Debate: Big agency vs boutique shop for local SEO work?

I hired a big national agency last year for my landscaping company's SEO and they charged me $3,000 a month. They got me some rankings but the communication was terrible and everything felt templated. Then I switched to a small 4-person shop in Austin for $1,500 and my leads went up 40% in 3 months because they actually understood my market. What's been your experience - do you think bigger agencies have more resources that win out, or do small shops give better personalized results?

1 comments

1 Comment

sarah_hart4d ago

Man, is choosing an agency really that deep? It's SEO for a landscaping company, not brain surgery. Honestly, the whole "big vs small" thing feels like people overthink it to make themselves feel better about their choice. You got good results with a smaller shop, great, but that doesn't mean the big agency was a total scam. Sometimes it's just about what's working for you right now, not some huge life lesson about the industry. People act like picking an agency is a moral decision, but really it just comes down to if the person on the other end actually picks up the phone.