By We Are SMC · Updated
In short
The best marketing agency for a trades business is the one that can prove results with firms like yours, reports on booked jobs rather than clicks, and leaves you owning your website, ad accounts and data. This guide sets out seven selection criteria you can score any agency against, compares specialist agencies, generalists, freelancers and doing it yourself, and is upfront about when an agency, including us, is the wrong choice.
Looking for the best marketing agency for your trades business? This guide is only about choosing an agency. If you want to understand the channels, costs and a plan before you speak to anyone, start with our hub on marketing for tradesmen, then come back here.
One thing to declare first: We Are SMC is a marketing agency for trades and construction businesses, so we’re one of the options you might be weighing up. We’ve written this to be useful whoever you hire. That includes being clear about when a generalist, a freelancer or doing it yourself is the better call, and when we’re not the right fit.
Our selection criteria
These are the seven criteria we’d use to shortlist any agency, including ourselves. Score each agency out of five on every line. If one scores a one or two on any of the first three, move on, however good the pitch.
| # | Criterion | What good looks like | How to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Proof with trades businesses | Named clients in trades like yours, with real numbers | Ask for two case studies and a client you can phone |
| 2 | Reporting on booked jobs | Cost per lead and jobs won, not just clicks | Ask to see a real monthly report, anonymised |
| 3 | You own everything | Website, domain, ad accounts, data and reviews stay yours | Ask what happens to each one if you leave |
| 4 | A clear 90-day plan | You know what gets done each month, and why | Ask for the first 90 days in writing |
| 5 | Joined-up channels | Website, local SEO, ads, reviews and follow-up work together | Ask who does each part, and whether it’s in house or outsourced |
| 6 | Honest about fit | They’ll tell you when you’re not ready | Ask when they’d advise you not to hire them |
| 7 | Transparent pricing | Fees, ad spend and contract length set out up front | Ask for the total monthly cost including ad spend, and the notice period |
Why booked jobs sits so high: our founder, Steve, learned on the board at Vanarama that every marketing decision has to trace back to revenue and profit. An agency spending your money should be accountable for the same thing.
What we deliberately left out: awards, team size, and how polished the pitch deck is. None of them tells you whether the phone will ring.
The four options compared
| Option | Typical monthly cost | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Specialist trades agency | Around £1,500 and up, plus ad spend | Owners with capacity who want the whole system built and run | Longer contracts, and less value if you only need one channel |
| Generalist agency | £1,000 to £3,000 | Businesses with a clear plan and someone in house directing it | Paying for their learning curve on how trades win work |
| Freelancer | A few hundred pounds and up | One specific job on a small budget | Gaps between skills, and no cover when they’re busy |
| Doing it yourself | Your time | Very early stage or a very tight budget | Slow progress and costly trial and error |
When each option is the right choice
- A specialist trades agency when you have room for more work, can budget for around £1,500 a month plus ad spend, and want one team accountable for the whole system.
- A generalist agency when you already know what you need, and the agency is clearly strong in the channel you’ve chosen.
- A freelancer when you need one thing done well, such as a website rebuild or a Google Ads setup, and you’re happy to manage how it fits with everything else.
- Doing it yourself when you’re a sole trader or just starting out and you’ll give two channels proper time, rather than dabbling in six.
Red flags before you sign
- Guaranteed rankings or lead numbers. Nobody controls Google.
- Vague reporting full of impressions and clicks, with no view of booked jobs.
- No trade-sector proof. If they can’t show results with businesses like yours, you’re the experiment.
- Unclear outputs. You should know exactly what gets done each month.
- Ownership issues. If the website, ad account or data wouldn’t be yours when you left, walk away.
- A long contract with nothing built early. A 12-month term can be fair when the agency invests upfront, for example by building your website or a film into the price. It’s harder to justify when month one looks the same as month twelve.
We cover these in more depth in why tradesmen get burned by marketing agencies.
Questions to ask before signing
- Can you show me results with a trades business like mine, and can I speak to that client?
- What exactly will you do in the first 90 days?
- What will my monthly report show? Will I see cost per lead and booked jobs?
- Do I own the website, domain, ad accounts and data?
- What is the total monthly cost, including ad spend, and what is the notice period?
- When would you tell a business like mine not to hire you?
What agencies for tradesmen cost
Agency fees are only part of the cost. Ad spend sits on top and is paid straight to Google or Meta.
- Under £1,000 a month usually buys one channel or a freelancer’s time. Fine for a single, focused job.
- £1,000 to £2,000 a month should cover a website plus one or two lead channels, managed and reported. Our Booked Solid System sits here at £1,500 + VAT a month, on a 12-month minimum term with a six month break clause tied to specific deliverables.
- £2,000 a month and up should cover broader work across more channels, or larger firms. Our Preferred Contractor Programme for civils and construction is £2,500 + VAT a month.
To set your own number before you speak to anyone, see how much a tradesman should spend on marketing.
When not to hire an agency yet
An agency amplifies what’s already there. Hold off if:
- Your pricing leaves no room to reinvest.
- The enquiries you already get aren’t followed up quickly.
- You don’t have capacity for more work in the next few months.
Fix those first and any agency will have something to build on.
Where We Are SMC fits, and where it doesn’t
Judge us by the same seven criteria.
We’re likely to be a good fit if:
- You run a trades business with room for more work.
- You want the website, local SEO, Google Ads, reviews and follow-up built as one system.
- You can commit to a 12-month minimum term (with a six month break clause tied to specific deliverables) at £1,500 + VAT a month, plus ad spend.
We’re probably not the right fit if:
- You only want one channel looked after and are happy to manage the rest. A focused freelancer may cost you less.
- You want a month-to-month arrangement.
- Your pricing, capacity or follow-up needs fixing first.
For proof, the Videtta Heating case study shows what we did step by step as the business grew from £223k to £1.3m in revenue over five years.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I find the best marketing agency for tradesmen in the UK?
- Shortlist three agencies and score each against the same criteria: proof with trades businesses like yours, reporting on booked jobs, ownership of your website and accounts, a written 90-day plan, joined-up channels, honesty about fit and transparent pricing. Ask for a client you can phone. The agency that scores well on proof, reporting and ownership is usually the right one, whatever its size.
- How much does a marketing agency for tradesmen cost in the UK?
- A freelancer might charge a few hundred pounds a month for one channel. A generalist agency retainer often runs from around £1,000 to £3,000 a month. A specialist trades partnership covering website, SEO, ads and follow-up usually starts around £1,500 a month, plus ad spend. The better question is what a booked job costs you and whether the work pays for itself.
- Should I use a specialist trades agency or a generalist one?
- A specialist already understands local search, seasonality, lead quality and how trades businesses win work, so there is less to explain and less wasted spend. A generalist can be the better choice if you already have a clear plan and need one channel done well. Judge either on proof and reporting, not on the label.
- Should a marketing agency guarantee leads or rankings?
- No. Nobody controls Google's rankings or how many people search in your area in a given month. A good agency will give you a clear plan, realistic expectations and honest reporting on what the money produced. A guarantee is usually a sign that the agency is selling hard, or that the leads will be cheap and poor quality.
- What should a good trades marketing agency report on?
- Booked jobs and cost per lead, not just clicks and impressions. Good reporting ties spend to enquiries and enquiries to work won, so you can see whether the money is paying you back. If a report is all vanity metrics and no view of real jobs, that is a red flag.
Next step
Want this sorted for your business?
Book a call and we will look at where you are now and map out the quickest way to more of the right work.