Twenty questions,
answered plainly.
Where the answer is “it depends”, we say what it depends on. Where we cannot promise something, we say that too. Ask the same questions of whoever else you are speaking to.
Still deciding?
Send us what you sell and what you have tried. We will tell you whether digital is the right lever before we tell you what it costs — and sometimes the answer is that you should fix something else first.
Ask us directly → See indicative pricingWhat is a milestone-based digital marketing engagement?
A milestone is a written list of deliverables with quantities, owners, dates and a fixed price, agreed before any work starts. You pay 40% on scope approval, 40% on delivery and 20% on sign-off. Undelivered items are credited or deducted rather than billed, and moving to the next milestone is an active decision rather than an automatic renewal.
How is that different from a monthly retainer?
A retainer bills the same amount every month whether or not work shipped, and the scope is usually negotiated after the invoice. With milestones the scope comes first, in writing, and the invoice follows what was actually delivered.
Do you guarantee first-page Google rankings?
No. Nobody outside Google controls the ranking algorithm, and any agency guaranteeing a position is either guaranteeing terms nobody searches for or is about to disappoint you. We commit to the work and report movement honestly, including when it goes the wrong way.
How long before SEO produces results?
Three to six months for most established Indian small and mid-sized business sites, longer for new domains or highly competitive national categories. Long-tail terms usually move first, around month two or three. We will tell you which situation you are in during the audit, before you commit.
Who owns the ad accounts, website and data?
You do, always. Accounts are created in your name with your billing method, and we work inside them with delegated access. If the engagement ends we simply lose access. Nothing moves, nothing is held back, and there is no data hostage situation.
Is advertising spend included in your fee?
No. Media spend goes directly from you to Google or Meta from your own account. Our milestone fee covers strategy, build, management, creative and reporting, and is invoiced separately. We take no percentage of spend, so there is no incentive for us to recommend spending more.
What is the minimum monthly ad budget you will work with?
Roughly 40,000 to 50,000 rupees in media spend per month for paid campaigns to gather enough conversion data to optimise properly. Below that we will usually recommend putting the budget into SEO, local visibility or landing page work instead, and we will say so rather than take the work.
What is the smallest engagement you will take?
One milestone. Most clients begin with a foundation milestone of four to six weeks, see how the working relationship feels, and then decide about the next one.
Can we stop after a milestone?
Yes. That is the point of the model. There is no notice period, no termination fee and no lock-in beyond the milestone you already approved. Everything produced is already in your own accounts.
Do you use AI to write content?
For research, outlining and editing support, yes. We do not publish generated drafts as finished work. Content produced at volume without subject knowledge reads generic, ranks briefly and damages the credibility of the brand that published it.
Do you buy backlinks?
No. We do not buy links, use private blog networks or run any tactic that risks a manual action against your domain. Links we pursue come from digital PR and genuinely useful content, which is slower and does not evaporate with the next algorithm update.
How often will we hear from you?
A written update every week while a milestone is live, a fortnightly optimisation call on paid campaigns, a monthly report, and a milestone review at each close. You also have a named account lead with a direct number.
What does your monthly report contain?
What we did, what happened, what it cost, and what we are changing. Results lead; activity follows. Every report has an explicit section on what did not work, and you have permanent read access to the underlying platform accounts so you can check any figure yourself.
Which platforms do you actually manage?
Google Search, Shopping, Performance Max and YouTube; Meta across Facebook and Instagram; organic Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube; and WhatsApp campaigns through the Business API where appropriate.
Can you work with our existing website, or do we need a new one?
Usually the existing one. Most sites need technical fixes and better pages rather than a rebuild. If the platform genuinely cannot support what the campaign needs, we will show you the specific limitation rather than recommending a rebuild by default.
Do you handle website development too?
Landing pages and campaign-specific pages, yes. Full website builds sit with a different Akontec service line, and we will introduce you rather than stretch this engagement to cover it.
What if the results are not good enough?
That is what the milestone review is for. We will show you the numbers, give an honest read on whether the channel is working, and recommend continuing, changing direction or stopping. Recommending that a client stops spending is not a hypothetical for us.
How are you priced compared with a freelancer?
More expensive than a freelancer, less than a large agency. What you get for the difference is a written scope, a named account lead, a second person reviewing work, and no dependency on one individual's availability.
Do you work outside India?
This service line is built for the domestic Indian market. For international requirements, contact Akontec directly and we will tell you honestly whether we are the right fit.
How do we start?
A forty-five minute discovery call, then a written audit, then a milestone scope with a price. You are not committed to anything until you sign the scope, and the discovery call costs nothing.
Tell us the goal.
We will scope the milestones.
Share what you sell, who buys it and what you have tried already. You get a written scope with the deliverables, the timeline, the milestone payments and an honest read on what this channel can and cannot do for you.