Do you hire a digital advertising agency to grow your business—or to grow their bottom line?

It sounds like a ridiculous question, but too many agencies act like you’re there to fund their retainers, not your results.

The Dashboard Dilemma

Dashboards can be a great tool… when used honestly. They can also be a convenient way to show you just enough to keep you from asking tough questions.

Too often, agencies use them to summarize performance without context. And without context, you can’t make informed decisions.

Simplicity Shouldn’t Mean Hiding the Truth

Dashboards often highlight one number: Average Cost Per Lead (CPL). Useful, sure. But it rarely tells the full story.

Here’s an example. Before we took over a client’s account, their agency showed them an average CPL of $37 – a great number for their industry. But 80% of those conversions were coming from branded searches – people already looking for the company by name.

Once we dug in, we found branded leads cost $26 each, but new customer leads (non-branded terms) were much higher. So, we restructured the account.

Within months, branded CPL dropped to $7, and non-branded leads – actual new business – came down to $75. That shift turned their ad spend from “maintenance mode” into a real growth engine.

Local Data, Informed Decisions

The same client has 37 locations across the East Coast. Their previous agency lumped everything into a handful of campaigns. It was easy… for them. But not so useful for the client.

We rebuilt it from the ground up: 147 campaigns by location and service line. That level of granularity gave them clarity they’d never had before.

Now they can see that leads in Charlotte, NC, cost twice as much as in Bow, NH, and make decisions accordingly. That’s what transparency looks like.

Demand the Data You Deserve

I hate seeing businesses spend good money on bad campaigns.

If your agency’s dashboard makes everything look “fine” but you don’t understand why it’s fine, or where your leads are really coming from, it’s time to ask for the full picture.

Simplicity should serve clarity, not hide it.

If your agency can’t (or won’t) give you that clarity, it may be time to find one that will.

Your Thoughts

What has been your experience with agency dashboards?