TLDR;
- Stop searching for a paid ads agency "in Plymouth". The best agency for your business almost certainly isn't based there. Your priority should be niche expertise, not a local postcode.
- The most important question isn't "where are you based?" but "can you show me case studies of helping a business exactly like mine grow with paid ads?".
- Before you speak to any agency, you must know your numbers. Use the LTV (Lifetime Value) calculator in this guide to figure out how much you can actually afford to spend to acquire a customer.
- Most agencies will show you vanity metrics. You need to focus on the LTV to CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) ratio. This guide explains how to calculate it and why it's the only metric that truly matters for sustainable growth.
- We've included an interactive calculator comparing the real cost of hiring an in-house marketer versus partnering with a specialist agency in the UK. The results will probably suprise you.
Looking for a paid ads agency in Plymouth, eh? I get it. The instinct is to find someone local, someone you could theoretically have a coffee with. But tbh, that's probably the single biggest mistake you can make, and it'll cost you a fortune in wasted ad spend. The best agency for your Plymouth-based business is almost certainly not in Plymouth. It's the one that has deep, proven experience in your specific niche, whether they're in London, Manchester, or working remotely from a shed in the Highlands.
The whole game is about finding a partner who understands your customer's pain, not one who knows the best route to the Barbican. Let's walk through how to actually find an agency that will make you money, instead of just taking it.
So why is "near me" the wrong question to ask?
Think about it. When you're running ads on Google or Meta, the platform's targeting tools are what find your local customers. You can target users within a 1km radius of your shop in Royal William Yard with surgical precision. The agency's physical location has zero impact on their ability to do this. An expert in London can target Plymouth postcodes just as effectively—in fact, probably better—than a local generalist agency.
What you actually need isn't local knowledge, it's *niche* knowledge. I remember working on a campaign for a medical job matching SaaS. We took their cost per user acquisition from a painful £100 down to just £7. That wasn't because we knew our way around the NHS trusts in their area; it was because we'd run dozens of B2B SaaS campaigns and understood the specific challenges of that business model. Your average local agency that does a bit of everything for the local dentist and chippy just doesn't have that depth. They can't.
The uncomfortable truth is that the top-tier talent in paid advertising tends to cluster in major hubs or work remotely for agencies based there. It's a highly specialised skill. By limiting your search to Plymouth, you're fishing in a tiny pond when you have an entire ocean of expertise available to you. It's a classic example of falling into the local agency trap, where businesses prioritise proximity over proven results.
What should I be looking for instead of a postcode?
Right, so if location is out, what matters? Three things: niche experience, provable results, and the actual people who'll be doing the work.
1. Niche & Industry Experience
This is everything. Are you a B2B software company? You need an agency that lives and breathes SaaS marketing. Ask them about LTV:CAC ratios, PQLs vs MQLs, and churn. If they stare at you blankly, walk away. We've generated thousands of trials for B2B SaaS clients because we understand that world. One client saw 4,622 registrations at just $2.38 each on Meta Ads, a platform many B2B marketers wrongly dismiss.
Are you an eCommerce brand? You need someone who understands product feeds, shopping campaigns, and how to get a 691% Return on Ad Spend on Meta and Pinterest. We did that for a women's apparel brand. That result came from understanding the nuances of that market, not from being in the same city as their warehouse.
2. Case Studies That Don't Lie
Don't accept vague promises. Demand detailed case studies. And when you review them, look for specifics:
-> Do they mention the actual client by name (if not under NDA)?
-> Do they show real numbers? Revenue generated in £, ROAS percentages, Cost Per Lead in £.
-> Is the client in a similar industry or have a similar business model to you?
-> Do they explain the *strategy*? What platforms did they use? What was the objective? What did they test?
A good case study tells a story of a problem solved. A bad one is just a logo on a webpage. A proper vetting process for any ad agency starts and ends with the quality of their past work.
3. The Team
You might get sold by the charismatic agency owner, but who is actually going to be in your ad account every day? Ask to speak to the person who will be managing your campaigns. Are they a seasoned expert or a junior account manager learning on your dime? You want the strategist, not the intern. A great agency will be transparent about this.
How do I actually vet an agency? (The practical steps)
Okay, you've found a few agencies that look good on paper (and are probably not in Plymouth). Now you need to interview them. And I mean *interview*, not 'get a sales pitch'.
The initial call is a two-way street. They should be grilling you as much as you're grilling them. If they aren't asking tough questions about your business model, profit margins, customer lifetime value, and sales cycle, they're not a serious strategic partner. They're just a pixel-pusher looking for a retainer.
Here are some questions you absolutely must ask them:
-> "Walk me through a campaign for a client like me that *failed* initially. What went wrong, what did you learn, and how did you turn it around?" (This shows honesty and problem-solving skills).
-> "What's your process for audience and creative testing? How quickly do you expect to find winning combinations?"
-> "Based on my business model, what would you define as the primary KPI we should be tracking?" (If they just say 'ROAS' without asking about your margins or LTV, it's a red flag).
-> "How do you handle communication and reporting? What can I expect?"
Tbh, a huge red flag for us as an agency is when a potential client asks for references after we've already shared detailed case studies and done a free account audit. It signals a fundamental lack of trust from the get-go. A good agency provides so much proof upfront that references become irrelevant. If you're still not sure after seeing their work and talking to them, it's probably not a good fit for either of you. The entire process of choosing the right paid ads agency is about finding that mutual trust and confidence.
What should I expect to pay? Agency vs In-House
This is the big one. Founders often think hiring someone in-house is cheaper. It rarely is, especially when you factor in the 'true' cost. You're not just paying a salary; you're paying for National Insurance, pension contributions, holidays, sick pay, software subscriptions (£500+/month easily), and training. Plus, you're getting one person's experience. With an agency, you get the collective knowledge of a whole team of specialists who live and breathe this stuff across multiple accounts.
Agency fees in the UK typically come in two flavours: a flat monthly retainer or a percentage of ad spend (usually 10-20%), often with a minimum retainer. For a startup or SME, you're probably looking at a retainer between £1,500 - £5,000 per month.
Let's make this real. Use the calculator below to see the true annual cost of an in-house hire versus a typical agency fee structure. The results are often an eye-opener.
In-House Hire Costs
Agency Costs
Knowing the numbers that actually matter (before you hire anyone)
Before you spend a single pound on ads or agency fees, you must know your Customer Lifetime Value (LTV). This is the total profit you can expect to make from an average customer over the entire time they stay with you. Without this number, you're flying blind. The goal isn't to get the cheapest leads; it's to acquire profitable customers. The real question is: "How much can I afford to spend to get a great customer?" LTV gives you the answer.
Here’s the simple maths:
Average Revenue Per Account (ARPA): What's a customer worth to you each month? Let's say £200.
Gross Margin %: Your profit on that revenue. Let's say it's 75%.
Monthly Churn Rate: What percentage of customers do you lose each month? Let's say 5%.
LTV = (ARPA * Gross Margin %) / Monthly Churn Rate
LTV = (£200 * 0.75) / 0.05
LTV = £150 / 0.05 = £3,000
In this scenario, each customer is worth £3,000 in gross margin. A healthy business model aims for at least a 3:1 LTV to Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) ratio. So, you can afford to spend up to £1,000 to acquire a customer. If your sales team converts 1 in 5 qualified leads, you can pay up to £200 for a lead. Suddenly that £150 lead from LinkedIn ads doesn't look so expensive, does it? It looks like a bargain.
Use the calculator below to find your own LTV. This is the most important number in your business.
A realistic look at performance in the UK market
So what sort of costs can you expect? It varies massively, but we can give some ballpark figures for a developed market like the UK. The cost per click (CPC) is often in the £0.50-£1.50 range, but can be much higher for competitive B2B keywords on Google.
For a lead generation campaign (e.g., getting signups for a newsletter or a free tool), you'd hope for a landing page conversion rate of 10-30%. This means your Cost Per Lead (CPL) could be anywhere from £1.60 (£0.50 CPC / 30% CVR) to £15 (£1.50 CPC / 10% CVR). We ran a campaign for an app that got over 45k signups at under £2 each, which is on the very good end of this scale.
For eCommerce sales, conversion rates are much lower, typically 2-5%. So your Cost Per Purchase could range from £10 (£0.50 CPC / 5% CVR) to £75 (£1.50 CPC / 2% CVR). Of course, what matters here is Return on Ad Spend (ROAS). We've seen a 1000% ROAS for a subscription box client, which is exceptional.
This chart should give you a visual idea of the ranges you might be looking at.
Even for very local businesses, like service providers, the principles are the same. We ran a campaign for a home cleaning company that achieved a cost per lead of just £5. This is a brilliant result. While their ads were highly localised, the expertise that got that result wasn't tied to their postcode. This is where a specialist can help with paid advertising for local lead generation in Plymouth without needing an office there. It's about knowing the platform, not the place.
Your Plymouth business needs a niche expert, not a neighbour
Hopefully, it's clear by now. The search for a "paid ads agency in Plymouth" is a flawed one. You're limiting your potential for growth by prioritising a geographical convenience that has no bearing on campaign success. You need to expand your search across the UK and find the agency with a proven track record of solving the exact problems your business faces.
It's about finding a partner who already knows your industry inside out, who can talk your language, and who has the case studies to back it up. That's how you get results that transform your business, not just tick a box for 'local marketing'.
I've detailed my main recommendations for you below:
| Step | What to Do | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Forget Location | Expand your search to the entire UK. Do not filter by "Plymouth" or "near me". Prioritise remote-first agencies or those in major hubs. | This gives you access to a much larger pool of specialist talent and increases your chances of finding a true expert in your niche. |
| 2. Hunt for Niche Expertise | Search for agencies that specifically mention your industry (e.g., "SaaS marketing agency", "eCommerce ads expert"). Scrutinise their case studies. | A niche specialist already understands your business model, customers, and challenges. They won't be learning on your budget. |
| 3. Know Your Numbers First | Use the LTV calculator in this article to determine your Customer Lifetime Value and affordable Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) *before* you talk to anyone. | This empowers you to have strategic conversations about profitability, not just vanity metrics like clicks or cheap leads. |
| 4. Conduct Proper Interviews | Prepare a list of tough questions. Ask about past failures, their testing process, and who will actually manage your account. | This helps you filter out sales-led agencies from strategy-led partners who will genuinely care about your business growth. |
| 5. Demand Proof, Not Promises | If an agency promises specific results (e.g., "we guarantee a 5x ROAS"), run away. A real expert knows that's impossible. Look for proven processes and past results instead. | Paid advertising is about systematic testing and optimisation, not fortune-telling. Honesty about this uncertainty is a sign of a true professional. |
This whole process can feel a bit overwhelming, I know. Vetting agencies is time-consuming, and it's hard to know if you're making the right choice. Getting it wrong means months of wasted time and money. This is often why founders decide to work with a consultancy. We can shortcut this process, applying years of experience to build a strategy that works from day one.
If you'd like an expert pair of eyes on your business to see what's possible with paid advertising, we offer a completely free, no-obligation consultation. We'll review your current situation and give you some actionable advice you can take away, whether you decide to work with us or not.
Hope that helps!
