How to review a shopping feeds agency by desk evidence and reference calls

What to take away

An agency pitching a Yorkshire retailer will show Merchant Centre screenshots, not audited figures. Here is what a desk assessment can verify, and what it cannot.
Ask how the agency handles the link attribute on live product pages, because a broken landing page URL fails feed accuracy however polished the pitch looks.
Check the agency's own tax position with business tax guidance from GOV.UK: an unpaid VAT bill is a poor signal for a supplier holding your catalogue data.
Reference calls and public filings are independent evidence. Case studies, award logos and partner badges stay vendor claims until someone else confirms them.
Agree the review criteria in writing before the first call, or scoring drifts towards whoever presents best.

What this review assessed

This is a desk review, not a trial. No agency gave US a live account, and no feed ran through a test catalogue.

We assessed published service descriptions, pricing pages, contract terms where shared, Companies House filings, and the public guidance an agency should already follow. We did not assess campaign performance or account management quality.

That gap matters in England: a retailer can choose a Manchester agency on a polished pitch and find the reporting weakness only in November. Wider comparison criteria sit in shopping feeds reviews and comparison methods for 2027.

Vendor claims versus evidence

Treat every claim as a hypothesis until a third party confirms it. "We grew revenue 40%" is a vendor claim; a named client who takes your call is evidence, though one data point.

Independent checks include Companies House accounts, ICO registration, and whether the agency can explain the direct marketing and privacy rules from the ICO. Retargeting around your feed needs that knowledge.

Editorial judgement sits between the two. A one-page proposal with named contacts and a fixed fee says more than a thirty-slide deck.

A five-step review sequence

Write the criteria firstfeed accuracy, reporting transparency, exit terms and price structure. Score each out of five before any call.
Pull Companies House filings; check filing history, directors and any dormant periods.
Ask for two reference clients with a similar catalogue size, then call them without the agency present.
Test the pitchask how they handle the link attribute in Google Merchant Centre and listen for specifics rather than generalities.
Score against your written criteria and record why each agency passed or failed.

Step four separates operators from presenters: an agency that cannot describe landing page URL handling will struggle with your product data.

Five-step agency review sequence

Write criteria first and score out of five
Pull Companies House filings and check directors
Call two reference clients without agency present
Test pitch on Google Merchant Centre link attribute
Score against written criteria and record reasons

Scoring without a test account

Score what you can see: contract length, notice period, feed file ownership, and whether fees are fixed or a share of ad spend.

Leave a column for unknowns: a review that pretends to know campaign performance is worse than one that admits the gap. The shopping feeds best providers in England page shows how the market splits.

Editorial judgement applies to fit, not results. You can judge whether a proposal answers your brief, not whether the team executes.

Red flags in England pitches

Virtual office addresses, no named account lead and case studies without a client name all deserve a second look. So does a refusal to put exit terms in writing.

Watch for pricing that hides a share of ad spend inside a management fee. A shop spending £20,000 a month on ads could pay £2,000 a month at 10%, before any feed work.

Common questions

Can I review an agency without a trial?

Yes, but state the limits. Desk evidence covers contracts, filings, references and published guidance. It cannot confirm campaign results, so score unknowns as unknowns.

What counts as independent evidence?

Companies House filings, regulator records and reference calls you arrange. Case studies and partner badges stay vendor claims unless a named third party confirms them.

How many reference calls are enough?

Two calls with clients of similar catalogue size beat ten logos on a slide. Ask each reference what broke, not only what worked.

Should price decide the shortlist?

Price is one criterion among several. A cheap retainer with unclear exit terms can cost more than a fixed fee with clean feed file ownership.