Results-First
We don't measure success in deliverables. We measure it in your growth. Every decision, every campaign, every pixel has to earn its place.
Digital Marketing Agency · Sunderland · Newcastle · Durham
We Make Brands
Visible.
Magnetic.
Sorted.
Mint.
Unmissable.
Web Design, SEO & Digital Marketing Agency in Sunderland & the North East
No jargon. We grab the crayons, sharpen them up, and make your brand stand out online. Then we automate the boring stuff so you can get on with the rest.
Trusted by 80+ brands across the North East and beyond
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Google Partner
Meta Partner
NE Chamber of Commerce
13+ Years
80+ Clients Delivered
80+
Trusted by ambitious brands across the North East & beyond
What We Do
Everything you need to
grow online
Strategy, creative, and technology. All under one roof. No middlemen, no confusion.
01
Creative
Web & UI Design
Fast, canny websites built to bring in enquiries, not just compliments.
Get a New Website 02Technology
AI Automation
We automate the repetitive stuff so your team can focus on the work that matters. CRM, workflows, and AI tools, sorted.
Automate Your Business 03Creative
Branding
Logos, identity systems, and brand guidelines that stick. The kind people actually remember.
Update Your Brand 04Digital Marketing
SEO
Get found by people already searching for what you sell. More traffic, more leads, month after month.
Rank Higher on Google 05Digital Marketing
PPC & Social Ads
Paid ads on Google, Meta, and LinkedIn that bring in real enquiries. You see exactly where every pound goes.
Get More Leads Now 06Digital Marketing
CRO
More sales from the traffic you already have. We find what stops people buying, then fix it.
Convert More Visitors 07Creative
Videography
Brand films, reels, and social content that stop the scroll and tell your story properly.
Tell Your Story on Film 08Technology
App Design
Mobile apps that work properly, look mint, and do what your users actually need.
Build Your App 09Creative
Photography
Commercial and product photography that makes your brand look as good as it actually is.
Book a ShootWhere we work
We’re based in Sunderland and work with businesses across Newcastle, Durham and the wider North East. Most clients come to us for web design in Sunderland, digital marketing across the North East or logo design.
Why Northern
While they say "AI integration,"
While they say "AI integration,"
we name the kit.
Most North East agencies still sell web design, PPC, and a vague nod to "automation." We tell you exactly which platforms we build on, exactly what each tier costs, and bundle the lot so you're not stitching three suppliers together.
01
Northern AI Suite.
The Stack, Named
Northern AI Suite.
Make.com.
Said out loud.
Every other agency in the audit said "AI integration" without naming a single tool. We've built the Northern AI Suite for CRM + booking + email + SMS, lean on Make.com for the workflows that stitch your tools together, and clean semantic HTML for everything client-facing. No mystery stack. No vendor lock-in dressed up as expertise.
Northern AI Suite
Make.com
WCAG 2.1 AA
02
Fixed tiers.
Productised, Not Hourly
Fixed tiers.
No "contact us"
black box.
None of the 67 NE agencies we audited show pricing on their site. We do. Northern AI Suite runs from £65/mo (Essential) up to £350/mo (Pro), with managed and fractional-CAO options on top. Websites and audits priced the same way — tiered, transparent, no surprise invoices.
From £65/mo
Fixed-Price Builds
NBSL Eligible
03
Web + automation
Bundled, Not Siloed
Web + automation
+ marketing.
One agency.
Bot specialists do bots. Web shops do websites. Marketing agencies do marketing. You end up running three suppliers who blame each other when the lead form doesn't fire into the CRM. We do all three under one roof — so the website, the automations, and the campaigns actually talk to each other.
Web Design
Automation
SEO / PPC / Brand
How we stack up
A quick read against the three types of competitor you're probably also looking at.
| Northern | Traditional NE Agency | Automation-Only Specialist | Freelancer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Names Northern AI Suite + Make.com publicly | ✓ | — | Sometimes | — |
| Productised, fixed-price tiers | ✓ | — | — | Day-rate |
| Web design + build in-house | ✓ | ✓ | — | Solo |
| Automation + CRM + workflows | ✓ | Add-on | ✓ | — |
| Integrated marketing (SEO / PPC / social) | ✓ | ✓ | — | — |
| Vertical playbooks (hospitality, trades, finance) | ✓ | — | — | — |
| WCAG 2.1 AA + semantic HTML | ✓ | Partial | — | Varies |
| NE-local (Sunderland HQ, NBSL supplier) | ✓ | Sometimes | — | Varies |
How We Work
From zero to growth
in 4 steps
No confusion. No jargon. Just a clear path to results.
01
Discover
FreeFree audit and strategy call
We look at your site, your numbers, and what you actually want to achieve. No sales pitch.
Week 102
Define
Your growth roadmap
We map out the channels, the budget, and the timeline. Everything is in front of you.
Week 2–303
Launch
Build and go live
We build it, test it, and get it live. You are in the loop the whole way.
Week 4+04
Scale
Measure, learn, grow
Monthly reports you can actually read. Quarterly strategy reviews. We keep pushing until the numbers move.
Ongoing
Free Strategy Audit
What's costing you growth?
Let's find out. For free.
Book a free 30-minute strategy audit with Dave. We'll look at your marketing, find what's not working, and tell you exactly where to focus. No waffle. Just a canny plan you can act on.
No contracts
Free consultation
Reply within 24hrs
Request Your Free Audit
Takes 30 seconds. No jargon, just results.
Case Studies
Results That Speak
for Themselves.
Before Northern marks work Dave did before Northern became a limited company in November 2025.
Client Wins · On Camera
See It In Action.
Five real client projects, on camera. From biotech field apps to immersive VR studios — the work, in motion.
What we stand for
These aren't just words on a wall. They're how we work, every single day.
Radical Transparency
You see every number, every decision, every penny spent. No smoke and mirrors. No jargon walls. Just straight talking and honest work.
Built for Speed
We move fast because your competition already is. Quick decisions. No dithering. You get results, not excuses.
Google Reviews
What our clients say
Don't take our word for it. Here's what real clients think.
I have really enjoyed working with Dave at Northern Design and Digital Marketing. Dave was quick to understand me and my wish to move away from WordPress and heavy-duty software and systems. I can now manage my own website quickly and easily on HTML5. He has interpreted my wishes - and brand values - to a T. I love my new website and brand.
Working with NORTHERN on the HERMIT UNIVERSE website has been a superb experience. Translating such a complex, visually rich and philosophically driven creative project into an immersive digital layout was no straightforward undertaking. NORTHERN approached it with embracing the concept, steady and extremely efficient work flow, patience and a genuine understanding of the vision. The result is a distinctive website that is receiving excellent, supportive feedback and captures the identity of Hermit Universe. We would very much recommend NORTHERN to anyone looking for a thoughtful, creative and collaborative approach to web design.
Dave has worked with two of my clients so far on projects I've written copy for. One was web design and development and one was a brand ID refresh and web. Design and development have been great in both cases. Simple, effective design, and incredibly fast without losing any quality. Dave cares about the outcome, is fair to clients, and listens to suggestions. All of these things are very reassuring.
FAQ
Got Questions? We’ve Got Answers.
Transparency is one of our core values. Here’s everything you need to know.
We’re a full-service creative and digital marketing agency. That means SEO, PPC & Google Ads, CRO (conversion rate optimisation), web & UI design, branding & identity, videography, photography, and AI automation. Dave’s background spans all of these. He designed global hotel brands at citizenM in the Netherlands and drove +284% PPC traffic at Law Debenture in London. We look at what you actually need, not just what we can sell you.
Every project is different, so we don’t do one-size-fits-all pricing. We’ve worked with businesses of all sizes, from local cafés to FTSE 250 investment trusts. What we do promise: radical transparency. You see every penny spent, every decision made. No hidden fees, no lock-in contracts, no surprises. Book a free audit and we’ll give you an honest assessment of what’s realistic for your budget.
Wey aye. We’re proudly based in Sunderland at the Business & Innovation Centre, but we’ve worked across the UK and internationally. Dave spent two years at citizenM Hotels in the Netherlands managing design for their global portfolio, and worked in London for Law Debenture and Safecall. Great work has no postcode. We work with whoever has the ambition to grow.
It depends on the channel. Paid campaigns (Google Ads, social ads) can deliver results within weeks. At STACK Leisure we achieved CTRs of 8.75% and CPCs as low as £0.03. SEO typically takes 3–6 months to build momentum, but we’ve delivered +145% organic traffic growth within that timeframe. Website redesigns show impact fast. At Gentoo Homes, engagement time jumped 85% in four months. We set honest timelines from day one.
From day one, you own everything: your domain, your data, your accounts, your assets. No lock-in, no hidden control, no surprises. Dave started in design, moved into UI, then digital marketing. That means he can look at all aspects of your funnel and advise what you actually need, not just sell you a service. It’s human to human, not B2B. You get a bit of banter, honest advice, and work that’s coloured in properly.
Not at all. We’ve built brands for local businesses and managed campaigns for FTSE 250 companies. What matters is clear goals and the willingness to invest in growth. Sometimes the answer isn’t a big campaign. It’s better photography, a simpler website, or sorting your Google Business Profile. Book a free audit and we’ll tell you exactly where to start.
Recognised for excellence
Partner
Partner
Employer
Employer
Certified
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