Choosing a local agency from abroad is a trust exercise. These questions surface the difference between a partner and a problem before the contract does.
The ten questions
1) Who owns the ad accounts and analytics — us or you? (Correct answer: you.) 2) Can we see English-language reports from a current client? 3) Which team members will actually work on our account, and what are their qualifications? 4) What happened with a client where things went wrong? 5) How do you research Turkish keywords — show us a sample. 6) What is included in the fee, and what costs extra? 7) What is the notice period and exit process — do we keep all assets? 8) How do you handle KVKK compliance in lead handling? 9) Which results do you consider realistic in 6 months for our category? 10) Who is our single point of contact and in which time zone?
Red flags
Ranking guarantees, agency-owned ad accounts, reporting only in screenshots, prices dramatically below market, and reluctance to introduce the actual delivery team. Any one of these predicts pain.
What good looks like
Transparent access to everything, a bilingual account lead, references you can call, and a first proposal that talks about your numbers rather than their awards.