Dundee's Digital Ad Experts: The REAL Way To Hire

Alright, so you're looking for a digital advertising consultant in Dundee. The first thing you need to do is forget that you're looking for someone in Dundee. It’s the single biggest mistake I see businesses make. You're not hiring a plumber; you don't need someone who can be at your office in ten minutes. You need someone who can get you customers profitably, whether they're based in the Dundee Technology Park or working from a laptop in London.

The truth is, the pool of genuine, top-tier advertising talent in any city the size of Dundee is going to be small. Very small. Your odds of finding a true specialist in, say, B2B SaaS lead generation or scaling a direct-to-consumer eCommerce brand are slim to none if you limit your search to Tayside. You'll likely end up with a generalist—a jack of all trades who is a master of none. They'll know a bit about Google, a bit about Facebook, but they won't have the deep, battle-tested experience in your specific niche that actually moves the needle.

You're not paying for proximity; you're paying for results. Your number one priority should be finding someone who lives and breathes your industry, understands your customer's pain points, and has a track record of solving the exact problems you're facing right now. It's about expertise, not geography. Many businesses get this wrong and end up burning through thousands of pounds with a local "full-service agency" that gets them plenty of clicks but no actual sales.

So, how do you find the right person?

You need to change your entire vetting process. Stop looking at glossy agency websites with pictures of their office dog and start digging into the stuff that actually matters. It's not about what they promise; it's about what they've already done. I've audited hundreds of ad accounts over the years, and the successful ones are always run by specialists, not generalists.

Instead of asking "Are you based in Dundee?", you need to be asking three much tougher questions. These are the questions that seperate the real experts from the pretenders. If a consultant or agency fumbles their answers to these, you walk away. Simple as that.

Question 1: "Can you show me a detailed case study of a business just like mine?"

This is the acid test. Don't accept vague answers like "Oh yes, we've worked in the tech space before." That's meaningless. You need specifics. If you're a B2B software company selling to HR departments, you need to see a case study for another B2B SaaS company. If you're an eCommerce store selling handcrafted jewellery, you need to see results for a similar D2C brand.

I remember one B2B SaaS client who came to us after sinking £20k with a local agency. The agency had shown them a great case study for a local restaurant. The results were impressive, but completely irrelevant. Unsurprisingly, the campaigns for the SaaS product were a disaster. They were trying to sell complex software with tactics that work for selling pizzas. You need to see proof they understand your world. For example, I remember one campaign where we took a medical job matching SaaS from a £100 Cost Per Acquisition down to just £7, and another where we generated 5,082 software trials for a software client using Meta ads. That's the level of specific, relevant proof you should be demanding.

Question 2: "What is your process for diagnosing the problem *before* you recommend a solution?"

A cowboy will immediately start talking about platforms. "Oh, you need to be on TikTok!" or "We'll run some Google Search ads for you." They're selling a tactic, not a strategy. A true expert will start by asking questions about your business. A lot of questions.

They'll want to understand your customer's biggest nightmare. Not their demographic, their *nightmare*. What keeps them up at night? What problem is so urgent and expensive that they are actively searching for a solution? Your ad campaigns will live or die based on how well you answer this. An expert knows this. They'll ask about your sales cycle, your margins, and your customer lifetime value (LTV). They are trying to understand the fundamental economics of your business so they can build a campaign that is profitable by design. If their first step isn't a deep dive into your business model and customer psychology, they're just a button pusher.

Question 3: "Based on my numbers, how high a Cost Per Lead can I afford?"

This question will stop most of them in their tracks. They'll likely talk about 'industry benchmarks' or give you a vague range. The correct answer is, "I don't know yet, let's calculate it." This is where you separate the pros from the amateurs. An expert understands that a 'good' CPL is completely relative to your business. A £250 lead might be a bargain for a company selling high-ticket industrial products, but it's a catastrophe for a business selling a £20 subscription box.

The only way to know what you can afford to pay is by calculating your Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) and working backwards. This single calculation is more important than any keyword research or audience targeting. It's the mathematical foundation of a scalable advertising strategy. Any consultant worth their salt should be able to walk you through this on the spot. If they can't, they don't have the commercial acumen to manage your budget responsibly.

Don't Guess Your Numbers, Calculate Them

Most business owners in Dundee, or anywhere for that matter, are flying blind. They're obsessed with lowering their Cost Per Lead (CPL) without knowing what a truly profitable CPL even looks like for them. This leads to turning off potentially brilliant campaigns just because the initial CPL "feels" high. The math behind Lifetime Value isn't complicated, but it's the most powerful tool in your arsenal. It frees you from the tyranny of cheap, low-quality leads and gives you the confidence to invest in acquiring high-value customers.

Let's break it down. You only need three numbers from your business:

• Average Revenue Per Account (ARPA): How much does a typical customer pay you each month?
• Gross Margin %: After your cost of goods/services, what percentage is profit?
• Monthly Churn Rate %: What percentage of customers do you lose each month?

With these three figures, you can calculate the single most important metric for your advertising. I've built a simple calculator below to do the heavy lifting for you. Play around with the sliders and see how small changes in churn or margin can dramatically impact what you can afford to spend to get a new customer.

Spotting the Cowboys: Red Flags to Avoid

Armed with the right questions, you also need to be aware of the tell-tale signs of a low-quality provider. The Dundee market, like any other, has its share of people who talk a good game but can't deliver. Here's what to watch out for.

• Guaranteed Results: This is the biggest red flag of all. If anyone promises you a specific Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) or a certain number of leads, they are either lying or incompetent. Paid advertising is an auction. No one can predict the exact outcome. A real pro will talk about a methodical process of testing and optimisation, not about guarantees.
• Focus on Vanity Metrics: If their reports are full of fluff like 'impressions', 'reach', or 'clicks', be very wary. These numbers are easy to inflate and mean nothing for your bottom line. I can get you a million impressions for next to nothing by targeting low-income countries, but it won't get you a single customer. You should only care about metrics that are tied to revenue: leads, trials, sales, and your Cost Per Acquisition.
• Long-Term Contracts from Day One: A confident consultant or agency won't need to lock you into a 12-month contract. They'll be happy to start with a 3-month trial period or even a rolling monthly agreement because they're confident they can deliver value that makes you want to stay. A long contract is often a sign they lack confidence in their own ability to perform.
• Lack of Transparency: You should have full, admin-level access to your own ad accounts. Period. Some agencies will run ads through their own accounts, which means you lose all the data and campaign history if you leave. This is a massive red flag. It's your money and your data; you should own it.

Deciding on the right type of partner is also a big part of the process. It's not just about finding a good consultant; it's about finding the right *type* of consultant for your specific business needs. There are generally three kinds of providers you'll encounter, and navigating the pros and cons is a key part of the real way to choose an agency.

What Should You Realistically Expect to Pay for Ads in Dundee?

This is a common question, and the answer is, of course, "it depends". But based on the campaigns we've run for UK clients, we can provide some realistic ballpark figures. The cost of advertising in Dundee will be broadly similar to other parts of the UK, as you're competing in a national or even global auction on platforms like Google and Meta.

The key factors influencing your costs will be your industry, your target audience, and the quality of your campaigns. For service-based businesses in a competitive market, like an electrician or an HVAC company, you could be looking at £30-£60 per lead from Google Ads. We have a client in a competitive area seeing costs around $60 (£47) per lead right now. However, for other consumer services like home cleaning, we've seen costs as low as £5 per lead. It varies massively.

For B2B, especially in the tech and software space which is growing in Dundee, costs are higher. A lead from LinkedIn Ads might cost anywhere from £20 to over £100. We ran one campaign for a B2B software client that brought in leads for $22 (£17) on LinkedIn, which was a fantastic result. On Meta, B2B can be cheaper; we've seen campaigns get B2B software registrations for as little as $2.38 (£1.87).

For eCommerce, you shouldn't be looking at Cost Per Lead, but Return on Ad Spend (ROAS). A good starting goal is to aim for a 300-400% ROAS, meaning for every £1 you spend on ads, you get £3-£4 back in revenue. We've had eCommerce clients see massive returns, like a women's apparel brand hitting 691% ROAS. It all comes down to having a great product, a high-converting website, and expertly managed campaigns.

Here’s a rough guide to what you might expect to pay for a single lead or sale in sectors relevant to Dundee's economy.

The Final Hurdle: Using the Free Consultation as an Audit

So, you've done your research, shortlisted a few specialists (regardless of their location), and you're ready to book in some calls. Most good consultants will offer a free initial consultation or strategy session. This is not a sales call. This is your final, and most important, vetting opportunity. This is where you put their expertise to the test.

Don't let them control the conversation. You should go in with a list of specific, sharp questions designed to probe their strategic thinking. Here's what you should be asking:

1. "Looking at my website, what do you believe is the single biggest weakness in my offer or sales proposition?" This forces them to think commercially, not just tactically. A good answer will be brutally honest and might even be uncomfortable to hear.
2. "If our initial campaigns fail to generate a positive return in the first month, what is your exact, step-by-step diagnostic process?" A great consultant will have a clear, logical framework for troubleshooting. They'll talk about analysing drop-off points in the funnel, creative fatigue, audience saturation, and landing page conversion rates. A poor consultant will just say "we'll test more ads".
3. "Who is my biggest competitor from an advertising perspective, and why?" This shows if they've done their homework. They should be able to identify not just your direct business competitors, but who you're competing with for attention in the ad auction itself.

The answers to these questions will tell you everything you need to know. You're looking for someone who thinks like a business owner, not just a marketer. Someone who is obsessed with your unit economics and profitability, not just with getting you clicks. If you're wondering about the true cost and benefit of hiring help versus going it alone, it's worth understanding the full picture of whether you should hire a consultant or try to manage ads yourself.

Choosing the right partner is probably the most important marketing decision you'll make. It can be the difference between stagnating and achieving explosive growth. Don't leave it to chance, and definately don't limit your options to whoever happens to have an office down the road.

So what's the plan?

I've detailed my main recommendations for you below. This is the framework you should follow. It's not about finding a "Dundee consultant", it's about implementing a professional vetting process to find a true growth partner for your business.

If you're a founder or marketing lead in Dundee and you're tired of generic advice and lacklustre results, this process might feel like a lot of work. It is. But it's far less work than wasting six months and a five-figure budget on the wrong agency.

Getting paid advertising right requires a huge amount of specialist knowledge, constant learning, and a deep understanding of business strategy, not just marketing tactics. It's why many ambitious businesses decide to work with a dedicated expert who has been there and done it hundreds of times before.

If you'd like a second opinion on your current strategy or want to see what a specialist approach could look like for your business, we offer a free, no-obligation 20-minute strategy session. We can take a look at your ad account, discuss your goals, and give you some actionable advice you can implement straight away. There's no hard sell; just straightforward, expert advice to help you grow. Feel free to reach out to schedule yours.