How to choose a media agency or PPC agency: 8 checks before you sign

In short

To choose a campaign management agency, check four things before the price: who will actually manage the account, how often it’s worked on, how success is measured (profit and customers, or clicks and leads), and whose name the ad accounts are in. A good agency asks about your business’s numbers first, and doesn’t promise results before it has seen them.

Why the choice matters so much

On a budget of ₪20,000 a month, a 20% difference in campaign efficiency is worth ₪4,000 every month. That’s usually more than the management fee itself. (Illustrative numbers.) So it’s worth investing in the choice itself, not just comparing quotes. Here we detailed what campaign management costs and which pricing models exist.

8 checks before you sign

1. Who will actually manage the account

At many agencies, the person who comes to the sales meeting isn’t the one who manages the account after signing. Ask by name who will be in the account day to day, how much experience they have, and how many other accounts they manage at the same time.

2. How often the account is worked on

A campaign that went live and nobody checks wears out: the ads get tired, and the budget keeps flowing to what stopped working. Ask what is checked every day, every week, and once a month.

3. How success is measured

If the answer is clicks, impressions or “leads” in the platform report, that’s a sign to dig further. The right measure is closed customers and profit, against your actual sales or CRM. Google and Meta each count the same sale, so their reports show more than actually happened. Here’s why.

4. Whose name the ad accounts are in

The Google Ads account, Meta Business Manager and the pixel should be registered in your name, with the agency given access. If the account is registered to the agency, when you leave you’ll lose the history and the data the algorithm learned.

5. What the first month looks like

A serious agency starts by checking the measurement: that every lead and purchase is counted correctly, before spending a shekel. Ask for a written plan for the first four weeks.

6. What the monthly report shows

Ask to see a sample report. A good report shows cost per customer or ROAS against target, what changed and why, and the plan for next month. A twenty-page report full of impression charts doesn’t help you make decisions.

7. Who makes the ads

Images and videos are a big part of success on Meta and TikTok. Find out whether creative is included, who makes it, and how often new ads arrive.

8. What happens if you want to leave

Check the contract for a commitment period, exit fees or notice period, and what you get on exit: full access to the accounts, reports and audiences.

Warning signs on the first call

What you hear	Why it’s a concern
A promise of a number of leads or a ROAS before they’ve seen the data	There’s no way to know that without seeing the account, the site and the close rate
“We’ll open a new account for you in our name”	The history and data will stay with the agency
No questions about profit per customer or close rate	Without those numbers there’s no way to set how much you can pay for a customer
A very low price with no breakdown of what’s included	Usually means little time in the account, or extras that come later
A long commitment from day one	An agency confident in its work doesn’t need to lock you in

What the agency should ask you

You can learn a lot from the questions an agency asks. A good agency will want to know:

How much you make from an average customer, or an average order.
How many out of 10 leads close, and how quickly you get back to a lead.
What has and hasn’t worked in your advertising so far.
Where sales are measured: the store system, a CRM or a spreadsheet.

From those answers you calculate how much you can pay for a lead or what the minimum ROAS is, and only then talk about budget and platforms.

Big agency, boutique or freelancer

	Big agency	Boutique agency	Freelancer
Who manages	Usually a campaign manager from the team	Usually the senior person themselves	The freelancer themselves
Availability	Through an account manager	Direct	Direct, depending on workload
Cover during holidays or illness	There’s a team	Depends on the agency	Usually none
Suits	Very large budgets and brands	Mid-size and large businesses that want personal attention	Small budgets and a single platform

We are a boutique agency: the person you speak to on the first call is the person who manages your account and follows it closely. We work with lead-generation businesses and online stores that invest ₪10,000 a month or more in advertising.

Want to know where you stand? We’ll check the numbers against your account, free of charge.

Get a fit check

Frequently asked questions

How many quotes should you get?

Two or three are enough, provided they all itemize the same things: what’s included, who manages, how often, and whose name the accounts are in. That way you can really compare them.

How long should you give a new agency before judging?

Usually two to three months. In the first weeks the platforms are learning, but already in the first month you should see that measurement is working and there’s a clear plan.

What do you do when you want to switch agencies?

Make sure all the accounts are in your name, download reports and data, and ask the previous agency to remove its access only after the new one already has access. That way the campaigns don’t stop midway.

Pini Smolanski

Founder of SMOLANSKI Media. 14 years in advertising management, 10 of them at Israel’s leading media and advertising agencies.