Widgeta vs Scorpion: an honest comparison.
Scorpion is a marketing agency built for home services, and this comparison is the least even-handed of the five, not because one is better, but because the two are not the same size of thing. Scorpion sells strategy, ad management, a website, lead handling and a team of people. Widgeta sells one automated product.
A four-truck plumbing company and a forty-truck multi-location company should read this page and reach opposite conclusions. Here is the picture, including a plain statement of who Scorpion is genuinely better for.
Contractors researching Scorpion alternatives are often shopping on price, and that is the wrong axis. An agency and an automated product are not two prices for the same thing: one buys people who make judgement calls about your market, the other buys a machine that does the same job every month without being asked. Decide which of those you need before you compare any numbers.
| What is compared | Widgeta | Scorpion |
|---|---|---|
| What you're buying | One product that builds and runs your site | A team, a strategy and managed marketing |
| Scope | Website, local SEO, monthly content | That plus paid ads, creative, lead management, reporting |
| A person to call | No account manager, the product runs itself | A named team who know your business Scorpion wins this one |
| Pricing | One published monthly price, no setup fee | Quoted per engagement; not published |
| Typical commitment | Month to month, cancel anytime | Term agreements are common, read it before signing |
| Time to live | About a minute | Weeks: discovery, design, build, approvals |
| Your time each month | None | Calls, approvals, reviewing reports |
| Who owns the site if you leave | You. Site and domain go with you | Depends on the agreement. Ask, and get it in writing |
| Right size of company | One to a handful of trucks | Established, multi-location, real ad budget Scorpion wins this one |
Scorpion does not publish pricing. Engagements are quoted individually and reported figures vary enormously by scope and market. Nothing above states a number for that reason. Ask any agency for the full first-year cost in writing, setup included.
Who each one is right for
Scorpion makes sense when…
- You are established. Several trucks or several locations, and marketing is a budget line with a number against it rather than an afterthought
- You want paid advertising managed properly by people who do it full-time. That is a real craft, it moves real money, and we do not do it at all
- You want a strategist who knows your market, picks up the phone, and can be held to a number. Software cannot be held to a number and will not call you back
Widgeta makes sense when…
- You want a published monthly cost you can budget against without booking a sales call to find out what it is
- You want the fundamentals, the site, local search, new pages every month. Running without meetings, approvals or a monthly report to read
- You are not ready to sign a term agreement, and you want to walk away owning the site and the domain rather than negotiating for them
The thing worth knowing about agencies generally: the good ones earn the retainer several times over and the bad ones bill it for a monthly report. The difference is visible before you sign, in two answers: what specifically is delivered each month, and who owns the website and the domain if you leave. Get both in writing. That applies to every agency, including the good ones, and it is the advice we would give a friend who was not going to buy anything from us. An agency that answers both plainly is worth talking to whatever it costs; one that does not is telling you something useful for free.
Fair questions
Is an agency worth it for a small contractor?
Usually not yet, and we would rather say so. Agency retainers are priced for companies with the volume to absorb them, and a one-truck operation paying agency rates is usually buying capability it cannot use. The fundamentals are most of the result at a fraction of the cost until you are bigger: a claimed profile, a steady flow of reviews, a properly structured site. A reasonable order: get those right first, run them for a year, and revisit an agency when paid advertising is the obvious next lever rather than the first one.
Can I use both?
It would be unusual and mostly wasteful: both would build you a website, and you only need one. If you are already with a full-service agency and it is working, stay. This page is for the decision before that one. The one case where both make sense is a company running managed ads with an agency that does not build or maintain the organic side, and if that is you, ask them why not before adding a second bill.
What about the ads Scorpion runs, can Widgeta do that?
No, and we are not going to pretend otherwise. Widgeta does not touch paid advertising. If managed ads are what you need, an agency or a specialist is the right answer and this is the wrong product. Ads and organic pages solve the same problem on different timescales: one buys attention for as long as there is budget, the other earns it and keeps it. Most established companies eventually want both.
What should I ask any agency before signing?
Four things, in writing: what specifically is delivered every month, what the whole first-year cost is including setup, whether you own the website and the domain if you leave, and what happens at the end of the term. Vagueness on the third one is the answer to the third one. Ask all four in the same email so the answers arrive in writing and in one place. A good agency answers them in a paragraph without being asked twice, and that response is itself the most useful thing you will learn.
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