Question 1

What exactly does a digital marketing agency do for you?

Accepted Answer

Great question — and honestly, the answer varies a lot depending on the agency. At its core, a good agency takes the guesswork out of growing your business online. That means understanding who your customers are, figuring out where they spend time online, and building a strategy to reach them with the right message at the right moment.

In practice, that could mean running Google Ads that actually bring in enquiries rather than just clicks, rebuilding your website so it converts visitors instead of losing them, creating content that ranks on search engines, managing your social media so your brand sounds human and consistent, or redesigning your brand identity so it reflects where your business is now.

The agencies worth working with aren't just order-takers. They push back when they think a channel won't work for you, they explain what they're doing and why, and they show you the results in a way you can actually understand — not buried under vanity metrics.

Question 2

How much does digital marketing cost in the UK?

Accepted Answer

This is the question everyone wants a straight answer to, and it genuinely depends on what you need. Here's a realistic picture for UK businesses:

Small business / startup — £500 to £2,000 per month for a focused service like SEO or paid ads management, plus a one-time web build cost if needed.

Growing SME — £2,000 to £5,000 per month for a more comprehensive package covering multiple channels.

Scaling business — £5,000 to £15,000+ per month for full-service marketing across paid, organic, content, and brand.

At Delatrix, our plans start at £799 one-time plus £54.99 per month, specifically designed to give early-stage businesses a professional foundation without an enterprise price tag. Pricing models vary widely — some agencies charge a flat monthly retainer, some take a percentage of ad spend, and some charge per project. Always make sure you know exactly what's included before signing anything.

Question 3

How long does it take to see results from digital marketing?

Accepted Answer

Honestly? It depends on the channel, and any agency that promises you overnight results is either misleading you or about to do something you'll regret.

Paid ads (Google, Meta) can show results within days or weeks — you can literally switch them on and start getting traffic. But getting the targeting and messaging right to make those clicks profitable usually takes 4–8 weeks of testing and iteration.

SEO is the slow burn. You're building authority and trust with search engines, which takes time. Expect 3–6 months before you see meaningful movement, and 6–12 months before the results feel substantial. The payoff is that organic traffic compounds over time in a way paid ads never do.

Social media typically takes 2–4 months to build consistent engagement, assuming you're showing up with quality content regularly.

Brand work doesn't show up on a dashboard — but over 6–12 months, a clear and consistent brand identity measurably increases recognition, trust, and the quality of inbound enquiries.

Question 4

What's the difference between SEO and paid ads — which should I invest in?

Accepted Answer

Think of it this way: paid ads are a tap you turn on and off. SEO is a well you dig.

With paid ads, you pay for every click, every impression, every lead. The moment you stop paying, the traffic stops. That's not a criticism — paid ads are powerful for testing a new offer quickly, generating leads while SEO builds, or reaching people at the exact moment they're searching to buy.

With SEO, you're investing time and effort upfront to earn rankings that then bring you traffic without ongoing cost-per-click. A well-optimised page can generate leads for years. The trade-off is that it takes longer to work.

For most businesses, the answer isn't one or the other. If you need leads now and have budget, run paid ads. At the same time, invest in SEO so that 12 months from now you're not entirely dependent on ad spend to keep the pipeline full. If budget is tight and you can wait, SEO alone can be a smart play — especially for businesses in less competitive niches.

Question 5

How do I know if a marketing agency is actually good?

Accepted Answer

This is important, because there are a lot of agencies that are very good at selling themselves but not so good at delivering results.

Here are the signs of a genuinely good agency:

- They ask hard questions upfront. A good agency wants to understand your business, your margins, your customers, and your goals before they pitch anything.
- They're honest about timelines. If an agency promises page-one rankings in 30 days or a 10× return in a month, walk away.
- They can show real client results — not just logos on a website, but actual numbers with context. What did they do? For whom? What were the results?
- They explain what they're doing in plain English. You shouldn't need a marketing degree to understand your monthly report.
- They own their mistakes. Things don't always work in marketing. A good agency tells you when a campaign underperformed and explains what they're doing differently.
- They're selective. The best agencies don't take every client. If they're pushing hard to close you without understanding your business, that's a red flag.

Question 6

Do I need a big budget to work with a marketing agency?

Accepted Answer

You don't need a massive budget, but you do need a realistic one. Marketing on a very limited budget is possible — but it limits which channels you can use effectively.

For example, running Google Ads with a £200/month budget is unlikely to generate meaningful results because the data takes time to accumulate and most competitive keywords cost more per click than that allows. But investing that same £200/month in content and on-page SEO improvements could be very productive.

The honest truth is that the smaller your budget, the more important it is to focus. Trying to do everything with limited resource leads to doing everything badly. A good agency will help you identify the one or two channels most likely to work for your specific business and budget, rather than spreading you thin across everything.

At Delatrix, we designed our Gold plan specifically for businesses with realistic budgets who want a professional, focused foundation rather than a watered-down version of an enterprise campaign.

Question 7

What is a conversion rate and why does it matter more than traffic?

Accepted Answer

Your conversion rate is the percentage of visitors who take a desired action — whether that's filling in a contact form, making a purchase, or calling you.

Here's why it matters more than traffic: imagine you have 1,000 visitors per month with a 1% conversion rate. You get 10 enquiries. Now imagine you improve your website so that rate goes to 3% — without changing anything else about your marketing. You now get 30 enquiries from the same traffic. You've tripled your results without spending a penny more on ads.

This is why at Delatrix we don't just focus on driving more traffic. We look at the full journey — what happens when someone lands on your site, how clear the messaging is, how easy the path to conversion is, and whether the trust signals are in place to make a stranger comfortable enough to reach out.

A leaky bucket approach — driving traffic to a site that doesn't convert — is one of the most common and costly mistakes we see businesses make.

Question 8

Should I be on every social media platform?

Accepted Answer

Almost certainly not — and trying to be everywhere is one of the most common ways small businesses burn time and budget on social media without seeing results.

Different platforms work for different things. LinkedIn is the clearest choice for B2B businesses — decision-makers are there, and professional content performs well. Instagram and TikTok work well for visually interesting products, lifestyle brands, and businesses targeting younger consumers. Facebook still drives results for local businesses and older demographics. X (Twitter) is useful for tech, media, and thought leadership but has limited value for most service businesses.

The better question is: where does your ideal customer actually spend time, and what platform gives you the best chance of reaching them with a message they'll respond to? Start with one or two platforms you can do well, rather than five you can only manage badly.

Question 9

What does "branding" actually mean, and why should I invest in it?

Accepted Answer

Branding is the collection of impressions people form about your business before, during, and after buying from you. It's your logo, yes — but it's also your tone of voice, the way your emails are written, the look of your website, the feeling someone gets when they visit your Instagram, and the story you tell about why you exist.

Why does it matter? Because people don't make purely rational buying decisions. They buy from businesses they trust and feel good about. A strong brand builds that trust passively — before a prospect ever speaks to you, they've already formed an opinion based on what they've seen.

For growing businesses, the ROI of brand investment is real but slow to measure. The businesses we've worked with that invest properly in their identity consistently see better quality inbound leads, higher conversion rates, and more repeat business. Customers refer them more readily. Premium pricing becomes justifiable.

The businesses that skip brand investment often find themselves competing purely on price — a race to the bottom that's hard to escape.

Question 10

How does Delatrix approach a new client? What can I expect?

Accepted Answer

We like to start with a real conversation, not a sales pitch. Before we suggest anything, we want to understand your business — who your customers are, what's working, what isn't, where you want to be in 12 months, and what you've already tried.

From there, we put together a strategy that's specific to your situation. We don't have a template we paste your name into — every plan is built from scratch based on what we actually learned in the discovery stage.

Once we're working together, you'll get regular reporting in plain language, direct access to the people doing the work (not just an account manager acting as a middleman), and honest conversations when things need adjusting.

We take on a small number of clients at a time deliberately — it lets us go deep rather than spread thin. If you'd like to explore whether we're a good fit, the best place to start is getting in touch for a no-obligation call.

Question 11

What is PPC advertising and is it right for my business?

Accepted Answer

PPC stands for Pay-Per-Click. It's a model where you pay each time someone clicks on your ad — most commonly through Google Ads or Meta (Facebook/Instagram) Ads.

Google Ads captures demand — you appear in front of people who are already searching for what you offer. If someone Googles "digital marketing agency London" and you have a well-targeted campaign running, your ad appears. The intent is high, which is why Google Ads tends to convert well for service businesses.

Meta Ads creates demand — you appear in front of people who aren't necessarily searching for you but match the profile of someone who might want what you offer. It's excellent for brand awareness, product launches, and re-engaging people who've visited your site.

Is it right for your business? Generally yes, if: your average customer value is high enough to justify the cost per lead, you have a working landing page that converts, and you have the budget to let the algorithm learn over 4–8 weeks of initial testing. PPC tends to work poorly if you're in an extremely competitive space with a tiny budget, or if your website doesn't give visitors a clear reason to take action.

Question 12

What should be in a good marketing report?

Accepted Answer

A good marketing report answers three questions clearly: What happened? Why did it happen? What are we doing about it?

The specific metrics depend on your goals, but here's what we include in our client reports:

Traffic & visibility — total website sessions, where they came from (organic, paid, social, direct), and how that's trending.

Leads & conversions — how many enquiries, form fills, calls, or purchases did the period produce, and what was the conversion rate.

Paid ad performance — impressions, click-through rate, cost per click, cost per lead, and return on ad spend (ROAS).

SEO progress — keyword rankings for target terms, organic traffic, and new backlinks acquired.

What we learned — honest commentary on what worked, what didn't, and what we're changing.

What should NOT be in a good report: vanity metrics presented without context. Social media 'impressions' or 'reach' mean very little unless tied to actual business outcomes. Always ask your agency how the numbers connect to leads and revenue.

Question 13

Can an agency guarantee page-one Google rankings or guaranteed leads?

Accepted Answer

No credible agency can or should guarantee specific rankings or a set number of leads — and if one does, that's a significant warning sign.

Here's why: Google's algorithms update constantly, competitors are also optimising, and search behaviour shifts. No one outside Google has full control over rankings. Agencies that "guarantee" position one are typically either using risky tactics that look good short-term (keyword stuffing, low-quality link building) and then collapse when Google catches up, or they're guaranteeing rankings for terms nobody is actually searching for.

What a reputable agency should commit to: transparent reporting, consistent effort, continuous testing and improvement, honest communication when something isn't working, and a track record of results you can actually verify.

At Delatrix, we set clear, realistic expectations based on your specific situation. We'd rather under-promise and over-deliver than make claims we can't back up.

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions