Brisbane Marketing Agency Calling It: We’re Done With Dodgy Players in our Market
If you’ve ever paid good money to a “full-service Brisbane marketing agency” and walked away with:
- A slow, clunky website
- A “custom WordPress build” that’s actually just a drag-and-drop template
- A design that looks suspiciously like your competitors
- Zero idea who owns your IP, your content, or your tech
…then this one’s for you.
At FY Consulting, we’re a Brisbane marketing agency that lives at the intersection of business growth, business consulting and modern execution. And we’re honestly a bit over the smoke and mirrors a lot of traditional agencies use to close a sale and keep you in the dark.
So let’s pull back the curtain, Deadpool style.
The Big Lie: “It’s a Custom WordPress Website”
Here’s the trick a lot of agencies don’t spell out:
They’ll tell you, very confidently, that they are “building you a WordPress website”. Technically, that’s true. WordPress is the platform.
But what they don’t tell you is that:
- The entire site is built using a cheap page-builder like Elementor or similar
- The “design” is actually a pre-made theme anyone can buy
- Your site is basically a Lego kit your competitors are also using
So you think you’re investing in a custom digital asset that will support long term business growth. In reality, you’re renting a templated website that:
- Looks like everyone else in your industry
- Is bloated with unnecessary code
- Can be painful to scale, secure or optimise for SEO in the long term
Is Elementor evil? No. It has a place in the market. But let’s not pretend it is a high end, custom coded solution designed around your business model. That’s like calling a frozen pizza “wood fired artisanal”.
At FY Consulting, when we say custom, we mean:
- Strategy first, not theme first, we design strategise and build for your target market specifically
- Custom coded builds designed around your brand, your business model and your growth goals
- Clean structure, better performance and foundations that actually support SEO and future AI driven search
You’re not buying another cookie cutter template with your logo slapped on top.
IP Ownership: Do You Actually Own What You Paid For?
Here’s another classic agency move:
They’ll tell you, “You own everything,” but:
- Your website is tied to their licence for the theme or page-builder
- Your images are stock that they’ve technically licensed, not you
- Your hosting, domain and backend access all go through them
So the second you think about moving on, suddenly:
- Things get “complicated”
- You’re hit with “handover fees”
- Or, worst of all, they simply say no to transferring certain assets
Great for them. Not so great for your business.
At FY Consulting, we’re pretty black and white on this:
- If you pay for a build, you own the IP for that build
- We structure your tech so you’re not trapped if you ever want to move
- We document, we hand over and we don’t hold your business hostage because you dared to grow
We want long term partnerships, not digital ransom situations.
The Templated Design Trap: Why Your Website Looks Like Everyone Else’s
Traditional marketing agencies love a “streamlined process”. Translation:
- Same sitemap across 90% of clients
- Same layouts and blocks
- Same stock photography
- Same brand language with your industry and location swapped out
It’s a great business model for them. Fast turnaround, high margins.
But for you:
- You become forgettable
- Your site doesn’t reflect your actual brand personality
- You’re competing in Google with near identical content and structure
For a business trying to achieve real business growth, that’s a problem.
At FY Consulting, we don’t just “change the colours” on a theme:
- We start with business consulting: what’s your model, your revenue streams, your ideal client?
- We design for positioning: what makes you stand out in a crowded Brisbane market?
- We build for growth: so your website can evolve as your business does, instead of hitting a wall in 12 months.
The Sales Tricks Traditional Agencies Use (And What To Watch For)
Let’s be explicit about the games some agencies play to get the sale. Here are a few red flags to watch.
1. “Sign Today And We’ll Throw In Free SEO”
What it often means:
- They’ll set up your Google Business Profile
- Maybe add a couple of keywords to your homepage
- Then call it “SEO”
- Turn on Yoast in Elementor
Proper SEO that supports long term business growth includes:
- Site structure and technical optimisation
- Content strategy, blogs and landing pages
- Competitor analysis and keyword research
- Backlinks and ongoing optimisation
- Code that’s as strong as an OX
If “SEO” is just a line item used to sweeten the deal, you’re not getting SEO. You’re getting a bullet point on a proposal.
2. “Unlimited Revisions” (But You Never Get What You Want)
Unlimited revisions sound great, until you realise:
- The design was never based on a proper strategy
- You’re tweaking something that was wrong from day one
- You’re stuck in a loop of “Can we move that button?” while the bigger problems go untouched
- Why unlimited if it was great there should be no need
- Testing is where the feyness happens
At FY, we’d rather get the strategy and direction right first, and then refine. That means fewer revisions, better results and less time wasted.
3. “This Is How Everyone Does It In Your Industry”
Translation:
“We already built this website three times this year and we’re just reusing it.”
If your marketing agency is selling you on “industry standard”, ask yourself:
- Are you trying to blend in or stand out?
- Do you want your website to feel safe and generic, or confident and considered?
We’re not here to make you look “like everyone else in your industry”. We’re here to position you so your ideal clients see you as the obvious choice. That is how real business growth happens.
4. Long Term Contracts And Tiny Transparency
Another favourite move:
- Reports full of vanity metrics that don’t link to revenue
FY doesn’t need to trap people in confusing contracts. We prefer:
- Clear deliverables
- Straight talking reporting
- Linking marketing activity back to actual business outcomes
- Building something not for you but your target market!
What Makes FY Consulting Different (Also Known As Why We Sleep Well At Night)
Our business model is simple:
- High end product
- Custom coded websites
- Strategy led design
- Built for performance, SEO and future AI driven discovery
- Business consulting baked in
- We’re not just ticking “marketing” boxes
- We look at your business model, pricing, positioning and funnel
- We align your website and marketing to real world business growth
- Data analytics from the big end of town
- Project management that takes it off your hands
- You’re busy running a business
- We don’t expect you to write your own content, wrangle your own assets or “come back when everything’s ready”
- We handle it: planning, copy, design, build, launch and beyond
You shouldn’t need a second full time job just to get your digital presence or website done.
Why This Matters For Brisbane Businesses
If you’re a Brisbane business owner, you’ve probably noticed the noise:
- Every second freelancer is suddenly a “branding expert”
- Every second agency is “data driven” and “full service”
- Everyone’s selling “business growth” while quietly reselling templates
But your business isn’t a template.
A serious business deserves:
- A website you actually own
- A design that reflects your brand, not someone else’s
- A marketing partner that understands business consulting, not just posting pretty things online
- A Brisbane marketing agency that speaks your language and gives it to you straight
That’s what we built FY Consulting to be. From garage dreams into great big schemes, with no dodgy fine print, no cookie cutter crap and no digital ransom notes down the track.
Ready To Ditch The Templates And Grow Properly?
If you’re tired of:
- Templated “custom” sites
- Confusing contracts
- Smoke and mirrors marketing
- Agencies who disappear once the invoice is paid
It might be time to upgrade.
FY Consulting is a Brisbane marketing agency that blends business consulting, strategy and execution into one cohesive growth engine.
We will:
- Audit where you are now
- Show you where your website and marketing are holding you back
- Map a clear plan to get you from “online presence” to “growth asset”
No fluff. No gimmicks. Just a high end product and a team that actually gives a damn.
If you’re ready to move from templated survival to strategic business growth, let’s talk.
FY Consulting: the Brisbane marketing agency that builds brands to scale, not just websites to sell.