Most bad marketing contracts look fine on the first call. The salesperson is friendly, the case studies look great, and the problems only show up a year later, when you try to leave or ask what you’ve been paying for.
After 25 years of building sites and getting businesses found, and plenty of owners calling me after a bad experience somewhere else, I’ve noticed the trouble almost always traces back to a handful of questions nobody asked up front. Here are the twelve I’d ask any marketing company, including Night Fox. For each one I’ve written why it matters, what a good answer sounds like, and the answer that should make you think twice.
You don’t need to be an expert to use this. Ask the question, write down what they say, and notice when the answer gets long and vague.
Who will own my domain, profile, phone numbers and ad account?
Why it matters. These four things carry your history: your web address, your Google listing with its reviews, the numbers customers call and the ad data Google has learned from. If they sit in the agency’s name, leaving gets expensive, slow or impossible. It’s one of the most common complaints owners have about agencies.
“All four are in your name, on accounts you own and can log into from day one. We get manager or admin access, and you can remove us any time. It’s written into the agreement.”
“We’ll handle all that for you,” with no mention of whose name it’s in, or “You own your content,” which says nothing about the domain, profile, numbers or ad account.
Ask for it in writing. A company that means it won’t mind putting it in the contract.
What do you measure: clicks, calls or booked jobs?
Why it matters. Clicks and impressions are easy to grow and easy to report. They don’t pay your bills. What you care about is how many real customers came in, and what each one cost you. A company that measures the wrong thing will optimize for the wrong thing.
“We track every call and form back to where it came from, filter out spam, and have you mark which ones became jobs. Then we show you the cost per booked job by source.”
“Traffic is up 40%,” with no way to connect any of it to a phone call or a customer.
How long is the contract, and how do I leave?
Why it matters. Long terms, automatic renewals and early-termination fees are among the most common complaints about marketing companies. You want to know the term, the renewal rule, the notice period and the cost of leaving before you sign, while it’s still easy to walk away. What follows is general information; your own contract is what counts, so read it.
“Month to month after the build. You can cancel with 30 days’ written notice, and there’s no fee for leaving. Here’s the clause.”
A 12-month term that renews automatically for another 12 unless you cancel inside a narrow window, or a fee equal to the rest of the term if you leave early.
A longer term isn’t automatically wrong. Some work takes months to show results. But if there’s a minimum, they should be able to tell you why in one sentence.
Who will I actually talk to?
Why it matters. At many companies, the person who sells you is never seen again, and you’re handed to an account manager who’s juggling dozens of clients and passing messages to people you’ll never meet. When something breaks, you want someone who knows your business and can make a decision.
A name, a direct phone number, and a clear answer on who decides what happens with your account and what happens when that person is away.
“You’ll have a dedicated team,” with no names, or support only through a ticket form.
How do I ask for a change, and how fast does it happen?
Why it matters. Your business changes. You add a service, drop a town, change your hours for the holidays or need to stop advertising something you’re booked out on. If a simple change takes three weeks and an extra invoice, your marketing will always be behind your business.
“Send it in the app, by text or by email. Small changes go live quickly, and you can see where every request stands. Changes are included in the monthly price.”
“Changes are billed hourly,” or a vague “we’ll get to it in the next content cycle.”
Do you mark up my ad spend?
Why it matters. Some companies take your ad budget, keep a share of it, and spend the rest. That share might be fair, but it should be visible. If you can’t see what Google actually charged, you can’t tell how much of your budget reached your ads.
“Google bills you directly, on your own card, for every cent of ad spend. Our fee is separate and the same every month, so you always know what each one costs.”
One combined monthly number for “ads and management” with no breakdown, and no access to the Google Ads account to check it.
Google requires agencies to be honest about “associated costs” and to give clients relevant information when they ask (Google Ads Policies). Asking is reasonable.
Whose account are the call-tracking numbers on?
Why it matters. Call tracking is useful. It’s how you know which ad or listing made the phone ring. But tracking numbers get printed on trucks, flyers and directory listings, and if they live in the agency’s account, those calls can stop the day you leave.
“The numbers are on a tracking account in your name, and you pay the provider directly at their rates. If you leave, they stay with you and keep ringing.”
“Those are our numbers, but we can port them for a fee,” or nobody can tell you which provider they’re even on.
What are you doing about AI answers?
Why it matters. More customers are asking ChatGPT, Gemini and Google’s AI who to call. In a March 2026 survey, 45% of US adults said they’d used an AI tool to find a local business in the past year (BrightLocal, March 2026). A marketing company should have a plan for it, and an honest way to measure it.
“We ask your customers’ questions on the main AI tools many times each month and show you how often you’re named and which sources the answers relied on. Then we work on those sources: your site, your listings, your reviews, local lists.”
“We guarantee you’ll be recommended by ChatGPT.” AI answers change from run to run; the same list of brands came back less than 1 time in 100 in one large test (SparkToro, January 2026). Nobody can guarantee a spot.
I wrote a whole guide on this: How to Get Your Business Recommended by ChatGPT and Google’s AI.
Do you work with my competitors?
Why it matters. If your marketing company also works for the business down the street that does what you do, whose calls are they trying to win? Some agencies do this openly and handle it fine. You should still know.
A straight yes or no, and if it’s no, a clear description of the area they won’t take a competitor in, written into the agreement.
“We work with lots of businesses like yours,” followed by a change of subject.
What will your reports show me, and how often?
Why it matters. A report is how you check their work. If it’s 20 pages of charts you don’t understand, it’s working for them instead of you. You should be able to read it in five minutes and know whether your money is working.
“You can see your calls, forms and jobs any time, not just once a month. Every report shows leads by source, what became work, and what each job cost, in plain words.”
A monthly PDF built around rankings and impressions, with no calls, no jobs and no cost per job.
Ask to see a real report, with the client’s name blacked out. You’ll learn a lot from it.
Can I talk to two of your current clients?
Why it matters. Case studies on a website are chosen by the company. A 15-minute call with an owner who’s using them today tells you how things go when something breaks, how fast they answer and whether the owner would sign again.
“Sure. Here are two clients in businesses like yours who’ve agreed to take a call.” Bonus points if one of them has been with them for a few years.
“Our clients prefer to stay private,” with nobody at all you can speak to, or only testimonials with first names and no business named.
What will I pay, all in?
Why it matters. The monthly fee is rarely the whole bill. There may be a setup or build fee, ad spend, tracking costs, software, add-ons and charges for changes. You need the total, and you need to know which parts go to the company and which go to someone else.
A written quote that lists the build fee, the monthly fee, and every outside cost (ad spend, call tracking, software) with who bills it. Ideally the price ranges are published on their site.
“It depends,” with no number until you’ve sat through two more calls, or a monthly price that covers “everything” but can’t be broken down.
Take This List to Your Next Call
You can print this or keep it open beside you. If a company answers every one of these plainly, that’s a good sign, whichever company it is.
- Who will own my domain, Business Profile, phone numbers and ad account, and is that written in the agreement?
- What do you measure: clicks, calls or booked jobs?
- How long is the term, does it renew automatically, and what does it cost to leave?
- Who will I actually talk to, and what happens when they’re away?
- How do I ask for a change, and how fast does it go live?
- Do you mark up my ad spend, and who bills me for it?
- Whose account are the tracking numbers on?
- What are you doing about AI answers, and how do you measure it?
- Do you work with my direct competitors in my area?
- Can I see a real report, with the name blacked out?
- Can I talk to two of your current clients?
- What will I pay, all in, and who bills each part?
If you’re leaving a company that didn’t pass these, my guide on leaving your marketing agency walks through getting your domain, profile and numbers back first.