Here is how to choose a digital marketing agency in Pakistan: check five things before you sign. Your Facebook Page, ad account, website and WhatsApp number stay in your name; ad money goes from your own card to the platform; nobody promises rankings or sales; AI work is labelled and checked by a person; and you get a plain report every month. Ask the 12 questions below on the first call, and walk away from any agency that asks for your passwords, sells followers or reviews, or won't put its work in writing.
This checklist works for any agency or freelancer. Amanat is an agency too, so our own answers sit in one short section at the end. Platform rules quoted here were checked on 16 October 2026.
Who will own your accounts?
This decides what you keep if the work ends. List every account your marketing depends on:
- Domain name, hosting and website login
- Facebook Page and Instagram account
- Meta business portfolio and ad account
- Google Business Profile
- WhatsApp Business number and the SIM it runs on
- Photos, videos and designs made for you
Each should be created in your business's name, with you as the owner. The agency works through access you give it.
Both big platforms are built for this. Meta lets the owner of a business portfolio share assets such as Pages and ad accounts with a partner, for example an agency, with either full control or partial access for set tasks like creating content, managing ads and replying to messages. Even a partner with full control can't share your asset with another business; only the owner can. If you have full control of the portfolio, you can remove a partner from its settings, and Meta recommends keeping more than one admin on your Page.
Google Business Profile works the same way. A profile has one primary owner, and owners can add managers. Managers do most daily work but can't add or remove users or remove the profile.
Red flags: "Send us your Facebook password." "We'll make the Page from our account." A domain registered in the agency's name. An ad account you can't open yourself.
Where does your ad money go?
Agencies usually handle ad spend in one of two ways:
- Ads run from an ad account in your name, paid with your card. The agency fee is a separate bill, and you can see every rupee spent.
- One "package including ads". You pay the agency a lump sum and it runs ads from its own account. You can't check how much reached the platform, and the ad history stays with the agency when you leave.
The first is easier to trust. Ask whose card pays, and whether the fee and the ad spend are written separately. If you already run ads, an ads audit shows where past money went before you hand the account to anyone new.
What are they promising?
Google's own guide to hiring an SEO says no one can promise a top ranking on Google, and warns about anyone who claims a "special relationship" with Google or offers a "priority submit". It also reminds owners that they are responsible for the actions of any company they hire, and suggests giving an SEO read access to Search Console at first, not write access.
The same logic applies to sales and followers. An agency controls its work: posts, ads, replies and reports. It doesn't control whether people buy. A fair agency promises the work, explains its targets and shows you the numbers. Be careful with "first page in a month", "fixed sales or your money back" or "thousands of followers by Eid".
How do they use AI?
Most agencies now use AI to draft posts, images or video. That's fine; what matters is who checks it. Ask:
- Which work does AI draft, and who checks it before it goes live?
- Are AI-made images and videos labelled?
- Will AI ever change your real product, car, food or shop in a photo?
Platforms expect honesty here too. YouTube asks creators to disclose AI-generated or altered content that seems realistic, such as a real person appearing to say something they didn't, and creators who repeatedly don't disclose can face penalties, including removal of content. A good agency has its AI rules in writing.
Reviews, followers and fake engagement
Some agencies still sell review packages, likes and followers. Google and Meta both ban this, and the risk lands on your business.
Google's Maps content policy says fake engagement isn't allowed. It bans reviews paid for directly or in kind, reviews posted because a business offered an incentive, and reviews with a conflict of interest, such as from employees. If Google finds that a business owner broke this policy, it can stop the profile receiving new reviews or unpublish its existing reviews for a set time, or show customers a warning that fake reviews were removed.
Meta's spam rules don't allow selling, buying or exchanging for engagement such as likes, shares, views and follows. Bought followers also never message you, and they make your real numbers harder to read.
The honest way is slower but safe: ask every real customer, offer nothing in return, and don't filter out unhappy ones. Here is an honest way to ask every customer for a review.
How will they report?
A useful report fits on one page:
- What went out: posts, ads, replies and pages, counted.
- What happened: messages, calls, leads and cost per lead, from the platform's own numbers and your lead sheet.
- What's next: next month's changes, and why.
Red flags: only reach and likes, screenshots you can't check because you have no access, or no report at all.
Language and the way your customers buy
If your customers write in Roman Urdu and ask "price?" on WhatsApp, your ads, posts and replies should meet them there. Ask for sample posts in English and Roman Urdu, and ask who answers messages from ads, at what hours.
The contract
A fair contract is short and covers:
- Scope: what is delivered each month, in items you can count.
- Money: the agency fee and the ad spend, written separately.
- Ownership: you own the accounts, domain, content, designs and raw files.
- Approvals: what needs your OK before it goes live.
- Notice period: how either side ends the work.
- Handover: the agency removes its access, hands over files and moves anything in its name to you.
Red flags: a long lock-in with no way out, content that stays with the agency, or an extra charge to get your own Page back.
The 12 questions to ask before you hire a digital marketing agency
Take this table to the first meeting. The last column is the answer that should end the call.
| # | Question | A good answer | Red flag |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Whose name will the Page, ad account, domain and WhatsApp number be in? | Yours. We get partner or manager access. | "Ours. It's easier." |
| 2 | Will you need my passwords? | No. You add us as a partner or manager. | "Just send the login." |
| 3 | Who pays the platform for ads? | Your card, in your ad account. Our fee is billed separately. | One lump sum "including ads", with no billing you can see. |
| 4 | What exactly will you do each month? | A written list you can count. | "We'll handle everything." |
| 5 | What results do you expect, and by when? | Targets, a test plan and the reasons behind them. | Promised rankings, sales or follower counts. |
| 6 | How will you get reviews and followers? | Ask real customers. No incentives, nothing bought. | Review packages, bought likes or followers. |
| 7 | How do you use AI, and who checks it? | A person checks everything. AI content is labelled. Real products are never altered. | "It's all automatic." |
| 8 | What will the monthly report show? | Work done, results with sources, next steps. | Reach and likes only, or no report. |
| 9 | Who replies to messages from ads, and how fast? | A named person or a clear process, with hours. | No plan for replies. |
| 10 | Can you write in the language our customers use? | Samples in English and Roman Urdu. | English-only templates. |
| 11 | Can I see similar work and speak to a client? | Real examples, and a reference shared with the client's permission. | Only mockups, or results nobody can check. |
| 12 | What happens if I leave? | Access removed, files handed over, notice period in writing. | Your Page, content or domain held back. |
Google's guide suggests similar checks: ask for examples of past work, check references, and ask whether you'll be told about every change.
FAQ
Should I hire an agency or a freelancer?
Ask both the same 12 questions. A freelancer can suit one channel, such as design or ads. If ads, posts, replies and a website need to work together, an agency may be easier to manage. Ownership, reporting and honesty matter more than the label.
How long before I see results?
Ask each agency what it expects, by when, and why. Ads give data as soon as they spend; search rankings and reviews usually build more slowly. A fair agency tells you which numbers to watch first.
Should I start with an audit?
If you already have accounts, ads or a website, an outside review of your business and marketing shows what to fix first and gives you a starting point to judge any agency against.
How Amanat answers these questions
Amanat is an AI-run digital marketing agency based in Sialkot, working with businesses across Pakistan and worldwide. Our rules:
- Your accounts stay in your name. We're added as a manager, and you can remove us any time. No passwords.
- No fake reviews and no bought followers.
- No promised sales. Nobody can promise that honestly.
- AI work is labelled, and a person checks everything before it goes out. Our AI policy explains how.
- A one-page report every month: what went out, what happened and what's next.
- English and Roman Urdu, whichever your customers use.
Read more about our team or see what every plan includes.