One funnel we built produced $186K on its own. You own your ad accounts and data, we report on appointments and sales, and we don't guarantee results because nobody honestly can. See our case studies and reviews, then book a call and ask us everything on this page.
Frequently asked questions
What should I look for in a paid ads agency?
Industry experience, account and data ownership on your side, reporting on appointments and sales instead of clicks, a named person on your account, clear cancellation terms, and no guaranteed results.
Does a Google Partner badge mean an agency is good?
It means the agency manages at least $10,000 in Google Ads spend over 90 days, keeps a 70% or higher optimization score and has certified staff. It does not measure results in your industry, so treat it as a minimum bar.
Should an agency guarantee leads?
No. Ad platforms control delivery and pricing, so a guaranteed lead count usually means the agency will buy cheap, low-quality leads to hit the number. Ask what they commit to instead: work, testing, tracking and reporting.
Who should own my ad account?
You should. The agency should work inside your Meta and Google accounts as a partner or admin so the pixel data, audiences and history stay with you if you ever switch agencies.