If you’re a small business choosing an online marketing agency, the best way to start is to find small agencies that specialize in online marketing. Big companies or those associated with media outlets won’t be structured to provide the type of personalized service that you’ll need, especially if you’re somewhat new to online marketing.

A small marketing agency like Spot Digital Marketing will be sensitive to any financial constraints you may have and will work with you to maximize your spending by creatively using content across many platforms, working with your in-house team (if needed) and helping to instruct you on online marketing and analytics.

Here are some good questions to get you started when you’re choosing an online marketing agency for your small business:

How many small business clients do you have?

What’s the smallest and largest budget you work with?

How much do you work on projects as opposed to serving as a full service agency?

Are there any opportunities to bundle services to save money?

How long are your contracts? What if I need to cancel?

How much online marketing work have you done in my particular industry with other small businesses?

What are some realistic ROI measurements for my online marketing?

What’s a good timeline to see leads and sales conversions from online marketing?

Is there some of the online marketing work I can do myself to save money?

Who will be handling my account? How much experience do they have with small businesses and online marketing?

Will there be regular reports and phone calls to track the progress of the online marketing efforts?

Will the online marketing results be examined on a regular basis so changes can be made to maximize the results?

These questions, and more, are a good way to start to drill down into exactly how the relationship will work and be valued by the online marketing agency you select for your small business.