Eight Things Many Digital Agencies Do That We Refuse To

Not every agency behaves badly, but there are eight things digital agencies do that we refuse to do.

Not every agency behaves badly. Many are honest and work hard for their clients. Even so, some common habits cost small businesses time and money, and few owners ever hear about them. Here is what we think you should know, and what we do differently.

1. Registering your domain in their name

Your domain is your business address online. If an agency owns it, they hold the keys. We believe it should be yours. If you need us to buy a domain for you, we charge no fee for that, and it belongs to you.

2. Keeping quotes vague

A “from” price with no scope is a red flag. In contrast, we publish fixed prices, and every price is ex VAT. We add VAT only at the final checkout.

3. Marking up third-party costs in silence

Licences, plugins and supplier costs often carry a hidden margin. We are open about it. We charge these items at cost plus handling, and we say so in plain words.

4. Burying you in jargon

Confusing language keeps clients dependent. For that reason, we explain everything in plain English, and we are happy to repeat it.

5. Promising page-one rankings

Nobody controls Google. Anyone who guarantees a number one spot is selling hope. Instead, we show you what we change, what moves and what to do next.

6. Running ads in accounts you cannot access

Your ad accounts should belong to you. We work inside them, and your ad budget goes straight to the ad platform. Meanwhile, our fee appears separately.

7. Reporting vanity numbers

Likes and impressions look pretty. However, they rarely pay the bills. We report on what matters: enquiries, calls, sales and what we will do next.

8. Selling you everything at once

Some agencies push the biggest package on every client. We prefer you to start small and add services as you grow. After all, a good partner earns more work by getting results.

A fair warning

Because these habits are common, you may have met some already. If so, you are not alone. Moreover, spotting them early saves money. Therefore, ask the questions before you sign, not after.

Why we are telling you

We want a business built on trust, not on keeping clients in the dark. So here are three simple questions to ask any agency, including us:

• Who owns my domain, hosting and ad accounts?
• What exactly do I get, and what costs extra?
• How will I know it is working?

You can read about the way we work on our About page, or see how fixed pricing works with the Package Builder.

The order matters

Selling everything at once is tempting for an agency, because it makes the invoice bigger. But the order you build things in matters more than how many things you buy.

We prefer to start with the parts that turn interest into customers: a clear website, an easy way to enquire or buy and a sensible follow-up. Next comes encouraging reviews and recommendations. Only then does advertising make sense, because you can handle the people it brings.

If an agency wants you to spend heavily on advertising before any of that is in place, ask why. Our 12-stage customer journey guide explains the order we follow.

Ready to put this into practice?

Build a fixed-price package online in minutes, or talk it through with us first. Either way you get plain-English advice and one team looking after the work.