Marketing Agency Horror Stories Episode 4: Retainers Pt. 1

In Episode 4 of our Marketing Agency Horror Stories series, and part 1 of our discussion on retainers, we are covering the technology-focused retainer types: SEO, digital advertising, and website support. Each of these comes with its own set of pitfalls, and the companies that get hurt most are typically the ones that trusted their provider without knowing what to look for.

1. SEO RETAINERS

Of all the retainer types we see, SEO is the one where companies run into trouble more than any other. Over the last five years, the number of firms claiming to offer SEO services has grown significantly, and the quality has not kept pace with the volume.

The core problem is that most business owners and executives do not have a detailed understanding of what SEO actually involves, what a reasonable scope of work looks like, or what results they should expect to see. That lack of familiarity makes it easy to end up in a retainer where someone is technically "doing SEO" without really doing anything that is aligned to your business goals or moving the needle in a meaningful way.

Horror Story: We worked with a large firm in the Northeast that had been paying an agency in Manhattan a significant amount of money for SEO services. Yet, the work was not getting done, and what was being done was not aligned with the company’s strategy. Ultimately, it was never going to be beneficial to them.

The standard for any SEO retainer should be clear alignment between the work being performed and your company's actual business objectives. If your provider cannot explain what they are doing, why they are doing it, and how it connects to your goals, that is a problem.

A note on AI and search: If your SEO provider has not been actively discussing AI, AEO, and GEO with you, you are not being served well. AI is fundamentally changing how search results are displayed and how keyword rankings work. Google, LLMs, and other platforms are increasingly presenting answers directly rather than simply listing links, which means the strategy behind how your website is built and how its content is structured has to account for that.

AEO, or Answer Engine Optimization, and GEO, or Generative Engine Optimization, are a necessary part of your SEO strategy. If your provider is still focused exclusively on traditional keyword rankings without addressing how AI-driven search results affect your visibility, your site is likely losing ground without you realizing it.

2. DIGITAL ADVERTISING RETAINERS

Digital advertising is a complex, fast-moving area, and providers who are not staying current can cost their clients significant money in ways that are not always visible until the damage is done.

Some of the most common failures we see in digital advertising retainers include poor management of negative keywords, incorrect geographic targeting, failure to filter out spam and bot traffic, and insufficient campaign monitoring and optimization. Each of these individually can lead to wasted budget. When several are present at once, the consequences compound quickly.

Two real examples illustrate this well:

Horror Story: In one case, a company managing digital advertising in-house (so, not technically a marketing retainer, but a helpful example nonetheless) was not monitoring its results carefully. Bot traffic from outside the United States was consuming a large portion of their budget, and by the time the problem was identified, they had wasted well over $60,000 in a three-month period. 

Horror Story: In another case, a provider failed to set geographic restrictions correctly on a client's campaigns. Ads were running nationwide for a company that only served a regional market, resulting in tens of thousands of dollars spent reaching people who could never have become customers.

Digital advertising requires consistent, detailed attention. If your provider is not actively monitoring campaigns, adjusting based on results, and aligning spend to your business objectives, you are not getting what you are paying for.

3. WEBSITE SUPPORT RETAINERS

Website support is an area where numerous problems can arise, many of which we discussed in Episode 2 and Episode 3 on website horror stories.

Common complaints we hear from new clients about past providers include slow turnaround on edit requests, poor quality content additions, little to no reporting on website performance, and unclear answers about whether the site is being maintained from a security and performance standpoint. In some cases, the provider is simply not paying attention at all. 

Horror Story: We recently saw an example of a company whose site went down because their domain and hosting had both expired without anyone catching it. Whoever was managing the backend for them was not paying attention, and the consequences were entirely avoidable.

A website support retainer should have a clearly defined scope. You should know exactly what your provider is doing each month, what the cost covers, and how you can verify the work is being performed. Without that clarity, it is easy to spend months paying for a service that is either overpriced or not being delivered.

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM TECHNOLOGY-FOCUSED RETAINERS

Across all three of these retainer types, the same principles apply. Before entering any contract, make sure you understand what is included in the scope, how results will be reported, and how the work directly connects to your business goals. If a provider cannot answer those questions clearly, it is worth reconsidering the engagement.

We will be back soon with Retainers Part 2, focusing on general marketing retainers and social media. If you have any additional questions or comments, reach out to us directly — we would love to hear from you.