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What we’re re-thinking.
Strategy notes from inside the studio on paid media, organic, brand systems and AI automation. It’s the thinking we used to keep private, posted openly so you can read the practice before you hire it.
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Showing 49 to 72 of 117 older posts, newest first
What Is Performance Marketing?
What is performance marketing? A plain definition, how it differs from brand marketing, what actually gets measured, and where thin data breaks it.
What Is a Creative Agency?
A creative agency typically centres brand identity, campaign concepts, content, and packaging, though scope varies by agency and can extend into strategy or media. Here's the exact difference, and when you need one.
What Is Conversion Rate Optimisation?
Conversion rate optimisation, explained plainly: the audit-hypothesis-test loop, what counts as a real result, and why nobody can promise an uplift.
How to Write a Brief for a Marketing Agency
What to put in a marketing brief so agencies can quote it accurately: objective, audience, constraints, budget, success measure, what not to prescribe.
How Long Does SEO Take to Work? An Honest Timeline
SEO takes 3-6 months to show results and 6-12 months to compound. Here's the honest, month-by-month timeline, and what actually changes it.
Local SEO: A Practical Guide for UK Businesses
How UK businesses actually rank in local search: Google Business Profile, citations, reviews, location pages, and when to bring in help. A practical guide.
Technical SEO Basics, Explained Without the Jargon
Technical SEO basics in plain English: crawlability, indexing, Core Web Vitals, and structured data, plus what to fix first and what to ignore.
How to Do Keyword Research (A Step-by-Step Guide)
How to do keyword research step by step: find seed terms, read the intent, weigh volume against difficulty, cluster them, and map each one to a page.
The On-Page SEO Checklist That Actually Matters
Not every on-page SEO task matters equally. Here is the checklist ranked by real impact: intent, titles, headings, links, schema, images, no busywork.
Why Isn't My Page Showing Up on Google? Common Reasons
Why isn't your page showing up on Google? Common causes, from noindex tags and robots.txt blocks to thin content, and how to check each in Search Console.
SEO for Small Businesses: Where to Actually Start
The three SEO moves worth doing first for a small business: Google Business Profile, one service page, real reviews.
Rebrand vs Brand Refresh: Which Does Your Business Need?
Rebrand replaces your identity. A brand refresh updates how it looks. Here is the 5-point checklist we use to tell which one your business actually needs.
How Much Does a Brand Identity Cost?
No invented average cost, just the real variables behind a brand identity quote: scope, who does the work, and how much strategy is included in the price.
What Makes a Brand Identity Actually Work
A pretty logo isn't a brand identity. Here's what makes the system behind it actually work: consistency, distinctiveness, and a team that can run it.
Brand Guidelines, Explained: What They Are and Why They Matter
Brand guidelines explained: what a working set actually contains, why consistency compounds as more people touch a brand, and what makes one usable, not filed.
When Is It Time to Rebrand? Seven Honest Signs
When is it time to rebrand? Seven honest signs the business has outgrown its brand, plus the bad reasons that do not survive contact with a real business.
Who kills your losing ads, you or the algorithm?
Where your ad budget sits decides who kills your losing ads: you or the algorithm. Here is how to tell which setup you are running, and what each one really costs.
How Much Should a Marketing Retainer Cost?
How much should a marketing retainer cost? The real answer depends on scope, seniority, and industry, not a flat number. Here is how to price a quote fairly.
Marketing Retainer vs Project Pricing: Which Is Right for You?
A marketing retainer and project pricing solve two different problems, not one problem twice. Here is the decision framework for choosing the right model.
What Should Be in a Marketing Agency Contract? A Client's Checklist
A marketing agency contract should cover scope, deliverables, IP ownership, exit terms, reporting, and data access. The client checklist, before you sign.
7 Signs Your Marketing Agency Isn't Working
Senior staff gone quiet, vanity-metric reports, no new ideas. Here are the 7 signs your marketing agency isn't working, and what to do about it.
How to Fire a Marketing Agency (Without Breaking Your Marketing)
A practical playbook for firing a marketing agency: notice periods, getting your ad accounts and creative back, and avoiding a gap in delivery.
How Long Before a Marketing Agency Shows Results?
Paid ads show signal in weeks, SEO takes months, brand compounds over quarters. The honest, channel-by-channel timeline, and why "it depends" is a real answer.
How to Get Cited by ChatGPT: What Actually Controls It
OpenAI documents what lets ChatGPT search show your page as a source. Here are those access rules, what we found testing seven sites, and a 20-minute check.
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Tell us about your business in ninety seconds. If it’s a fit, we reply by email within the working day. If not, we send you something useful instead. We never promise the moon.
The Social Target · Limited · Est. 2017 · London