KUKUI is an agency founded in 2011, led by Todd Westerlund and based in San Jose, CA. A venture-funded software platform rather than a services agency; the only one integrating directly with point-of-sale systems. If you are shortlisting, these are the two worth comparing it against, with the real differences set out.
| Agency | Founded | Based | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|
| KUKUI | 2011 (Capterra says 2009) | San Jose, CA | 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 |
| Autoshop Solutions | 1998 as Auto Web Solutions; relaunched under current name c.2005 | Apex, NC | Custom (all work done in-house at the corporate office) |
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. Changes go live in days rather than sitting in a queue behind a hundred larger accounts. Because we are a small team, your results are not a rounding error to us. Our business depends on yours doing well. Our specialists came out of Google Ads with more than $3.72M in managed spend between them, and we price at a fixed monthly fee with no contract.
Where they differ:
Pricing: Fixed monthly, no lock-in
Autoshop Solutions is an agency founded in 1998, led by Danny Sanchez, based in Apex, NC and with a team of 11-50. The longest-running auto-repair specialist here; founder started by consulting shops on business practices before building websites.
Where they differ:
Pricing: Custom (all work done in-house at the corporate office)
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 Autoshop Solutions. 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.
KUKUI is an agency founded in 2011, led by Todd Westerlund and based in San Jose, CA. Its own position is a venture-funded software platform rather than a services agency; the only one integrating directly with point-of-sale systems. 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.
Autoshop Solutions is an agency founded in 1998, led by Danny Sanchez, based in Apex, NC and with a team of 11-50. The longest-running auto-repair specialist here; founder started by consulting shops on business practices before building websites. Pricing is custom (all work done in-house at the corporate office). 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.