What marketing actually costs a business in Toronto
Toronto is the largest market in the country, and that cuts both ways. There are more customers searching for what you sell here than anywhere else in Canada, and there are also more businesses bidding for those same clicks than anywhere else in Canada. A budget that would dominate a smaller Ontario market buys you a modest share of impressions in Toronto, and the difference between a campaign that pays for itself and one that quietly bleeds is usually structural rather than clever.
The practical consequence for most Toronto businesses is that you cannot win by outspending. You win by being more precise: tighter match types, a real negative keyword list, conversion tracking that counts a booked job rather than a form view, and landing pages that answer the specific thing the searcher typed. That is unglamorous work and it is most of the job.
It is also the market where you are most likely to already have an agency. If yours is doing well by you, keep them. I am useful when you want one accountable person who will show you the account, explain what is in it, and tell you plainly when a channel is not worth the money in financial services, professional services, technology, real estate and health care or anywhere else.
Three ways to grow a Toronto business, run by one accountable person
Same three services everywhere I work. What changes in Toronto is the competition you are buying into and how much precision it takes to make each one pay. If you are not sure which one fits, say so and I will tell you which I would start with, including when the answer is none of them yet.
Google Ads Management
For Toronto businesses that need the phone to ring this quarter. I rebuild the account structure, fix the conversion tracking so it counts real customers instead of page views, and cut the spend that is going to searches that were never going to buy. In a market this competitive, most of the win is in what I turn off.
$1,500/month + ad spend
SEO Consulting
For Toronto businesses that want customers arriving without paying per click. Technical fixes first, then the pages that answer what your buyers actually search. Slower than ads and the compounding is the point: Toronto rankings you earn keep working after you stop paying.
$1,200/month
AIO Consulting
Your Toronto customers increasingly ask ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews for a recommendation before they ever open a search results page. AIO is the work of being the business those answers name. New enough that most of your Toronto competitors have not started.
$1,800 one-time
Where in Toronto I work
Across Toronto
I take on clients right across Toronto, in Downtown Toronto, North York, Scarborough, Etobicoke, York, East York, the Financial District and Liberty Village. The work is done remotely and over video whichever part of the city you are in, though being based here means an in-person coffee is genuinely on the table rather than a line of marketing copy.
- Downtown Toronto
- North York
- Scarborough
- Etobicoke
- York
- East York
- the Financial District
- Liberty Village
And out into the GTA
Plenty of businesses that describe themselves as Toronto businesses are actually headquartered a highway exit away, and they compete in the same auctions and the same search results. I work with them on the same terms: Mississauga, Brampton, Markham, Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Oakville and Pickering.
- Mississauga
- Brampton
- Markham
- Vaughan
- Richmond Hill
- Oakville
- Pickering
Questions Toronto businesses ask
Do you have an office in Toronto?
No, and I would rather say so than imply otherwise. I live and work in Toronto but I work from home, so there is no address to visit. I can meet you in person for a coffee anywhere in the city, and the actual work happens remotely over video and email, which is how I run every account.
Which service should a Toronto business start with?
If you need revenue this quarter, Google Ads, because it is the only one that produces customers in weeks rather than months. If you can wait two or three quarters, SEO compounds and eventually costs you nothing per click. AIO is the cheapest of the three and the one your Toronto competitors are least likely to have touched. Most people should pick one and do it properly rather than three badly.
Is Toronto more expensive to advertise in than other Canadian cities?
Generally yes, because you are bidding against more competitors for the same searches, and in financial services, professional services, technology, real estate and health care the competition is heaviest. That does not make it a bad market, it makes precision worth more here than anywhere else. I would rather run a tight $3,000 a month in Toronto than a sloppy $10,000.
Do you work with businesses outside Toronto?
Yes. I work with clients across Canada and everything is run remotely, so where you are does not change the work or the price. Toronto is simply where I happen to live.
What does this cost?
Google Ads management is $1,500 a month plus whatever you spend with Google. SEO consulting is $1,200 a month. AIO consulting is $1,800 one time. No setup fees and no long contract you have to argue your way out of.
Tell me where you are stuck in Toronto
Twenty minutes, free, no pitch. Describe what you are trying to grow and I will tell you what I would do first, even when what I would do first is not something you need to hire me for.
Book 20 free minutes