Strategy-led digital marketing
Digital Marketing Agency for SMEs in Hertfordshire
Helping growing SMEs replace scattered activity with a clear, scalable growth system. Strategic marketing management, performance acquisition and growth frameworks, delivered by a former Head of Digital.
What we do
Services
Senior marketing leadership and performance-led execution. Filter by what you need.
Fractional Marketing Manager
Senior marketing leadership, part-time. Strategy, ownership and channel direction without a full-time hire.
Learn more Strategy & leadershipALIGN Workshop
A focused session that aligns your marketing to clear commercial goals and a prioritised roadmap.
Learn more SEOSEO Audit
A deep review of your organic visibility, surfacing what's holding your rankings back.
Learn more SEOSEO Management
Ongoing SEO ownership: technical fixes, content and authority tied to commercial outcomes.
Learn more Google AdsGoogle Ads Audit
A full account review that finds wasted spend and the levers to lift your ROAS.
Learn more Google AdsGoogle Ads Management
Hands-on campaign management: structure, optimisation and reporting that scales spend profitably.
Learn moreFrom reactive marketing to predictable growth
Without senior marketing direction, activity becomes fragmented, budgets become inefficient, and growth becomes inconsistent. Structured marketing leadership turns disconnected efforts into a focused, scalable growth system.
Before…
- Marketing lacks clear direction
- Channels operate in silos
- Budget spent without predictable results
- Limited leadership-level marketing insight
- Growth feels inconsistent
After.
- Clear revenue-aligned marketing priorities
- Channels operate as one system
- Budget focused on proven performance
- Confident, insight-led decision making
- Predictable, scalable growth
Brands we've worked with
How it works
First we align. Then we scale.
Ten steps, two phases. Click any step to see what it means.
Align · Step 01
Attract
We get clear on exactly who we're targeting, and the reasons they should care, before spending a penny on reaching them.
Align · Step 02
Leverage
We take stock of the assets, data and past wins you already have, so we build on strength instead of starting from scratch.
Align · Step 03
Ignite
We shape the message, offers and campaigns that actually move people to act.
Align · Step 04
Generate
We put a reliable way to create and track leads in place, so you can see what's coming in and from where.
Align · Step 05
Nurture
We map how leads become customers, and how those customers stay and grow in value over time.
Scale · Step 06
Systemise
We turn the work into SOPs, workflows and clear ownership, so it runs the same whoever is at the wheel.
Scale · Step 07
Clarify
We set up reporting and dashboards around the metrics that matter, so success is something you can see.
Scale · Step 08
Accelerate
We find what's already working and put more behind it, rather than chasing the next shiny thing.
Scale · Step 09
Lean
We strip out waste, duplication and busy work, so effort goes where it counts.
Scale · Step 10
Expand
Once the engine runs, we open up new channels, partnerships and territories with confidence.
Free 60-second diagnostic
Find your marketing bottleneck
Not sure what to focus on next, or stuck without meaningful results? Take the quiz and we'll point you to the one priority that will move the needle right now.
Your result will be one of
FAQs
Common questions
Learn more about our digital marketing services. Tap a question to see the answer.
What digital marketing services do you offer?
Strategic and performance-led services: marketing strategy, fractional marketing leadership, SEO, Google Ads, content strategy, email marketing, conversion optimisation and growth planning.
Our focus is on aligning channels, teams and data around clear commercial goals, then scaling what works in a structured, measurable way.
Do you do hands-on, day-to-day marketing?
Yes. We combine senior-level strategic leadership with hands-on delivery where it's needed: managing campaigns, guiding internal teams, working with agencies, or directly executing across SEO, paid media, content and funnels, depending on what best supports your growth stage.
Is your agency based in Hertfordshire?
Align & Scale is based in Tring, Hertfordshire, and works with businesses across the UK. We support local SMEs as well as remote teams, providing strategic leadership and digital delivery wherever clients are based.
What is growth marketing?
Growth marketing builds a repeatable, data-driven system for acquiring, converting and retaining customers. Rather than isolated campaigns, it looks at the full customer journey, testing and optimising each stage to create sustainable, scalable growth.
What is fractional marketing?
Fractional marketing gives you senior marketing leadership on a part-time basis. Instead of hiring a full-time Head of Marketing or CMO, you get experienced strategic direction, team alignment and performance oversight for a fraction of the cost and commitment.
Do you work with small businesses?
Yes. We work primarily with ambitious small and medium-sized businesses ready to move from ad-hoc marketing to a clear, structured growth strategy. We're especially well suited to founder-led teams who want senior guidance without the overhead of a full in-house marketing department.
What makes Align & Scale different?
We focus on alignment before activity. Rather than jumping straight into tactics, we make sure your vision, strategy, channels and team are working in the same direction.
Our approach blends calm, senior-level thinking with practical execution and clear measurement, so growth is not just faster, but more controlled and sustainable.
What does Align & Scale stand for?
It's our growth philosophy, built on two frameworks.
ALIGN (Attract, Leverage, Ignite, Generate, Nurture) creates clarity across your audience, messaging, channels and customer journey, so marketing is built on strong foundations.
SCALE (Systemise, Clarify, Accelerate, Lean, Expand) turns what works into a structured, repeatable growth engine you can measure, optimise and grow. Growth starts with alignment, and is sustained through structure and continual improvement.
Case studies
Real results, not vanity metrics.
Two SMEs we aligned, then scaled. The numbers below are theirs.
Northbridge Learning
A UK tuition platform scaling nationally.
Lessons delivered
4–5× vs. start
Cost per sign-up
down from £70
Peak season hit 3,665 monthly lessons (up from 587), with cost per new lesson cut from £120 to £50.
Read the case study →EdgeConnect Systems
A UK network-infrastructure retailer.
Peak ROAS
from 636% in 60 days
Wasted spend
via query control
Forecasting and a repeatable optimisation cadence gave leadership the confidence to scale budgets without losing profitability.
Read the case study →Built for SMEs, not enterprise budgets
Most SEO audits are either automated reports with no interpretation, or enterprise engagements priced for businesses ten times your size. Neither helps a growing SME.
Based in Tring, Hertfordshire. We work with SMEs across the UK, remotely or in person.
This is senior-led work. Every audit is run and interpreted by James personally. You're not handed to a junior or sent a dashboard link. You get a real person who prioritises the handful of changes that will actually move revenue.
Experience across