Home/Small business marketing
Sector · Small businesses
Small business marketing agency run by business owners
A marketing agency for small businesses, run by people who run SMEs themselves. No clicks and followers, but enquiries and customers, within a budget that fits your business.
Why Stijgt
We are small business owners ourselves
Alongside Stijgt we run Djunes, a photo booth and event hire company we built from nothing to more than ten employees, and Rijruimer, a roof box hire business we started from scratch in 2026. We do their marketing ourselves.
That is how we know what keeps a business owner busy: you have no time to chase campaigns yourself, every euro has to deliver something and figures are only useful once they run through to the customer. So we give no advice we would not follow ourselves.
We use the same approach for other small businesses, from timber merchants with an online shop to a lifestyle store in six countries. What works for one, we apply to the other.
What we do for small businesses
- Local SEO: Google Business Profile, reviews and a page per location or service
- SEO and content on the keywords your customers really search for
- Google Ads with a clear budget and bids on what brings in customers
- Social advertising only where it works for your audience
- Measurement of enquiry, quote and customer in GA4 and your ad platforms
- Conversion optimisation: from visitor to enquiry without unnecessary steps
- Visible in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews with GEO
- Honest advice, even when something will not pay off for you
What makes small businesses different
Six things small business marketing stumbles over
A small business is not a small version of a large company. Treat marketing for SMEs as if it were for a corporate with a marketing department and you waste time and money.
- 01
You have no time for marketing
You run a business, manage people and serve customers yourself. Marketing gets squeezed into the evenings. An agency for small businesses should take work off your hands, not give you more.
- 02
Every euro has to deliver
A large company can experiment for a year. You cannot. That is why we start with the question of what an enquiry or a customer is worth to you, and work back from that to what marketing may cost.
- 03
Your customers are often close by
Many small businesses serve a region. Then your Google Business Profile, your reviews and a good page per location or service count for more than a national campaign.
- 04
Everything at once means nothing done well
SEO, Google Ads, Instagram, LinkedIn, newsletters: you cannot do it all. Choose the two or three channels that suit your customers and do those well.
- 05
You get promised a lot
Guaranteed positions, a thousand followers, a website that sells itself. You want someone who says honestly what is possible and what is not, even if that means not spending money on something.
- 06
You want one point of contact
No account manager who refers you to a specialist who refers you to an intern. One person who knows your business, follows your figures and answers directly.
Who it is for
For every small business looking for customers
Whether you run an installation company, an online shop or a consultancy, the pattern is the same. Limited time, a budget that has to pay off and customers who search by service, product and location.
- Local service providers
- Construction and installation
- Online shops
- Hire and events
- Business service providers
- Craft businesses and specialists
Our approach
How we win you more customers
- 01
Baseline
We map where your customers come from now, what an enquiry or customer is worth, how you are found in your region and where competitors rank and you do not.
- 02
Choosing channels
Based on the baseline we choose together the channels that suit your customers and budget. Whatever will not pay off, we deliberately leave alone.
- 03
Execution and measurement through to the customer
SEO, local visibility, Ads and social go live with measurement that runs through to the enquiry or customer. Accelerated with AI, checked by a strategist.
- 04
Adjusting with one point of contact
You have one fixed contact who follows your figures. What brings in customers gets more budget; what does not work stops. Cancel monthly, so we have to earn it every month.
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions about marketing for small businesses
What exactly is marketing for small businesses?
Everything that makes customers find you online and end up with you: being visible in Google and AI search engines, a good Google Business Profile with reviews, ads on the right searches and a website that turns visitors into enquiries. For a small business it is not about doing as much as possible, but about choosing the channels that bring in customers and measuring them properly.
Why a marketing agency that runs small businesses itself?
Because we know what it is like to pay the bill ourselves. Alongside Stijgt we run Djunes, a photo booth and event hire company we built from nothing to more than ten employees, and Rijruimer, a roof box hire business we started from scratch in May 2026. We know the choices of a business owner with limited time and a limited budget, and we test every approach with our own money first.
What does marketing for a small business cost?
You pay a one-off set-up fee and then a fixed amount per month, which you can cancel monthly. For Google Ads we recommend an advertising budget of at least € 500 per month. In a free intro call we give an honest estimate for your situation, even if that estimate is that you are better off starting small.
Is SEO worth it for a small business, or is that only for large companies?
SEO is often the best investment precisely for small businesses. Large players go after national keywords; as a local or specialised business you win on the searches that include a place, a specific service or a specific product. That traffic is smaller, but much closer to a customer. As an SEO specialist for small businesses, that is where we start.
What is local SEO and what does it bring my business?
Local SEO makes sure you are found by people in your region: in the map of businesses in Google, through your Google Business Profile and reviews, and with a page of your own per location or service. For a business that serves a region this is usually the first step, because the competition is manageable and the searcher is already almost a customer.
Which channels suit my business?
That depends on how your customers search. Someone who needs a plumber or a timber merchant searches in Google; then SEO, local visibility and Google Ads make sense. Business service providers sometimes get more out of LinkedIn. In the baseline we choose the two or three channels where your customers are and deliberately leave the rest alone.
Do you also work for my competitors?
No. We work for at most one client within the same industry and region. What we research and build for you, we do not use for a direct competitor.
How much of my time does it take?
Little. You have one fixed point of contact, we take the work off your hands and only come to you when we need something: a photo, an answer to a trade question or approval of a text. Your reporting shows you what it delivers.
How quickly will I see results?
With Google Ads you often see the first enquiries within a few weeks. Local SEO and your Google Business Profile usually take effect within a few months. Broader SEO takes longer, but delivers more lasting growth. That is why we usually combine something that works quickly with something that lasts.
Why Stijgt
Why businesses choose Stijgt
Supply and demand, brought together
We connect your offer with the people who are actively searching for it.
What we promise, we tried on ourselves first
We do our own marketing for Rijruimer & Djunes. So we know from experience what works.
Measurable, not a gut feeling
A baseline at the start makes the result of every euro visible in black and white.
Firepower through AI & our own agents
More output and sharper steering with AI and our own agents, without compromising on quality.
Specialists in lead generation and webshops
More enquiries or more online sales: we know what works in your model.
Ahead in AI search (GEO)
We make sure your brand also shows up in AI answers from ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI.
Free growth plan
Get a free growth plan for your website
Leave your website and email address. Within 1 working day you will have a personal plan in your inbox: where you are missing customers in Google, Google Ads and AI search engines, and which steps will bring the most.
Ready to grow?
Let us find out whether we are a match
In a free 20-minute intro call we look at your situation and tell you honestly where your biggest growth opportunities are.