Written by the CoTask Marketplace Strategy Team — Amazon SPN Partner, Google Certified, managing Amazon accounts for 200+ brands across the USA, UAE, and UK.

Quick answer: Before hiring an Amazon marketing agency, ask about their category experience, their Amazon SPN or Ads Partner status, who actually runs your account day-to-day, how they report PPC performance (ACOS/TACOS, not just "sales"), their pricing model, and their contract exit terms. If an agency can't answer these 10 questions clearly, treat that as your answer.

If you sell on Amazon in the USA or UAE, you already know the platform doesn't forgive guesswork. One suspended listing, one badly structured PPC campaign, or one agency that disappears after onboarding can cost you months of revenue. And with third-party sellers now driving an estimated 69% of Amazon's total GMV in 2025 — roughly $575 billion — the competition for visibility on page one has never been tighter (source: Marketplace Pulse).

We've seen both sides of this. In one recent engagement with a UAE-based Home & Kitchen brand, a coordinated Amazon strategy produced a 101% visibility increase — the kind of number that only shows up when campaign structure, listing SEO, and account health are managed together, not patched separately by whoever's cheapest that month.

That's exactly why "which Amazon agency should I hire" is one of the most searched — and most poorly answered — questions in ecommerce. Most guides tell you to "look for experience" and call it done. That's not a checklist, that's a shrug.

This guide gives you the 10 specific questions to ask before you sign anything, plus a copy-paste Amazon agency checklist you can use on every call. Whether you're comparing a full-service Amazon marketing agency, a dedicated Amazon PPC agency, or a freelancer, the same due diligence applies.

Why This Decision Is Riskier Than It Looks

Handing over your Amazon account isn't like hiring a generic marketing vendor. An agency with account-level access can touch your listings, your ad spend, your inventory settings, and in some cases your brand registry — all of which affect your account health score and your ability to sell at all.

A few numbers worth sitting with before you hire anyone:

• Third-party sellers now account for roughly 60% of all products sold on Amazon, generating about $575 billion in global gross merchandise value in 2025 (source: Marketplace Pulse / Seller Assistant) — meaning the sellers you're competing against are better resourced than ever.
• Fewer than 8,000 sellers — just 1.6% of the active base — now generate half of Amazon's estimated $300 billion in US third-party GMV (source: Marketplace Pulse), a concentration that keeps tightening. Scale increasingly goes to sellers who execute well, not just sellers who show up.
• Amazon's own advertising ecosystem is growing fast enough that ad placements are getting more expensive and more competitive every quarter — which is exactly where a poorly run PPC account bleeds the most money.

That context matters because it explains why "seemed nice on the sales call" isn't a vetting process. Here's what actually is.

The 10 Questions to Ask an Amazon Marketing Agency

1. What's your experience with brands in my category and my market (USA or UAE)?

Amazon category dynamics differ enormously — supplement listings face different compliance rules than apparel, and Amazon.ae/Amazon.sa have different logistics, VAT, and localization requirements than Amazon.com. Ask for two or three examples of accounts they've managed in your exact category and marketplace, not just "ecommerce in general." A generalist agency can still do good work, but they should be honest about where their depth actually is.

What a good answer sounds like: "We've managed three Home & Kitchen brands on Amazon.ae in the last 18 months — here's what changed for each, and here's what's different about ranking in that category versus the US." Red flag: "We're experts in every category" with no specific names, numbers, or a willingness to narrow it down.

2. Are you an Amazon SPN Partner or Amazon Ads Verified/Advanced Partner?

This is the fastest credibility filter you have. The Amazon SPN partner designation (Amazon's Selling Partner Network) and the separate Amazon Ads Partner Network badges (Standard, Verified, and Advanced) are Amazon's own vetting layers — agencies need demonstrated product certifications and active campaign performance to earn them. You can register these credentials yourself against Amazon's official Partner Network, and any agency should be able to show you their listing, not just tell you about it.

Badge status alone doesn't guarantee good work, but the absence of any Amazon-issued credential on an agency claiming years of "Amazon expertise" is worth asking about directly.

What a good answer sounds like: "Here's our live listing in Amazon's Partner Directory — you can verify it yourself." Red flag: a badge shown only as a static image on their website with no way to confirm it's current.

3. Who exactly will work on my account — and is it in-house or outsourced?

Ask for names and roles, not job titles pulled from a website. Many agencies sell a senior strategist on the pitch call and then hand day-to-day execution to a rotating pool of freelancers. Ask directly: "Is my account managed in-house, and will I know who's making PPC bid changes each week?" A confident agency answers this without hesitation.

Follow-up worth asking: "What happens to my account if that specific person leaves the company?" Agencies with documented handover processes will have a real answer. Agencies relying on one freelancer will hesitate.

4. How do you structure and report on PPC — and what does "good" ACOS look like for my category?

This is where a lot of Amazon marketing turns into vanity metrics. A competent Amazon PPC agency should talk fluently about campaign structure (exact/phrase/broad separation, negative keyword hygiene, dayparting), and report on ACOS and TACOS — not just top-line ad sales. If they can't explain how they'd structure your very first campaign in specific terms, they're improvising.

For a deeper look at what a properly built account should look like, see our Amazon PPC campaign structure guide, and if you're still weighing PPC against other channels first, our Amazon PPC vs. Google Ads breakdown covers how to think about budget allocation.

What a good answer sounds like: a specific ACOS/TACOS range for your category, an explanation of how they'd split campaign types in month one, and a plan for when they'd start scaling spend. Red flag: "We just optimize for sales" with no mention of ACOS, TACOS, or negative keywords at all.

5. Can you show real case studies with verifiable results?

Ask for before/after numbers tied to a real account — visibility increase, ACOS reduction, revenue growth — and ask if you can speak to that client directly, or at least see a third-party review. Independent review platforms like Clutch list verified client feedback that's harder to fake than a testimonial on an agency's own homepage.

What a good answer sounds like: a named client, a specific timeframe, and a number they're comfortable having you verify. Red flag: "great results across the board" with nothing you can check.

6. What tools and tech stack do you actually use?

Amazon account management leans on tools for keyword research, bid automation, inventory forecasting, and listing monitoring. Ask which tools they use and why — not to test their vocabulary, but because "we do it all manually in spreadsheets" is a very different service level than an agency running automated bid rules and daily account-health monitoring.

Follow-up worth asking: "Do I get access to the same dashboards you're looking at, or only a summary you compile?" Agencies confident in their process usually offer direct dashboard access.

7. How do you handle account health, suspensions, and policy compliance?

This is the question most sellers forget until it's too late. Ask what happens if your account gets flagged, how quickly they respond to a policy violation, and whether they proactively monitor account health metrics (ODR, IPI, late shipment rate) or only react after a problem appears. An agency's answer here tells you whether they think defensively or only offensively.

Also ask whether listing enhancements like A+ Content are part of their standard scope — brand-registry tools like this affect both conversion rate and account standing, and a good agency treats them as connected, not separate line items.

What a good answer sounds like: a described monitoring cadence (daily/weekly), a named point of escalation, and an example of a past suspension they resolved. Red flag: "That's never happened to our clients" — a claim no agency managing enough accounts long enough can honestly make.

8. What's your pricing model, and what's actually included?

Common models include a flat monthly retainer, a percentage of ad spend, a percentage of managed revenue, or a hybrid. None is inherently wrong, but each creates different incentives — a pure percentage-of-ad-spend model, for example, can quietly reward an agency for spending more rather than spending smarter. Ask for a full breakdown of what's included (PPC management, listing optimization, A+ Content, customer service, reporting) versus what costs extra.

9. What's the contract length, and how do I exit if it's not working?

Long lock-in contracts with vague termination clauses are a red flag in an industry that should be able to prove ROI within 60–90 days. Ask about notice periods, data/account handover terms if you leave, and whether you retain ownership of creative assets, listing copy, and campaign history.

Follow-up worth asking: "If I want to leave in month two, what exactly do I walk away with?" Get the answer in writing before signing, not after.

10. How and how often will you communicate with me?

Weekly Slack updates versus a single monthly PDF are very different service experiences. Ask for a sample report and confirm who you'll actually be able to reach if something breaks on a Friday night during a Prime Day-level spike.

How to Run the Discovery Call

Most sellers let the agency run the sales call. Flip it. A 30-minute discovery call structured like this gets you real answers instead of a rehearsed pitch:

1. First 5 minutes: Describe your account honestly — current ACOS, biggest pain point, and what "success" looks like in 90 days. Watch whether they ask clarifying questions or jump straight to a pitch.
2. Next 15 minutes: Work through the 10 questions above in order. Take notes on specificity, not confidence — a hesitant but specific answer beats a smooth but vague one.
3. Final 10 minutes: Ask for the checklist below in writing, along with one client reference you can contact directly this week.

If an agency can't fill 30 minutes with substance and instead relies on a generic slide deck, that's information too.

The Amazon Agency Checklist

Use this Amazon agency checklist on every discovery call — score each item yes/no before you compare quotes:

• Can show Amazon SPN or Amazon Ads Partner Network status
• Has managed accounts in your specific category and marketplace (USA/UAE)
• Names the actual team members who'll work on your account
• Explains PPC structure and reports ACOS and TACOS, not just ad sales
• Provides verifiable case studies or third-party reviews
• Has a documented process for account health monitoring and suspensions
• Gives a transparent, itemized pricing breakdown
• Offers reasonable contract terms with a clear exit clause
• Commits to a specific reporting cadence and named point of contact
• Is upfront about what results are realistic in the first 60–90 days

If an agency scores well here but still feels off in the sales conversation, trust that instinct — this is a long-term operational relationship, not a one-off project.

Red Flags That Should End the Conversation

• Guaranteed page-one rankings or a specific sales number "guaranteed" in writing — nobody controls Amazon's algorithm to that degree.
• Reluctance to give you admin-level visibility into your own Seller Central or Ads console.
• Pressure to sign a 12-month contract before a strategy call has even happened.
• No clear answer on who owns your account data, creative, and campaign history if you leave.
• Case studies that can't be verified or attributed to a real, named brand.

Agency vs. Freelancer vs. In-House: A Quick Reality Check

Run the same 10 questions against any option you're comparing — the questions don't change, only the answers do. If you're vetting a broader digital marketing partner rather than an Amazon-only specialist, our guide on how to choose the right digital marketing agency walks through the same due-diligence process for non-Amazon channels.

What to Watch in the First 30 Days After You Hire

Vetting doesn't end at signing. The first month is where you find out if the sales pitch matched reality:

• Onboarding should start with an audit, not a pitch deck. A real agency reviews your current listings, PPC history, and account health before recommending changes — not after signing.
• You should see a written 30/60/90-day plan, not just "we'll optimize as we go."
• Access should flow both ways. You should retain admin access to your own Seller Central and Ads console throughout — an agency that asks for exclusive access with no owner-level login for you is a structural red flag, not a convenience.
• The first report should arrive on the promised cadence, not late and not vague. This is the easiest early signal of whether "weekly updates" in the contract will actually happen.

Why This Matters More for USA and UAE Sellers Specifically

Sellers operating across both Amazon.com and Amazon.ae/Amazon.sa face an extra layer most single-market sellers never deal with: different VAT and trade-license requirements, different fulfillment networks, and different competitive density by category. An agency that only knows the US market may misjudge what it takes to rank on Amazon.ae, and vice versa. If cross-market expansion is on your roadmap, ask explicitly whether the agency has hands-on experience on both storefronts — not just "international experience" as a generic line item.

How Cotasks Approaches This

We're an Amazon SPN Partner and Google Certified agency working with 200+ brands across the USA, UAE, and UK, and we built this checklist from the same questions our own prospective clients ask us before signing. Our team manages Amazon PPC, listing optimization, and account health monitoring in-house — no outsourced freelancers rotating through your account — and we report ACOS and TACOS on every campaign, not just top-line ad sales.