1. A Strategy-First Approach, Not a Package-First Pitch

The first thing a good agency should do is ask questions — about your business, your customers, your current marketing, your competitors. If an agency opens with a pricing sheet before understanding your goals, that’s a red flag.

A legitimate agency will conduct a discovery session (often called a strategy call or audit) before recommending services. They’ll want to understand your average order value, your current traffic sources, your sales cycle, and what you’ve tried before.

Book a free strategy call with Revti Digital — that’s exactly how we start every engagement. We don’t sell packages before we understand problems.

2. Demonstrable Expertise, Not Just Claimed Experience

Ask for examples of work. Not just logos on a website — actual results. If they run paid ads, ask about ROAS achieved for past clients. If they do SEO, ask which keywords they’ve moved and how long it took. If they manage social media, ask what content has driven real engagement or leads — not just followers.

Legitimate agencies can speak to this clearly, within whatever confidentiality constraints apply. If every answer is vague or deflected with “every client is different,” push harder.

3. Clarity on Who Actually Does the Work

This matters more than most business owners realise. Many agencies pitch senior strategists in the sales meeting, then hand your account to a junior executive once you sign. Ask directly:

• Who will manage my account day-to-day?
• Will the person I’m speaking with now be involved in my work?
• Do you outsource any services — content writing, design, ads management?

There’s nothing inherently wrong with outsourcing; many strong agencies do it. But you deserve to know who’s actually working on your brand.

4. Transparent Reporting That Ties to Business Outcomes

You should receive regular reports that show you what matters to your business — not just impressions, reach, and engagement rate. A good agency will track and share:

• Leads generated and their source
• Cost per lead and cost per acquisition
• Revenue attributed to digital channels (where trackable)
• SEO ranking movements for target keywords
• Paid ad performance: clicks, conversions, ROAS

If an agency primarily reports on “reach” and “engagement” without connecting those numbers to actual business results, they’re either not capable of tracking properly, or they’re hiding poor performance behind vanity metrics.

5. Honest About Timelines

Good SEO takes 3–6 months to show meaningful results. Paid ads can generate leads within weeks, but need time to optimise. Social media builds brand equity over months, not overnight.

Any agency promising fast, guaranteed results should be viewed with serious scepticism. Guarantees of specific ranking positions are impossible — Google doesn’t work that way.

“We guarantee page 1 rankings on Google.”

No legitimate agency makes this promise. Google’s algorithm is complex and dynamic. An agency that guarantees rankings is either using black-hat tactics (which will eventually penalise your site) or selling you a promise they have no intention of keeping.

Lock-in contracts with no performance benchmarks

A long-term contract isn’t always bad — some services need time to show results. But any contract should clearly define what success looks like, and what happens if the agency doesn’t deliver. Be wary of contracts that offer the agency an easy exit from accountability.

No clear point of contact or communication SLA

If you’re chasing your agency for updates more than they’re proactively sharing them, something is wrong. You should know who to call, when to expect reports, and what the escalation path is if something goes wrong.

Social media focus as a substitute for strategy

Social media is one channel, not a complete digital marketing strategy. If an agency’s pitch is essentially “we’ll post 12 times a month and grow your followers,” ask how that connects to revenue. For most Jaipur businesses, follower counts alone don’t pay salaries.

Generic proposals with no competitor or market research

If the proposal you receive could have been written for any business in any city, the agency hasn’t done the work. A good proposal for a Jaipur jewellery exporter should look nothing like one for a Jaipur real estate developer.