Top 8 digital marketing agencies in the UK

Digital marketing is vital to any businesses success, whether you're a plumber or a pastry shop owner. Read all about the best marketing agencies in the UK here.

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Written and reviewed by:
Robyn Summers-Emler Grow Online Editor

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Provider

Pearl Lemon

Provider

Loud Mouth Media

Provider

LocaliQ

Provider

Reload Digital

Provider

The Social Shepherd

Provider

ClickDo

Provider

Web Choice UK

Provider

Yell

Best for

Small businesses wanting to smash their SEO strategy out of the ballpark

Best for

A fully managed digital marketing service

Best for

Small, local businesses that need tailored, channel-specific marketing support

Best for

Mid-sized retail and ecommerce brands

Best for

Paid social campaigns and social media management

Best for

Pay-per-click (PPC) marketing

Best for

A customer-centric, supportive SEO and web design solution

Best for

Being connected and advertised across Yell’s online network

Services offered
  • SEO
  • PPC
  • Content writing
  • Inbound marketing
Services offered
  • SEO
  • Social Media Marketing
  • PPC
  • Video
  • Performance Creative
Services offered
  • SEO
  • Content marketing
  • Social media marketing
  • Cross media optimisation
  • Website design
Services offered
  • Digital strategy
  • Content marketing
  • SEO
  • PPC
  • Social media marketing
Services offered
  • Social media management
  • Influencer marketing
  • Paid social
  • Video
Services offered
  • PPC
  • SEO
  • PR and distribution
  • Social media
  • Web design
Services offered
  • Social media marketing
  • SEO
  • Copywriting
  • Web design
Services offered
  • PPC
  • Video
  • Social media advertising
  • SEO

Selecting the best digital marketing agency in the UK isn’t a simple walk in the park. What helps is breaking them down into categories depending on the type of services they specialise in.

Our research concludes that the top three digital marketing agencies in the UK are:

  1. Pearl Lemon – best for SEO solutions
  2. Loud Mouth Media – best for a fully managed digital marketing service
  3. LocaliQ – best for tailored, channel-specific marketing support

From our research and expert digital marketing experience we’ve deduced that these three agencies are the cream of the crop in their respective specialisms. However, they are just three of over 7,000 agencies offering digital marketing services across the UK.

It is an overwhelming and time-consuming task to research such a huge number of providers, let alone compare the costs of one agency to another – particularly when many fees aren’t readily available online.

This is where our free cost comparison tool comes in handy. The tool is designed by our digital marketing industry experts and helps you pick the right agency for your business, by offering you quotes from a number of reputable UK providers.

All you need to do is answer a couple of simple questions before we send you free, no-obligation quotes in a matter of minutes. It really is that easy.

Or, if you’d like to learn more about the best digital marketing agencies in the UK for small businesses, read on.

Get the best marketing support for your business today Have you used a digital marketing agency before? Request info - it only takes a minute and is a 100% free service

Pearl Lemon: best for small businesses wanting to smash their SEO strategy out the ballpark

Pricing: £3,000 – 10,000 per month with paid packages ranging from 20-60 hours per month.

When it comes to search engine optimisation, it doesn’t get much more efficient than Pearl Lemon.

The provider is highly regarded as one of the best SEO agencies in the UK and has won countless awards to solidify this claim. It’s even been ranked as the best provider of ecommerce SEO services in the UK out of 70+ firms by the agency directory Design Rush.

Pearl Lemon offers every SEO service under the sun, from local, technical, WordPress and mobile SEO, to other marketing services including PPC, content writing and inbound marketing.

Pros:
  • Full service SEO agency that covers all bases – including international SEO
  • Offers a free SEO audit of your business
  • Includes a customer discovery call to help you determine whether it’s right for your business
  • Free SEO training courses
  • Solid customer reviews – including a Trustpilot review score of 4.6
Cons:
  • Doesn’t offer the full suite of marketing services – including organic and paid social media solutions
  • Pricing is not transparent

Case study of one of Pearl Lemon’s clients:


Loud Mouth Media: best for a fully managed digital marketing service

Pricing: Bespoke quotes only

Loud Mouth Media has made a big name for itself in the digital marketing space. It is one of the few top-level agencies to offer a fully managed service that includes performance creative capabilities to ensure your digital assets are fit for purpose.

The agency specialises in producing creative content to optimise your pay per click (PPC) campaigns. It also offers SEO and social media marketing services.

It has won countless awards, including the title of best small PPC agency in the UK, and is among the top 3% of agencies in the UK according to Google.

For a fully managed service, and PPC campaigns in particular, Loud Mouth Media is your best option.

Pros:
  • Proven track record in PPC campaigns – with a 2,559% increase in PPC revenue in one month
  • Strong biddable capabilities for Facebook and Instagram – recording a 281% increase YoY in total purchases from Facebook Ads
  • Custom designed digital strategy tailored to your brand – based on data, market insight, and conversion rate optimization (CRO)
  • Great case studies available on the website that demonstrate methodology and campaign results
Cons:
  • Pricing can be steep for businesses not looking to splurge
  • Primary industry focuses are ecommerce and information technology – expertise elsewhere could be lacking
You may have noticed our top digital marketing agency choices only offer bespoke pricing.

This is typical of the industry, so if you’d like us to make choosing a provider easier for you, why not use our cost comparison tool to compare quotes for free.

Simply spend one minute of your time answering a few questions, and we will do the rest!

LocaliQ: best for small, local businesses that need tailored, channel-specific marketing support

Pricing: Bespoke quotes only

LocaliQ has a unique selling point in its cross media optimisation solution.

The technology uses AI to determine where your marketing budget would best be spent. This helps you to invest in the right channels, whether that be social media, SEO or content marketing, all of which are services offered by LocaliQ.

The agency is another in the top 3% of all Google Partners, and is a certified Meta and Microsoft business partner, highlighting its authority in the digital marketing space.

Pros:
  • Unique cross media optimisation technology helps you invest in the marketing channels that are right for you
  • Free website grader allows you to compare your online presence with your competitors so you can see actionable areas for improvement
  • Free webinars are available to help support you with your marketing strategy
  • Focus on local, small businesses means a more tailored service that includes print advertising
  • Serves a wide range of industries so isn’t limited by specialisms
Cons:
  • Pricing is not available without contacting LocaliQ directly
  • Not a specialist in PPC campaigns

Reload Digital: best for mid-sized retail and ecommerce brands

A screenshot from reload's digital marketing agency website, showcasing different client success stories

Pricing: Bespoke quotes only

Reload doesn’t cut corners when it comes to its marketing services. Focusing primarily on your brand’s digital strategy, it will ensure you achieve results and hit your sales targets in no time.

Offering the whole suite of services, including content and email marketing, this experienced multi-award winning agency specialises in growing retail businesses, with its unique tried-and-tested ecommerce growth framework.

Anyone looking to grow their ecommerce business should look no further than Reload Digital.

Pros:
  • Excellent reviews and customer satisfaction
  • Combines digital marketing strategy with consultancy services, helping you get the most out of your brand even before you begin marketing online
  • Dedicated account management for your brand means you can collaborate more closely
  • Real-time, 24/7 access to metrics and campaign reports
  • Great communication with clients via Slack, Trello and monday.com
Cons:
  • Pricing isn’t the most transparent, but industry websites confirm that Reload’s services are expensive compared to its competitors
  • Only a small pool of clients are small businesses – services are more tailored to midmarket or enterprise
  • Only works with clients in the ecommerce and retail space – limiting for other businesses
Is your business based in London?

There are hundreds of brilliant digital marketing agencies in the UK’s capital. To find out our top picks visit our review of the top digital marketing agencies in London.

The Social Shepherd: best for paid social campaigns and social media management

Pricing: Bespoke quotes only

Bath-based business The Social Shepherd prides itself on being one of the most innovative, results-driven social media marketing agencies in the UK.

Focusing on curating content, engaging with audiences in-platform and analysing ad insights, the agency has a great reputation in the field of social media management.

And unlike other agencies, you’ll have access to a dedicated team of creatives that include videographers, photographers, and animators – all at hand to help you put together engaging social-first video content.

Despite being a relatively new agency compared to others on our list, The Social Shepherd has already made a big name for itself, winning the ‘Paid Social Campaign of the Year’ at the Biddable Media Awards.

Pros:
  • Brilliant video team that will help you create engaging content across all platforms
  • Access to a variety of influencers to help propel your paid social campaigns through influencer marketing
  • Multi-platform focus to help you achieve results across a variety of channels including TikTok and Facebook
  • 93% of its clients to date have increased their return on ad spend within two months
  • Capacity and experience to work with brands across a variety of industries
Cons:
  • Pricing is not transparent
  • No industry niches so amount of experience will be capped at a certain level of expertise
  • Does not offer SEO solutions
  • Does not offer an overall audit of your digital marketing strategy
We get it, there are plenty of agencies offering similar services, and it can be time-consuming reading through reviews and analysing comparison tables…

So why not save time and effort by using our digital marketing service comparison tool?

Simply answer four to five questions about what you need and you’ll receive bespoke pricing and service information to make it easier to select your best-fit provider. It only takes a minute and there are zero obligations.

ClickDo: best for pay-per-click (PPC) marketing

Pricing from: Bespoke quotes

Offering tailored and results-driven PPC consultancy, ClickDo is easily one of the most efficient and reputable digital marketing agencies when it comes to PPC campaigns.

To set up and maintain your campaign, ClickDo focuses primarily on Google AdWords and combines this with strategy consultancy, all at an incredibly affordable cost of £200 per month.

Whilst the agency specialises in PPC, it also offers award-winning solutions in SEO that help its clients rank on Google’s SERPs across some of the most highly competitive industries.

ClickDo caters to niche industries and is the ideal marketing agency for dentists, orthodontists, law firms and waste collectors.

Pros:
  • A one-hour free expert consultancy to help you assess your current marketing model
  • Responsive web design, web hosting and web property management solutions to optimise your website to rank higher on search engines
  • Integrated marketing service that covers not only SEO and PPC but also email marketing and PR all in one campaign
  • Press release writing and distribution services available
  • PPC pricing is transparent
Cons:
  • Provides services to niche industries so experience in other sectors is limited
  • Not all pricing is transparent
Get the best marketing support for your business today Have you used a digital marketing agency before? Request info - it only takes a minute and us a 100% free service

Web Choice UK: best for a customer-centric, supportive SEO and web design solution

Hourly rate: from £55 per hour

With over 10 years of experience building websites and helping brands enhance their SEO strategy, Web Choice UK is one of the most highly regarded and reputable digital marketing agencies in the UK.

Its team of expert web designers and developers provide tailored, results-driven SEO support that has been consistently rated five stars by clients.

The agency’s SEO professionals have been in the industry for many years, perfecting their techniques so you don’t have to worry about the quality of your SEO campaigns.

Web Choice also offers a full range of digital marketing services, including social media marketing and copywriting.

The agency’s pricing is also the most transparent we have seen so far online, which sets it apart from a lot of its competitors.

Pros:
  • Transparent pricing
  • Full-service digital marketing agency
  • Offers free guides, podcasts and blog articles to help you develop your strategy
  • Over 200 excellent reviews and references to its great customer service and support
  • Can align your business’ web design with your digital marketing solution
  • Free 30-minute, no-obligation consultation
Cons:
  • Although a full service agency, its specialisms are primarily in programming, web development and SEO – other solutions may be less adept
Want specific social media support?

Although most digital marketing agencies offer social media marketing support, there are companies dedicated to ensuring your brand is a success on social.

To find out more, visit our review of the top social media marketing agencies in the UK.

Yell: best for being connected and advertised across Yell’s online network

Rates:  Yell.com listing £1-10+ per month, Website £399-3,499+, Starter Advert £10 per month, Smart Performance from £300

Easily the best thing about choosing Yell as your digital marketing agency is that you have the benefit of getting found and contacted across the Yell.com network. This includes Apple Maps, Amazon Alexa and Microsoft (Bing and Yahoo).

Yell is a great way to stay ahead of your competitors because you’ll already have the added bonus of increased visibility online.

Along with this great benefit, Yell also offers its clients the choice of either a free website checker or a reputation report. The website checker is a great way to analyse your website’s current performance and action any recommended changes.

The reputation report will provide you with information about how accurately your business details are displayed, along with the ratings and reviews your business has received across a network of 40+ websites.

Pros:
  • Increased visibility and potential for new customers as a result of being advertised on Yell.com’s online network
  • Offers Smart Performance – a fully managed blended advertising solution that enables advert creation across multiple channels in minutes
  • Pricing is transparent for certain products
Cons:
  • No community engagement or influencer marketing
  • Limited social media offering as you miss out on content creation and video production
Get the best marketing support for your business today Have you used a digital marketing agency before? Request info - it only takes a minute and us a 100% free service

Choosing the right digital marketing agency for you

When making an executive decision about which digital marketing agency you want to work with, it’s important to consider the following…

What makes a good agency and what is it I’m looking for?

  • Competitive, affordable pricing – this is hard to find online, but our cost comparison tool can help
  • Proven track record of results – be sure to check the agency’s website for real-life case studies that showcase positive results
  • Awards – with over 7,000 digital marketing agencies operating in the UK, a great way to identify the best of the bunch is through any prestigious and reputable awards they’ve won
  • Experience and specialism in a particular industry – think about the industry you operate in and find an agency that is focused on growing businesses in that industry
  • Services – check what services the agency offers. Does it cater to all of the channels you need? Is it well-versed in a particular solution that your business needs support with, such as SEO or paid social media?
  • Reliable, transparent data and insights – an agency is only as good as its reporting. Make sure you have constant access to insights and reports so you know how the agency is performing and can monitor the success of any marketing campaigns
  • Collaboration and communication – the most highly regarded and successful agencies have open and honest working relationships with their clients

As well as the above points, also consider asking the following questions during your initial consultation with any agencies:

“Can I see some previous campaign examples?”
(This will indicate what the agency is able to produce).

“Will you provide a dedicated account manager?”
(Knowing you will have someone handling your account will ensure you have constant contact and support from the agency).

“How long do clients typically stay with you?”
(A marketing agency that has long-term loyal clients shows it’s doing something right).


Next steps: compare digital marketing agencies

To summarise, the best digital marketing agencies available in the UK are:

  1. Pearl Lemon
  2. Loud Mouth Media
  3. LocaliQ
  4. Reload Digital
  5. The Social Shepherd
  6. ClickDo
  7. Web Choice UK
  8. Yell

Each agency has its own unique selling points, but any business looking to grow through SEO needn’t look further than Pearl Lemon.

As for an all round digital marketing service, Loud Mouth Media offers everything you need and more.

LocaliQ is ideal for small, local businesses in niche industries like dentistry or waste management.

The problem is there are so many agencies to choose from, and as is clear from our review, the majority of them keep their cards close to their chest when it comes to their fees.

The easiest way to get over these hurdles is to use our free cost comparison tool.

By using the tool, you will receive direct pricing quotes from some of the UK’s top digital marketing agencies, saving yourself time and money.

Simply spend a minute answering four to five easy questions and we will do the rest.

Frequently Asked Questions
  • Which marketing company is best?
    It really depends on what you're looking for but, based on our independent research, we know that Pearl Lemon is best for SEO solutions. Loud Mouth Media is best for a fully managed digital marketing service, and ClickDo is best for pay-per-click (PPC) marketing.
  • How much does a marketing company charge in the UK?
    For most agencies, you'll need to request a bespoke quote as every project will need a different budget. However, based on the agencies that disclose their prices, you can pay anywhere from £125 per month up until a minimum budget of £25,000.
  • How many marketing agencies are in the UK?
    You're spoilt for choice, thankfully! There's plenty but, in our research, we've identified the top eight you can check out.

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Written by:
Ross has been writing for Startups since 2021, specialising in telephone systems, digital marketing, payroll, and sustainable business. He also runs the successful entrepreneur section of the website. Having graduated with a Masters in Journalism, Ross went on to write for Condé Nast Traveller and the NME, before moving in to the world of business journalism. Ross has been involved in startups from a young age, and has a keen eye for exciting, innovative new businesses. Follow him on his Twitter - @startupsross for helpful business tips.
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