Most tradespeople who change agency do it for the same reason: they paid every month and, when they left, found the site, the profile or the ad account belonged to someone else. It can happen to a plumber, an electrician or a roofer alike. A short list of questions asked before you sign prevents most of that.
This page is about choosing and checking an agency. For what each marketing channel does, read marketing for tradesmen. Mudfish is an agency, so we have written the scorecard to be one that we should be able to pass ourselves, and you are welcome to run it on us.
What a marketing agency for tradesmen should deliver
| Deliverable | What you should hold when the contract ends | Ask |
|---|---|---|
| Website design and hosting | The domain, the hosting account and a copy of the site | "Is the domain registered in my name?" |
| Google Business Profile | Owner access for your own Google account | "Will I be the owner, or a manager?" |
| Google Ads | An account in your business name that you can sign in to | "Whose account do the ads run from?" |
| Phone numbers | The number on your site and ads, or a clear plan for it | "If I leave, does this number still ring me?" |
| Reporting | Enquiries and booked jobs, with the definitions written down | "What counts as a lead in this report?" |
If you already have an agency and want to switch without breaking anything, use our Google Ads handover checklist first.
What it costs
We can give you our own numbers and no one else's. Mudfish's published range for local SEO on a single-location trade is roughly £300 to £1,500+ VAT a month, and we say on our SEO cost page that where you land depends on how competitive your searches are, how many towns you want to cover and how much needs building. Google Ads (often called PPC) media is the money paid to Google for clicks. It sits on top of any management fee, so a quote should show the two separately.
Ask for the monthly fee, the ad spend, any set-up fee and the minimum term on one sheet. If one of those is missing, the total you compare is not the total you will pay.
Whatever the label, a digital marketing agency is selling lead generation, so ask how it counts a lead before you compare prices. A low price is not evidence of a poor agency, and a high one is not evidence of a good one. The price tells you something only when you know what you will own and what gets done each month for it.
The scorecard
Tick every statement that is true of the agency you are checking, based on what they have shown you in writing. Your ticks stay in your browser and are not stored.
0 of 12 Tick what is true to see where the agency stands.
The bands are our own rule of thumb. A lower score does not make an agency dishonest. It shows you what to ask next.
Promises to question
| What you are told | Ask |
|---|---|
| "We will get you to page one." | Which searches, in which area, and what happens if it does not happen? Google's SEO Starter Guide says there is no guarantee a site will even be added to its index, so a fixed position is not in anyone's control. |
| "You will get 30 leads a month." | How is a lead counted, and how many are customers who asked for your trade in your area? |
| "It is all included." | Show me the line items. What is the ad spend, and who pays Google? |
| "We handle everything, so you do not need access." | I want to be an administrator on every account and I will sign in to check. |
Source for the Google point: SEO Starter Guide, Google Search Central, read 31 October 2026.
Mudfish builds sites you own outright and reports on enquiries, which you can read about on our websites page and under the full works. If you would rather talk a quote through, send a quick quote request, and bring the scorecard with you.