25 Top Digital Marketing Agencies in the UK in 2023
Choosing a digital marketing agency with relevant experience and services is daunting since you must look through over 7,200 companies. Sounds annoying, isn’t it? That’s why our digital marketing experts have listed 25 agencies with proven expertise and years of working in this field.
After reading this article, you will learn more about digital marketing companies and what they offer. The UK marketing agencies presented in this list were hand-picked from over 500 contenders and weighed based on the following factors:
- Confirmed reviews
- Service lineup
- Number of experts
- Pricing
- Online reputation
- Experience and reliability
As a digital marketing company that has been working in London since 2017, we’re familiar with the players and the field. We also know how digital services impact your company, providing you with solutions that drive leads and help you to grow in revenue, such as social media marketing or marketing strategy creation.
You want to increase your online presence and brand awareness as a business owner. There’s only one way for you to do that — by contacting a service provider that can craft a suitable solution based on your needs. A marketing company usually specialises in digital marketing services such as online advertising, SEO, PPC, social media, etc.
We will provide a comprehensive guide to finding your London-based digital marketing agency that 100% meets your request. If you want to team up with an experienced agency immediately, book a free call with Luminary Brands, which has robust experience in driving digital experience.
Now, let’s dive into a list of digital marketing agencies.
The 25 digital marketing agencies in the UK:
Top results-oriented digital marketing agency
Luminary Brands
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Minimum Project Budget: £4,000+
Hourly Rate: £40 – £80
Main Services: Branding, web design, digital marketing
Focus Industries: Business services, financial services, e-commerce
Number of Employees: 10 – 49
Year Established: 2019
Phone: +447360540385
Email: [email protected]
Description: Luminary Brands is a leading digital marketing agency in London that specialises in tailored digital marketing campaigns for companies in the United Kingdom and overseas.
The agency focuses on understanding the client’s business operations, target audience, goals, and challenges. It helps Luminary Brands create tailored digital marketing strategies that promote companies online naturally to build trust, improve the brand image, and attract more clients.
Luminary Brands specialises in a wide range of digital marketing services:
- Marketing strategy. Luminary Brands creates a cost-effective well-rounded strategy to achieve clients’ marketing goals.
- Online business promotion. Their experts execute advertising and social campaigns for clients’ needs.
- Audits and reports. Luminary Brands provides in-depth reviews of data to increase performance and improve ROI.
Their in-house marketing team comprises brilliant creative thinkers and meticulous technical experts who can create engaging digital marketing strategies and execute them immaculately. Luminary Brands’ expertise in branding and digital marketing makes them an excellent choice for companies looking for the best digital marketing agency to treat their brand with the care it deserves. In addition, companies can apply for full-fledged services, including web design, developing and testing, branding, etc.
Reach out to Luminary Brands and receive a free digital marketing consultation.
Pope Media
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Minimum Project Budget: £800+
Hourly Rate: £120 – £160
Main Services: Email marketing, mobile & app marketing, PPC (Pay Per Click), SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
Focus Industries: Advertising & marketing, automotive, business services
Number of Employees: 2 – 9
Year Established: 2021
Phone: +447971300853
Description: Pope Media is a relatively young service digital marketing agency that offers comprehensive solutions for clients that want to scale up and increase their online presence. Since 2021, they have worked with small and medium companies in advertising & marketing, business services, and other industries.
As a creative agency with a trendy advertising view, they implement the AAO formula for every project, representing the client’s target audience, ad, and offer. Pope Media provides a wide range of services, among them primary ones are:
- Paid social
- Native ads
- Paid Search and PPC
- App Store & PlayStore adds
Their collaborative approach enables them to create long-term relationships with customers and gain the trust of well-known brands. Established in 2021, Pope Media delivered over 50 projects for businesses worldwide. Their key clients include ambitious brands such as buymie, KWS, Gladstone Brookes, and Legacy Wills.
Digital Litmus
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Minimum Project Budget: £4,000+
Hourly Rate: £80 – £120
Main Services: PPC (Pay Per Click), SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), web design, SMM (Social Media Marketing)
Focus Industries: Hospitality & leisure, advertising & marketing, business services, education
Number of Employees: 10 – 49
Year Established: 2015
Phone: 02036334210
Description: Digital Litmus is one of the best digital marketing agencies that focuses on helping B2B companies grow online. Their experienced team provides a spectrum of services, including the creation of content, digital strategy, SEO, etc.
Digital Litmus is an award-winning company that gained the trust of many of its partners, such as YuLif, RocheMartin, Spektrix, and Modulr.
Their main goal is to help clients increase their awareness, sales, and revenue with a well-thought-out marketing strategy. Some industries this company works in include B2B, IT, and manufacturing.
One Umbrella
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Minimum Project Budget: £800+
Hourly Rate: £80 – £120
Main Services: SMM (Social Media Marketing), PPC (Pay Per Click), SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), e-commerce marketing
Focus Industries: Education, e-commerce, business services, Information Technology
Number of Employees: 2 – 9
Year Established: 2019
Phone: 02080503495
Description: One Umbrella is a top digital marketing agency in the UK that delivers digital services to small and medium-sized firms worldwide. They have provided solutions since 2019, earned multiple awards, became a Google Ads partner, and gained recognition from the Manifest.
Being an expert in the marketing industry, One Umbrella has an established formula for crafting robust solutions called “60 Day”, according to which they deliver results within 60 days. Their services cover most business needs:
- Facebook Ads
- Google Ads
- Linkedin Ads
- Funnels & Landing pages
- Conversion rate optimisation
- SEO
They’ve had numerous successful case studies related to various services. Some global brands entrusted their projects to One Umbrella, including Dyson, Giulio Fashion, and Eighth.Studio.
Top digital marketing agencies for e-commerce
CEEK
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Minimum Project Budget: £800+
Hourly Rate: £120 – £160
Main Services: Search Engine Optimization, SMM (Social Media Marketing), PPC (Pay Per Click), content marketing
Focus Industries: E-commerce, hospitality & leisure, business services
Number of Employees: 10 – 49
Year Established: 2016
Phone: 02086107070
Description: CEEK is a digital marketing agency that helps aspiring brands carve a larger market share. Having extensive experience, this company provides clients with digital solutions aimed to allow them to stay competitive and follow the trends.
The digital marketing services of CEEK include consulting, e-commerce marketing, SEO, SMM, email marketing, paid ads, and content creation.
Structurally, CEEK is split into four departments: strategy, execution, growth, and insights, which all combine to deliver ambitious multi-channel campaigns for brands in e-commerce, hospitality, and other industries. Their key clients include Small Beer Brew Co, Tinder, and The Savoy.
Brick Social
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Minimum Project Budget: £4,000+
Hourly Rate: £40 – £80
Main Services: SMM (Social Media Marketing), PPC (Pay Per Click), digital strategy
Focus Industries: E-commerce
Number of Employees: 2 – 9
Year Established: 2017
Phone: 7850065955
Description: Since its foundation in 2017, Brick Social quickly grew to become one of the best digital marketing agencies in London regarding e-commerce marketing. They are a customer-centric company that prioritises communication and established client relationships, offering world-class digital marketing strategies and other services. They are experts at generating revenue growth for e-commerce companies with social media advertising, pay-per-click marketing, and CRO, with over £100 million in generated revenue to show for it.
With robust experience, they have helped many companies with their digital transformation and achieving business goals. Among their key clients are Patch Plants, Moto 360, and Kodak Smart Home.
Absolute Digital Media
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Minimum Project Budget: £800+
Hourly Rate: £160 – £249
Main Services: PPC (Pay Per Click), SEO (Search Engine Optimization), content marketing
Focus Industries: Financial services, medical, e-commerce
Number of Employees: 10 – 49
Year Established: 2008
Phone: 01245287864
Description: Absolute Digital Media is a digital marketing agency in London serving iGaming, fintech, cryptocurrency, legal cannabis, and e-commerce clients.
They operate as a full-service marketing bureau specialising in search engine optimisation, digital public relations, and paid ads. Being one of the top digital marketing agencies, they are recognised with multi-awards from various independent companies.
Working for some of the most saturated industries, Absolute Digital Media’s experts are proud of their ability to find the perfect advertising solution via bespoke digital marketing services that will positively impact companies’ growth.
Companies such as Lovehoney, Ladbrokes, and Vera Clinic have already entrusted Absolute Digital Media with their projects.
Propeller
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Minimum Project Budget: £20,000+
Hourly Rate: £160 – £249
Main Services: Web development, e-commerce development, UX/UI design, content marketing, PPC (Pay Per Click)
Focus Industries: Hospitality & leisure, business services, consumer products & services
Number of Employees: 50 – 249
Year Established: 2000
Phone: +442078362736
Description: Propeller is among the leading digital marketing agencies in London, which for over 20 years, has been helping clients of all sizes market themselves online. They use cutting-edge trends and methods to create a digital marketing strategy that 100% meets your needs and helps their clients increase performance, engagement, and brand visibility.
Since 2000, as a full-service marketing agency, they’ve offered UX/UI design, web development, content marketing, SEO, PPC, social media, digital strategy, programming, and scripting services to companies across the United Kingdom.
Focusing on hospitality and consumer goods companies, they have served such clients as Azzurri Restaurant Group, Twinings, and Young’s Pubs.
303
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Minimum Project Budget: £800+
Hourly Rate: £80 – £120
Main Services: SMM (Social Media Marketing), content marketing, email marketing
Focus Industries: Consumer products & services, e-commerce
Number of Employees: 10 – 49
Year Established: 2015
Phone: 02031371670
Description: 303 is a creative-first digital marketing agency that supports e-commerce brands across paid media, content production, social media management, and email marketing.
The agency’s experts believe that creativity is the secret to the success of online marketing. Thus they blend it with digital technology expertise to deliver impactful performance campaigns that catch attention and deliver results.
Among their key clients are world-famous companies such as Sigma Sports, Collecting Cars, and Puresport.
Top PPC digital marketing agencies
Flycast Media
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Minimum Project Budget: £800+
Hourly Rate: £80 – £120
Main Services: PPC (Pay Per Click), SMM (Social Media Marketing), SEO (Search Engine Optimization), content marketing
Focus Industries: Business services, financial services, energy & natural resources
Number of Employees: 2 – 9
Year Established: 2009
Phone: 02072052818
Description: Flycast Media is a digital marketing agency helping small and medium-sized businesses win more customers online with PPC andSEO services.
Since 2009, they have been providing clients with robust digital marketing strategies that cover all the business needs for advertising, increasing the number of customers, and getting more traffic.
This service digital marketing agency’s specialisation lies in paid search and SEO, allowing them to offer cost-effective lead-generation solutions to companies in the United Kingdom. Among their key clients are Iomart, ServerSpace, and Ecowater.
AMD Digital
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Minimum Project Budget: £800+
Hourly Rate: £40 – £80
Main Services: Marketing Strategy, sales outsourcing, PPC (Pay Per Click), email marketing
Focus Industries: Business services, Information Technology, financial services
Number of Employees: 10 – 49
Year Established: 2019
Phone: +447495437619
Description: AMD Digital is a digital marketing agency in London that supports companies with innovative sales and marketing tactics.Their digital experts mix thought-out public relations with omnichannel advertising campaigns and outbound lead generation to drive leads for companies in business services, financial services, and information technology sectors.In addition to traditional digital marketing agency services, AMD Digital offers sales outsourcing solutions to customers in the United Kingdom and abroad. Among their key clients are Mind Future Gaming, Fluuid, and The PR Genius.
Dsgn One
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Minimum Project Budget: £8,000+
Hourly Rate: £40 – £80
Main Services: Web design, SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Focus Industries: Arts, entertainment & music, consumer products & services, financial services
Number of Employees: 2 – 9
Year Established: 2008
Phone: 02031318900
Description: Dsgn One is a digital marketing agency with headquarters in London and an additional office in Bath. They offer full-fledged services related to marketing, web design, hosting, and SEO.
They set sail as a website design and search engine optimisation agency in 2008. These services help clients get more website traffic, attract new customers, increase their online presence using technologies such as conversion rate optimisation. They have since grown into a full-service agency while retaining their closely-knit small and collaborative team.
Second Strength, Thurston Group, and Euridge Orangery are among their key clients.
Complex Creative
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Minimum Project Budget: £800+
Hourly Rate: £40 – £80
Main Services: Web design, branding, advertising, graphic design
Focus Industries: Medical, financial services, e-commerce
Number of Employees: 2 – 9
Year Established: 2019
Phone: +443330119628
Description: Complex Creative is a digital marketing agency in London.
Their speciality is the creation of WordPress websites. Nicknamed “The No Bullshit Agency,” they’re transparent about their processes and prefer to communicate without jargon.
Each of their digital experts, no matter the position, has at least a rudimentary understanding of design, development, and marketing. So clients that come to them for web design often stay for marketing afterwards.
Being a leading digital marketing agency recognised by various industry publications, including Enterpreneur.com, their small team is trusted with millions of pounds in advertising budgets annually.
With an average customer lifetime of over 2 years, Brick Social has already served such clients as Kodak Smart Home, Patch Plants, and Moto 360.
Fat Cow Media
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Minimum Project Budget: £4,000+
Hourly Rate: £40 – £80
Main Services: SEO (Search Engine Optimization), web design, branding
Focus Industries: Business services, financial services, education
Number of Employees: 2 – 9
Year Established: 2010
Phone: 02034631122
Description: Fat Cow Media is a leading digital media agency with headquarters in London. They offer website design, search engine optimisation, and digital services to clients in the United Kingdom and Europe.
They have a small and skilled team of tech and marketing experts, providing robust solutions that reveal the uniqueness of each client. When creating a digital marketing strategy, Fat Cow Media focuses on company reputation, branding, and helping clients to reach more audiences.
They primarily work with education, art & entertainment, and financial clients. Since 2010, they’ve worked for such clients as Bubbleology, 60Forty Films, and South Devon UTC.
Ideal Insight
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Minimum Project Budget: £800+
Hourly Rate: £80 – £120
Main Services: Video Production, SMM (Social Media Marketing)
Focus Industries: Business services, telecommunications, medical
Number of Employees: 10 – 49
Year Established: 2012
Phone: +442038352308
Description: Ideal Insight is one of the top digital marketing agencies in London that focuses on delivering inspiring services to consumers in various industries.
Since 2012 they’ve been delivering digital full-service offers, such as producing impactful video content and marketing campaigns in social media for their clients, including Vodafone, DAX, and Oasis.
Ideal Insight has a global reach with additional Milan and New York offices. It specialises in telecommunications and healthcare marketing.
If you are interested in healthcare marketing, discover the list of the top 40 healthcare marketing agencies.
Their in-house creative team conducts each project with a structured yet flexible approach and frequent communication throughout the engagement.
Top digital marketing agencies for startups
Favoured
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Minimum Project Budget: £800+
Hourly Rate: £80 – £120
Main Services: Mobile & app marketing, advertising, web design
Focus Industries: E-commerce, advertising & marketing, arts, entertainment & music, consumer products & services
Number of Employees: 2 – 9
Year Established: 2017
Phone: 02034882548
Description: Favoured is a creative agency founded in London by a former Apple marketing lead.
They are market leaders and experts in data-driven performance marketing but can also help you with mobile applications, email, and content marketing.
Their selling points are strategic processes, frequent communications, and funky bold creativity.
Favoured boasts an in-house video-production crew capable of producing content for all social media networks, including TikTok. World-famous companies like Durex, Kodak, and Elvie have trusted Favoured’s expertise to create high-quality content for their projects.
Noise Media
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Minimum Project Budget: £8,000+
Hourly Rate: £120 – £160
Main Services: Video Production, SMM (Social Media Marketing)
Focus Industries: Business services, telecommunications, medical
Number of Employees: 10 – 49
Year Established: 2018
Phone: 02030070500
Description: Noise Media is an industry-recognized digital creative agency in the UK. With their vital services, they help companies to increase awareness and reach more customers with quality content.
They are experts in driving growth through social media for clients of all kinds, from startups to global brands. Their primary services are paid social, advertisement, organic search, public relations, app store, and paid search.
Noise Media’s experts in paid media, marketing strategy, videography, content marketing, and social media work to generate significant brand growth with their full-funnel approach. Among their key clients are companies such as TaskRabbit, Just Eat, and Koru Kids.
Yodel Mobile
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Minimum Project Budget: £20,000+
Hourly Rate: £80 – £120
Main Services: Mobile & app marketing
Focus Industries: Financial services, education, hospitality & leisure, media, medical
Number of Employees: 10 – 49
Year Established: 2007
Phone: +44(0)2074281310
Description: Yodel Mobile is a mobile-first marketing agency that focuses on promoting mobile applications.
As one of the digital agencies, their service lineup consists of solutions for mobile promotion, including app store optimisation, user acquisition, marketing automation, product optimisations, and creative production for mobile ads.
The team of Yodel Mobile has worked on over a thousand mobile applications across 60+ countries to improve their user acquisition and achieve sustainable growth. Among their key clients are The Economist Group, Bauer Media Group, and Yolt.
ROAST
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Minimum Project Budget: £4,000+
Hourly Rate: £80 – £120
Main Services: AI (Artificial Intelligence), PPC (Pay Per Click), SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Focus Industries: Financial services, retail, gambling, medical, real estate
Number of Employees: 50 – 249
Year Established: 2015
Phone: +4402801028500
Description: ROAST is an independent creative agency that makes advertising simple and easy to understand for its clients.
The agency provides a full range of digital services, including SEO, content creation, pay-per-click advertising, data analytics, display advertising, and traditional press, TV, and radio ads.
Since 2015, they have helped many companies to increase their digital presence; for example, companies Experian PLC, Tranline, and Freesat trusted ROAST experience to create solutions for their needs.
PNdigital Ltd
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Minimum Project Budget: £4,000+
Hourly Rate: £40 – £80
Main Services: PPC (Pay Per Click), SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Focus Industries: Estate, accountants, hotels
Number of Employees: 2 – 9
Year Established: 2016
Phone: 2078460130
Description: PNdigital Ltd is a PPC and SEO agency based in London that has been helping companies to convert leads and gain more visibility since 2016. They use their robust experience and skills to provide clients with the best optimisation services. The company offers the best digital marketing services and also:
- SEO and PPC
- Mobile app development
- Website development and design
- Web and mobile app design.
For over seven years, PNdigital Ltd provided solutions for 500+ customers and got a 5.0 rate on Clutch.
PNdigital Ltd works with small businesses, midmarket, startups, and enterprises; for example, they have provided solutions to Slang, Manaknight Digital, and Sendonomics. When working with clients, they ensure to share the business value and fully understand their needs. An established work process allows them to guarantee the top results.
Our Own Brand
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Minimum Project Budget: £8,000+
Hourly Rate: £120 – £160
Main Services: Branding, SMM (Social Media Marketing), video production, web design
Focus Industries: Advertising & Marketing, arts, entertainment & music, financial services
Number of Employees: 2 – 9
Year Established: 2018
Phone: 02080501921
Description: Our Own Brand is a digital marketing agency based in London with multiple awards and comprehensive services for companies worldwide. For over five years, they have provided campaigns and solutions that impact the world and drive client results.
Our Own Brand shares the company values and creates unique products that reveal the brand’s identity via individual websites, social media, and photo and video content. To name a few, their vast selection of services covers content creation, brand identity and design, web design, etc.
Their primary value is creativity which helps firms to gain more attention using high-quality content and powerful marketing tools. Their key clients are world-famous brands such as O’Neill, Christy, Sky, and CAT.
Growthcurve
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Minimum Project Budget: £4,000+
Hourly Rate: £120 – £160
Main Services: Mobile & app marketing, PPC (Pay Per Click), SMM (Social Media Marketing)
Focus Industries: Consumer products & services, financial services, gaming, e-commerce
Number of Employees: 10 – 49
Year Established: 2017
Phone: +4402038703186
Description: Growthcurve is a digital marketing firm with 6+ years of experience in the marketing industry. Since 2017, they have delivered numerous projects to companies worldwide, covering their needs in advertising and gaining more clients.
Their vast services include building campaigns and providing SEO strategies, helping with Facebook Ads, PPC, and more. All of them aim to help clients attract more customers with cutting-edge technologies, for example, get to the top of search engines. The marketing service has numerous benefits, such as assisting with converting more traffic, retargeting, deploying landing pages, etc.
Premium brands such as Regent College London, Greenpeace UK, and Olympus UK are among their clients.
AccuraCast
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Minimum Project Budget: £4,000+
Hourly Rate: £160 – £240
Main Services: SMM (Social Media Marketing), PPC (Pay Per Click), SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
Focus Industries: Business services, financial services, retail
Number of Employees: 10 – 49
Year Established: 2004
Phone: +44 800 019 6813
Description: AccuraCast is an international creative agency that has covered clients’ advertising needs since 2004. They use their robust experience to help companies increase revenue and get more customers using digital tools.
They provide a spectrum of services, including:
- Consulting
- Social media: TikTok, Meta, LinkedIn, Twitter
- Paid Search & Display
- Organic search
- Technology: AI, VR, Data, etc.
AccuraCast primarily works with mid-market firms and enterprises but can also help small businesses reach their goals. With cutting-edge technologies, they provide an outstanding digital experience for companies in various industries: B2B, finance, retail, sports, and travel. As one of the best digital marketing agencies, they provide their partners with solutions for scaling up, attracting more customers, and increasing revenue.
Companies such as PWS, LG, and UFC entrusted their project to AccuraCast.
BrandixSoft
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Minimum Project Budget: £800+
Hourly Rate: £20 – £40
Main Services: SMM (Social Media Marketing), PPC (Pay Per Click), SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), web design
Focus Industries: Business services, e-commerce, dental, medical
Number of Employees: 10 – 49
Year Established: 2020
Phone: 0148 396 1888
Description: BrandixSoft is a marketing and SEO agency specialising in online branding for companies of various sizes and industries. They help clients by providing services related to SEO, social media management, creating content, and more.
Companies that partner with this agency can receive full-fledged services and digital technology implementation, such as SEO, PPC, and SMM. Each service has its focus areas, from lead generation to creating content, tracking conversion, etc.
BrandixSoft’s portfolio presents various case studies and cooperations with numerous companies, for example, MONO, A and M Groundworks, and Pacetech LTD.
RBSEO
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Minimum Project Budget: £800+
Hourly Rate: £20 – £40
Main Services: SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), web design, advertising, content marketing
Focus Industries: Advertising & marketing, e-commerce
Number of Employees: 2 – 9
Year Established: 2005
Phone: 02079711403
Description: RBSEO is an SEO agency that won multiple awards and offers service packages for companies worldwide. They are experts in link-building, content marketing, PR, app development, web design, e-commerce, and more.
The company’s expertise includes various technologies allowing it to craft solutions for small, midmarket, and enterprises. According to the information on the website, they cooperated with 500+ world-famous companies and helped them to generate traffic, get more customers and increase brand awareness. Since 2005, they have had over 1,000 clients in 25+ countries.
Big Brand Beds, EcoFlow, Nike, and many others are among their clients.
Key considerations when looking for a digital marketing agency
Before signing any contracts, doing due diligence on a marketing firm is wise.
If some of the agencies above have piqued your interest, it is highly advisable to research them thoroughly.
The following considerations will help you ascertain whether the agency you are investigating is a good fit for you:
- Service lineup
- Portfolio and previous experience
- Delivery process for services offered
- Collaboration process
- Online reputation
Especially pay attention to their experience working with companies of your size and industry. If you own a small business, cooperating with agencies that craft projects for enterprises may be costly. Also, every industry has specifics a digital company must know and understand how to manage them.
The service lineup of a digital marketing agency
Digital Marketing service lineup.
Does the agency offer the services you’re looking for?
The easiest way to weed out unsuitable companies is to inquire whether they can help with your needs. Not every agency provides a specific service, such as influencer marketing; leading agencies have a limited service lineup. You may need to complete several projects with different agencies to achieve your goals.
Additionally, specialist digital marketing agencies charge reasonable rates for their services.
The drawback of this approach is the increased management difficulty, which may lead to delays if their deliverables are interconnected.
Overall, the advantage of being confident in the quality of the chosen creative agency far outweighs the drawbacks.
But what if you want everything managed by one marketing partner to ensure a good marketer will run your project? The desire to have all your marketing under the roof of a single company is logical. Unfortunately, in reality, agencies who “offer it all” fall into one of three categories:
- Huge agencies with an in-house team who’ll charge you an arm and a leg for convenience.
These agencies provide good quality services, but their exceptionally high rates make the costs prohibitive to small and medium companies. - Pseudo-local digital marketing agencies that only have sales offices in the United Kingdom and delegate the delivery to outsource centres abroad, most often in India.
These agencies are a hit or a miss. You may get fortunate and receive excellent service for cheap. But you are just as likely to happen upon salespeople who’ll promise significant results and keep promising them for as long as you pay.
As a rule of thumb, such companies tend to manage all rights with technical tasks such as search engine optimisation or pay-per-click advertising.
Conversely, if you decide to delegate your public relations, email communications, or social media management, the language barrier and lack of cultural context come into play.
Chance is you will fail to see the results you were seeking and harm your brand reputation. - Agencies that do not specialise in a particular service.
Usually, agencies keep to their foundational service or steadily add bordering ones if it makes good competence.
For example, a company that creates websites may start offering search engine optimisation, logo design services or marketing automation.
These complimentary services are often needed by clients who order website development and are a natural extension of their services.
Even though such service lineup expansions are done over a significant period and involve hiring senior talent and creating new departments.
The agencies we speak of here don’t follow this natural progression. These companies are trying to offer everything right off the bet without having the necessary resources to carry out the project if they happen upon it.
So they either try to:
- Work with the available resources, in which case you can expect mediocre results.
I.e., “We don’t have a dedicated PPC expert, but Barry, who handles social media, copywriting, and email marketing, works himself to the bone and hates everyone around, could probably run some Google Ads for them. Ain’t a problem, right?” - Ask for help from other agencies.
They are still trying to make a profit, so the digital agencies they’ll turn to are some of the cheapest around, generally from India and other affordable outsourcing destinations.
As both scenarios above are unappealing, one would avoid small digital agencies with bloated service lineups.
So, what’s your best bet?
Are going for huge, prohibitively expensive companies or small specialised agencies, category leaders, your only choices?
Actually, there’s an exceptional case to the general picture painted above.
Some digital marketing agencies have strong partnerships with other creative agencies, allowing them to significantly expand their service lineup without compromising the quality of services.
Such agencies may be a good alternative for those looking to keep all services under one roof, from content marketing to SEO and paid media.
As a bonus, if you trust your partner, you can be confident in their choice of contractor and a good marketer, as agencies tend to be pickier about the quality of work than an average client. You would choose only reliable, creative agencies as their partners.
Luminary Brands is one such company. They’ve partnered with us on several occasions to bring Limeup’s senior UX design experts into the fray while we, in turn, outsource branding to them.
Outsourcing illustration.
The portfolio of works of a digital marketing agency
Portfolio example.
Choosing a creative agency with experience in your industry is preferable.
While not a prerequisite, this knowledge will likely make your marketing engagement smoother and ensuring a proven track record will help you avoid embarrassing mistakes, especially in advertising and communications.
You definitely want a good marketer to run your project. That said, professional competence should always precede industry expertise considerations. An agency that is an expert at what it does will likely do a stellar job no matter the industry of its client or if they run a small business or a startup.
The same could not be said for an agency that has worked with your industry peers but lacks professional expertise. For example, if you need a specific skill, such as knowledge of e-commerce framework, it’s not something that any tech specialist can implement. Also, some services such as paid social campaigns require specific expertise and experience to complete it properly.
Ideally, go for digital marketing agencies with industry and professional expertise. But if you have to choose, pick the agency that delivers the best work.
The delivery process for services offered by a digital marketing agency
Value delivery process framework.
While online marketing may seem vague and baffling to those unfamiliar, it is anything but. Each digital marketing service should follow a strict process.
Whether it’s website design, social media marketing, branding, pay-per-click advertising, search engine optimisation, paid social or anything else, an agency should have a defined step-by-step process for its delivery.
If you notice a lack of detailed process information on the website, that is already a red flag.
If, in addition, the agency representative seems deliberately vague in descriptions and unwilling to tell you details, something fishy is afoot.
Such players may entice you to sign a contract before “revealing sensitive information”. There’s also a good chance that the creative agency in question will not provide you with a realistic quote but instead tailor their proposal to sound compelling and grab as much money as possible from you.
It is always advisable to look for companies who are straightforward and upfront in their communications, both on the website and during negotiations, to avoid nasty surprises later.
The collaboration process of a digital marketing agency in the United Kingdom
Collaboration process illustration.
No one likes being left out in the dark.
It’s especially jarring when you’re unaware of how your money is being spent and what results it is achieving.
Every agency works differently. Some of the boutique marketing agencies in the UK don’t do frequent updates, while others will stay in touch daily. The key here is finding what you will be most comfortable with. Here are some tips for ensuring your marketing collaboration goes smoothly:
- Ensure you’re satisfied with how your chosen agency plans to keep in touch with you.
- For larger digital marketing projects, it is advisable to have an account manager who will serve as your dedicated point of contact, organise all meetings, and deliver progress reports.
- Ask your digital marketing provider for access to everything.
Are they designing a website for you? Ask for Figma access.
Doing social media management? — say you’d like to peruse the content calendar.
Managing search engine optimisation? — request to add you to Google Search Console and Google Analytics. You’ve got the gist.
Providing influencer marketing? — ask for case studies and principles of selecting bloggers and working with them.
Even if you don’t plan on ever exercising your access rights, this will make sure your marketing provider keeps everything timely and orderly.
The online reputation of digital marketing agencies in the UK
Online reviews of digital marketing agencies.
Anything could be said on a website, so any reviews posted can be fake.
The social media pages of digital marketing agencies in the UK are likewise managed by its representative and thus aren’t a reliable source of reviews.
You only need a Google email address to leave a review about a digital marketing agency in the United Kingdom on Google my business (the stars displayed when you search for a business online alongside its address and other relevant information). Hence, these reviews are easy to fake.
Similarly, you only need an account to leave a review on Facebook, another often exploited review platform.
There are agencies specialising in forging review scores, including marketing agencies. Therefore you can not trust these scores.
The only trusted sources for feedback on B2B companies are specialised websites with strict review moderation and verification policies, such as Clutch and Goodfirms.
Considering how easy it is to leave a review on Google or Facebook, here is the process for leaving a review for marketing experts on Clutch for comparison.
- Register with your business email address.
- Provide a link to a LinkedIn account that confirms you’re working at a company that’s leaving a review.
- Complete a 20-minute phone interview with a representative of Clutch regarding your collaboration with an agency in question OR submit answers to a detailed questionnaire.
- You may get contacted by representatives of the Clutch moderation team for additional clarification.
- The review goes through the manual moderation process and may be rejected if deemed insufficient.
- The review is posted on the agency’s Clutch profile.
As you can see, such strict guidelines and a strategic plan ensure that all the reviews are genuine and impossible to fake.
It’s important to note that reviews do not need to be approved by marketing experts in the UK being reviewed to appear on its profile, so if someone had an unsatisfactory collaboration experience, you’re likely to learn about it.
So if you want to read first-hand experiences of people who’ve worked with the agency you’re investigating, your best bet is to visit Clutch, TheManifest, Goodfirms, or some other independent review platform.
Looking for a dependable digital marketing agency in London?
If you want to partner with a proven digital marketing company in London to make your own business bolder and more profitable, contact Luminary Brands today and see what they can do for your firm!
Luminary Brands is a reliable marketing provider with a proven track record of effective marketing campaigns for companies in the United Kingdom and abroad.
Their brand-centred approach to digital marketing can help you promote your business online while strengthening your brand. An experienced team of tech specialists, a good marketer, a PM, and other workers will lead your project so you receive the desired product.
FAQ
What are digital marketing services?
A marketing firm in London provides services aimed at promoting companies online. Such an agency can manage your social media, run ads services, create a website, write blog posts, and do other marketing activities to generate new opportunities for your company.
Depending on the services provided by a company, you can receive help with specific requests such as performance marketing, content writing, paid social, SEO optimisation, creating video and photo content, influencer marketing, etc.
Why hire a digital marketing firm?
In-house teams are expensive. Even for large companies, there are some capabilities for which it is impractical to hire a full-time good marketer that can implement video production or web development.
Digital marketing agencies can take care of promoting you online for much cheaper than if you hired employees and give you access to a diverse team of specialists.
Whether you run a small business, a startup, or an enterprise, in today’s conditions, being online is vital for every company. A marketing company will help you to:
- Reach more customers
- Improve performance marketing
- Save money and time
- Complete a rebranding, etc.
Since a good marketer will run your project, you can be assured of the final result, no matter how specific your request is.
What are the advantages of digital marketing companies in the UK?
The most significant reasons for partnering with digital marketing agencies in the UK are if you are based in the United Kingdom or plan to expand into the UK market. Their unique insights and understanding of market conditions will lend you an upper hand in online marketing.
Moreover, the quality of work done by UK marketing agencies tends to be high. You can hire a whole team for large-in-scale projects or even a good marketer for small requests.
Will a digital marketing agency in London be more expensive than other cities?
While historically accurate, with advancements in teleworking, this is no longer the case. The overwhelming majority of digital marketing agencies in London have established collaboration processes and hire nationwide or even worldwide. Thus when choosing marketing experts, it’s best to decide based on the agency’s competencies instead of the location of its headquarters.
How much does it cost to hire digital marketing agencies?
According to our research, London-based companies’ hourly rates range from £20 to £240. The final price depends on the scope of work, the project’s complexity, provided services, and other factors considered by an agency you choose for cooperation.
How to hire a digital marketing company?
After you define your goals, you can contact a chosen agency for a consultation about your future project. For example, if you want to receive bespoke digital services, contact Luminary Brands by filling out a short form.
