In the years following the mid-2010s, digital marketing in the United Kingdom began undergoing significant shifts. Large and small businesses were increasingly reallocating their advertising budgets from traditional media to online platforms. Yet, while many marketing agencies sought to diversify by offering a broad suite of digital services, a smaller number chose a more focussed path. During this time of evolution and saturation, a PPC-specialist agency emerged from the Lake District, quietly building a model that would later draw national attention.
PPC Geeks Ltd was founded in 2017 by Dan Trotter and Chris Stott. Both co-founders came from marketing backgrounds and identified a gap in the industry for specialised, high-performance pay-per-click (PPC) services. PPC advertising—particularly on platforms like Google Ads—was gaining popularity at the time, but the quality and depth of campaign management often varied. Trotter and Stott believed that a dedicated PPC agency, guided by data and built around transparency, could outperform the more generalised models full-service agencies offer.
The business began with just two people operating out of Kendal, a market town in Cumbria. Rather than casting a wide net of services, the founders committed exclusively to PPC strategy and campaign management. Their decision to resist early diversification set them apart from larger competitors. By narrowing the focus, they built internal systems around continuous optimisation, granular reporting, and client education. This foundational strategy would later serve as a key differentiator as the company grew.
As digital marketing became more complex, with more platforms emerging and algorithmic changes accelerating, clients needed more focussed, agile teams. PPC Geeks positioned itself as a client’s marketing department extension rather than a third-party vendor. Its approach was built around long-term partnership, cost-per-lead efficiency, and consistent campaign performance. Many of their early clients were SMEs that desired a greater return on ad spend without the overhead of internal marketing departments. By concentrating on quantifiable results over stylistic production, the agency was able to carve out a niche in a competitive marketplace.
Some milestones marked the company’s growth trajectory in the next few years. After consolidating operations in Kendal, PPC Geeks spread through offices in Liverpool, Chelsea (London), and Knutsford (Cheshire). Each expansion was connected to increasing demand from clients in new locations, particularly those companies catering to competitive sectors like eCommerce, technology, and professional services. In expanding geographically, the agency remained true to its core business, contrary to the trend of bolting on peripheral digital services.
PPC Geeks’ emphasis on performance advertising chimed with broader trends across the digital economy. By 2022, overall digital ad spending globally had surpassed £450 billion, with Google Ads accounting for more than 28 per cent of that market. Meanwhile, UK SMEs faced growing pressure to reduce advertising spending due to rising customer acquisition costs. This market environment presented opportunities for specialist agencies like PPC Geeks to present themselves as a cost-effective alternative to traditional in-house teams.
One of the agency’s differentiators was its open methodology for account audits and campaign performance. Rather than holding back insights or metrics, PPC Geeks’ team members routinely offered free PPC audits. They were not cookie-cutter diagnostics but often detailed reports along with strategic recommendations. The strategy served two purposes: building trust with prospects and demonstrating the agency’s data-driven methodology. According to publicly available reviews and media releases, PPC Geeks became one of the most reviewed PPC agencies in the UK on third-party review sites like Clutch and Trustpilot.
Their Google Ads Premier Partner status, awarded in 2023, reflected positively on the agency’s reputation within the industry. This achievement, held by the top 3 per cent of Google Ads agencies, is based on campaign performance, ad spend levels, and certification standards. While not the sole measure of capability, it underscores PPC Geeks’ operational scale and technical expertise during that period.
In addition to client success, PPC Geeks began to receive acclaim for company culture and internal practices. In 2024, the agency was named one of Great Place to Work’s UK’s Best Workplaces, a world research and consultancy firm. The recognition was awarded through employee surveys that reviewed issues such as employees’ wellbeing, leaders’ communications, and diversity in the workplace.
The same year, the company won Best PPC Management Company at the SME Business Elite Awards. Besides a major recognition in 2023 within the UK Agency Awards, PPC Geeks was awarded Marketing Agency of the Year. These recognitions put the company among a rare group of independent companies awarded national recognition despite being based outside London’s traditionally powerful tech corridor.
Another innovation has been in the shape of having an artificial intelligence entity named “Ali” installed in 2023. Ali was designed to assist with repetitive PPC tasks like keyword collation and ad copywriting. Rather than replacing human expertise, the AI tool reflected the agency’s effort to streamline operations and be more efficient. With interest, Ali was reported to have “attended” that year’s Northern Digital Awards in Leeds—a tongue-in-cheek gesture, but one that sparked interest among guests and media. The ceremony was one of the first times an AI presence was symbolically invited to a professional awards ceremony.
Although PPC Geeks has received nationwide media coverage from several publications, including The Westmorland Gazetteand North West Evening Mail, the agency’s profile remains anchored on its inception mission: helping clients achieve optimal ad yield through precision, transparency, and strategic clarity. By not succumbing to service sprawl and maintaining the spotlight on performance metrics, the firm has expanded without diluting its value proposition.
From a Cumbrian small business to a multi-office agency with national awards and industry certifications, PPC Geeks reflects a broader trend throughout digital marketing. It illustrates how specialism can establish sustainable competitive advantage when followed with discipline and concentration. In a time when agencies are prone to chase the next trend or channel, Trotter and Stott’s decision to construct narrowly but deeply has allowed PPC Geeks to remain consistent in a volatile sector.
As of 2025, PPC Geeks remains an active business focussing on measurable growth, client satisfaction, and internal innovation. The agency has indicated plans to invest further in automationand responsible advertising, though its core emphasis on PPC performance has remained unchanged.
