What Is a Full-Stack Marketing Agency?

Gabriella Ciaccio

Note: This blog was updated October 2024.

Looking for a marketing agency that won’t just develop a strategy but will know how to execute it long-term? A full-stack marketing agency is probably your best bet. Here, we discuss the details behind full-stack marketing agencies, including how they’re different and why B2B businesses love them.

Full-Stack Marketing Agency

What Is a Full-Stack Marketing Agency?

We all know what a marketing agency is, but the term “full-stack” can prompt a few questions. So, let’s clear it up: A full-stack marketing agency has practical knowledge in all areas of a company’s online marketing strategy, rather than specializing in just one or two. They can create and support successful online campaigns using their broad knowledge of digital marketing.

What Makes Full-Stack Agencies So Unique?

Full-stack agencies differ from other marketing agencies primarily in the range of digital services they provide. Most marketing agencies have limited or specialized focuses – PPC, content, MarTech automation, etc. Full-stack agencies provide most or all of those services and can create cohesive strategies that integrate everything across a wide range of online platforms, including an organization’s website, advertising social media channels, and so much more.

Which Services Do Full-Stack Marketing Agencies Typically Offer?

As we mentioned above, full-stack agencies tend to be broad and deep when it comes to service offerings. That said, most B2B companies hire full-stack agencies for one of a few common reasons. Here are the most typical.

1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO is a specific type of marketing that focuses on achieving high ranks in Google search engine results pages (SERP). SEO is a critical part of any company’s marketing strategy – especially those in competitive industries. Full-stack agencies often have serious chops when it comes to SEO. This means they know things like how to create targeted content that will increase rankings and, thus, traffic, to a company’s website – but also things like how to identify the right keywords, optimize images, set up a Google My Business account, and so much more.

2. Pay-per-click (PPC) Advertising

PPC advertising allows companies to bid for premium placement in search engine results around specific user search queries. Many PPC-focused marketing agencies specialize in creating and running PPC campaigns. Full-stack marketing agencies can do this too, but differ in a few important ways.

First, full-stack agencies will often create the content deliverables that PPC campaigns leverage (from videos to eBooks to webinars). This helps ensure the content you’re promoting is what your prospective audience wants to consume. Another thing that sets full-stack agencies apart is the broader size and scope of PPC campaigns they have to manage, which typically range in budget from a few thousand to more than a hundred thousand dollars per month … or more.

3. Website Design and Development

Web design and development are instrumental in brand success. Everything from graphic design to copy is essential in introducing your brand to the digital world and setting it apart from your competition. Your website is also the place where most of your content will live, so users must be able to navigate and find what they’re looking for with ease. A full-stack marketing agency will know how to design a modern website that excels at converting its users.

4. Content Marketing

Content marketing is much more than just writing content and posting it online. Comprehensive, highly optimized content can drive tons of qualified organic traffic to a B2B company’s website. Many full-stack marketing agencies have experienced content teams that know how to balance technical subject matter expertise with easy readability. This way, prospective buyers don’t just find your content – they consume it and remember it.

5. Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing has opened the door to endless online marketing opportunities. Every social media channel provides a way for marketers to promote brands online, through photos, videos, ads, infographics, and more. Full-stack marketing agencies know how integral social media is to brand success, and they can set up profiles, create organic content, target qualified audiences, and launch paid ads on every platform – and then audit performance. These days, if you don’t have social media, you are severely behind in the digital world. A good agency can help you catch up.

Service

Time to Implementation

Impact

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Long-term (3-6 months)

Increased organic traffic, improved search engine rankings, better visibility, and higher lead generation.

Pay-per-click (PPC) Advertising

Short-term (1-2 months)

Immediate website traffic and lead generation, targeted advertising, and quick results.

Website Design and Development

Medium-term (2-4 months)

Improved user experience, better brand representation, increased conversions, and higher engagement.

Content Marketing

Long-term (3-6 months)

Increased brand awareness, thought leadership, and organic traffic. Stronger customer relationships and better lead nurturing.

Social Media Marketing

Short-term (1-2 months)

Increased brand awareness, engagement with target audience, and lead generation.

FAQs

“Full-stack” originated in the developer world as a term for software developers who could use various technologies at any layer. Now, it is a term that indicates someone’s broad knowledge surrounding a topic.

Those who work with full-stack marketing agencies receive help throughout all areas of digital campaigns and can trust that an entire campaign is cohesive and synchronous. They also alleviate excessive oversight from an organization.

For example, if a brand is working with multiple marketing agencies who each specialize in something different, that brand would need to make time to oversee the campaign creation process so that all marketing content remains consistent. Full-stack marketing agencies already know what is going on throughout a campaign and don’t rely on others to assist them, meaning they can build a completely integrated strategy with little to no supervision from you.

While working with a full-stack marketing agency can be costly, it is not as costly as working with multiple different agencies for multiple needs. Most full-stack marketing agencies provide excellent return on investment (ROI) and end up paying for themselves with the number of leads they produce. At the end of the day, hiring one is worth the money and will always be cheaper than hiring several agencies for individual tasks.

Full-stack marketing agencies aren’t just great for large, established companies — they’re also often among the first partners a startup looks to hire. A skilled full-stack marketing agency with experience working with startups can help scale a business quickly and efficiently. This lightens the marketing burden tremendously – a huge advantage for startups, which often have no marketing department or need help figuring out which roles to hire. Full-stack marketing agencies offer a complete, well-rounded marketing strategy and can ultimately lead startups to great success.

Gabriella Ciaccio

Gab, content marketing coordinator, is a creative writer with over ten years of copywriting experience. In her role, she creates compelling content for Altitude and our global roster of clients. Always writing with the client in mind, she crafts content that increases brand awareness, boosts website traffic, drives leads and engages a client’s ideal audience.