Hiring a Digital Marketing Agency is an investment—one that should show consistent progress and ROI. But many businesses struggle with how to assess agency performance month over month. Without a structured review process, it’s easy to lose track of deliverables, timelines, and—most importantly—results.
That’s why a monthly performance checklist is essential. It helps you stay aligned, ask the right questions, and ensure your agency is delivering on their promises.
Below is a practical, easy-to-follow checklist you can use every month to review your agency’s output and impact.
✅ 1. Performance Against KPIs
Start with the most critical question: Is your agency helping you meet your goals?
Review:
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Traffic metrics (organic, paid, referral, direct)
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Lead generation (MQLs, SQLs)
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Sales conversions or transactions
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Return on ad spend (ROAS)
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Cost per lead/acquisition
Ask for a comparison with the previous month and with initial baselines. Look for trends, not just standalone numbers.
✅ 2. Quality of Monthly Reports
A quality report should be:
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Delivered on time
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Clearly structured (not overly technical)
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Visual (charts, graphs, dashboards)
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Actionable (includes next steps or optimizations)
If you’re still getting spreadsheets with no insights, request a better reporting format. The report should help you make decisions, not just check a box.
✅ 3. Campaign and Channel Breakdown
Don’t settle for high-level summaries. Drill down into each active channel:
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SEO: What rankings improved? Any new backlinks?
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PPC: Which ad groups are driving conversions? What’s being A/B tested?
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Social Media: Engagement trends, top-performing content, follower growth
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Email Marketing: Open/click rates, unsubscribes, top-performing campaigns
Each channel should tie back to a specific campaign or goal.
✅ 4. Content and Creative Output
Assess what was delivered creatively in the past month:
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Blog posts or articles
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Ad creatives (image/video)
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Social media graphics or carousels
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Landing pages or email templates
Check for:
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Brand consistency
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Message clarity
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Alignment with campaign goals
You can also request access to a content calendar or creative tracker to review timelines and status.
✅ 5. Ad Budget Utilization
For paid campaigns, confirm:
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Spend vs. allocated budget
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Channel-level breakdown (Google, Meta, LinkedIn, etc.)
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Daily spend pacing
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Any overspend or underspend issues
Ask: “Are we getting the most value from our current ad budget? If not, what’s the plan to improve efficiency?”
✅ 6. Communication and Collaboration
Evaluate how smoothly the collaboration is going:
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Are you getting regular updates?
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Was your feedback applied correctly?
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Are response times reasonable?
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Did your point of contact change recently?
You should feel like your agency is a proactive partner, not just a vendor.
✅ 7. Testing and Optimization Efforts
Top agencies don’t just run campaigns—they test and improve them. Check if they:
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A/B tested new landing pages or CTAs
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Paused underperforming ad groups
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Suggested improvements to email subject lines or post formats
If everything looks the same month after month, innovation might be lacking.
✅ 8. Roadmap for the Next 30 Days
Before closing the review, ensure the agency has a clear plan for the coming month:
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New campaign launches
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Seasonal or product-based initiatives
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Optimization focus areas
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Resource allocation (budget, creative time, development)
This gives you confidence they’re thinking ahead—not just reacting.
Final Thoughts: Review, Refine, Repeat
A professional Digital Marketing Agency should welcome monthly reviews—not avoid them. These sessions build trust, highlight wins, and identify areas for improvement. Most importantly, they ensure your marketing spend is always working toward measurable business growth.
Use this checklist consistently to evaluate your agency’s performance. If you find consistent gaps without improvement, it may be time to revisit the partnership. But with the right review process in place, you’re far more likely to get the results you’re paying for.
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