Hiring a marketing agency vs doing it yourself for a waterproofing company: red flags, fair prices, and why trial-first
How a waterproofing owner should choose between an agency, a freelancer and in-house, what a fair monthly price is, and the red flags in a pitch.
A waterproofing company owner gets pitched about once a week. Lead brokers, "page one guaranteed" agencies, a cousin who does websites, a franchise marketing package, a radio rep. The ticket size in this trade makes it a target: a vendor who can plausibly claim to send one $9,000 job a month can charge a lot for it. This guide is about how to decide, what it should cost, and what to walk away from.
What you can do yourself
More than most agencies admit. Everything in the Google Business Profile guide is an afternoon of setup and ten minutes a week. The review system in the reviews guide is a card in the truck and a text from the job board. Missed-call text-back is a $30 a month tool and an hour of setup. Posting job photos twice a week is the crew lead's phone.
If the company does those four things it is already ahead of most of the 3,745 waterproofing listings in the benchmark data, where the median review count is 10 and 41.1% have not listed hours. None of that needs an agency.
What usually needs help
Google Ads, because an unmanaged account in this trade burns money on sealer paint and roofing clicks and takes weekly attention to keep clean. A website rebuild, because the seven things in the website guide are a week of skilled work. Meta ads with video editing. Bookkeeping by service line. Anything that needs doing every week by someone who will actually do it when April hits and the owner is running inspections.
The honest question is not "can I do this" but "will it still get done in the third week of April." If the answer is no, hire it out.
Agency, freelancer or in-house
An agency brings a team and a process and charges for both. Right for a company past $1.5 million that wants Google Ads, Meta, SEO and reporting from one place. Wrong for a one-crew company that needs a Google profile fixed and text-back turned on.
A freelancer is one person who is good at one or two things. Cheaper, more direct, and the risk is they disappear in the busy season or get a bigger client. Right for a website build, a video editor, or a Google Ads specialist on a monthly fee.
In-house means an office person who takes on marketing. Works for reviews, social posting, follow-up texts and the Google profile. Rarely works for Google Ads, which punishes the part-time operator.
Most waterproofing companies under $3 million end up with a mix: in-house for the daily habits, a freelancer or small agency for ads and the site.
What a fair price is
Ranges that hold in most markets in 2026:
- Google Ads management: $500 to $1,500 a month on a $2,000 to $5,000 spend, or 15% to 20% of spend above that. Ad spend goes to Google on your own card, always.
- Meta ads management with video editing: $500 to $1,200 a month plus spend.
- Local SEO and Google profile management: $400 to $1,000 a month.
- A six to ten page website: $3,000 to $8,000 once, or $150 to $400 a month on a subscription that includes hosting and updates.
- Missed-call text-back and follow-up automation: $100 to $300 a month.
- Bookkeeping by service line: $300 to $800 a month.
A full-service package combining several of these runs $1,500 to $4,000 a month for a one to three crew company. Above $5,000 a month you should be a multi-crew operation with a spend to match. Below $400 a month for "everything" is usually a template and an intern.
Red flags in the pitch
A twelve-month contract before any results. The most common one. There is no reason a vendor needs a year of commitment to show you the first booked inspection.
"Page one guaranteed." Nobody controls Google's rankings. The guarantee is for a term nobody searches.
Leads sold to you and three other companies. Shared leads at $60 to $120 go to whoever calls first; if you are not answering in two minutes they are a donation. Ask whether the lead is exclusive and get it in writing.
Owning your accounts. If the Google Ads account, the website domain, the Google profile or the phone tracking numbers are in the vendor's name, you do not own your marketing. Everything should be in accounts you control, with the vendor as a manager.
Markup on ad spend. The ad budget should go to Google or Meta on your card. A vendor who bills you "for ads" and pays the platform is marking it up and hiding the number.
No reporting by source. If the monthly report shows clicks and impressions and not calls, booked inspections and cost per sold job, the vendor is reporting what looks good instead of what matters.
Case studies that cannot be checked. "A waterproofing company in Ohio tripled its leads" with no name is a story, not a result.
Why trial-first
The right order is results, then money. A vendor confident in the work can run it for two weeks in your accounts at no charge and show you tracked calls and booked inspections before you pay anything. If the inspection calendar does not move, you have lost a setup call. If it does, you have seen it with your own numbers before signing.
That is the standard this site holds itself to, and it is the standard to hold anyone else to. Ask the pitch: "Can you run it free for two weeks in my accounts first?" The answer tells you most of what you need.
Questions to ask any vendor
- Which accounts will be in my name?
- Does ad spend go to Google on my card?
- What do you report, and does it include booked inspections and cost per sold job?
- What happens on day 15 if I stop?
- Who does the work, and have they run a waterproofing account before?
- Can I talk to two current clients in this trade?
Frequently asked
Is a franchise marketing package worth it? If you are a dealer, the national brand terms and the co-op funds are often worth using. The local work, your Google profile, your reviews, your follow-up, still has to be done by you or someone local, and the package rarely covers it well.
Should I hire a marketing person in-house instead? At $60,000 to $80,000 a year plus tools, an in-house marketer costs more than most agency packages and is hard to find in this trade. Below $3 million in revenue it is usually a mix of an office person for the habits and outside help for ads.
How do I know if my current agency is working? Cost per booked inspection by source, compared to the calculator and your ticket size. If they cannot give you that number, that is your answer.
Every service here runs as a free 14-day trial, no card, text or call. Details on the free trial page.
Steven has spent the last several years running growth campaigns for local service businesses, waterproofing companies among them, and builds the benchmark datasets on this site from public Google listings. About the editor