What does month to month actually mean for a contractor?
Three things, all in writing:
- You can cancel with short notice. Thirty days is normal. Not a 90-day window that only opens once a year.
- The accounts are in your name. Google Ads, Local Services Ads, Meta, Google Analytics, and the Google Business Profile belong to your business. The agency gets access. It does not own the account.
- Ad spend goes on your card. You pay Google and Meta directly. The agency charges a flat fee for the work, not a cut of your spend.
If you can cancel in 30 days but the Google Ads account history, the call tracking numbers, or the profile walk out the door with the agency, you are still locked in. You are just locked in by switching cost instead of by contract.
Why do most marketing agencies want twelve months?
The honest reasons: onboarding costs them time up front, some channels take months to show results, and a contract smooths their revenue. The less honest reason: a contract keeps paying even when the work stops producing.
Some of that time cost is real. Local SEO is slow. On DUO's Local SEO page we say movement in the first two months and real compounding after three. The Kingdom Heating and Air map work ran five months before the grid looked the way it does on the case study. But slow is a reason to set expectations, not a reason to take away your exit. If the work is good, you will stay because it is working.
Paid ads are faster. On Rocket Moving, month one paid for itself. You should not need a year to find out whether an ads account is being run well.
What should you check before signing with a month-to-month agency?
- Read the cancellation clause. How many days' notice? Any early termination fee? Any minimum term hiding in a "setup period"?
- Ask who owns each account. Ads, Local Services Ads, analytics, call tracking, the Business Profile, the website and domain. Get the answer for each one.
- Ask what happens to call tracking numbers if you leave. Those numbers are printed on trucks and listed in directories. Make sure they can be ported or handed over.
- Ask how the fee is set. Flat fee, or a percentage of spend? A percentage of spend pays the agency more when you spend more, whether or not it books jobs.
- Ask about the website. If the agency builds your site, who owns the code and the domain, and what happens to any unpaid balance if you cancel?
- Ask what the monthly report ends on. If it stops at leads and clicks, you will not know whether to stay or go. Month to month only protects you if you can judge the work. That means cost per booked job. Here is how to tell if an agency actually tracks booked jobs.
Is a month-to-month agency more expensive?
Not necessarily. The fee is the fee. What changes is who carries the risk. On a twelve-month contract, you carry it: if the work is bad in month three, you pay for nine more. On month to month, the agency carries it: if the work is bad, you leave.
That is why the report matters so much. A month-to-month agency that only reports lead counts still leaves you guessing. One that shows which campaigns booked jobs, and what each booked job cost, gives you a clean decision every month. Our pricing page lists every fee we charge, and every package is month to month with 30 days' notice.
When does a longer commitment make sense?
Rarely for marketing services. The one place it can make sense is a custom website, where the build is a real up-front cost. Even there, the fair version is simple: if the site is paid off, it is yours, code, domain, and all, and you can settle any balance and take it whenever you want. What you should not accept is a website that stays hostage to a marketing contract.
What does DUO's month to month look like?
Thirty days' notice on every package, including the one that builds you a website. Your profile, your reviews, your data, and everything transfers in writing if we part ways. Ad spend on your card, flat fee, no cut of spend. Every call and form graded quotable or junk, and closed jobs pulled back from your CRM with Revenue Sync, so the report ends at cost per booked job.
If you want to see what that looks like on your market, get in touch. Bring your current contract and your last three reports. We will tell you straight whether your current setup is worth keeping.
FAQ
What is a month-to-month marketing agency for contractors?
One you can leave with about 30 days' notice, where the ad accounts, Google Business Profile, reviews, and data stay in your name when you go. If any of those stay with the agency, it is not really month to month.
Why do marketing agencies ask for twelve-month contracts?
Onboarding takes time and some channels, like local SEO, are slow. But a contract also keeps paying when the work stops producing. Slow results are a reason to set expectations, not to remove your exit.
What should I check before signing with a marketing agency?
The cancellation clause, who owns each account (ads, LSA, analytics, call tracking, Business Profile, website and domain), what happens to tracking numbers if you leave, whether the fee is flat or a cut of spend, and whether the report ends at cost per booked job.
Is a month-to-month agency more expensive than a contract?
Not necessarily. The difference is who carries the risk. On a long contract you pay for bad months. On month to month the agency has to keep earning it. Judge the work monthly on cost per booked job.
Is DUO Digital month to month?
Yes. Every package is month to month with 30 days' notice, including the one that builds a website. Accounts, profile, reviews, and data are yours, ad spend goes on your card, and the fee is flat. Every price is on goduo.co/pricing/.
