Cardiff's Leading Digital Strategy & Search Agencies

Cardiff's commercial evolution has transformed the city from one of the world's most prolific coal-exporting maritime hubs at the Bute Docks into a dynamic capital of media, technology, and public-sector enterprise. As the base for major broadcasters like BBC Wales and S4C, alongside a growing cluster of tech incubators and financial services firms, the city supports a highly mature creative and digital economy. For businesses in Wales seeking to establish national prominence or expand into broader UK markets, selecting the right marketing partner requires finding a team that combines performance expertise with a deep appreciation for the unique Welsh commercial landscape.

Selecting a marketing partner in the Welsh capital requires identifying teams that can align with both regional requirements and broader UK-wide consumer behavior. Because Cardiff supports a diverse mix of large media operations, public sector institutions, and emerging tech startups, agencies in the area offer highly varied operational scales and technical skill sets.

To simplify your search, we evaluated Cardiff's top digital marketing agencies based on their client case studies, verified reviews, service capabilities, and local longevity. Hello Starling is included first as our sponsored featured partner for independent media planning and buying. The remaining agencies were selected editorially.

Pricing & Budgeting for Cardiff Marketing Partnerships

Digital marketing retainers in Cardiff reflect the complexity and multi-channel nature of your campaigns. While a targeted local search setup might fit within a modest monthly fee, a comprehensive campaign spanning national SEO, paid search, paid social, and creative content requires a more substantial, customized budget.

When analyzing agency quotes, businesses should ensure that proposals clearly itemize:

• Fixed monthly retainer fees for management and strategy
• Directly allocated media spend for networks like Google and Meta
• Setup fees, baseline audits, and competitor research costs
• Content creation costs (copywriting, design, video asset production)
• Website hosting, technical support, and developer hours
• Data integration, custom analytics dashboards, and goal tracking
• Agreement durations, notice terms, and rollover clauses

Most of the agencies in this guide do not publish complete standard price lists because their services are scoped around each organisation.

Pinnacle Internet Marketing publishes several prices directly on its website. At the time of review, its local SEO packages started at £395 per month for eight hours of work. Other published local packages ranged from £495 to £995 per month, while its national and wider SEO packages ranged from £595 to £3,395 per month.

Pinnacle also published a one-off website audit price of £695. Its Google Leads management service listed a £250 setup fee and ongoing management charged at 20% of monthly Google Leads spend.

These figures are derived directly from the agency's published material, but organizations should confirm whether VAT is included and verify the current deliverables and terms before entering an agreement.

For agencies that do not publish fixed rate cards, businesses should look closely at the depth of the proposed research, the level of senior account management, and the frequency of performance reporting, rather than comparing only the headline monthly retainer.

Hello Starling

Phone: 02920 440 022

Business hours:

• Monday to Friday: 9 AM to 5 PM
• Saturday to Sunday: Closed

Website | Google reviews

Google rating: 5.0/5 from 10 reviews

Hello Starling is a Cardiff-based media planning and buying agency that helps organisations reach the right audiences through carefully researched, strategically selected and transparently managed advertising campaigns.

Unlike a traditional full-service marketing agency, Hello Starling maintains a clear specialist focus. Its team plans and purchases advertising space across digital and traditional media, using audience data, market research and campaign objectives to determine where each client's budget is most likely to make an impact.

Its media services include:

• Media strategy and planning
• Audience research and analysis
• Digital media planning and buying
• Paid social media advertising
• Search, display and programmatic advertising
• Out-of-home and digital out-of-home advertising
• Television advertising
• Broadcast and subscription video on demand
• Cinema and radio advertising
• Podcast advertising
• Press and magazine advertising
• Ambient advertising
• Media negotiations and purchasing
• Campaign tracking and optimisation
• Post-campaign analysis and reporting

Hello Starling's most important strength is its independence from any single advertising channel.

The agency begins with the audience and the result the client wants to achieve rather than recommending a predetermined package, platform or inventory commitment. It can then build a media plan combining the channels, formats, locations and timings most appropriate for the campaign.

This could involve reaching commuters through outdoor and radio advertising, generating direct enquiries through paid search and social media, building broad awareness through television and video, or coordinating several channels as part of a larger regional or national campaign.

The agency's work is supported by audience data and media insight. Its planners examine who the campaign needs to reach, how those people consume media, where they are most likely to encounter the message and how frequently the advertising should appear.

Planning and buying are handled as connected disciplines. Once a strategy has been developed, the agency negotiates and purchases the relevant placements, manages campaign delivery and monitors performance. Keeping these responsibilities within the same specialist team helps the original strategy remain connected to the practical decisions made during buying and implementation.

Hello Starling also places considerable emphasis on transparent measurement. The agency works with each client to establish what a meaningful result looks like before the campaign begins. Depending on the objective, success may be measured through enquiries, bookings, subscriptions, ticket sales, website visitors, advertising recall, changes in audience perception or return on advertising spend.

Tracking, surveys and post-campaign reports are then used where appropriate to demonstrate both the outputs delivered and the wider outcomes achieved. This can be particularly useful for organisations investing in awareness-led media such as radio, television and outdoor advertising, where campaign performance cannot always be understood through website clicks alone.

Visit Shropshire case study

One of Hello Starling's prominent tourism campaigns was delivered for Visit Shropshire following the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The objective was to rebuild awareness of Shropshire as a visitor destination and encourage more people to explore the county as travel and leisure activity resumed. Hello Starling developed an integrated campaign designed to reach potential visitors across several stages of their decision-making process.

Rather than relying on one advertising platform, the campaign used a coordinated media mix to build recognition, generate interest and direct prospective visitors towards Shropshire's tourism website.

According to the agency's published case study, Visit Shropshire achieved a 200% increase in website visitors during the campaign.

Hello Starling publishes a substantial collection of media planning and buying case studies covering awareness, lead generation, visitor growth, ticket sales, recruitment and behavioural campaigns.

Other agency-published results include:

• An 857% return on advertising spend for Catch the Breeze Retreats
• 133 qualified website and telephone leads for William Raveis Mortgage at a reported cost per acquisition 47% below target
• A 1,975% return on advertising spend for FurnitureBox.co.uk
• A 44% increase in day-ticket sales for Cotswold Wildlife Park
• A 34% increase in ticket sales for Cardiff City FC
• 908 leads for Cardiff Living
• More than 1,690 firefighter applications for South Wales Fire and Rescue Service

For broader public-awareness and behavioural campaigns, the agency reports achieving 58% advertising awareness for Time to Change Wales, while a Keep Wales Tidy campaign found that 45% of respondents felt personally responsible for their litter after seeing the advertising. A Welsh Water campaign was associated with a reported 56% reduction in the targeted incidents.

These are agency-published outcomes from individual campaigns and should not be interpreted as guaranteed results for every organisation.

The current Google review information supplied for this guide shows a rating of 5.0 out of 5 from 10 reviews. Clients reportedly highlight the team's knowledge, creativity, responsiveness and ability to make the campaign process straightforward. Individual comments should be assessed alongside campaign proposals, references and reporting arrangements.

Hello Starling's specialist model can also make it a useful partner for creative, public relations, strategy and production agencies. It can work directly with an end client or as an extension of another agency's team, allowing creative and communications specialists to add media-planning expertise without building an internal buying department.

The agency states that it has more than a decade of specialist media experience and has worked with clients including Amgueddfa Cymru, Welsh National Opera, Visit Shropshire, Polish Tourism and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David.

Its Cardiff location gives the team direct experience of the Welsh media environment, regional audiences and bilingual campaign considerations, while its portfolio demonstrates the capacity to manage campaigns across the wider United Kingdom and internationally.

Pros

• Cardiff-based media planning and buying specialist
• More than a decade of specialist media experience
• Audience-first and research-led planning
• Independent cross-channel recommendations
• Digital and paid social advertising
• Television, radio and cinema advertising
• Out-of-home and digital outdoor campaigns
• Press, magazine and podcast advertising
• Broadcast and subscription video planning
• Programmatic and display advertising
• Campaign negotiation and media buying
• Transparent tracking and reporting
• Commercial and public-sector campaign experience
• Strong tourism and visitor-economy portfolio
• Regional and national campaign capability
• Partnership model for creative and PR agencies
• Extensive collection of published case studies
• Perfect 5.0 Google review profile

Best for: Organisations that already have a message or creative concept and need specialist support deciding how, where and when it should reach the audience.

What to confirm: Audience research scope, media costs, agency fees, buying arrangements, campaign ownership, tracking methodology, reporting schedule and the measures used to assess outcomes.

Liberty Marketing

Phone: 029 2076 6467

Business hours:

• Monday to Friday: 9 AM to 5 PM
• Saturday to Sunday: Closed

Website | Google reviews

Google rating: 5.0/5 from 8 reviews

Liberty Marketing is a Cardiff digital marketing agency focused on online performance, with services spanning search engine optimisation, paid media, content, digital public relations, social media and consultancy.

Its clearest differentiator is its concentration on measurable digital acquisition rather than treating online marketing as an extension of general design or branding work.

Its services include:

• Search engine optimisation
• Local and international SEO
• AI search optimisation
• Paid search advertising
• Paid social media
• Content marketing
• Digital public relations
• Organic social media
• Digital strategy consultancy
• Training and audits

Liberty may be particularly suitable for established businesses that already have a functioning website and want to improve online revenue, enquiries, organic visibility or advertising performance.

The agency’s service structure allows search, content, paid media and digital PR specialists to work together. This can be valuable for ecommerce businesses and organisations operating in competitive search markets, where technical SEO, commercial content, authority building and paid campaigns need to support the same objectives.

Liberty publishes work across retail, ecommerce, hospitality, finance, travel and consumer markets. Its portfolio includes projects involving Happy Beds, Peacocks, San Carlo, Fish4Dogs and MotoNovo Finance.

In its Happy Beds organic search case study, Liberty reports that revenue increased by 1,205% year on year and transactions increased by 1,092% year on year during the period covered by the case study.

For San Carlo, the agency reports that its local SEO strategy and changes to the booking journey contributed to more than 10,000 organic reservations and over £1 million in revenue during December.

A separate Peacocks case study reports an increase in organic search return on investment of more than 4,000%.

These are agency-published results from specific clients and campaign periods. They should not be treated as guaranteed outcomes for another business.

Liberty’s approach appears best suited to organisations prepared to provide access to commercial data and work with the agency over an ongoing period. Its case studies commonly involve technical analysis, keyword research, user journey improvements, content development and sustained optimisation rather than isolated campaign activity.

The agency does not publish a standard price list or universal minimum monthly commitment on its main service pages. Prospective clients should request a proposal setting out the channels included, the expected specialist hours, reporting arrangements, advertising spend and initial contract period.

Pros

• Genuine Cardiff office
• Dedicated performance marketing focus
• Strong SEO and paid-media capabilities
• Content and digital PR available in-house
• Relevant experience with ecommerce and consumer brands
• Detailed case studies with published commercial results
• Local, national and international search expertise
• Digital strategy, audits and training available

Freshwater

Phone: 029 2030 4050

Business hours:

• Monday to Friday: 8 AM to 5:30 PM
• Saturday to Sunday: Closed

Website | Google reviews

Google rating: 4.0/5 from 1 review

Freshwater is an integrated communications agency with offices in Cardiff and London. Its work covers public relations, public affairs, campaign planning, advertising, digital marketing, content, design, video, stakeholder engagement and communications training.

Its strongest differentiator is the ability to connect digital activity with wider communications, reputation and public engagement programmes.

Its services include:

• Communications strategy
• Public relations
• Public affairs
• Digital marketing
• Paid search advertising
• Social media marketing
• Content marketing
• Campaign planning
• Graphic design
• Video production
• Stakeholder engagement
• Events and training

Freshwater may suit public bodies, membership organisations, professional-services firms, healthcare organisations, charities and businesses whose objectives involve awareness, behaviour change, reputation or stakeholder communication as well as website traffic and enquiries.

The agency’s published work includes campaigns for the Welsh Government, Innovate UK Business Growth, Associated British Ports, Donate Wales and professional-services organisations.

For the Childcare Offer for Wales, Freshwater reports that a public awareness campaign generated more than 600,000 impressions during its launch month. It also reports a 100% increase in searches relating to key campaign messages and states that eight Welsh counties reached the government’s target of at least 65% uptake during the first year.

For a Welsh Government climate-change engagement programme, Freshwater reports producing 83 written case studies and one video case study within a year, with the written and video content covering the required geographical and thematic areas.

Freshwater also states that it produced more than 50 case studies for Innovate UK Business Growth during the first year of the relationship. According to the agency, those stories received approximately 3,000 views on the Innovate UK Business Connect website during the first half of 2025.

A separate Welsh Government broadband project involved a roadshow of 62 events. Freshwater reports engaging with 5,957 members of the public and completing 2,811 interviews about internet use over the two-year contract.

These are agency-published results relating to specific programmes and audiences. Individual results are not guaranteed.

Freshwater’s portfolio indicates particular depth in the public sector, healthcare, legal services, transport, infrastructure, energy, education and not-for-profit work. This may be useful for organisations that need communications to satisfy governance, accessibility, stakeholder and public-accountability requirements.

The agency does not publish a standard digital-marketing price list. Projects involving media relations, research, stakeholder programmes, creative production or public campaigns are likely to require a tailored scope and budget.

Businesses should confirm whether media buying, event delivery, research, video production and website work are included within the main fee or priced separately.

Pros

• Central Cardiff office
• Integrated digital marketing and communications
• Strong public relations and public-affairs capabilities
• Experience with Welsh public-sector campaigns
• Stakeholder engagement and behaviour-change expertise
• Content, design and video production available
• Detailed public-sector and communications case studies
• Additional London office

WCS Agency

Phone: 029 2264 7787

Business hours:

• Monday to Friday: 9 AM to 5 PM
• Saturday to Sunday: Closed

Website | Google reviews

Google rating: 5.0/5 from 21 reviews

WCS Agency is a Cardiff-based integrated agency specialising in social media, public relations, creative production, paid advertising, events and wider marketing strategy.

The agency also owns Cardiff Life Magazine and operates the Cardiff Life Awards. This gives it a distinctive connection with local businesses, hospitality venues, events and consumer audiences in the city.

Its services include:

• Social media management
• Paid social advertising
• Public relations
• Communications strategy
• Creative production
• Photography and video
• Influencer marketing
• Events and activations
• Marketing consultancy
• Google Ads
• Search engine optimisation
• Website development

WCS is likely to be most relevant to brands that rely heavily on visibility, audience engagement, creative content and local or regional awareness.

Its service range may suit hospitality businesses, venues, retailers, leisure brands, property businesses, event organisers and consumer-facing organisations that need campaigns coordinated across organic social media, paid media, public relations, creators and physical events.

The agency lists work or relationships involving organisations such as Cardiff City Football Club, Cymru Wales, Holland & Barrett, Hugh James, Principality Stadium, Sweaty Betty, The Celtic Collection, The Ivy and Utilita Arena Cardiff.

WCS presents itself as a social-first agency, but its current service range extends into paid performance activity, websites, PPC and SEO. This means clients can potentially combine social content and communications with advertising and conversion-focused digital activity.

Its local media and events operations are a meaningful differentiator for Cardiff-based organisations. A business seeking local awareness may benefit from an agency familiar with the city’s hospitality, entertainment, retail and professional networks.

The WCS website displays Google Partner and Cyber Essentials badges. Businesses for which a particular accreditation is important should still ask the agency to confirm its current status and explain how it relates to the team managing their account.

WCS does not publish a full standard price list. Its mix of social management, production, advertising, public relations and events means proposals are likely to vary substantially depending on the required volume of content, filming, media spend and campaign support.

The agency’s public website includes showcases and a substantial client list, although it provides fewer detailed quantified case-study outcomes than some performance-led agencies. Prospective clients should ask for examples relevant to their sector and objectives, including baseline figures and measurement methods.

Pros

• Genuine central Cardiff office
• Strong local market connections
• Social media and creative production expertise
• Paid social and performance services
• Public relations and communications support
• Events, activations and influencer marketing
• Experience with recognised consumer and hospitality brands
• Website, PPC and SEO services available
• Google Partner badge displayed on its website
• Strong local Google review profile

Pinnacle Internet Marketing

Phone: 029 2051 9020

Business hours:

• Monday to Friday: 9 AM to 5 PM
• Saturday to Sunday: Closed

Website | Google reviews

Google rating: A current rating and review count could not be verified confidently from the available Google profile data

Pinnacle Internet Marketing is a Cardiff digital agency providing SEO, paid advertising, social media, website development, video marketing and newer services focused on visibility within AI-generated search results.

The company states that it was established in 2006 as a specialist SEO agency before expanding into wider digital marketing.

Its services include:

• Local and national SEO
• Technical SEO
• Generative engine optimisation
• Paid search advertising
• Google Leads management
• Social media management
• LinkedIn marketing
• Website design and development
• Website hosting
• WordPress maintenance
• Video and YouTube marketing
• Website security

Pinnacle’s strongest differentiator is the amount of commercial information it publishes. While many agencies require an initial consultation before disclosing any indicative costs, Pinnacle publishes several fixed SEO packages and selected setup and management fees.

At the time of review, its local SEO packages included:

• Local Bronze: £395 per month for eight hours
• Local Silver: £495 per month for 11 hours
• Local Gold: £695 per month for 16 hours
• Local Platinum: £995 per month for 24 hours

Its published national SEO packages started at £595 per month. Wider national and international packages extended to £3,395 per month for the highest listed tier.

The agency also published a complete on-site audit at £695 as a one-off fee.

For Google Leads management, Pinnacle listed a £250 one-time setup charge and an ongoing management fee equal to 20% of monthly Google Leads spend.

These prices were published directly by the agency. Businesses should confirm the current figures, VAT position, included deliverables, cancellation arrangements and whether additional content, development or software costs apply.

Pinnacle states that all its SEO packages include an initial website audit. Its published terms describe checks covering mobile usability, Google Search Console indexing, website speed, organic traffic, backlinks, content, competitor activity and keyword research.

The agency may suit smaller and medium-sized businesses that prefer clearly structured packages and want to understand approximately how much specialist time is allocated each month.

Its broader service range allows SEO to be combined with PPC, social media, website maintenance and video. Pinnacle also offers generative engine optimisation and AI optimisation services for businesses assessing how their content appears in AI-assisted search experiences.

The agency advises that paid advertising can begin generating traffic relatively quickly, while SEO and content activity commonly require three to six months before more meaningful progress is visible. This is general guidance rather than a performance guarantee.

Pros

• Established in Cardiff in 2006
• Specialist SEO background
• Local, national and international SEO packages
• Published monthly prices and allocated hours
• PPC and Google Leads management
• Website design, maintenance and security
• Social media, LinkedIn and video services
• Generative engine optimisation available
• One-off website audit price published
• Clear Cardiff office and telephone details

CORE

Phone: 029 2070 4700

Business hours:

• Monday to Sunday: Opening hours were not published clearly enough to verify

Website | Google reviews

Google rating: 5.0/5 from 4 reviews

CORE is a Cardiff digital agency specialising in strategy, creative work, website development, ecommerce, user experience and ongoing digital marketing.

Its strongest differentiator is the close connection between research, design and technical development. Rather than approaching a website as a standalone visual project, the agency uses audience research, user journeys, analytics and solution architecture to inform how the final platform is structured.

Its services include:

• Digital strategy
• Audience research
• User experience design
• Brand and creative design
• Website design
• Website development
• Ecommerce development
• Search engine optimisation
• Paid advertising
• Conversion-rate optimisation
• Analytics and reporting
• Hosting and technical support

CORE may be particularly suitable for organisations that need a substantial website, ecommerce platform or digital system supported by ongoing marketing and optimisation.

Its website work includes projects for Admiral Law, Food Sense Wales, Magneto and the PW7 Foundation.

For Admiral Law, CORE developed the organisation’s website and online client journey while working within the technical and brand requirements of the wider Admiral Group.

The project included audience mapping and the creation of user personas to represent different client groups. CORE used these to structure navigation, signposting and contact routes around how clients were expected to use the website.

The agency states that it continued to support Admiral Law through analytics and reporting after launch, helping the organisation assess user behaviour and identify improvements to the client experience.

This case study does not publish percentage increases or revenue figures, but it provides useful detail about the discovery, design, technical and post-launch process. Any performance outcomes published in an agency case study relate to that specific project and are not guaranteed for another organisation.

CORE’s strategic services cover content planning, SEO, social media, paid advertising, conversion-rate optimisation and customised reporting.

Its conversion work can include heatmaps, user recordings and split testing. Reporting can be configured around relevant metrics and may include custom event tracking through Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager.

The agency’s website displays credentials and partnerships including Google Partner, Shopify Partner, Cyber Essentials Plus and ISO 27001 certification. It also lists AWS, DigitalOcean, Mailchimp and Campaign Monitor among its technology and platform relationships.

These capabilities may be particularly relevant to organisations with security, governance, ecommerce, data or integration requirements that extend beyond a standard brochure website.

CORE does not publish fixed website or monthly marketing prices. Businesses should request a detailed proposal separating research, design, development, hosting, maintenance, licensing and ongoing marketing.

Pros

• Genuine Cardiff Bay office
• Strong website and ecommerce capabilities
• Audience research and user-experience expertise
• SEO, PPC and conversion optimisation available
• Analytics and custom tracking
• Ongoing hosting and technical support
• Google Partner and Shopify Partner badges displayed
• Cyber Essentials Plus and ISO 27001 credentials displayed
• Experience with complex organisations and user journeys
• Strategy, creative and development delivered through one agency

Selecting the Right Partner in Cardiff

Selecting the right partner in Cardiff depends on your business's developmental stage and marketing requirements. Hello Starling is our sponsored featured partner and is particularly relevant for organisations seeking independent audience research, media planning and cross-channel advertising buying. Liberty Marketing is a strong choice for established brands seeking a highly structured, data-driven performance programme across search marketing, paid social media and digital PR. Freshwater is well suited to organisations requiring integrated digital marketing that works alongside public relations, stakeholder engagement and public affairs. For hospitality, lifestyle and consumer brands looking to build regional visibility, WCS Agency combines events and creative social media. Pinnacle Internet Marketing offers a practical option for small and medium-sized enterprises that prefer transparent, package-based pricing structures for search and local lead generation, while CORE is a technical partner for businesses requiring custom web development, ecommerce and research-led user experience design.

When evaluating pitches from these agencies, ask each to clarify:

• The specific specialists who will execute your campaigns and their direct industry experience
• Whether core deliverables are completed by the in-house team or outsourced
• How performance is measured and the format and frequency of client reporting
• Notice periods, contract commitments, and data ownership of all digital assets

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