Group 01 of 13

Marketing and Advertising Agencies

Marketing and advertising agencies sell growth. Some run the whole function, some go deep on one channel like search, social, or email, and some exist to buy media at scale. What unites them is the model: a client pays a retainer, a percentage of spend, or a project fee for demand it cannot generate in house. This is the largest and most crowded group on the map, and the overlap between categories is heavy, because most agencies claim at least three of them.

26 categoriesEst. 41,250 to 114,000 US entitiesExplainers liveDirectory coming first

All 26 categories

Ordered by estimated size

Digital Marketing (Full Service)

Full service online marketing under one retainer.

15,000 to 25,000

SEO Agencies

Winning organic search traffic from Google and AI engines.

10,000 to 20,000

Social Media Marketing

Running brand accounts, content, and community on social platforms.

10,000 to 20,000

Advertising Agencies (Traditional)

Campaign creative and media across TV, radio, print, and digital.

13,000 to 15,000

PPC / Paid Media Agencies

Managing paid ads on Google, Meta, and other auction platforms.

5,000 to 10,000

Content Marketing

Editorial content that earns attention and converts buyers.

5,000 to 10,000

PR / Communications

Earning media coverage and managing public reputation.

8,000 to 9,000

Marketing Automation / CRM Partners

Implementing and running CRM and marketing automation platforms.

3,000 to 7,000

Branding / Brand Strategy

Brand strategy, naming, identity, and the system behind them.

3,000 to 6,000

Video Marketing

Video content engines for social, ads, and sales, not one big film.

2,000 to 5,000

Event Marketing

Events built to produce pipeline, not just attendance.

2,000 to 4,000

Email Marketing

Email and SMS programs, from flows to deliverability.

1,000 to 3,000

Media Buying

Planning and purchasing ad inventory at negotiated rates.

1,500 to 3,000

Growth Marketing

Experiment-driven marketing across the whole funnel.

1,000 to 3,000

Fractional CMO Firms

Part-time marketing executives for companies between hires.

1,000 to 3,000

Influencer Marketing

Finding, paying, and managing creators for brands.

1,000 to 2,500

Amazon / Marketplace Agencies

Managing brands' sales and ads on Amazon and other marketplaces.

1,000 to 2,500

Direct Mail

Physical mail campaigns, from postcards to dimensional packages.

1,000 to 2,000

Affiliate Marketing

Building and policing pay-for-performance partner programs.

500 to 1,500

Experiential Marketing

Live brand experiences: activations, pop-ups, tours, and stunts.

500 to 1,500

Conversion Rate Optimization

Turning more of your existing traffic into customers.

500 to 1,500

Podcast Production & Marketing

Producing and promoting podcasts for brands and executives.

500 to 1,500

Reputation Management

Repairing and defending what search and reviews say about you.

500 to 1,500

ABM Agencies

B2B marketing aimed at named target accounts, not audiences.

300 to 800

SMS / Text Marketing

Text message campaigns, subscriber growth, and compliance.

200 to 600

App Store Optimization

Getting mobile apps found and downloaded in the app stores.

100 to 300

Marketing listings are publishing firstFull directories start with this group. Tell us which category you need and we will email you the moment it is live.

Comparisons touching this group

Cross-groupComparison

The Margin Map: net margins across 12 agency types, compared

Every agency sits in the middle and takes a cut. The size of the cut that survives as profit varies by a factor of ten. Here is the map.