Guides
Straight answers to the questions we get asked most.
Pricing
- How much does Google Ads management cost?Most agencies charge a fixed monthly fee, a percentage of ad spend, or a mix of the two. Ours starts from £400 a month, with ad spend paid to Google separately.
- How much does SEO cost?SEO is usually sold as a monthly retainer, with the fee set by the size of your site and how competitive your market is. Ours starts from £400 a month.
Google Ads
- How much should you spend on Google Ads?Work back from what a new customer is worth to you. Your budget needs to buy enough clicks to win customers at a cost you can afford, with enough data to learn from.
- Performance Max explained: when to use it and when not toPerformance Max runs your ads across Search, Shopping, YouTube, Display, Gmail and Maps from one campaign, using Google's automation. It works best with good conversion tracking, strong product data and clear goals.
- Google Ads audit checklist: 12 things to checkStart with tracking, because everything else depends on it. Then look at search terms, structure, bidding, ads and landing pages to find where budget is being wasted.
- Google Shopping feed optimisation: a practical guideShopping ads have no keywords, so Google relies on your product feed to decide when to show them. Better titles, complete attributes and clean images help your products appear for the right searches.
Strategy
- SEO agency vs freelancer vs in-house: which is right for you?Freelancers suit smaller, focused jobs. Agencies bring a wider set of skills. An in-house hire makes sense once SEO is a big, ongoing part of how you grow. Many businesses mix two of these.
- What does a marketing consultant do?A marketing consultant reviews how you win customers, decides what should change and helps you make it happen. It's senior marketing thinking without a full-time marketing director.
- 10 questions to ask before hiring a marketing agencyAsk who will do the work, who owns the accounts, how results are measured and how easy it is to leave. Good agencies are happy to answer all of these plainly.
- How to tell if your marketing agency is doing a good jobA good agency can show you what you spent, what it brought in and what they're changing next. If reports are full of clicks and impressions but light on leads and sales, ask questions.
SEO
- How long does SEO take to work?Technical fixes can help within weeks. Competitive rankings usually take a few months, and the biggest gains build over six months or more.
- How to show up in ChatGPT and other AI search toolsAI search tools quote pages they can find, understand and trust. Good SEO is the foundation, plus clear facts, direct answers and mentions of your business on other trusted sites.
- Local SEO checklist: how to show up in Google MapsGoogle ranks local results on relevance, distance and prominence. A complete Google Business Profile, steady reviews, clear location pages and consistent business details give you the best chance.
Paid social
- Google Ads vs Meta Ads: which is right for your business?Google Ads reaches people already searching for what you sell. Meta Ads puts you in front of people who aren't searching yet. Most businesses should start where demand already exists, then add the other.
- Is TikTok advertising worth it?TikTok ads can work very well for products you can show quickly on video, especially for younger audiences. They need a steady supply of content that looks native to the platform.
- Meta Conversions API explainedThe Conversions API sends sales and leads from your website's server to Meta directly. It fills gaps left by the browser-based Pixel, so Meta can optimise for real results.