Give agencies the economics they need
Average order value, gross margin, repeat rate, returns, fulfilment constraints and promotional strategy affect what an acceptable acquisition cost looks like. A supplier that optimises only to platform ROAS can miss the economics underneath the sale.
Compare acquisition and retention responsibilities
| Area | What to clarify |
|---|---|
| Paid social | Who owns creative strategy, production, testing and media buying? |
| Paid search | Are Shopping feeds, search, Performance Max and landing pages in scope? |
| SEO | Who implements category, product and technical improvements? |
| Are campaigns, flows, segmentation and creative included? | |
| CRO | Can the provider implement tests or only recommend them? |
Creative volume matters, but ownership matters too
For paid social, creative can be a major operating requirement. Ask how many concepts and iterations are included, who supplies product footage, whether creator content is separately budgeted and what files you retain after cancellation.
Audit tracking before scaling spend
Confirm analytics, platform pixels, consent, product feeds and purchase events before treating reported return as precise. Ask the agency how it validates tracking and how it handles discrepancies between platforms and ecommerce backend data.
Separate media spend from management fees
Every proposal should clearly distinguish what goes to advertising platforms from what pays the agency. Also identify extra costs for creative production, email software, landing pages, feed tools or development.
Ask what the agency will stop doing
Good optimisation is not only adding campaigns. Ask how the provider decides when a channel, audience, offer or creative direction has failed its test and how budget is reallocated.
Comparing ecommerce agencies?
Use Kydos pricing and service scope as one benchmark before you appoint a provider.
Compare KydosFrequently asked questions
Should an ecommerce agency manage both acquisition and retention?
It can, but the proposal should state whether paid media, SEO, email and CRO are actually included.
Is ROAS enough to choose an agency?
No. Margin, returns, repeat purchases and attribution also affect commercial performance.
Who owns creative?
Agree rights, source files and reuse terms before production begins.
Should the agency manage product feeds?
If Shopping campaigns depend on them, establish who owns feed quality and fixes.
What tracking should be checked?
Analytics, platform events, purchase data and consent setup should be reviewed as relevant.
Can the agency change our store?
Only if implementation access and responsibility are part of the agreed scope.