Okay so I’ve been looking into UK agencies lately because a mate of mine wants to scale his ecom brand over here. And let me tell you, trying to find a good digital marketing agency in the uk is actually exhausting. Theres like a million of them in london alone and half of them just sound like they copied each others websites.
I spent ages going through clutch reviews and linkedin profiles so I figured I’d just put together a list of the ones that actually seem legit. And not just a guy working from his bedroom pretending to be a massive firm lol.
1. Brainlabs
Okay so these guys are based in london and they are kind of a big deal right now. They started out doing mainly ppc (pay per click) but now they do basically everything.
There growing like crazy too, I think they keep buying up smaller agencies. What I like about them is there super heavy on the data side of things. Like they wont just guess what ad copy works, they test the hell out of it. Only downside is because there so big now you might not get the personal touch you would get from a smaller place.
Best for: Ecommerce brands, big budgets, ppc and paid social.
2. Impression
These guys are in nottingham which is actually really refreshing because literally every single list online is just “london london london”. Like theres other cities in the uk people!!
Anyway, Impression is really good. There a full service digital marketing agency and they do seo, ppc, content, the whole lot. I saw a really good case study they did for a retail brand that doubled there online sales. There also really transparent about there pricing which is rare. Most agencies make you get on a 30 minute discovery call just to find out they cost 10k a month.
Good for: Mid-size businesses, seo & ppc, people who hate hidden fees.
3. Builtvisible
If your looking for technical seo, these are literally the smartest guys in the room. There based in london.
Technical seo is that really boring complicated stuff like site speed, crawl errors, and website architecture. Builtvisible eats that stuff for breakfast. There not really the agency you hire if you just want someone to post on instagram for you. But if your website is practically invisible on google and you don’t know why, you probably need these guys to fix the foundation first.
Niche: Deep technical seo, content strategy, link building.
4. Techsla
Okay so im gonna be totally honest here because this is actually my website. But I absolutely had to include techsla in this list because I truly believe we are a very top website right now when it comes to digital marketing and freelancing.
What really makes us different from the massive corporate agencies is how we deal with people. We deal very kindly with everyone who comes to us. Like, we actually treat you like a human being not just a invoice number. Whether you need to hire expert freelance digital marketers for a specific project, or you need full scale marketing help, techsla has the talent. We’ve built a community of really good people who actually care about your growth. If you are tired of agencies that ghost you or talk down to you, . (Okay shameless plug over lol).
5. Rocket
Rocket is kinda cool because there specifically built for startups and tech companies. There also in london (shocking I know).
There vibe is very modern. They do growth marketing, which basically means they try to find the fastest cheapest way to get you users right now. Not just a long term 2 year seo plan. I think there minimum retainer is like 5k or something which is pretty standard for london but might be to high if your a bootstrapped startup.
Vibe: Fast-paced, good for saas and tech startups.
6. Clicky Media
Okay so going back up north, I’m pretty sure Clicky is based in chester? There a bit more traditional in how they operate I think.
There really strong in performance marketing. Like they just want to get you leads and sales and they don’t care about winning fancy creative awards. Which is exactly what most business owners actually want right? I read a few trustpilot reviews and people seem to really like the account managers there. Apparently they actually answer the phone when you call which is basically a miracle in the agency world haha.
Focus: Lead generation, ppc, google ads.
7. Roast
Roast is another london agency but there really focused on digital visibility. There name is literally an acronym (Revenue Optimisation and Search Technology) which is a bit nerdy but kinda cool.
There really good if your in the travel, retail or finance sectors. They do alot of work with massive global brands but I think they take on smaller uk brands to. There seo team is supposed to be insane.
Known for: Big data, retail & travel seo, programmatic seo.
My honest advice if your hiring in the UK
So before you go blowing your marketing budget on a fancy soho office agency, heres a few things I learned the hard way:
- Location doesnt matter anymore: Seriously. Dont just hire a london agency because you think there better. Theres amazing talent in manchester, birmingham, edinburgh, bristol… everywhere. And there overheads are lower so you get more for your money.
- Dont fall for the award trap: Alot of agencies enter those marketing awards and literally pay to win them. Its basically a scam to put a logo on there website. Look at actual client results instead.
- Ask about there team turnover: Agencies in the uk are famous for burning out young staff. If your account manager leaves every 3 months, your campaigns going to suffer. Ask them how long the average person stays on the team.
- Get everything in writing: If they promise you “page 1 rankings in 30 days” in a sales pitch, make them put it in the contract. (Spoiler: they wont, because its impossible and a massive lie).
Wrapping up
Look the uk digital marketing scene is massive and honestly abit overwhelming. But theres some really brilliant people out there. Just take your time, talk to at least 3 or 4 different agencies, and trust your gut. If a sales guy is being pushy, imagine what there gonna be like when your locked into a 6 month contract.
Anyway thats my rant over with. If I missed any good ones let me know.
Cheers! 🍺
(sorry for any typos I wrote this on my phone while on the train)
