How to Check Whether a Digital Marketing Agency Performs Well

Suppose you want to hire a digital marketing agency to enhance your visibility in the market and aim for higher profits. The field is full of such companies, all advertising they are the best and can pave your way to success. But how to evaluate a digital marketing agency? How do you know if a digital marketing agency is good? 

Here you’ll find all there is to know about marketing agency metrics. 

What Results to Expect from a Digital Marketing Agency

Let’s first address a fundamental question: what should you expect from a digital marketing agency?

In the past, the term marketing agency was strongly associated with witty ads and creative messaging—catchy jingles that stuck in people’s heads while they brushed their teeth. While creativity remains a vital part of successful campaigns, today’s results-driven marketing relies just as much on data and strategy. A truly effective agency doesn’t start by brainstorming ad ideas; it starts with market analysis, smart budgeting, and forecasts. Instead of diving straight into creativity, a professional agency will first focus on your business goals, priorities, and key performance indicators (KPIs) to create a strategy tailored to your objectives.
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Why should you be cautious of agencies that prioritize creativity without a strong strategy? Read more in our blog article.

So, here is what to expect from a professional digital marketing agency:

1. Clear and Honest Communication

A good agency ensures 100% transparency in communication. You’ll typically be assigned a dedicated account manager who acts as a bridge between your business and the agency’s experts. Whether things are going well or challenges arise, you’ll always be informed about progress, roadblocks, and next steps.

2. Reasonable Promises

Your agency should set realistic expectations based on industry benchmarks and your specific business goals. For example:
✅ A reasonable promise: "We aim to increase your website traffic by 20% over the next three months based on our targeted SEO and PPC strategy."
❌ An unreasonable promise: "We’ll rank you #1 on Google for all keywords within a month!"

If an agency guarantees instant or unrealistic results, consider it a red flag. Marketing is a long-term game, and results should be data-driven, not based on exaggerated claims.
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That’s why before talking to an agency, we suggest that you dig into current industry marketing benchmarks. 

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3. Met Deadlines

A professional agency will respect deadlines, ensuring that campaigns launch on time and that deliverables—such as content, ads, and reports—are provided as agreed. If any delays arise, you should receive proactive communication and a clear timeline adjustment.

4. Clear Reporting

Expect detailed, easy-to-understand reports that track your KPIs, campaign performance, and areas for improvement. A good agency won’t overwhelm you with vanity metrics—instead, they’ll focus on numbers that actually impact your business, like conversion rates, ROI, and customer acquisition costs.

5. Met KPIs

If an agency sets KPIs, they should be working diligently to meet or exceed them. However, if certain goals aren’t met, they should provide a clear explanation along with corrective actions. For example:

• A drop in organic traffic during holiday seasons is common, and an experienced agency will prepare for such fluctuations in advance.
• If a PPC campaign underperforms, the agency should analyze data, adjust targeting, ad creatives, or budget allocation, and optimize for better results.

To sum up, you should expect measurable, data-backed, and strategic marketing efforts that align with your business objectives. A truly professional agency won’t just promise results—they’ll provide a structured approach, transparent communication, and continuous optimization to help you succeed in the long run.

Distinct marketing agency metrics can clearly show whether a particular company is worth your time and money. In the following lines, we explore them one by one.
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Key Marketing Agency Metrics to Track

Creative agency KPIs measure the effectiveness of a digital marketing agency. Some may be quantitative, while others may have a qualitative aspect. 

Here are the most important of them, but note that your final KPI’s will depend on the services you hire the agency for: 

Return on Investment (ROI)

ROI measures how much revenue your marketing efforts generate compared to the amount spent. A positive ROI indicates that your campaigns are profitable, while a negative ROI suggests adjustments are needed.

Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

This metric calculates the average cost of acquiring a new customer. It includes expenses like advertising, marketing tools, and salaries. A lower CAC means your marketing is cost-efficient, while a higher CAC may indicate the need for optimization.

Conversion Rate

Conversion rate tracks the percentage of users who complete a desired action, such as making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or filling out a form. A higher conversion rate suggests your website, ads, and landing pages are effective.

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

CTR measures how often people click on your ad, email, or link after seeing it. A high CTR indicates that your message is engaging and relevant, while a low CTR may signal a need for better targeting or copywriting.

Cost Per Click (CPC)

CPC tells you how much you pay each time someone clicks on your ad. This metric is crucial for PPC (pay-per-click) campaigns, helping you optimize your budget and bidding strategy.

Cost Per Lead (CPL)

CPL measures the cost of generating a lead through marketing efforts. This KPI is important for businesses that rely on lead generation, such as B2B companies and service providers.

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

CLV estimates the total revenue a business can expect from a single customer over their entire relationship with the brand. A higher CLV means customers are staying longer and spending more, which is ideal for sustainable growth.

Organic Traffic

Organic traffic refers to visitors who find your website through search engines (Google, Bing, etc.) rather than paid ads. This metric helps assess your SEO performance and content marketing efforts.

Social Media Engagement

This includes likes, shares, comments, and saves on social platforms. High engagement levels indicate that your content resonates with your audience and strengthens your brand presence.

Email Open Rate & Click Rate

• Open Rate shows the percentage of recipients who open your email. A low open rate may mean your subject lines need improvement.
• Click Rate measures how many people click on links inside the email, indicating how engaging your email content is.

Churn Rate

Churn rate tracks the percentage of customers or subscribers who stop engaging with your business over time. A low churn rate means strong customer retention, while a high churn rate signals potential dissatisfaction.

How to Measure & Analyze Digital Marketing Performance

Three basic ways exist to measure and analyze a performance-based digital marketing agency. 

Here is what you can look for: 

1. The Delivery Performance

You can find that out by examining the number of deliverables the agency delivers on the promised time. How many were on time, and how many fell behind? The agency is not doing well if the number is high in the second category. 

2. The Deliverables Quality/Effectiveness

In other words, did their efforts bring the expected or promised results? Are you satisfied with the results? This metric needs to be broken down into pieces to have the initial target on one column (per aspect), the result on another and their percentage in the last one. 

3. Your Overall Experience 

Including quality of communication, expectation/reality, and whether you would recommend the agency to other people.

Tools to Track Agency Performance Metrics

So, you want to evaluate a performance-based digital marketing agency. By now, you should know the most critical agency performance metrics and what to value to determine whether a company is worth it. 

But what about the tools to do it? Here are the most common ones: 

Tools for tracking agency performance metrics include:

1. Google Analytics – Monitors website traffic and user behavior.
2. HubSpot – Tracks marketing and sales performance.
3. Tableau – Provides data visualisation and reporting.
4. Google Data Studio – This tool creates custom reports and dashboards.
5. SEMrush & Ahrefs – Analyzes SEO and digital marketing performance.
6. Salesforce – Tracks customer relationships and sales metrics.
7. HubSpot tracks email performance, lead generation, and customer engagement.
8. Mailchimp provides email analytics, A/B testing, and audience insights.
9. Hootsuite measures social media engagement and campaign impact.

These tools can help track digital marketing agency performance, optimise strategies, improve efficiency, and prove a company's effectiveness—or ineffectiveness. 

Achieve Measurable Success with Promodo!

If you plan to outsource your digital marketing strategy or even partner with a digital marketing agency, then you should focus on specific marketing agency KPIs.

Using a performance-based digital marketing agency evaluation, with the metrics listed in this article, you can get insight on whether it’s worth the case. 

Opting for a highly rated and reviewed agency that meets all the above criteria will ensure your money is well-placed, and you can maximise your investment. 

Promodo, for one thing, is such a digital marketing agency. Take a look at our awards and certifications, or contact our team directly to learn firsthand how good Promodo performs, how well it delivers, and how you can achieve measurable success with our experts.
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