Don’t let them dazzle you with jargon; grill them until the truth comes out. You need to know if they are operational wizards or just smooth talkers.
1. "How exactly do you ensure we don't violate GDPR compliance?"
If they stumble here, run away, because GDPR fines in London will absolutely destroy your business faster than bad ads.
2. "Tell me about your philosophy on negative keyword list management."
This reveals if they care about saving your money. It is a fundamental, non-negotiable part of any content creation strategy worth paying for.
3. "Have you ever optimized ad creatives for strict accessibility standards?"
Ignoring WCAG shuts out a huge audience and opens you up to legal nightmares, so check if they care.
4. "Is there any actual AI involved in your daily workflow?"
They should be using AI in marketing to automate the grunt work, not to write the creative strategy that requires a human soul.
5. "What specific protocols protect my credit card data?"
You are handing over the keys to the vault; they better be compliant with PCI DSS, or you are taking a massive risk.
6. "How do you handle the shift to mobile-first indexing?"
Since everyone lives on their phones, their grasp of mobile app SEO principles applied to ads is what separates the pros from amateurs.
7. "Which geographic tools do you trust for hyper-local targeting?"
Using the right GEO tools means you aren’t paying for clicks from people who literally cannot buy your service.
8. "How do you keep up with Google’s schizophrenic algorithm updates?"
The industry moves fast; they need to be obsessed with tech trends, or they will be optimizing for a reality that no longer exists.
9. "Do you talk to the SEO team or do you work in a cave?"
Integration is everything; they need to coordinate with local SEO experts to dominate the search results page completely.
10. "Can you write ad copy that satisfies technical requirements?"
This tests if they understand the mechanics of search. They need to know how meta tags for SEO influence quality scores.
