Are There Any Good Marketing Agencies? The Truth Business Owners Deserve

TL;DR

Most agencies aren’t bad people — the agency model is broken. Thin margins, smooth‑talking sales teams, junior staff running 30–40 accounts, and “check-the-box” work create a system where business owners get activity instead of strategy. Good agencies exist, but they’re rare because real experts avoid broken systems.

Red flags include no conversion tracking, unmanaged broad match, no negative keywords, proximity targeting left at defaults, and case studies that feel too perfect. Green flags include transparency, curiosity, clear explanations, asking for audits, and refusing to guarantee results.

Choosing a good agency isn’t about case studies — it’s about how they think, how they communicate, and whether they tell you the truth. Use the Honest Agency Evaluation Checklist to evaluate any agency with confidence.

A few days ago, I saw a Reddit thread where a business owner was venting about agencies, the broken promises, the vague reports, the “brand awareness” excuses, the hostage‑holding. And the comments all had the same undertone:

“I don’t know who to trust anymore.”

If you’ve ever wondered whether good agencies even exist, you’re not alone.

And you’re not wrong for asking.

Let me tell you the truth no agency website will say out loud.

The Agency Model Is Broken — And It’s Not Your Fault

Most agencies aren’t bad people. But the model they operate in? It’s fundamentally flawed.

Here’s why:

• Margins are razor thin

• Smooth‑talking salespeople close deals they can’t fulfill

• Agencies make Google Ads look “mysterious” to justify fees

• Juniors run the accounts

• Those juniors are overloaded with 20–40 clients

• “Check-the-box” work replaces strategy

• No one has time to think

• No one has time to care

• No one has time to learn

When the model is built on volume, not expertise, you get exactly what you’ve experienced:

Activity without intention. Reports without insight. Spend without results.

You didn’t fail. The system failed you.

Why Good Agencies Are So Hard to Find

Good agencies do exist — but they’re rare, and they’re not usually the ones shouting the loudest.

I am one, I am not on Reddit commenting.

I have tried YouTube and build an audience of learners.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth:

The real experts don’t want to work inside a broken system.

They don’t want:

• 40 accounts

• Offshore fulfillment

• Fake case studies

• “Agency in a box” templates

• Pressure to upsell

• Pressure to hide the truth

• Pressure to guarantee results they can’t control

The real experts are doing what I do:

• Publishing content

• Teaching

• Auditing

• Training

• Saying “it depends”

• Telling the truth

• Showing the data

• Charging enough to do the job right

They’re not hiding — they’re just not playing the same game. And the real PPC experts are struggling in 2026 because educational content has no value anymore, everyone can educate with AI, it’s the application and the doing that is hard but since we can’t teach anymore how do we show how good we are?

The Red Flags I See Every Day (And What They Mean)

After 17 years in paid search, I can tell you this with absolute clarity:

There is no “middle.”

There are accounts run well…

and accounts that are crap in a bag.

Here are the biggest red flags:

1. No conversion tracking

If an agency can’t measure success, they can’t create it.

2. Proximity targeting left at defaults

This is PPC malpractice. It wastes money instantly.

3. Broad match chaos

Broad match isn’t the problem — unmanaged broad match is.

4. No negative keywords

This is how you know no one is watching.

5. “Brand awareness” excuses

Translation: “We don’t know how to fix this.”

6. Pretty dashboards masking garbage strategy

If the report looks better than the results (the money you are making), run.

7. Accounts held hostage

This is the biggest sign of insecurity and incompetence. An agency builds the ad account on their own and you can’t leave or you lose all the data.

8. Case studies that feel too perfect

They probably are.

When I see these things, I know exactly what happened:

The agency was never equipped to do the job.

The Green Flags of a Truly Good Agency

Good agencies — the rare ones — behave differently.

They:

• Ask for audits

• Ask for training

• Want deeper conversations

• Explain their decisions

• Don’t guarantee results

• Don’t oversell

• Don’t hide behind jargon

• Don’t hold accounts hostage

• Tell you the truth even when it’s uncomfortable

• Show you every piece of data

A good agency once hired me to audit their work. Another hired me to train their entire staff. That’s what caring looks like.

Good agencies aren’t perfect. But they’re honest. And they’re hungry to learn.

Why Agency Case Studies Don’t Mean Anything

This is the part business owners need to hear:

Case studies are the least reliable way to evaluate an agency.

Why?

• They can be faked

• They can be cherry‑picked

• They can be manipulated

• They can be bought from “agency in a box” programs

• They can show accounts the agency didn’t even manage

• They can hide the months where things tanked

Some of the biggest names in the industry — the ones with the flashiest case studies — are the ones whose accounts I’ve had to rebuild from scratch.

Case studies are marketing. They are not proof.

The Economics No One Talks About

Here’s the math:

A senior PPC expert costs $150k+ as an employee.

So if an agency charges you $500–$1,000/month, ask yourself:

How are they paying for:

• A strategist

• An account manager

• A copywriter

• A designer

• A data analyst

• A reporting team

• A sales team

• A CEO

• Overhead

• Profit

The answer is simple:

They’re not.

You’re getting:

• A junior

• With too many accounts

• Following a checklist

• With no time to think

• And no incentive to care

I am not expensive.

I am appropriately priced.

I am honest.

I am transparent.

I am not selling magic here, I am selling expertise.

How to Actually Choose a Good Agency (The Gut Test)

Forget case studies. Forget guarantees. Forget screenshots.

Here’s what matters:

• Do they explain things clearly?

• Do they tell you the truth?

• Do they say “it depends”?

• Do they ask good questions?

• Do they talk about tradeoffs?

• Do they show you the data?

• Do they make you feel safe?

• Do they care?

Your gut is smarter than any case study.

A real expert won’t promise results. But they will promise honesty.

And they’ll show you every piece of data — even the uncomfortable parts.

And they will tell you “no” if they don’t think ads will work for you.

Download the Honest Agency Evaluation Checklist

Choosing an agency shouldn’t feel like gambling.

I created a simple, honest checklist you can use to evaluate any agency — including me.

No fluff. No jargon. Just the truth.