Most “how to choose a Shopify ads agency” articles tell you to book five chemistry calls. That is how agencies sell. It is a poor way to buy.
Here is a shorter filter.
1. Can you see the price without a call?
If the only CTA is “Book a strategy session,” you are entering a sales process. A productized shop publishes Starter / Growth / Scale (or equivalent) on the site. GrowtoMax starts at $550/mo. You should be able to decide “this is or is not in budget” in 30 seconds.
2. Who actually touches the account?
Ask who logs into Ads Manager in week one. If the answer is “our pod” and the person you met is “client success,” assume junior execution. GrowtoMax is built around senior management on purpose. That is the whole product.
3. How do they report?
Monthly PDF = you are flying blind between decks. Live Pulse (or equivalent) = you can see spend, ROAS, and campaigns while they work. If reporting is the deliverable instead of the byproduct, you will pay for slides.
4. What is the contract?
Month-to-month is a feature. Six-month lock-in is their risk transfer. If they need six months to “learn the account,” they should not need your credit card to start learning.
5. Is there a guarantee with a number?
“We care about results” is not a guarantee. “20% ad revenue growth in 60 days or we work free until we hit it” is a guarantee. Read the terms. Ours are on Terms of Service.
6. Are they actually a Shopify ads shop?
Generalist digital agencies will take your money and run last year’s playbook. You want Meta ads management and Google Ads for Shopify as the core job — not “full-service marketing” that dilutes into email you did not ask for.
A simple decision tree
- Need Meta only, ~$1K+/mo spend → Starter-style productized plan
- Need Meta + Google, want a guarantee → Growth
- Need senior intensity and weekly notes → Scale
- $25K+/mo spend, want fees tied to media → Partner (percent of spend)
- Need a custom SOW and weekly theater → traditional agency (see comparison)
- Need one cheap pair of hands → freelancer (see vs freelancer)
If you already know you want productized delivery, skip the calls: Get Started.