Why We Don't Do 12-Month Marketing Contracts

It protects revenue during the months when the work is thin. An agency that knows month seven will be quiet needs month seven paid for in advance. Month to month removes that cushion — and it removes the temptation to coast.

It genuinely does. Two to four months before movement, six-plus before it hits stride. But that is an argument for setting expectations honestly, not for a cancellation fee. If a client sees documented work every month and understands the timeline, they stay because it is working.

When a client can leave in thirty days, you send a real report. You explain the slow months instead of hiding them. You raise the awkward conversation — 'this campaign isn't paying for itself, pause it' — rather than quietly renewing.

That is a better business to run and a better one to hire.

Your website, your domain, your Google Ads account with your card on it, your Google Business Profile, your analytics. If leaving an agency means losing any of those, that is a contract by other means. Ask before you sign.

Who owns the ad account? What exactly happens in month one versus month six? What does the monthly report contain? Can I cancel with thirty days' notice? Who is actually doing the work?

The answers tell you more than any case study.