Search for a marketing agency in Denver, and you’ll find pages of options, each one promising more traffic and more leads. Hiring one is a big decision, and most business owners only make it a handful of times in their careers.
I’m an account manager at Red Egg Marketing, so I see agency partnerships from the inside every day. Some client relationships grow stronger year after year, expanding to cover more services while marketing ROI proves stable and dependable. Sometimes, the buy-in was never really there to begin with, and clients elect to bring marketing back in-house to cut costs and hold the reins. The difference usually comes down to fit and how well both sides keep each other in the loop.
This guide covers what to look for in a marketing agency, the two most common ways businesses work with one, and the insider tips I wish every client knew on day one. If you’ve been burned by an agency before, the section on common mistakes is for you.
Two Ways to Work With an Agency
Before you figure out what to look for in a marketing agency, decide which role you want one to play. Most of our clients fall into one of two camps, and the right partner looks a little different for each.
Your Full Marketing Department, Outsourced
More companies are running lean on marketing staff. Some downsized their marketing department during a slow year, and others never built one in the first place. Budgets are tight across the board: Gartner’s 2026 CMO Spend Survey found 56% of marketing leaders say they lack the budget to deliver their strategy, with marketing budgets holding flat at 7.8% of company revenue.
Hiring is expensive, too. The median annual wage for a marketing manager was $166,790 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That figure covers one person before benefits, software, or ad spend, and one person rarely has deep expertise in SEO, paid media, email, and web development all at once.
Outsourced marketing services give you a full bench of specialists for less than the cost of building an in-house team (here’s how the math breaks down). If your company recently cut its marketing department, this model lets you keep campaigns running without restarting a hiring process.
In all honesty, this is where we excel. When we have the ability to advise on strategy, execute swiftly, and report on measurable results that improve your bottom line, that’s where we see the magic happen. You know your business like the back of your hand, and we know marketing like the back of ours. It takes a little trust and a pinch of patience to create a partnership that lasts decades (something we’re proud to say we’ve seen here at Red Egg).
An Extension of Your In-House Team
Other clients have one or two marketers on staff who own the brand, events, and sales materials. They bring us in for specialized channels like SEO, Google Ads, or email, where the learning curve is steep, and the platforms change constantly.
In this setup, your in-house team sets direction, and we handle execution in our lanes. The services provided by marketing agencies in this model are narrower, so look for a partner who collaborates well and shares access, data, and credit with your internal people. “Plays well with others” could basically be on our name tags!
7 Things to Look for in a Marketing Agency So You Don’t Get Scrambled
Every agency has a polished pitch deck, so knowing what to look for in a marketing agency means digging a little deeper. These are the best practices for vetting a marketing agency partner that I’d use if I were sitting on your side of the table.
1. A Dedicated Point of Contact
Ask who you’ll talk to week to week. You want one person who knows your account, your goals, and your history, so you never have to re-explain your business to a new face. Here’s a closer look at what a dedicated account manager does and why it makes such a difference.
2. A Communication Rhythm You Can Count On
Timely replies and routine meetings should be the baseline. Ask how often you’ll meet, how quickly the team responds to emails, and what happens when something urgent comes up. Pay attention to how fast they respond during the sales process, too, since it tends to predict what comes next. You don’t want someone who ghosts for a week at a time when your website crashes.
3. Reporting Tied to Your Business Goals
Traffic and impressions are useful, but they don’t pay the bills on their own. We’ve inherited many GA4 accounts that are tracking ‘Time on Page’ as a Key Event. In layman’s terms, they were over-selling achievements and missing the thing that matters: new business.
A good agency connects its reports to leads, calls, form fills, and sales so you can see what your investment is producing.
Tip: Ask for a sample report before you sign! You can ask to see what your monthly reports will look like so you can decipher how your wins will be communicated.
4. Experience with Businesses Like Yours
An agency doesn’t need to have worked in your exact niche, but it should understand how your customers buy. Ask for examples from clients with a similar sales cycle, budget, or audience.
5. Flexibility as Your Needs Change
Your marketing in month 12 probably won’t look like month one. Look for an agency that adjusts scope and strategy as your business grows, slows down, or shifts direction, without forcing you into a one-size-fits-all package. You want your partner to be nimble, think out of the box, and always anticipate what might be around the corner.
6. Proactive Ideas About Where Search Is Heading
Search looks different than it did even two years ago, with AI Overviews and assistants like ChatGPT answering questions before anyone clicks a link. Your agency should bring these shifts to you before you have to ask. Ask how they’re adapting their SEO and AI SEO services to keep clients visible.
7. Clients Willing to Vouch for Them
Case studies help, but a phone call with a current client tells you more. A confident agency will happily connect you with businesses it already works with. If you’re not in the mood to hop on the phone, check reviews! Clutch, Google, and Facebook are reliable sources. You can also browse the results we’ve hatched for clients to see what long-term partnerships look like.
An Inside Look at Working with Red Egg
Working with marketing agencies can feel like a black box from the outside. Here’s what a partnership with Red Egg looks like once the contract is signed.
Getting to Know Your Business First
Every new client starts with discovery. We learn how you make money, who your best customers are, and what has or hasn’t worked in the past. We also audit your website, search visibility, and any ad accounts so the strategy is built on your data instead of guesswork.
Your Account Manager Is Your Home Base
You’ll have one account manager who coordinates our SEO, paid media, content, email, and web specialists behind the scenes. Of course, you’ll have direct access to any Egg you need (we don’t bite) and we’re all available via email or to chat on the phone whenever someone needs us. However, letting an account manager keep track of the moving pieces ensures you get one clear update instead of five separate email threads.
Monthly Meetings and Clear Reporting
Most of our clients meet with their account manager once a month, with emails shot back and forth whenever necessary! In our monthly meetings, we walk through performance, explain what moved and why, get a very clear picture on how lead flow is going and what business owners are feeling within the industry, and agree on priorities for the next 30 days. Reports are sent with a simple summary, so you won’t need a glossary to understand them.
Search That Keeps Up With AI
Our clients care about being found and getting leads, and they shouldn’t have to worry about the mechanics. We treat SEO and AI SEO as one offering, so visibility in AI Overviews and AI assistants is part of the work… no extra charge. Our team monitors search trends on an ongoing basis and adjusts strategy as the landscape shifts, with people steering the work at every step.
Local Roots, National Reach
We’re based in Denver, but have clients all over the nation. We have experience with businesses across property management, fleet and EV analytics, wellness, beauty, financial services, professional services, and more. Being close by makes in-person strategy sessions easy for Colorado clients, and here’s more on why a local Denver agency might be a smarter fit.
Insider Tips to Get More From Your Agency
The best partnerships run both ways. Knowing what to look for in a marketing agency is half the equation, and these are the things I wish every client brought to the table, because each one makes our work sharper.
Use Your Monthly Meeting to Share Where Leads Are Coming From
Your monthly check-in with your account manager is the perfect time to tell us what you’re hearing from new customers. If three people mentioned they found you on Google Maps, or a big deal came from a referral, we want to know. Analytics can’t capture every phone call or word-of-mouth lead, and your notes really help fill in the gaps.
Tell Us About Shifts in Your Industry
You know your market better than anyone. If a competitor just opened down the street, a new regulation is coming, or customers suddenly ask about a different service, mention it (we may already know, but it still helps to be on the same page!) Small changes on your end can mean big changes to keywords, ad copy, or landing pages on ours.
Loop Us In Before Launches and Promotions
New services, price changes, seasonal sales, and hiring pushes all need marketing support. A few weeks of notice gives us time to build campaigns properly instead of rushing them out the door.
Share Feedback on Lead Quality
A form fill counts as a lead in our reports, but your sales team knows whether that person was a good fit. Tell us which leads turned into customers and which ones went nowhere. We’ll use the feedback to tighten targeting and stop spending on traffic that doesn’t convert.
Give Access Early
Website logins, Google Analytics, Google Business Profile, ad accounts, and your CRM all help us hit the ground running. Every week spent waiting on access is a week of momentum lost.
Name One Decision-Maker for Approvals
When five people weigh in on every blog post, timelines stretch. Constant revisions, edits, and indecisiveness is a thorn in the side of our productivity (and thus, your results!). Choose one person on your team to give final sign-off so content and campaigns keep moving.
Common Mistakes When Hiring a Marketing Agency
Many of our clients came to us after a rough experience with a previous agency. The same patterns come up again and again, so here’s what to watch for.
Choosing on Price Alone
The cheapest proposal often leaves out strategy, reporting, or the senior people who make the plan work. Compare what each agency includes for the money, and ask what’s billed separately.
Not Knowing Who Does the Work
Some agencies send senior strategists to the pitch meeting and hand the account to someone you never meet after you sign. Ask who will manage your account day-to-day and whether any work is outsourced to third parties.
Letting the Agency Own Your Accounts
We’ve onboarded clients who couldn’t access their own Google Ads account or website because a previous agency set them up under its name. Make sure your business owns its ad accounts, analytics, domain, and website, with the agency added as a user. If you leave, you want to take those things with you.
Expecting Overnight SEO Results
Paid ads can drive traffic quickly, but SEO builds over months. An agency that guarantees first-page rankings in 30 days is telling you what you want to hear. Ask for a realistic timeline and the early signals you’ll see along the way.
Going Quiet After Kickoff
Clients who skip meetings and stop sharing updates usually see results flatten. Your agency can only market what it knows about, so stay involved, even if it’s one meeting a month.
Measuring the Wrong Things
A spike in impressions looks great in a report, but it won’t help if leads stay flat. Agree on the metrics tied to revenue at the start, and judge the partnership by those.
Found What You’re Looking for in a Marketing Agency? Let’s Talk
Whether you need a full marketing department or a few specialists to support your in-house team, the right agency should feel like part of your business. You grow to trust them, and that’s how it should be. Take it from me, someone obsessed with WINNING, I want what’s best for you and your business because that means I did my job!
At Red Egg, we pair every client with a dedicated account manager, keep communication clear, and adjust strategy as your goals change. If you’re comparing agencies, we’re happy to introduce you to a few of our current clients so you can hear about the partnership firsthand. When you’re ready, reach out to our team and let’s talk about what you need.