Ask for the range, not the best number
Any agency can show you their best market. The useful question is: what did this cost in your worst market, and why?
We publish ours. Across twelve solar markets, cost per lead ran from ₹5.86 in Hardoi to ₹63.11 in Delhi NCR — the same offer, the same year, a ten-fold spread driven by geography alone. The full table is public, including a market where the campaign did not work.
An agency that only has good numbers either has very little history or is showing you a selection.
Learn to read a screenshot before you are shown one
Screenshots are the most common proof and the easiest to misread. The columns that matter:
| Column | What to check |
|---|---|
| Results | Is every row measuring the same action? Form leads, messaging conversations and local actions are not comparable |
| Cost per result | Spend divided by results — check it yourself against the spend column |
| Amount spent | A row with no results and ₹5 spent is an ad that never delivered, not a failed creative |
| Impressions and Reach | Divide them. Above three means frequency is high and cost is probably drifting |
| Attribution setting | A 7-day click window reports more conversions than a 1-day one for identical performance |
| Date range | Thirty days of a good month is not a track record |
Two questions that expose most misleading decks: is this one account or several filtered views of the same account, and are the Meta and Google figures being compared as if they are the same thing?
That second one matters enormously. In our own Lucknow solar account, a Google Search conversion cost ₹339.19 while Meta form leads in the same category cost between ₹5 and ₹70. Both are real. Presented side by side without explanation, they make one channel look like a disaster.
Questions worth asking in the first call
Who will actually run my account? The person in the pitch is often not the person doing the work. Ask for the name and their experience in your category.
What is your reporting cadence, and what is on the report? If the answer is impressions and reach, the agency is optimising for what looks good rather than what sells.
What happens in month one? A credible answer involves testing before scaling. A worrying answer involves launching six campaigns immediately.
What is your contract length and notice period? Long lock-ins usually protect the agency, not you.
Who owns the ad account and the data? It should be you. If the agency owns it, leaving means losing your history and your pixel data.
That last question is the one most businesses forget and regret.
Claims that should make you slow down
| Claim | Why it is a problem |
|---|---|
| Guaranteed number of leads | Nobody controls the auction. A guarantee usually means low-quality volume |
| Guaranteed first page on Google | Rankings cannot be guaranteed, and Google says so |
| One national cost per lead | Our own data varies ten-fold by city in a single category |
| Five-star ratings shown on their own site | Self-applied review schema is a manual-penalty risk, not a credential |
| Results with no scope or date | A number without a period and a definition is not evidence |
| Very low monthly retainer, many services | Something is being done badly or not at all |
Agency, freelancer or in-house?
There is no universal answer, and an honest agency will tell you when you do not need one.
A freelancer works well when you need one channel run competently and you already know what you want. Cheaper, but single-point-of-failure.
An in-house hire makes sense once ad spend is large enough that a full-time salary is a small fraction of it, and you have someone senior who can manage them.
An agency earns its place when you need several channels working together, want the pattern-recognition that comes from running many accounts, and do not want to rebuild the capability every time someone leaves.
If your budget is small and your need is one channel, a good freelancer will usually beat a cheap agency retainer.
Does "near me" actually matter?
Less than most people assume, with two genuine exceptions.
It matters when the work needs physical presence — photography, video, being in your showroom — and when local market knowledge is genuinely part of the job. Subsidy schemes, electricity distributors and buying behaviour differ by state, and an agency that has run campaigns in your market knows things a national agency does not.
It does not matter for the ads themselves. We run accounts from Lucknow for businesses across India, and the platform does not care where the person clicking buttons sits.
What a fair first month looks like
Access and tracking set up properly, including conversion tracking that matches what your sales team receives. Two genuinely different creative angles tested on identical budgets rather than six campaigns launched at once. A baseline report you both agree on. And by the end of the month, a clear statement of what worked, what did not, and what the recommendation is — including the recommendation to stop, if that is the honest answer.
In one of our own markets the honest recommendation was exactly that: move budget elsewhere rather than keep spending. We published it, because a portfolio that only shows wins is a highlight reel.
How to check any agency in ten minutes
Look at their own website first. Does it load quickly on a phone? Does it show real work or stock photographs? Are there numbers with dates and scope attached, or adjectives? Then search their brand name and see whether anything independent exists. Then ask for one client you can actually speak to.
An agency that markets itself badly is telling you something. So is one whose case studies have no numbers.
About Independent Agency
We are a performance marketing agency based in Lucknow, working with businesses across India — solar, real estate, plywood and building material, salons, healthcare and D2C brands. We publish 37 unedited campaign screenshots with client names blurred, alongside the cost-per-lead data behind them, because we would rather be checked than believed. Google's own guidance on evaluating marketing partners is worth reading too, at Google Ads Help.
Frequently asked questions
How much should a digital marketing agency cost in India?
It varies widely by scope. The more useful question is what the retainer buys — how many hours, on which channels, and who specifically does the work. A very low retainer covering many services usually means something is being done badly.
Should I hire an agency near me?
Only if the work needs physical presence, such as photography, or if local market knowledge genuinely matters for your category. The ad platforms themselves do not care where the agency sits.
What should I ask an agency before signing?
Who will actually run the account, what is on the monthly report, what happens in month one, contract and notice length, and who owns the ad account and the data. That last one matters most when you eventually leave.
Can an agency guarantee leads or rankings?
No. Nobody controls the ad auction or Google's rankings. A lead guarantee usually means low-quality volume was used to hit the number.
How do I know if agency screenshots are genuine?
Check whether every row measures the same action, divide spend by results yourself, look at the date range, and ask whether several screenshots are filtered views of one account. Also ask to see a market where results were poor.
Agency, freelancer or in-house hire?
A freelancer suits one channel and a modest budget. In-house makes sense once spend is large enough that a salary is a small fraction of it. An agency earns its place across multiple channels and when you want pattern recognition from many accounts.
How long before a new agency shows results?
Leads can appear within days on paid channels. A trustworthy cost per result takes two to three weeks, and SEO takes months. Anyone promising rankings in weeks is guessing.
Performance figures on this page come from selected campaigns and reporting periods in our portfolio records through September 2026. Several screenshots are filtered views of the same ad account, so totals are calculated from distinct accounts only. Results vary with market, budget, targeting, offer, competition and sales follow-up.