If your agency feels more like a used-car salesman than a growth partner, it’s time to audit them. Here’s how to spot the BS — backed by cold, hard stats:
- 72% of agencies overpromise ROI to close deals (Gartner, 2024)
- 65% of agencies focus on impressions/likes instead of sales (Databox, 2024)
- 58% of agencies miss deadlines due to overcommitment (Wrike, 2024)
Can agencies prioritize their profits over your growth? Absolutely.
Many chase quick wins (like locking you into rigid 12-month contracts) over real results. 66% of agencies struggle to retain clients for more than a year (HubSpot, 2024), proving that shortcuts don’t pay off — for anyone.
Why, exactly, are we talking about it now?
We — the Just Web Agency — have been in the digital marketing agency business for over 9 years now. Some of the clients we managed to onboard in 2016 — are still with us, and we’ve witnessed their growth first-hand (we can even say we contributed to it, a lot).
In the beginning, when our only office was in Toronto, some of our clients moved to the United States, and we couldn’t be their agency of choice. We managed to keep our relationship good, though — so they turned to us for advice when they were working with new marketing partners.
Now we have successful branches both in the United States and in Canada.
So, we’re giving this advice — the same we gave to our old partners (and frankly, friends) back in the day — in this blog.
Here go 7 signs that your current agency is not really acting in your best interests, and something that your entrepreneurial hutch says “looks like a duck” — is actually a duck:
1. They Promise “Magic Bullet” Results
No amount of SEO, ads, or viral TikToks will fix a broken product or terrible pricing. Yet agencies love claiming, “We’ll 10x your revenue in 3 months!” Spoiler: If your offer sucks, even perfect marketing can’t save you.
Example: A SaaS company wasted 50k on ads before realizing their 300/month tool solved a problem nobody had.
Instead:
Ask, “How will you align with our pricing/positioning?” And if they turn to jargon & cliches like “synergy,” run.
A good agency audits your business first.
2. They Obsess Over Vanity Metrics
“Look, your impressions doubled!”
Cool. Did sales?
Vanity metrics (likes, followers, “brand awareness”) are agency smoke screens. Shares matter (they drive free traffic), and CTR/conversions pay bills. Likes don’t do a thing, they’re a byproduct of the algorithm.
Instead:
Demand: “Show me exactly how this impacts revenue.” If they cite “engagement,” ask for CPA (cost per acquisition) or ROAS (return on ad spend).
Example: A bakery in New York Instagram hits 1k likes/month → gets 0 sales. Why? All likes come from Chinese bots that target the hashtags this bakery uses.
3. Their Reports Are Green (But Meaningless)
62% of agencies can’t explain how their “metrics” tie to client revenue.
Agencies love proprietary terms like “Brand Health Score™” or “Engagement Growth Points.” Translation: They’re hiding behind fake metrics to avoid showing real KPIs (positions, domain authority, conversion rates).
What to Do Instead:
Say: “Show me our Google rankings for [specific keyword], organic traffic growth, and lead-to-customer rate.” If they refuse, fire them. No remorse, no second thoughts. It’s an elaborate lie they rely on to fool you.
4. They’re Always “Almost There”
Delays happen. Sure. But if your “website revamp” takes 6 months or your SEO “needs 3 more quarters,” they’re either understaffed, incompetent, or lying about their process.
Instead:
Set written deadlines. On paper (or, at least, a doc), shared, spread across your company.
They miss one deadline? It’s OK, it happens. They miss two? Penalize them.
A legit agency uses project management tools (e.g., Asana) and shares timelines upfront. They know they’re missing it.
Example: A client demanded a $5k discount after 3 missed deadlines → the agency suddenly delivered in 2 weeks. Pure miracle!
5. They Say “Trust Me” Instead of “Here’s How”
“Trust us, backlinks are vital!” Okay, but why? How do competitors’ backlink profiles compare? What’s the timeline?
If they crumble under questions, they’re winging it.
Instead:
Ask for competitor case studies. A good agency says, “Your rival ranks #1 because they have 20 Wikipedia links on every service page. Here’s how we’ll match that.”
(and by the way, we at Just Web Agency KNOW how to match that, though we’re yet to see someone with 20 Wiki links per page).
6. They’re Desperate to Keep You (But Not Results)
Agencies with 80%+ retention spend 3x more time on strategy than sales.
Those offering “free months” or slashing prices to retain you are bleeding clients. They’re focused on survival, not your growth. They want to be “the fittest” — while you carry their costs.
What to Do Instead:
Ask for their client retention rate. If it’s below 70%, they’re churn-and-burn.
7. They Never Talk About Your Competition
47% of clients fire agencies for lack of transparency (Edelman, 2024)
If they can’t name your top 3 better performing competitors and explain why they’re beating you right now, they’re lazy.
SEO and digital marketing are a zero sum game — so you need a surgeon, not a cheerleader.
Instead:
Ask, “What’s Competitor X doing that we’re not?” If they shrug, they’re not monitoring your market.
The “Should I Fire Them?” Cheat Sheet
| Sign | Red Flag | Solution |
| “Magic bullet” promises | “We’ll fix everything, 10x in 1 month!” | Demand a business audit |
| Vanity metrics | “Your impressions are through the roof, congrats!” | Ask for CPA, CTR, conversions |
| Fake green graphs | Proprietary “success” metrics | Request rankings, traffic, conversion rates |
| Endless delays | “Just 2 more weeks, our SEO guy is on sick leave again!” | Enforce deadlines + penalties |
| “Trust me” deflections | No competitor case studies | Ask for competitor benchmarks |
| Desperate discounts | “We’ll waive fees!” | Check retention rates |
| Ignoring competitors | Can’t name your top 3 rivals | Require competitor breakdowns |
The Bottom Line
A bad agency costs more than money — it wastes time, the one thing you can’t buy back. If you see 3+ of these signs, walk. Thank us later.