Choosing a digital marketing agency in Nepal is harder than it should be. There are hundreds of agencies, most offer the same list of services, and many show the same kind of proof: follower counts, award logos and a few nice-looking posts. It is hard to tell who will actually grow your business.

This guide gives you a process rather than a list of names: decide what you need, shortlist on evidence, compare proposals fairly, protect yourself in the contract, and know what the first 90 days should look like. It also explains where my own practice — Arjan KC with Gurkha Technology — fits, so you can judge us with the same method.

Disclosure: I am Arjan KC, co-founder and lead strategist at Gurkha Technology in Kathmandu. Any result mentioned here comes from our published case studies.

Step 1: Decide what you are buying

Most bad agency relationships start with a vague brief like “we want to grow online”. Before you talk to anyone, write down three things.

One main goal. More calls, more walk-ins, more online orders, more admission enquiries, more B2B meetings. Pick the one that matters most for the next six months.

How you will measure it. Calls tracked from Google, WhatsApp messages, form leads, orders, cost per lead. If you cannot measure the goal today, the first job for any agency is to set up conversion tracking.

Your budget, split in two. The agency fee and the media spend paid to Google, Meta or TikTok are separate. Agencies that hide ad spend inside one figure make comparison impossible.

Step 2: Agency, consultant or in-house?

You may not need an agency at all.

Option	Best when	Main risk
Consultant	You need strategy, an audit, one channel or team training	Limited capacity for design and production
Agency	You need several channels, design, content and development	Senior people sell; junior people deliver
In-house hire	You have steady daily work and someone to manage the hire	One person rarely covers every skill
Hybrid	You have a staff member who needs strategy and specialist help	Unclear ownership if roles are not written down

My longer comparison is in consultant vs agency for digital marketing in Nepal.

Step 3: Build a shortlist on evidence

Aim for three agencies, not ten. Good sources are referrals from businesses like yours, agencies whose own website and Google profile are well run, and agencies that publish detailed case studies.

For each, check:

• Proof in a business like yours. A starting point, an end point, a timeline and the data source. A client name may be withheld; the method should not be.
• Their own marketing. An agency that cannot get its own site to load fast or rank for its own name is a warning sign.
• Channel fit. If your customers find you on Google Maps, an agency that mainly sells Instagram content is the wrong fit, however good its designs look.

If you already know which channel matters most, these guides go deeper: choosing an SEO company, choosing an e-commerce SEO agency, choosing a website company, and affordable social media management. For a Kathmandu-specific view of services, see top digital marketing services in Kathmandu.

Step 4: Score proposals on the same criteria

Ask each shortlisted agency for a written proposal against your brief, then score them out of five on each criterion. Weighting stops a slick presentation from outscoring real capability.

Criterion	Weight	What a 5 looks like
Relevant proof	25%	Published result in your type of business, with baseline and source
Plan fits your goal	20%	Starts with the channel closest to your customer’s decision
Measurement	15%	Tracks calls, WhatsApp and forms; reports cost per lead or revenue
Team	15%	Names the people doing the work and how senior they are
Ownership and terms	15%	All accounts in your name; clear notice period; no lock-in
Price and value	10%	Fee and ad spend separated; scope matches the budget realistically

Multiply each score by its weight and add them up. If two agencies are close, choose the one with better measurement and clearer terms — those problems are hardest to fix later.

Step 5: Questions that separate good agencies from average ones

1. Can you show a result for a business like mine, with the starting point, timeline and data source?
2. Which channel would you start with for my goal, and why not the others?
3. Who will work on my account each week, and can I meet them?
4. How will you track calls, WhatsApp messages and forms from each channel?
5. What will the monthly report show, and what decisions will it lead to?
6. Will my ad accounts, Business Manager, Analytics, Search Console and pages stay in my name?
7. What will you need from my team, and how quickly?
8. If we part ways, what do I keep and how does handover work?

Listen for specifics. Vague answers about “synergy”, “viral growth” or “brand awareness” without measures are a signal.

Step 6: Red flags

• Guarantees of number-one rankings, viral posts or a fixed number of leads.
• Accounts created in the agency’s name, including your Facebook page, ad account or domain.
• Follower and like targets as the main measure of success.
• No named team, or a senior person who disappears after the sale.
• Long lock-in contracts with no performance review point.
• Bulk backlinks, bought followers or fake reviews — they can damage your accounts and reputation.
• Ad spend bundled into the fee with no access to the ad account.

Step 7: Get the contract right

Before signing, make sure the agreement covers:

• Scope: channels, deliverables per month, and what is not included.
• KPIs: the measures you agreed in Step 1, and how they will be reported.
• Ownership: all accounts, creative files, code and data belong to you.
• Ad spend: paid directly by you to the platform, or itemised if the agency pays.
• Review point: a formal review at 90 days.
• Exit: notice period, handover checklist and access removal.
• Billing: a proper PAN or VAT invoice.

Step 8: What the first 90 days should look like

Month 1 — setup. Access to every account, tracking fixed, an audit, and a written plan with priorities. You should know exactly what is happening and why.

Month 2 — first changes live. Campaigns restructured or launched, key pages improved, Google Business Profile updated. Early numbers start coming in.

Month 3 — first review. Tracked enquiries, cost per lead and what was learned. Paid ads should show clear movement by now. SEO and local SEO usually take six to twelve months to show their full effect, but you should see leading signs, such as better rankings for target terms and more map views.

As an example of what this looks like when it works, the published Kathmandu home services Google Ads case cut cost per acquisition from NPR 4,722 to NPR 2,571 within 90 days, while the Kathmandu clinic local SEO case showed its main gains over six months.

What it costs

Typical 2026 market ranges, from my Nepal digital marketing pricing guide, are NPR 15,000–45,000 a month for social media management, NPR 25,000–80,000 for local SEO, and NPR 15,000–40,000 plus ad spend for ads management. My breakdown of agency costs in Nepal explains what you get at each level.

My own packages are published on the hire page: a 90-day diagnostic at NPR 35,000, local SEO from NPR 55,000 a month and Google Ads management from NPR 65,000 a month plus spend.

Where Arjan KC and Gurkha Technology fit

Arjan KC is a Nepal-based full-stack digital marketing expert covering search, paid media, social, content, websites, analytics and conversion. Gurkha Technology is a Kathmandu digital agency founded by Diwas Pandey, Sushil Ghale, Kapil Amagain, Sudip Dhungel and Bibek Neupane. I joined as co-founder after its first year and lead strategy (more on that).

• Hire me when you want a named strategist for an audit, one or two channels, training or consulting.
• Hire Gurkha Technology when you need a team for design, development, content and several channels together.

Either way, the same rules from this guide apply to us: published proof in our case studies, accounts in your name, tracked leads, and a review at 90 days. The full service list is on the digital marketing stack page.

Next steps

1. Write your one-page brief: goal, measure and budget.
2. Shortlist three agencies using the evidence checks above.
3. Score their proposals with the table in Step 4.
4. Agree the contract terms in Step 7 before you start.

If you want a second opinion on proposals you have already received, or a plan to brief agencies with, the diagnostic is built for that. Contact Arjan KC or visit Gurkha Technology.