HOW TO HIRE · MARKETING, DESIGN & TECH

How to hire a digital marketing consultant in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

No licence applies to digital marketing consultants. Here is what to check, what to ask and how to keep your accounts and data in your own hands.

  • Search and compare — no account needed
  • Nearest to you first
  • One score from Google, Trustpilot and Locufy reviews

THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a digital marketing consultant in five steps

  1. Say what you want to changeMore enquiries, more sales, lower cost per lead: one or two goals the digital marketing consultant can be judged on.
  2. Ask for results, not toolsWhat they did for similar businesses and what happened, with numbers.
  3. Agree hours and deliverablesAn audit, a plan, setup work or a monthly retainer, each with hours and outputs.
  4. Keep accounts in your nameAds, analytics, social profiles, email platform: you own them, the consultant has access.
  5. Check the plan against the rulesConsent for marketing emails and cookies, honest ads, lawful use of customer data.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

No licence or qualification applies to digital marketing consultants in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. Look at results for similar businesses, a client reference, and a clear written scope.

Ask for two case studies with figures and a client you can contact.

Email, text and cookie consent (PECR)

The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations require specific consent for marketing emails and texts to individuals, apart from the soft opt-in for your own customers, and consent for non-essential cookies. A plan that ignores this exposes your business.

Ask the digital marketing consultant how each campaign in the plan meets PECR. ico.org.uk →

Honest advertising

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 bans misleading consumers with false or deceptive messages, and advertising codes of practice apply on top. That covers ads, landing pages and social posts alike.

Check claims in any campaign against your evidence before it runs. gov.uk →

Customer data and the ICO fee

Data protection rules require customer information to be kept secure and people told how it is used, and most businesses processing personal data must pay the ICO data protection fee.

Share customer data with the consultant only as needed, under written terms, and check their ICO registration. gov.uk →

VAT

Marketing consultancy is standard-rated: a registered digital marketing consultant charges 20% on the audit, plan or retainer, and ad platforms bill your spend separately. Registration becomes compulsory once a digital marketing consultant has VAT-taxable turnover over £90,000 in any rolling 12 months; from then VAT must be charged and shown as a separate line on the invoice.

Ask the digital marketing consultant for the VAT number with the proposal and for VAT on the consultancy fee, never on ad spend you pay the platform. gov.uk →

“What has your digital marketing work achieved for businesses like mine?”

A good answer: Specific results with figures and the time it took, and what the digital marketing consultant did themselves.

“What will the first month of consulting produce?”

A good answer: An audit and a plan with priorities, channels, budget and targets, delivered on a date.

“How many hours a month are included, and how do you record them?”

A good answer: A number of hours, a timesheet or log, and a rate for extra hours agreed in advance.

“Will my ad, analytics and social accounts stay in my name?”

A good answer: Yes, with the consultant added as a user and removed when the work ends.

“How does your marketing plan handle consent for emails and cookies?”

A good answer: Specific answers about PECR consent, the soft opt-in, and a working cookie banner.

“Who does the hands-on work, you or a team?”

A good answer: A named person. If the digital marketing consultant subcontracts, you should know who and at what cost.

“How will you report on the marketing results?”

A good answer: A monthly report with the agreed measures, compared with the start point.

Getting the quote right

  • Hourly rate and hours included, or a fixed fee for an audit or plan
  • Who actually attends to the account: the digital marketing consultant you met, an employee, or a subcontracted specialist
  • Deliverables with dates: audit, strategy, setup, reporting
  • Ad spend, software and content production listed as separate costs
  • Accounts stay in your business's name
  • Notice period on any retainer
  • The VAT number, and VAT at 20% on the consultancy fee only

Walk away if

  • A list of tools but no results
  • Plans to email bought-in lists of individuals
  • Wants your accounts moved to their name
  • Guaranteed sales or leads
  • No record of hours worked
  • Recommends tactics they will not explain
LOW
£25
TYPICAL
£56
HIGH
£150

What a digital marketing consultant costs: £25–£150 per hour

Digital marketing consultants usually charge by the hour or a monthly retainer for agreed hours; ad spend and tools are paid separately. Digital Marketing Consultant price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Digital marketing consultants near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you, or book by the hour.

  1. DiscoveryGoals, budget, current channels and data reviewed.
  2. AuditWebsite, analytics, ads, email and social examined, with competitors.
  3. StrategyA written plan with priorities, channels and targets.
  4. ImplementationSetup work and campaigns where agreed, inside the hours.
  5. ReviewResults reported and the plan adjusted.

Attribution
How credit for a sale is shared between the channels that led to it.
Conversion rate
The share of visitors who do what you want, such as enquire or buy.
Funnel
The steps from first seeing your business to buying.
Retainer
A monthly fee for an agreed amount of ongoing work.
Soft opt-in
The PECR exception for emailing your own customers about similar products, with an opt-out.
KPI
Key performance indicator: the measure the work is judged on.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the audit and the planThey are yours, paid for, and the starting point for whoever does the work next.
Check results against the start pointCompare enquiries, sales and cost per lead with the figures before the work began.
Tidy up accessRemove the consultant's access to accounts they no longer need.
Write the reviewSay what the digital marketing consultant did well and what could be better, once the work is finished. A problem goes through the make-it-right step first, so they can put it right.

STEP 1Complain to the digital marketing consultant directlyA short, dated message works best: the problem, the proof and the remedy you want from the digital marketing consultant. Your rights come from the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which requires a trader to use reasonable care and skill and gives you repeat performance or a price cut where they did not.
STEP 2Bring in LocufyGive the digital marketing consultant fewer than four stars and Locufy offers to pass the complaint on first. The make-it-right step is followed through before you publish.
STEP 3Where to report itNobody licenses digital marketing consultants, so the route is consumer advice: Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133 in England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060, Consumerline on 0300 123 6262 in Northern Ireland. They can refer the digital marketing consultant to Trading Standards.
STEP 4Small claims, as the last stepFor money the digital marketing consultant owes you, the small claims courts handle claims up to £10,000 in England and Wales, up to £5,000 through simple procedure in Scotland and up to £5,000 in Northern Ireland.

Hiring a digital marketing consultant: questions people ask

No. No licence, register or qualification applies to digital marketing consultants in any UK nation.

For individuals, yes, unless the soft opt-in applies to your own past customers. PECR requires specific consent for marketing emails and texts.

Your business should. Keep ads, analytics, social and email platform accounts in your name and give the consultant access.

£25–£150 per hour, with a typical figure of £56. Specialist skills such as analytics or paid media, and strategy rather than routine work, push the rate up. Read the digital marketing consultant price guide for the factors, or search your town above for digital marketing consultants nearby.

Usually not. Ad spend, software and content production are separate costs; check the agreement.

Usually days; ongoing support then runs as a monthly retainer.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in marketing, design & tech

How to hire: SEO SpecialistHow to hire: Google Ads / PPC SpecialistHow to hire: Social Media ManagerHow to hire: Email Marketing SpecialistHow to hire: Content CreatorHow to hire: CopywriterHow to hire: PR ConsultantHow to hire: Web DesignerAll 701 hiring guides →

Digital marketing consultants near you

Digital marketing consultants in LondonDigital marketing consultants in ManchesterDigital marketing consultants in BirminghamDigital marketing consultants in GlasgowDigital marketing consultants in BelfastAll digital marketing consultants on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. ICO — electronic mail marketing (PECR)
  2. ICO — cookies and similar technologies (PECR)
  3. gov.uk — regulations that affect advertising
  4. gov.uk — pay the data protection fee
  5. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  6. Citizens Advice — more help with a consumer issue
  7. gov.uk — make a court claim for money: court fees
  8. VAT rates — VAT rates for goods and services: standard rate 20% on most goods and services
  9. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register