Shopify
Meta Ads
TikTok Ads
TL;DRPicking a Facebook or Google Ads agency is easy to get wrong. This guide walks through the 10 questions to ask before signing, the 5 red flags that mean “don't”, and the 3 green flags most brands miss. Written by an agency, so treat it as one perspective, but backed by the same questions we recommend to our own prospects.
Picking an agency is one of the highest-leverage decisions a growing e-commerce brand makes. Done right, it multiplies your growth for years. Done wrong, it burns budget and stalls the business. This guide gives you the questions to ask, the red flags to watch for, and the green flags most brands miss.
The 10 questions to ask before signing
Ask for the name. Senior specialist? Junior with 6 months of experience? An account manager who forwards to a specialist? The answer determines the quality of what you get.
Ask for a case study on a brand in your niche, at a similar budget stage. Real ROAS, real spend, real timeline. Not “up to 10x ROAS” marketing copy.
Meta CAPI, GA4 Enhanced Conversions, TikTok Events API. If they say “the Pixel is enough”, walk away. In 2026, no serious agency should be running without server-side.
Fixed retainer? % of ad spend? Rev-share? What's included: ads only, or creative and email and copy? Fee structure decides whether the agency's incentive is aligned with yours.
Weekly? Monthly? Live dashboard? Written recap? A serious agency reports on real numbers with context, not screenshots from Ads Manager that you can't interpret.
Monthly rolling with 30-day notice = healthy. 12-month lock-in with heavy exit fees = red flag. Serious agencies keep clients through results, not contracts.
You should own your ad accounts (added as user, not primary), your GA4, your Meta Business Manager, and every creative asset produced. If they hold accounts hostage, that's a captive-client model.
Meta and TikTok are creative-driven now. If the agency has no in-house video / UGC production, you'll have to hire that separately or run stale ads.
Meta says one number, Google another, Shopify a third. A serious agency has a blended ROAS view and can explain the discrepancies, not defensively point to their own platform's number.
Ask about a case where they failed. If they say “we've never failed”, run. Every serious operator has stories about accounts that broke and how they diagnosed and fixed it, or admitted the fit was wrong.
The 5 red flags (walk away)
- “Guaranteed X ROAS.” Nobody can guarantee ROAS. Anyone who does either doesn't understand media or is lying.
- Case studies with no numbers, only percentages. “We grew this brand by 300%” means nothing without base numbers. 300% from €1k to €3k in monthly revenue is different from €100k to €300k.
- They ask for full access to your bank account or Shopify admin. They need ad account access and GA4, not root access to your business.
- Their own site is broken, slow or unprofessional. If they can't run their own funnel, don't trust them with yours.
- They cold-called or cold-emailed you with generic templates. Serious agencies get clients from referrals and inbound. Mass outbound is a volume game, not a quality game.
The 3 green flags most brands miss
A serious agency has a bar. They say no to clients whose product doesn't fit, whose budget is too small, or whose expectations are unreasonable. If they take everyone, quality suffers.
On the discovery call, they should tell you specific things they'd fix on your account, even if you don't sign. If they only pitch, they're selling, not helping.
An agency that does “everything for everyone” usually does nothing well. Look for “we're strong on e-commerce, less strong on B2B lead gen” or similar honesty.
How we work at ALLSoft Agency
Full disclosure: we're an agency writing about how to pick an agency. Take that with a grain of salt. That said, here's how we actually operate:
- You work directly with a senior specialist, not an account manager. Direct WhatsApp access, monthly reviews.
- We're certified partners of Google, Meta, TikTok, Shopify and Klaviyo, verifiable in their partner directories.
- We accept a maximum of 3-4 new clients per month, we'd rather say no than dilute quality.
- Server-side tracking as default for every client: CAPI, GA4 Enhanced Conversions, TikTok Events API, GTM Server when needed.
- Monthly rolling contracts, 30-day exit notice both ways. If we don't move the needle, we're out.
Send us your account URL and a summary of what you want to grow. On the discovery call, we'll give you real feedback on your account, whether you sign with us or not. Write to info@allsoftagency.ro or call +40 756 247 611.
Book the discovery call →