Why people choose us
One client per area
We work with one business per trade in each area. Once a plumber in a patch is ours, we turn down every other plumber in it. It is the most commercially awkward promise we make, and it is the one that makes the work actually possible.
The rule
What the policy actually says
Say you are a plumber. You are based in one town and you cover five around it. Those five towns are your patch. For as long as you are with us, we will not take on another plumber in any of them, and if one asks we tell them the place is gone.
It is per trade, not per client. A plumber and a dentist in the same town are not chasing the same customers or the same searches, so that is not a conflict and we will happily work with both. Two plumbers in one town is a conflict, and that is the case the rule exists for.
The reason
We cannot get two rival sites to the top of one search
This is not a marketing position. It is arithmetic. There is one set of results for “emergency plumber” in your town, and the top of it has room for one of you. If we took on both of you, every hour we spent moving one up would be an hour spent pushing the other down, and we would be charging two people for a fight we started.
Agencies do take both. They can, because the client rarely finds out who else is on the books, and the one who slips just sees a quiet month. We would rather not be in a position where our own success for you is a bill somebody else is paying us for.
We want to be the best at this, and being the best means every piece of work we do for you points the same way. That is only true if there is one of you.
What you get
Your place is held, and it is held against your competitors
The practical effect is simple. While you are with us, the business down the road cannot hire us to come after you. They will be told the same thing you would have been told if they had got here first: that the place is taken.
That is worth being plain about. It is not only that you get our undivided attention. It is that a particular set of hands is off the market in your area for as long as you want it to be.
The honest part
What it does not do
It does not guarantee you a position. Nobody can, and anybody who tells you otherwise is selling something. What it removes is one specific problem, which is us working against ourselves. Your other competitors are still there and the work still takes as long as it takes.
It also binds us rather than you. There is no clause anywhere stopping you working with somebody else as well, or leaving. The promise is ours to keep, which is the right way round.
Questions
The things people ask
What counts as an area?
Where you actually work, not a circle drawn on a map. If you are a plumber based in one town and you cover five around it, those five are your patch and we will not take another plumber in any of them. We agree it in words at the start so there is no argument about it later, and it is written down rather than left as an understanding.
What if a competitor of mine gets there first?
Then we tell you straight away and we do not take your money. It is the whole point: a policy that only binds us when it is convenient is not a policy. We would rather lose the enquiry than take on two businesses who are trying to beat each other, and we will say so on the first call rather than three weeks into a proposal.
Does this mean I will rank number one?
No, and anyone promising that is not being straight with you. What exclusivity removes is one specific problem: us working against ourselves. It does not remove your other competitors, it does not change how long SEO takes, and it is not a substitute for the work. It means the effort we put in is pointed at getting you ahead rather than at deciding which of our own clients wins.
What happens if I expand into a new town?
Talk to us before you commit to it. If that town is free we extend your patch and it is locked for you as well. If we already work with somebody there we will tell you, and we will not quietly start competing with our own client on your behalf. Growing into a town we cover for somebody else is the one case where the policy can be inconvenient for you rather than for us, and we would rather you heard it early.
Does it apply to every service you offer?
It applies wherever we are competing for the same customers on your behalf, which in practice means the search and visibility work. Two businesses in different trades in the same town are not competing for the same searches, so a plumber and a dentist in one place is not a conflict. Two plumbers in one place is.
How do I find out whether my area is free?
Ask us. There is no live map on this page because the honest answer changes as we take clients on, and a page that says "available" when it is not is worse than no page at all. Run the free health check or get in touch and we will tell you where things stand for your trade and your patch.
Find out whether your area is free
Run the free health check on your site and we will tell you where things stand for your trade and your patch at the same time.
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