Marketing Agency Red Flags: 12 Warning Signs Before You Sign

By the Oski Marketing team · Updated 5 October 2026 · 5 min read

The biggest marketing agency red flags are guarantees of rankings or leads, long contracts with exit fees, the agency owning your website, domain or Google profile, reports with no enquiries in them, and nobody able to say who does the work. Offers to buy reviews or text bought lists are warning signs too.

Why do red flags matter more for small businesses?

Because a bad agency costs a small business more than money. A year on the wrong contract can mean lost months of enquiries, a website you cannot edit, a Google profile you no longer control, or a penalty from Google for spammy tactics. Larger firms have in-house people to spot problems; most owners find out when the phone goes quiet.

The twelve signs below are grouped by when you are likely to see them: in the sales pitch, in the contract, and once the work starts.

Red flags in the sales pitch

1. Ranking or lead guarantees. Google's own guidance says no one can guarantee a number one ranking and warns against anyone who claims a "special relationship" with Google or a "priority submit". Lead guarantees usually come with conditions that make them meaningless, or with leads of very mixed quality.

2. Secret methods. Google lists being secretive about methods as a warning sign. A good agency can explain in plain English what it will change and why.

3. No questions about your business. If they pitch a package before asking what a job is worth, where enquiries come from and what you want more of, the plan was written before they met you.

4. The person selling will not be the person doing. It is normal for a director to sell and a specialist to deliver. It is a red flag when nobody can tell you who that specialist is, how experienced they are, or whether the work is sent elsewhere.

5. "Best agency" claims with nothing behind them. If an agency is loose with claims in its own marketing, expect the same in yours, and it is your name on the ads.

Red flags in the contract

6. Long minimum terms and exit fees. Twelve months with a large exit fee, sometimes justified as "SEO takes time", leaves you paying for work you cannot judge. Rolling or short notice terms put the burden on the agency to keep earning your business. Our guide to contract clauses to check goes through each one.

7. They own your website, domain, Google profile or ad accounts. This is the hardest one to undo. On Google Business Profile, only owners can add or remove users or delete the profile, and on Google Ads, admins control who else gets access. If the agency holds those roles and you do not, leaving gets messy. You should be the owner and admin; they should be a manager or standard user. See who should own your website and Google profile.

8. Ad spend hidden inside the fee. If you cannot see what went to Google or Meta and what went to the agency, you cannot judge either. Ad spend should be billed to your card by the platform, or shown line by line.

Red flags once the work starts

9. Reports with no enquiries in them. Impressions, reach, "visibility scores" and rankings for phrases nobody searches are not results. A useful report shows enquiries, where they came from, what they cost, what was done and what is next.

10. Tactics that break platform rules. Offers to "get you reviews", ask only happy customers, or post reviews from staff break Google's fake engagement policy, and UK law now bans commissioning fake reviews or concealing incentivised ones. Hundreds of near-identical town pages fall under Google's doorway abuse policy. These can damage your listing for a long time.

11. Cold texts and emails to bought lists. The ICO says marketing texts and emails to individuals, including sole traders, need consent or the soft opt-in. An agency proposing to blast a purchased list is putting your business at risk, not theirs. This is a general guide, not legal advice.

12. Silence. Calls that go unanswered for days, no list of work done, and a new account manager every few months. Ask for last month's task list with links. A working agency can send it the same day.

How do you check an agency before signing?

Run a few quick checks that cost nothing:

What if you have already signed with a bad agency?

Start by securing your assets, then read the contract. Make sure you are the owner of your Google profile and admin on your ad accounts, check who the domain is registered to, and download any reports and content. Then check the notice period and termination clauses. Write to the agency, keep it factual, and ask for a handover list. If you are unsure about the contract or large sums are at stake, take advice before acting.

What to do this week

1. Check you are the owner on your Google Business Profile and admin on Google Ads.
2. Find out who your domain is registered to by logging into the registrar account.
3. Ask your current agency for last month's list of work done, with links.
4. Read your contract for the term, notice period, exit fees and auto-renewal.
5. Before signing with anyone new, run them through our 15 questions to ask a marketing agency.