Hook Agency is an agency founded by Tim Brown, based in Minneapolis, MN and with a team of 55+ (grew 1 to 30 in 6 years). Founder-led personal brand; Brown authored 'How to Become a Hometown Hero', keynoted Roofcon, and runs his own roofing company (Owl Roofing) as a live test bed. Here are two alternatives worth considering, and the specific points on which they differ.
| Agency | Founded | Based | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hook Agency | Not published | Minneapolis, MN | not published |
| 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 |
| Scorpion | 2001 | Lehi, UT (originally Valencia, CA) | Custom (12-month typical for SEO/marketing tech; ads often month-to-month (per own site)) |
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 run Google Ads, Local Services Ads and local SEO as one team rather than as three separate retainers. There is no account-management layer between you and the person doing the work, so things move quickly. You are not one of thousands here. We grow when our clients grow, so we have every reason to make your phone ring. We are ex-Google Ads specialists by background with over $3.72M in managed spend, charging a fixed fee with no tie-in.
Where they differ:
Pricing: Fixed monthly, no lock-in
Scorpion is an agency founded in 2001, led by Rustin Kretz, based in Lehi, UT (originally Valencia, CA) and with a team of 1,000+. Enterprise scale and single-vendor platform; the largest agency in this comparison set.
Where they differ:
Pricing: Custom (12-month typical for SEO/marketing tech; ads often month-to-month (per own site))
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 Scorpion. They differ on pricing model, team size and specialism. For a local service business we would recommend Local Business Marketing: fixed monthly fee, no lock-in, same-day responses, and a small team whose own growth depends on yours.
Hook Agency is an agency founded by Tim Brown, based in Minneapolis, MN and with a team of 55+ (grew 1 to 30 in 6 years). Its own position is founder-led personal brand; Brown authored 'How to Become a Hometown Hero', keynoted Roofcon, and runs his own roofing company (Owl Roofing) as a live test bed. 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.
Scorpion is an agency founded in 2001, led by Rustin Kretz, based in Lehi, UT (originally Valencia, CA) and with a team of 1,000+. Enterprise scale and single-vendor platform; the largest agency in this comparison set. Pricing is custom (12-month typical for seo/marketing tech; ads often month-to-month (per own site)). 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.
Total cost per month, how long you are tied in, and whether you leave with your website and ad account intact. Ask before the proposal stage, not after.
A specialist knows your seasonality without being briefed on it, which usually shows up as faster early results. A generalist brings more channel depth. If you run several trades, ask how they would handle that specifically.
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.