Digital Marketing Agency, Freelancer or In-House Team?

A digital marketing agency, a freelance specialist or an in-house team? The short answer: an agency if you need heavy production across multiple channels and broad resources; a freelance specialist if you want deep expertise in a specific area and direct communication; an in-house team if marketing is at the core of the business and the budget allows. Whichever you choose, the ad accounts, analytics and domain should stay registered in your name. In this post I explain how I make this decision and what I look for when choosing an agency.

I've been on both sides of this question. Since 2009 I've worked in Türkiye with Gizli Medya, in the USA with Digitalent Inc., the digital brand agency where I'm one of the co-founders, and in Spain. On some projects I build a team and produce like an agency; on others I stand beside the brand as a consultant. So I sit somewhere between agency and consultant, and I know the pros and cons of both models firsthand.

Three models: agency, freelance specialist, in-house team

In practice, the healthiest setup I see most often is a hybrid model: one person in-house who owns the work, supported by an agency or specialists for specific channels. I describe that in-house role in detail in what does a digital marketing manager do.

How do pricing models work?

Prices vary so much by country, scope and team that I won't give numbers here. But knowing the models makes it easier to compare proposals:

• Fixed monthly fee (retainer): The same fee every month for a defined scope. Common for ongoing work. The scope must be written down and clear, or the "that's not included in the package" debate begins.
• Per project: A one-time fee for work with a clear start and end, like a website, campaign setup or brand launch.
• Percentage of ad spend: The management fee is calculated as a percentage of the ad budget. Simple, but the fee rises automatically as the budget grows; increasing spend can work in the agency's favor.
• Performance-based: Payment per sale, sign-up or lead. It sounds attractive, but who does the measuring and how must be defined very clearly.

Ask for the ad budget and the management fee to appear separately on the invoice. If money paid to the platforms is mixed with the service fee, you can't see what you're paying for.

When comparing proposals, don't just look at the total. For the same fee, one team might offer a few pieces of content a month and basic ad management, while another also covers strategy, reporting and creative production. Read proposals line by line, by scope; the cheapest proposal is often the one with the narrowest scope.

Questions to ask an agency or specialist

1. Who will do the day-to-day work on our account? The person in the pitch meeting, or someone else?
2. Whose name will the ad accounts, Meta business portfolio and GA4 be opened in?
3. How often will reports come, what metrics will they include, and will we have access to the raw data?
4. What work have you done similar to our industry? Can we speak with a reference if possible?
5. What do you plan to do in the first 90 days?
6. If we want to end the contract, how does the process work, and which files and access will we receive?

A team that answers these questions clearly and comfortably is usually transparent while working, too.

Red flags

• Promises of guaranteed results: Claims like "we guarantee you'll rank on page one" or "we'll definitely double your sales". No agency controls the algorithm or the market.
• The agency keeping account ownership: If the ad account is opened under the agency's own account and you only get reports, you lose your historical data when you leave.
• No reports, or just pretty charts: Reports full of reach, impressions and likes that never connect to sales or goals.
• Vague scope: If what will be done isn't in writing, you can't argue about what wasn't done either.
• Long contracts that are hard to exit: Be careful with teams that ask for a long binding contract without a trial period, especially for a first collaboration.

Why should account ownership stay with the company?

I'm stressing this separately because it's where I've seen the most damage in practice. The company itself should own these assets:

• Google Ads account: The agency can give you access from its manager account (MCC); that's normal. But the ad account should be opened with your company's payment details and under your control.
• Meta business portfolio: The Page, Instagram account, ad account and pixel should sit in your business portfolio, with the agency added as a "partner".
• GA4 and Search Console: Admin rights should stay with the company. The data built up over years is yours.
• Domain and hosting: The domain should be registered in the company's name. If the domain stays in the agency's account, parting ways can turn into a nightmare.

When I work with clients, I open the accounts in their name and ask to be given access. When we part ways, taking access back should be a matter of a few clicks.

How to set up a trial period

Instead of jumping straight into a long contract with a new agency or specialist, I recommend a short trial period. Here's how to set it up:

1. Narrow the scope: Start with one channel or one campaign.
2. Write down the success criteria upfront: Which metric, tracked with which measurement tool? If you set a numeric target, make it realistic and based on your past data.
3. Set the duration: Ad campaigns may need a few weeks before there's data to look at; for long-term work like SEO, a trial period evaluates the process and communication more than results.
4. Do a mid-point check: A short review meeting halfway through.
5. Decide at the end: Continue, expand the scope or part ways. All of these should be painless.

A trial period is valuable not just for results but for seeing how you work together: how quickly do they respond to questions, do they spot problems themselves, do they hide bad news?

A good brief gets you halfway there

No matter how good an agency or specialist is, their work is only as good as the information they're given. I recommend preparing a short brief before asking for proposals. It should include:

• Business goal: Sales, leads, brand awareness or entering a new market?
• Target audience: Who are you selling to, in which country, in which language?
• Current situation: Which channels have you used, what worked and what didn't? Share your past data if you have it.
• Budget range: Write the ad budget and the service budget separately. Hiding your budget leads to proposals that don't fit you.
• Internal resources: Who's on the team, who will approve, and who will produce content?

When you send the same brief to several teams, comparing proposals becomes much easier. You can tell right away from the questions they ask who actually read the brief.

What to expect from the first 90 days

When you start working with a new team, the first weeks usually go into setup: account access, measurement checks, an audit of existing campaigns, competitor and keyword research. Rather than expecting big results in this period, look at whether measurement is working correctly, whether you've been given a clear plan, whether the first tests have started and whether weekly communication is regular. On the ads side, the first concrete data comes sooner; with SEO and content, results take time. Discussing this difference upfront protects both sides from disappointment.

Which one is right for you?

When deciding, ask yourself these questions: How consistent is the budget you can set aside for marketing? Is there someone in-house to follow the work? Which channels really matter? Are you expanding into a new country, Spain for example? When entering a new market, working with a team that knows that market is often the fastest route; I explain this for Spain on my digital brand agency in Spain page.

Whichever model you choose, the signs of a good partnership are the same: transparent reporting, accounts that stay with you, a clear scope and realistic expectations. You can see how I work on my services, advertising management and digital brand consulting pages. If you'd like to talk about your situation, you can write to me via the contact page.