Marcus Richards
We are a full service digital agency that specialises in SEO. We believe in transparency, hard work and doing what we say we will. We are a data led agency and love working with businesses that are looking to embrace digital marketing
Tell us about yourself?
I was studying at university in 2014 and left my course halfway through. I’m definitely a more ‘hands on’ type and really wasn’t suited to lectures. I went to work in house at another agency, where I met Neal Foster who I set Wildfire up with in 2018.
If you could go back in time a year or two, what piece of advice would you give yourself?
Just because a client has a large budget, it doesn’t mean they are going to be a good client. It’s just as important that they fit our values as it does that we fit theirs.
What problem does your business solve?
Various. Website not getting enough traffic, sales or leads. Business not knowing what to do with their marketing. Businesses not got enough resource to give marketing the time it needs.
What is the inspiration behind your business?
My biggest inspiration was the freedom of working for myself and implementing my own ideas.
I had a point to prove when I dropped out of university. We noticed a lot of mis-information in the SEO industry – we wanted to be honest with clients about their SEO journey and not hide behind big technical words they don’t understand.
What is your magic sauce?
We’re refreshingly honest and accountable. We don’t tie our clients into contracts – they work with us because they want to.
What is the plan for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve?
The plan is to continue to grow at the rate we have over the last four years. The online world is changing and we want to position our clients at the forefront of that. We want to become a leading voice of SEO in the country.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?
Other than COVID, it has been cash flow. We started the business without a single penny in the bank and in the early days of Wildfire, keeping our heads above the water was the hardest thing. It took us around a year to get to a comfortable point.
My advice to anyone starting up a business is to keep a tight ship, ask your clients for referrals and just get through the first 6-12 months!
How do people get involved/buy into your vision?
We want to work with businesses who are looking to take their online presence to a new level. People who understand and value the time, effort and commitment it takes to implement a marketing strategy.
