The best performance marketing agency for your company: 13 firms compared
We compared US-facing performance marketing agencies on minimum budgets, hourly rates, independent reviews, named results and contract terms.
The short answer, by profile. You want a PPC specialist with a long list of named results, several measured year over year: JumpFly, at $50 to $99 an hour. You run a mid-sized brand and want a large team with no long-term contract: Disruptive Advertising, with 374 Clutch reviews. You run a B2B SaaS company: Aimers, or Directive if your budget clears its $250,000 minimum. You run a DTC brand on Shopify: Common Thread Collective. Your budget is small: KlientBoost or LYFE Marketing, both from $1,000 on Clutch.
A performance marketing agency runs the ads you pay for by result: clicks, leads, sales. In practice that means Google, Microsoft, Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok and Amazon ads, the landing pages behind them, and the tracking that proves what each dollar brought back. Most agencies still bill a monthly fee, not a fee per result, so read the pricing guide before the first call.
Three of the rankings at the top of Google for this search were written by an agency that put itself first. We rank on public facts only, with one scale for every firm.
The ranking is editorial: a sponsored spot is always labeled on its listing, and no affiliate link changes a score. Hack'celeration is not ranked. The scores are ours, averaged over five criteria; the Clutch ratings quoted are each agency's own.
The right performance marketing agency for your situation
$1,000 minimum on Clutch, 407 reviews, and a service is removed if it misses its goal.
Best for startups (SaaS)Almost only SaaS and tech clients, weekly reports, three projects per team at most.
Best for enterprises1,000+ people and $4 billion in media under management, Amazon and streaming TV included.
Best for B2BPaid media, content and RevOps measured on pipeline, from a $250,000 minimum.
Best on a small budget$1,000 minimum on Clutch, $50 to $99 an hour, and a 3-month first term before month-to-month.
Best for international programsGelato's ads run in five markets with localized creative.
Performance marketing agencies: budget, rate, score
Minimum budgets and hourly rates come from each agency's Clutch profile, in US dollars. Few agencies print prices on their own site: Darkroom (not ranked) lists a starting price for each service, and LYFE Marketing prints a $300 setup fee and $150 a month for Microsoft (Bing) ads on its PPC page.
Also compared and left out: Darkroom and PromotEdge Digital, which show no client review on Clutch, while every agency we ranked has at least one; Right Side Up, a marketplace of senior marketing freelancers rather than an agency with one team accountable for results. SevenAtoms, a PPC shop in the San Francisco Bay Area, lists 2 to 9 people on Clutch: one absence and your account stalls. The minimum tells you fastest whether an agency is within reach: it runs from $1,000 (KlientBoost, Ignite Visibility, LYFE Marketing) to $250,000 (Directive, Wpromote).
Each overall score is the average of five scores out of 5: expertise, track record, client reviews, transparency and team. It measures public proof, not the fit with your profile, so read the award first. At equal scores, track record decides, then the number of reviews: JumpFly ranks ahead of KlientBoost at 4.3, Common Thread Collective ahead of Disruptive Advertising at 4.2, Wpromote ahead of Directive and Ignite Visibility at 3.8, and Amsive ahead of Tinuiti at 3.6 (3 Clutch reviews against 1).
| Best for | Hourly rate | Ideal client · where the team works | Visit | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JumpFly | Best overall: the PPC specialist with named results measured year over year | $50-99/h | 4.3/5 | $5,000 min | Ecommerce and lead gen · team near Chicago | Visit → |
| 2 | KlientBoost | Best for small budgets that want a goal on paper | $100-149/h | 4.3/5 | $1,000 min | Small and mid-sized companies · US and London | Visit → |
| 3 | Common Thread Collective | Best for direct-to-consumer ecommerce brands | $150-199/h | 4.2/5 | $5,000 min | DTC ecommerce · team in California | Visit → |
| 4 | Disruptive Advertising | Best for mid-sized brands that want a large team and no lock-in | $150-199/h | 4.2/5 | $5,000 min | Mid-sized brands · team in Utah | Visit → |
| 5 | Aimers | Best for B2B SaaS on a mid-market budget | $50-99/h | 4.1/5 | $5,000 min | B2B SaaS · New York, Tbilisi, Hong Kong | Visit → |
| 6 | LYFE Marketing | Best for small businesses that want a short first commitment | $50-99/h | 4.0/5 | $1,000 min | Small businesses · social and search | Visit → |
| 7 | Power Digital | Best for brands that want paid, organic and marketplaces from one firm | $100-149/h | 3.9/5 | $5,000 min | Growing brands, many channels · US offices | Visit → |
| 8 | Wpromote | Best for consumer brands that want paid media and creative under one roof | Rate not disclosed | 3.8/5 | $250,000 min | Consumer brands · Los Angeles and New York | Visit → |
| 9 | Directive | Best for B2B tech companies with a large budget | $300+/h | 3.8/5 | $250,000 min | Funded B2B tech · US, Mexico, UK, Canada | Visit → |
| 10 | Ignite Visibility | Best for multi-location brands and franchises | $100-149/h | 3.8/5 | $1,000 min | Franchises, multi-location · California | Visit → |
| 11 | Brighter Click | Best for paid social and creator content | $150-199/h | 3.7/5 | $10,000 min | Consumer and health brands · North Carolina | Visit → |
| 12 | Amsive | Best for regulated industries that mix digital and direct mail | Rate not disclosed | 3.6/5 | $25,000 min | Finance, education, nonprofits · US team | Visit → |
| 13 | Tinuiti | Best for large brands on Amazon and streaming TV | $100-149/h | 3.6/5 | $10,000 min | Large consumer brands · US team | Visit → |
One scale for all thirteen firms, each criterion from 2 to 5: client reviews by the number of independent reviews (3 under 5, 3.5 from 5, 4 from 20, 4.5 from 50, 5 from 100, minus 0.5 under a 4.0 average), track record by named clients with a measured paid media result (3 for named clients without a number, 3.5 for one result, 4 for two to four, 4.5 for five or more, 5 for five or more with results measured over time), and transparency by what the agency's own site publishes (3 for a method or terms, 3.5 for an entry price, 4 for prices, 4.5 with the contract length, 5 with the reporting). Expertise gives 3 when paid media is one service among others, 3.5 for a service page with named projects, 4 for a specialist and 4.5 for a specialist with five named projects; a vendor partner level counts only when read in the vendor's directory. Team gives 3 under 10 people, 3.5 from 10 and 4 from 50, plus 0.5 for a published follow-up and 0.5 for a team that works in the US.
Is your agency missing from this page? Email us: hello@hackceleration.com
JumpFly
JumpFly has run pay-per-click (PPC) accounts since 2003 from Hoffman Estates, near Chicago. It manages Google, Microsoft, Amazon and social ads, email, and, more recently, ChatGPT ads. Its case-study page names more than ten paid media clients, from Wedding Linens Direct to Battery Mart. Its contact form starts at ad budgets "up to $3,000" a month and runs to "$150,000+".
Its site calls it a Google Premier Partner, a status for the top 3% of agencies. We count a partner level only when the vendor's own directory shows it, so it does not add to the score here.
- LIJA (activewear): spring launch revenue up 65% with Demand Gen and Performance Max
- American Chairs: revenue up 81% year over year; Holidynamics: online revenue up 101.4% year over year
- Battery Mart: 8.5x ROAS; Jura Coffee Machines: ROAS up 352%
- ✓97 Clutch reviews at 4.9
- ✓One of the lowest hourly rates here ($50-99 on Clutch)
- ✓More than ten named paid media clients with measured results
- ✗No published prices or contract terms on its site
- ✗No published follow-up routine after launch
- ✗Ad creative production is not listed among its services: ask who makes your ads
KlientBoost
KlientBoost, founded in 2015, calls itself "the outcome marketing agency". It works from Santa Monica, Raleigh and London, and runs paid ads, CRO, SEO and creative. Its pricing page gives no amounts. You fill in a form and get a free marketing plan with three pricing options. Its site makes one clear promise: "If a service doesn't hit your goals, we'll remove it."
It has the most reviews on Clutch of any agency here: 4.9 out of 5 from 407. Its results page shows an average across 200+ case studies and links named ones: Fashionphile raised its ROAS 28% after a Shopping campaign rebuild, NPR's conversion volume rose 1,485%, and Signpost's conversions rose 66% with Microsoft Ads. These named cases date from 2016 to 2021, so ask for results from the last two years.
- 407 Clutch reviews at 4.9
- Fashionphile: ROAS up 28% and revenue up 54% month over month after a Shopping campaign rebuild
- A free marketing plan with three price options before you commit
- ✓The largest review base in this ranking
- ✓$1,000 minimum project on Clutch, the lowest here with Ignite Visibility and LYFE Marketing
- ✓Landing pages and CRO in the same team as the ads
- ✗Its named case studies date from 2016 to 2021: ask for recent results
- ✗Prices only after the form
- ✗No team size on its own site (50 to 249 people on Clutch)
Common Thread Collective
Common Thread Collective (CTC) is a DTC growth agency in Costa Mesa, California, founded in 2012. It buys Meta, Google and TikTok media, produces ad creative and runs incrementality tests (measuring the sales ads truly add). Each client gets a "Prophit Engineer" who builds the forecast and manages ad spend. Its average client stays more than 14 months.
Its Clutch rating is the weakest among the agencies we ranked: 4.1 out of 5 from 17 reviews. Its most recent Clutch review dates from 2022, so ask for references from the last year.
- Quay: 40% higher ROAS in Q4 with Snapchat dynamic product ads; UAG: purchase conversions up 191% with Google Demand Gen
- Taste Salud: revenue up 148% year over year; Sun Day Red: +108% year over year
- A named strategist who owns the forecast and the ad budget
- ✓Profit-first planning, with forecasts and measurement
- ✓More than ten named clients with measured results, several year over year
- ✓Average client tenure above 14 months
- ✗4.1 on Clutch, the lowest average among the agencies we ranked
- ✗Built for consumer brands: not a fit for B2B lead generation
- ✗Hourly rate at $150-199 on Clutch
Disruptive Advertising
Disruptive Advertising was founded in 2011 in Pleasant Grove, Utah, and calls its offer "performance marketing with purpose". It runs paid search, paid social, Amazon, lifecycle marketing and creative, with more than 160 employees and over $450 million in yearly ad spend under management. Its site states there are no long-term contracts. It also offers a 90-day results guarantee, but only for "qualifying brands": ask in writing whether you qualify and what counts as a result.
It is the most reviewed agency in this ranking after KlientBoost on Clutch: 4.8 out of 5 from 374 reviews. Its new-client timeline is public: a team introduction 3 to 5 days after signing, a check-in in week 2, a strategy workshop near day 30, then 90-day strategy cycles.
- Arch RoamRight (travel insurance): leads up 10% at a 4x return on ad spend (ROAS, revenue per ad dollar)
- Security National Life Insurance: lead volume up 120% with lead quality held
- No long-term contract, written on its home page
- ✓374 Clutch reviews at 4.8: the largest review base here after KlientBoost
- ✓A published onboarding and 90-day review cycle
- ✓Paid search, paid social, Amazon and email under one roof
- ✗No prices on its own site: the $5,000 minimum and $150-199 hourly rate come from Clutch
- ✗The 90-day guarantee is limited to brands it calls qualifying
- ✗Its named results sit mostly on industry pages (insurance), so ask for cases in your sector
Aimers
Aimers was founded in 2015 and works almost only with SaaS and tech companies: more than 100 brands and over $30 million in ad spend managed, per its site. Its teams handle three projects at most and send weekly reports. Clutch lists a New York headquarters and offices in Tbilisi, Georgia, and Hong Kong, with the largest team in Tbilisi: ask which office runs your account and check meeting hours before you sign.
Its case-study page lists dozens of named, measured paid media results. Picflow got 3x better cost efficiency from Bing Ads and a 68.9% lower cost per acquisition (CPA). Upper Hand got 2.5x more leads at half the cost per lead with video creative. Mixpanel got 164% more qualified leads from LinkedIn Ads, and ShipBob 148% more from Microsoft Ads.
- Picflow: CPA down 68.9% on Microsoft (Bing) Ads
- Upper Hand: 2.5x more leads, cost per lead down 50%
- Mixpanel: qualified leads up 164% on LinkedIn Ads
- ✓Deep SaaS focus: funnels measured down to sales-qualified leads
- ✓Dozens of named SaaS clients with measured results
- ✓40 Clutch reviews at 4.9
- ✓Low hourly rate for a specialist
- ✗Its largest office is in Tbilisi, Georgia: ask which time zone your team works in
- ✗Little to offer an ecommerce or local business
- ✗No prices on its own site
LYFE Marketing
LYFE Marketing was founded in 2011 as a social media marketing agency and now also runs PPC, SEO and email. Its PPC page describes a team of 80+ digital marketing experts and a dedicated paid search account manager. It prints a $300 setup fee (which it offers to waive on a call), $150 a month for Microsoft (Bing) ads, and an initial contract term of 3 months, then month-to-month service. It also wrote one of the rankings at the top of Google for this search and placed itself first.
It has 162 reviews on Clutch, at 4.4 out of 5. Its main named case, Indique Hair, brought $507,514.76 in sales from a $79,472.35 ad budget, a 539% return; its blog credits social campaigns and its PPC page credits Google Ads, so ask which channels produced it.
- Indique Hair: $507,514.76 in sales from a $79,472.35 ad budget (539% return)
- A 3-month first term, then month-to-month
- $300 setup fee and Bing ads at $150 a month, printed on its site
- ✓A short first term, then month-to-month
- ✓A dedicated paid search account manager
- ✓162 Clutch reviews and a $1,000 minimum project
- ✗Social media management is its core: paid search is one service among others
- ✗4.4 on Clutch, the second-lowest average here after Common Thread Collective
- ✗Its main case is credited to Google Ads on one page and to social campaigns on another
A practical pick for a small budget that wants a short first term. Ask for a named paid search case in your sector before you sign.
Power Digital
Power Digital was founded in 2012 in San Diego and also works from New York, Atlanta and Medellín, with 250 to 999 people. It covers paid, earned and owned media and recently added two marketplace agencies, pirawna and uptickk. Its methodology page is public.
It has 66 reviews on Clutch (4.8). Its recent case studies mostly keep the client anonymous, such as a legacy surf brand with ROAS up 63% and acquisition cost down 37%. Two named ones are in paid channels: YoungLA, whose incremental ROAS rose 220% and net sales 22% year over year once paid media moved to always-on spend, and Hayabusa Fight, whose affiliate program added $721,000 in revenue over one year, with a 12x ROAS increase from Skimlinks coverage.
- YoungLA: incremental ROAS up 220%, net sales up 22% year over year
- Hayabusa Fight: $721,000 in added affiliate revenue over one year
- Offices in San Diego, New York, Atlanta and Medellín
- ✓Many channels under one contract
- ✓Strong review base
- ✓A published methodology
- ✗Its recent measured case studies mostly keep the client anonymous
- ✗Paid media is one service among many
- ✗No prices on its site
Wpromote
Wpromote is an independent agency founded in 2001, with offices in Los Angeles and New York and 250 to 999 people on Clutch. It now works with the creative agency Giant Spoon and sells brand and performance as one plan. A Forrester Wave on media management services names it a Strong Performer, one level below Leader.
Its case library is the reason it is on this list: on paid social, Jack Black grew Facebook ad revenue 623% year over year, and Trina Turk raised its return on ad spend (ROAS) by 75% with dynamic ads. The catch is reach: Clutch shows a $250,000 minimum and only 3 reviews.
- Jack Black: Facebook ad revenue up 623% year over year, programmatic up 512%
- Frontier: 3.5x the bookings of earlier prospecting campaigns with Facebook flight ads
- Petivity: 185% purchase lift and a 20% better ROAS from a full-funnel Meta campaign
- ✓Six named paid media cases with numbers
- ✓Paid media and creative planned together
- ✓A large US team
- ✗$250,000 minimum project on Clutch
- ✗Only 3 Clutch reviews
- ✗Hourly rate not disclosed, and several paid cases are a few years old
Directive
Directive was founded in 2013 and has offices in Orange County, Austin, New York, Mexico City, London and Toronto. It has 130+ marketing strategists and says it has served 700+ brands. Its method (DiscoverabilityOS) moves the goal from marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) to qualified pipeline, and its Stratos platform pulls CRM, paid media and SEO data together.
It wrote one of the rankings in the top Google results and placed itself first. Most of its published case studies with numbers are about content and AI search; two are paid media: Placemakr lifted paid search conversions by 50% by reordering a core page layout, and dbt beat its growth goals by nearly 2x with its first paid media campaign.
- 130+ strategists, offices in the US, Mexico, the UK and Canada
- Case Status: book-a-demo conversions up 135% quarter over quarter (content work)
- Clients named on its site: Invoca, iCIMS, Medallia
- ✓56 Clutch reviews at 4.8
- ✓B2B pipeline focus with RevOps in house
- ✓Offices in six cities
- ✗$250,000 minimum on Clutch, like Wpromote, and $300+ an hour: the highest rate here
- ✗Only two named paid media results with numbers (Placemakr, dbt) on its case-study page
- ✗Built for B2B, not for consumer brands
Ignite Visibility
Ignite Visibility works from San Diego and Irvine with more than 340 people. It covers SEO, paid media, social, email and CRO. Its site says: "We don't believe in tying our clients down with long-term contracts, hidden fees, or owning your assets", and a dedicated help desk with standing calls. It also says it is a top 1% Google Partner and a Meta and TikTok Premium Partner; we did not count those levels because we read them only on its site.
Its paid media results are measured but anonymous: a multi-location pest control brand saw CTR up 150% and cost per lead (CPL) down 21%.
- Pest control brand (unnamed): CTR +150%, CPL -21%
- Home services franchise (unnamed): leads +72.7% across 90+ locations
- No long-term contract and you keep your assets, on its site
- ✓175 Clutch reviews at 4.8
- ✓A help desk and standing calls, published
- ✓Large team for multi-location work
- ✗Its paid media cases are anonymous; its one named result (Orangetheory) is local SEO
- ✗Paid media is one service among many
- ✗No prices on its site
Brighter Click
Brighter Click was founded in 2019 in Raleigh, North Carolina, and has 10 to 49 people. It runs paid social and paid search and gives clients access to more than 600 vetted creators for UGC ads. It also has a clinical trial recruitment practice, with a team certified on good clinical practice rules (ICH GCP E6(R3)).
Its case studies are named and measured. Great Wrap grew revenue 993% in its first three months. Rocket Fire grew Black Friday and Cyber Monday revenue 264% year over year, with CPA down 32%. Gelato cut its customer acquisition cost by 17.6% across five markets.
- Great Wrap: revenue up 993% in the first three months
- Rocket Fire: Black Friday and Cyber Monday revenue up 264% year over year, CPA down 32%
- Build a Head: ROAS up 203.73%
- ✓Four named clients with measured results
- ✓600+ creators for UGC, run by the same team as the ads
- ✓Health and clinical trial ads handled with compliance review
- ✗$10,000 minimum on Clutch, higher than most here
- ✗A smaller team (10 to 49 people)
- ✗Most of its named cases are consumer and health brands: ask for a reference in your sector
Amsive
Amsive is a data-led growth agency founded in 1995, with 250 to 999 people. It mixes direct mail with digital media, SEO, social and analytics, and builds audiences with its own data platform (Audience Science). A Forrester study that Amsive commissioned reports a 134% return on investment over three years: useful, but paid for by the agency.
It has only 3 reviews on Clutch (4.8). Its named cases are in finance, education and nonprofits.
- Redwood Credit Union Insurance Services: click-through rate (CTR) up 71%
- Christian Care Ministry: leads up 20% with search and programmatic
- Bottega Vinaia: main campaign KPI up 200%
- ✓Three named clients with measured results
- ✓Direct mail and digital in one plan
- ✓A large US team
- ✗Only 3 Clutch reviews
- ✗$25,000 minimum on Clutch
- ✗Paid media is one service among many
Tinuiti
Tinuiti started in New York in 2004 and has more than 1,000 employee owners. It reports $4 billion in media under management across search, social, Amazon, retail media and streaming TV.
Its home page names measured cases: illy got a 15% sales lift in two weeks via Amazon Marketing Cloud, DSW grew revenue 16% with Meta, Blue Apron lifted YouTube searches for its brand by 363%, and Ursa Major grew Amazon sales 15%. Independent reviews are the weak spot: Clutch shows one review (5.0).
- $4 billion in media under management
- illy: 15% sales lift in two weeks via Amazon Marketing Cloud; DSW: revenue up 16%
- Blue Apron: searches for the brand on YouTube up 363% with streaming TV
- ✓Scale for programs across many channels
- ✓Amazon and retail media depth
- ✓A US team
- ✗One Clutch review
- ✗Thin public reviews for a firm of its size
- ✗A $10,000 minimum project on Clutch, and a scale built for large budgets
How to choose your performance marketing agency, step by step
The checks we used to compare agencies, turned into steps you can follow before you sign a retainer.
Write the brief around one number
Before the callPick the one number that pays your bills: cost per acquisition for a store, cost per qualified lead or pipeline for B2B. Add your monthly ad budget, the channels you run today and the margin you can spend to win a customer. Send the same brief to three agencies so their answers compare. Make sure your tracking works first: our ranking of product analytics tools helps you pick what records conversions after the click.
- Send to
- 3 agencies
- Must include
- Budget and target CPA
Ask for named results, then call the client
ShortlistAn agency that says "we grew a brand 300%" without a name gives you nothing to check. Ask for two named clients in your sector with the before-and-after numbers, then call one. In this ranking, Ignite Visibility has strong reviews but no named, measured paid media case on its site, and KlientBoost's named cases date from 2016 to 2021: the call matters more there. The top Google rankings for this search were written by Directive, Darkroom and LYFE Marketing, each ranking itself first. If you sell in health care, where ad rules are stricter, our healthcare marketing agency ranking lists firms built for it.
- Ask for
- 2 named cases
- Then
- 1 reference call
Keep your ad accounts in your name
ContractYour Google Ads, Meta and analytics accounts must be created under your company, with the agency added as a manager. Google requires a separate account for each advertiser an agency manages. If you leave, you keep the history, the audiences and the conversion data. Ignite Visibility writes on its site that it does not own client assets; ask every other agency to put the same line in the contract.
- Owner
- Your company
- Agency role
- Manager access
Compare the fee model, not just the fee
QuotesA percentage of ad spend rewards spending more, not spending better. A flat retainer is easier to budget. A pay-per-lead deal can fill your CRM with junk unless you define a qualified lead in writing. Ask each agency for the fee at your current budget and at twice that budget, and check whether ad creative and landing pages are billed on top. Our list of ad creative tools shows what you could produce in house.
- Compare
- Fee at 1x and 2x budget
- Watch
- Creative billed extra
Read the exit before the start
ContractAsk for the notice period, any minimum term and what a guarantee covers. Disruptive Advertising and Ignite Visibility publish no-long-term-contract terms. Disruptive's 90-day guarantee applies to "qualifying brands" only, so get the definition in writing. LYFE Marketing, for its part, prints a 3-month first term and month-to-month after it: that is the shape to ask for.
- Ask for
- Notice period
- Ask for
- 3 months, then monthly
Run a 90-day trial with a scorecard
First quarterAgree on a weekly or monthly report: spend, conversions, cost per result and what changed. Aimers sends weekly reports; Disruptive runs a workshop near day 30 and then 90-day cycles. Fix the landing page while the ads ramp up: a slow page wastes every click (see our landing page builders). If the report is a PDF of impressions, ask for a dashboard; AgencyAnalytics is one tool agencies use for client reporting.
- Report
- Weekly or monthly
- Review
- Day 90
What a performance marketing agency costs, with real numbers
Expect two bills: the agency fee and the ad spend, which goes to Google, Meta or Amazon. Agencies in this ranking accept projects from $1,000 (KlientBoost, Ignite Visibility, LYFE Marketing) to $250,000 (Directive), at $50 to $300+ an hour, per Clutch.
Monthly retainer
A fixed fee for a defined scope. In a 2019 industry survey of PPC firms, about half set a monthly minimum between $1,000 and $3,000, and setup fees ran $1,000 to $2,500. Darkroom, which prints a starting price for each service, starts paid media management at $5,000 a month and performance creative at $8,000.
Percentage of ad spend
A share of what you spend on ads, often with a floor. One common structure in that 2019 survey is 15% of spend above $10,000 a month. At $20,000 a month, that is $1,500 on top of the base fee. Cap it, or the agency earns more each time it raises your budget.
Hourly rates
The same 2019 survey found 85% of PPC firms charge $50 to $200 an hour. In this ranking, JumpFly, Aimers and LYFE Marketing sit at $50-99, KlientBoost, Ignite Visibility and Tinuiti at $100-149, Disruptive Advertising, Common Thread Collective and Brighter Click at $150-199, and Directive at $300 and more.
Pay per result
Paying per lead or per sale pushes the agency toward volume over quality. If you choose it, define a qualified lead in writing and keep the right to reject leads that fail it. For email and SMS after the click, compare ecommerce email tools before paying an agency for it. Track calls too, not just forms: see the best call tracking software.
Agency, freelancer or in house
Below about $5,000 a month in ad spend, one freelancer or a tool may do more for less, since the most common minimum project here is $5,000. Above $50,000 a month across several channels, an agency gives you specialists you could not hire one by one. If your leads go to a CRM, pick it first: our ranking of the best CRMs covers the ones that pass lead quality back to ad platforms. For AI builds rather than ads, see our AI agency ranking.
- The minimum budget and the fee at twice your spend
- Who owns the ad accounts, pixels and data
- The notice period and any minimum term
- Creative and landing pages: included or billed extra
- Two named clients in your sector, with numbers
Performance marketing agency: your questions answered
Is performance marketing the same as PPC?
No. PPC (pay per click) is one way to buy ads: you pay each time someone clicks. Performance marketing covers every channel you judge by a measured result, including affiliate programs, where you pay a commission on each sale, and retail media such as Amazon ads. Power Digital's affiliate work for Hayabusa Fight, for example, added $721,000 in revenue over one year. If an agency only talks about click costs, ask how it would run the channels you pay per sale.How much does a performance marketing agency cost?
From about $1,000 a project at the smallest shops in this ranking to $250,000 at the most expensive, before a single dollar of ad spend. A quick test: if an agency's minimum is larger than three months of your ad budget, it is built for bigger accounts than yours, and you will likely sit with a junior manager. Ask for the fee at your budget today and at the budget you expect in a year.
Which numbers should a performance marketing agency report?
Cost per acquisition (what one customer or lead costs), ROAS (revenue per ad dollar) and, for a store, blended return across all channels, not each platform's own figure. Ad platforms each claim the same sale, so their totals add up to more than your real revenue. Ask the agency how it checks the numbers against your store or CRM data. Our ranking of marketing attribution software covers the tools that do that reconciliation.
What should I ask a performance marketing agency before signing?
Ask who runs your account day to day, and how many other accounts that person handles. Aimers, for example, caps each team at three projects; most agencies do not publish a number, so get it in writing. Then ask who owns the ads and landing pages they produce, how they test new creative, and what they changed for their last client that missed its target.
How long before a performance marketing agency shows results?
Expect the first changes within 30 days and a fair verdict at 90 days. Paid search reacts fastest; new creative and landing page tests need a few weeks of traffic. Disruptive Advertising, for example, runs a strategy workshop near day 30 and works in 90-day cycles.
Should I sign a 12-month contract with a performance agency?
No, not at first. Ask for a 90-day start with a 30-day notice period after it. Some agencies in this ranking publish shorter terms: Disruptive Advertising and Ignite Visibility say they work without long-term contracts, and LYFE Marketing asks for 3 months, then month to month. A 12-month lock-in makes sense only if the agency gives something back for it, such as a lower monthly fee.
Who should own the Google Ads and Meta accounts?
You. Check it in the first week: in Google Ads, your company should hold the admin role on the account and the agency a lower access level; in Meta, the ad account should sit in your own Business Manager, with the agency added as a partner. If the agency creates the accounts for you, ask for the transfer clause in writing before any spend.
Do performance marketing agencies guarantee results?
Rarely, and only with conditions you should read. Disruptive Advertising's 90-day results guarantee is limited to brands it calls qualifying, and KlientBoost's promise is to remove a service that misses its goals, not to refund your ad spend. That money goes to Google, Meta or Amazon, so no agency can give it back. Ask what counts as a result, what you get if it is missed, and put both in the contract.