Hiring a Web or Marketing Provider? 7 Checks Before You Pay

By Leon Harris, Founder & AI Creative Director · Updated July 2026

You're about to hand money to someone to build your website or run your Facebook page, and there's no obvious way to tell a good provider from a bad one until the money is already gone. What you want is simple: a site and a Page that stay yours, work you can actually check, and the freedom to leave without losing anything. Here are seven checks to run before you pay — most take a few minutes and one email.

1. Who owns the domain, hosting, and accounts?

This is the biggest trap, and it's the one people only discover when they want to switch providers. If your provider registers your domain, sets up hosting, or creates your Meta business portfolio and Google Business Profile under their own account, they hold your online presence, not you. End the relationship badly and you can lose your web address, your Page, or your ad history.

Sort it out before work starts. Register the domain yourself, in your own name and your own email, at a registrar you can log into — dotPH is the official registry for .ph and .com.ph addresses, with prices starting around US$13 a year. Create your own Meta business portfolio at business.facebook.com and your own Google Business Profile with your own business email. Then add the provider as a partner and give them access to the specific assets they need — your Page, your ad account — which you can withdraw at any time. On Google Business Profile, add them as a Manager, not an Owner: managers can post, reply to reviews, and edit business details, but only owners can add or remove people and delete the profile.

2. Ask for live work and a reference you can call

A portfolio PDF or a wall of client logos proves nothing — screenshots can be old, borrowed, or simply not theirs. Ask for two or three examples that are live right now and open the URLs or Pages yourself. Ask for one client's number and actually call before you sign. A provider who stalls here, or who only offers "case studies" with no live link, has told you something useful.

3. Get the monthly deliverables in writing

"Social media management" and "SEO" are labels, not deliverables. Before you pay, get a written list with numbers: how many posts a month, how many ad variations, how many articles, how fast messages get answered, and what date your report arrives. If it isn't written down with numbers and dates, it isn't a commitment — it's a hope, and you'll be the one arguing about it in month three.

4. Know what happens to your files when you leave

The contract should say that creatives, source files, and account access transfer back to you within a set number of days after the engagement ends, with no exit fee and nothing held back. If the provider can't answer that plainly, or the contract simply doesn't mention it, assume the worst version is what will happen.

5. Agree on real numbers, not vanity numbers

Reach, impressions, and follower counts are the easiest figures to inflate and the least connected to your revenue. Before the first invoice, agree on two or three measures that matter to your business — leads, calls, Messenger or Viber enquiries, bookings, sales, cost per lead — and make sure the monthly report shows those, not a screenshot saying "10,000 people reached."

6. Understand the contract length and the exit

Know the term, the notice period, and whether there's an early-termination penalty before you sign, not after you want out. A brand-new relationship with a long lock-in and no clear exit clause is a poor way to start, however good the pitch was. Ask directly: what happens if I want to stop after month two? Someone confident in their work will answer straight away.

7. Red flags that should end the conversation

Some promises are hard stops. Google's own guidance on hiring an SEO says plainly that no one can guarantee a number one ranking, and tells businesses to beware of anyone who claims otherwise or claims a "special relationship" with Google. The same applies to guaranteed follower or engagement counts — nobody outside the platform controls the algorithm.

Be just as wary of anyone offering to buy or incentivise reviews. Google's review policy bans offering payment, discounts, or free goods and services in exchange for a review, and enforcement is real: Google says it blocked or removed more than 240 million policy-violating reviews in 2024 and placed posting restrictions on over 900,000 accounts. A provider suggesting this can get your listing suspended, not boosted. And if there's no written scope at all, just a verbal agreement, that alone is reason to slow down.

When hiring isn't worth it yet

Sometimes the honest answer is: not yet. If your pricing isn't settled, your offer changes weekly, or nobody is free to answer the messages that come in, paying someone to drive more traffic to an unready business just burns the budget. Set up the free basics yourself first — your own Google Business Profile, your own Page, one consistent offer — and hire once there's something worth scaling. For free one-on-one help getting registered and set up, DTI's Negosyo Centers do it at no cost nationwide.

Frequently asked questions

Who should register my business's domain name — me or my web provider?

You, in your own name and your own registrar account. dotPH is the official registry for .ph and .com.ph addresses and sells directly to the public, and any mainstream registrar works for .com. A provider can build and manage the site, but if the domain sits under their account you can lose your web address entirely when you switch providers or the relationship sours.

How should I give an agency access to my Facebook Page and ad account?

Create the business portfolio yourself, then add the agency as a partner and grant them access only to the specific assets they need — the Page and the ad account. That access can be withdrawn at any time, and the portfolio stays under your control. Handing over your own business portfolio instead means depending on their goodwill to get it back.

Can a marketing agency end up controlling my Google Business Profile?

Yes, if they set up the listing under their own account. Google Business Profile has two roles: owners and managers. Managers can edit business info, post, and reply to reviews, but only owners can add or remove people and delete the profile. If an agency made itself the owner and gave you manager access, ask to be made an owner and keep them on as a manager.

Is it normal for an agency to guarantee a #1 Google ranking or a set number of followers?

No. Google's own guidance on hiring an SEO states that no one can guarantee a number one ranking, and advises businesses to be wary of anyone who claims otherwise or claims a 'special relationship' with Google. Treat that promise as a warning sign, not a selling point — the same goes for guaranteed follower or engagement counts.

Should I pay for Google reviews to lift my rating?

No. Google's review policy prohibits offering payment, discounts, or free goods and services in exchange for a review. Enforcement is active: Google reported blocking or removing more than 240 million policy-violating reviews in 2024 and placing posting restrictions on over 900,000 accounts. Getting caught can cost you the listing.

My business is brand new with no fixed pricing yet — should I hire an agency now?

Usually not yet. If your offer, pricing, or ability to answer incoming messages isn't stable, paying to drive more traffic to an unready business wastes the spend. Set up the free basics yourself first — your own Google Business Profile, your own Page, one consistent offer — and get free one-on-one advice from a DTI Negosyo Center. Hire once there's something worth scaling.

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