Ranqly vs a marketing agency

Ranqly was built by an HVAC franchise owner after spending $8,000 to $10,000 a month on agencies without moving local rankings. So this comparison is not neutral, and it is also not theoretical.

Capability	Ranqly	A marketing agency
Monthly cost	$249 to $449	Commonly $1,500 to $5,000 for HVAC and plumbing companies
Contract	month-to-month, no contract	Usually 6 to 12 months
Who does the work	Software, on a schedule you can see	People at the agency
Google Business Profile posting	Automated, trade-specific, several times a week	Depends on the retainer; often weekly or less
Local SEO website	Built and published per service and ZIP; you keep it	Built by the agency; ownership terms vary
Rank tracking	By ZIP, in your dashboard	In the monthly report, at the agency's chosen granularity
Lead attribution	Every lead tagged to its source, ad, or mail piece	Varies; often "leads are up"
Ads management	Conversion tracking and attribution; you run the accounts	Full service, with the accounts often in the agency's name
AI-assistant visibility (ChatGPT, Gemini)	Measured weekly	Rarely measured
What happens when you stop	The site, profile content, and data stay yours	The work stops; asset ownership depends on the contract

Pick an agency if

You want a person to call, you need someone to run paid ads end to end, and the budget supports a retainer. A good agency with trades experience is worth its fee for a company doing several million a year that wants marketing fully delegated.

Pick Ranqly if

You want the local visibility work done consistently, want to see the rank and lead data yourself, and do not want to sign a year. Ranqly does the Business Profile, the local pages, the rank tracking, the attribution, and the AI-visibility measurement on a schedule, for less than the cheapest retainer, and everything it builds stays with you.

What the founder learned paying agencies

Three things. Reports described activity, not outcomes. Nobody could say which activity produced which call. And when the retainer ended, so did the posting, and the rankings followed. Ranqly is the answer to each of those: outcomes in the dashboard, attribution per lead, and a schedule that does not depend on a retainer. The One Hour case study on this site is that business, on Ranqly, with the numbers.

See what Ranqly does for a trades business, with the numbers.

See pricing

Or read the One Hour case study and ask a question.

Frequently asked questions

How much does an HVAC marketing agency cost?

Retainers for HVAC and plumbing companies commonly run $1,500 to $5,000 a month, usually with a 6 to 12 month contract, before any ad spend. Ranqly is $249 to $449 a month, month-to-month.

Can software really replace a marketing agency?

For the local visibility work, yes: Google Business Profile content, local SEO pages, rank tracking, and attribution are repeatable tasks that software does more consistently than a retainer. For strategy conversations and hands-on ad management, an agency still brings people. Many owners run Ranqly and keep a smaller advisory relationship.

Who owns the website if I leave an agency?

It depends on the contract, and owners are often surprised by the answer. With Ranqly, the website, the profile content, and the data are yours and remain yours.

More comparisons: best HVAC marketing software, Ranqly vs Podium, Ranqly vs Birdeye, Ranqly vs Housecall Pro.

Ranqly for your trade: HVAC marketing, plumbing marketing, electrician marketing, Google Business Profile management, pricing, the One Hour case study.