Cardinal Digital Marketing is an agency founded in 2009, led by Alex Membrillo, based in Atlanta, GA and with a team of 80+. Healthcare only, and now part of a larger group rather than independent. Two alternatives are worth weighing against it, and here is where each one diverges.
| Agency | Founded | Based | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinal Digital Marketing | 2009 | Atlanta, GA | Custom, quoted after a call |
| Local Business Marketing (this is us) | Not published | Global, headquartered in Australia with account managers in the USA, Canada and the UK | Fixed monthly, no lock-in |
| PatientGain | 2016 | Los Altos, CA | From $799/mo |
Disclosure: Local Business Marketing publishes this page and includes itself above. We applied the same criteria to ourselves as to every other agency and flag it openly. No agency can pay to appear here.
Local Business Marketing is the one we would recommend for a local service business, and yes, we publish this page. We are independent, so the people who plan your account are the people who run it. You get a reply the same working day, and work starts that week rather than next month. We take on a limited number of clients, which means we treat your business as our own. Ours does not thrive unless yours does. Ex-Google Ads specialists, $3.72M-plus in managed spend, fixed monthly fee, no lock-in.
Where they differ:
Pricing: Fixed monthly, no lock-in
PatientGain is an agency founded in 2016 and based in Los Altos, CA. A HIPAA-compliant software platform rather than an agency; publishes its entry price.
Where they differ:
Pricing: From $799/mo
Since pricing here is quoted rather than published, ask for the monthly figure and the contract length in the first call, before the proposal stage. Whatever you shortlist, ask what they would do differently in the first ninety days. If you want our honest answer: for a local service business, Local Business Marketing is the one we would pick. Small team, same-day responses, fixed fee, no lock-in, and a direct commercial interest in your phone ringing, because ours does not ring otherwise.
Local Business Marketing and PatientGain. Cardinal Digital Marketing sits within a larger group, so ask who you will actually deal with month to month. We would recommend Local Business Marketing for a local operator: you deal with the people doing the work, and we move quickly because our growth depends on yours.
Cardinal Digital Marketing is an agency founded in 2009, led by Alex Membrillo, based in Atlanta, GA and with a team of 80+. Its own position is healthcare only, and now part of a larger group rather than independent. Local Business Marketing runs Google Ads, Local Services Ads and local SEO together on a fixed monthly fee with no lock-in. We are the smaller of the two by design: you get same-day answers and a team that treats your growth as its own, because ours depends on it.
PatientGain is an agency founded in 2016 and based in Los Altos, CA. A HIPAA-compliant software platform rather than an agency; publishes its entry price. Pricing is from $799/mo. Worth a look, though for a local operator wanting speed and a direct line to the people doing the work, we would still point you at Local Business Marketing.
Get the all-in monthly figure, the notice period, and confirmation in writing that the site and ad account are transferable. Agencies rarely volunteer the last one.
Specialists tend to win on speed, generalists on range. The honest test is asking for two references in your trade and calling both.
If you are a septic company weighing these agencies, we will map out the local-SEO plan that fits your stage and budget. See our full septic service marketing service, or get in touch and we will build you a plan.