Birmingham, Alabama · Serving the Magic City since 2012
Birmingham, AL Marketing Agency.
Zellus Marketing helps Birmingham businesses stand out in Alabama's biggest and most competitive market — from Southside and Avondale to Lakeview, Homewood, and the suburbs over the mountain. Search, ads, and AI from an Alabama team with a Birmingham-area office and more than a decade of local data.
- First AI-certified agency in North Alabama
- 4.9★ client rating
Prefer to talk? 256-777-8848
Start with a free proposal.
Tell us what you sell and which parts of the metro you serve. We'll check how you show up and send a plan — no obligation.
Your info stays with Zellus. We never sell or share leads.
Digital marketing for Birmingham
In Birmingham, being good isn't enough. You have to be found first.
There are more businesses competing for every search here than anywhere else in Alabama. One Zellus team runs your SEO, ads, website, and creative so you win the neighborhoods and keywords that matter most.
Search Engine Optimization
Birmingham keywords are some of the most competitive in the state. We build content, technical SEO, and link campaigns that rank you for city-wide terms and neighborhood searches alike — from Five Points South to Crestwood to the 280 corridor.
SEO services →Google Maps & Local SEO
In a metro this size, Google's map pack changes block by block. We optimize your Google Business Profile, reviews, and citations, then track your rankings neighborhood by neighborhood so you know exactly where you're winning.
Google Maps SEO →Google Ads (PPC)
Search and Performance Max campaigns tuned for Birmingham's higher click costs, with tight geographic targeting and constant bid management. Our campaigns average a 4:1 return on ad spend.
Google Advertising →Facebook & Instagram Ads
From UAB staff to young families over the mountain, Meta lets us reach each Birmingham audience with its own message. Our campaigns have driven over $2M in tracked client revenue in the past year.
Social advertising →Website Design
Fast, mobile-first websites built to turn a Birmingham search into a call, visit, or booking. We've built 300+ websites that lift conversion rates 40% on average, and every one launches SEO-ready.
Web design →Graphic Design & Branding
Logos, signage, vehicle wraps, and campaign creative that make a Birmingham business instantly recognizable, online and off. Our team has earned 15+ local design awards.
Graphic design →Hulu & Streaming TV Ads
Birmingham broadcast TV is expensive and covers far more ground than most businesses serve. Hulu targets by metro ZIP code, age, and interest — clients have reached 85% brand recall at a fraction of broadcast cost.
Hulu advertising →AI Marketing & AI Search Visibility
When someone asks ChatGPT or Gemini for "the best personal injury lawyer in Birmingham," the answer comes from a short list. We help put you on it. North Alabama's first AI-certified agency also uses automation to cut acquisition costs by 35% on average.
AI marketing →Social Media & Video
Social management and video production that show the Birmingham metro the people behind your business — content made to be shared, not scrolled past.
Social media marketing →Why Birmingham needs its own strategy
Alabama's biggest market is really dozens of small ones.
Birmingham is the state's largest metro, and competition for search is fierce. But customers don't search the whole metro — they search near where they live and work. A business ranking well in Homewood may be invisible in Trussville, and someone in Avondale sees different results than someone in Hoover.
Birmingham is also a healthcare, banking, and education hub, with UAB as the state's largest employer and a growing startup scene. That means marketing here often has to reach professionals, patients, and business buyers at the same time. The businesses that win plan neighborhood by neighborhood and audience by audience.
- Neighborhood-level tracking: map rankings measured across the neighborhoods and suburbs you serve, not one city-wide average.
- Competitive keyword strategy: content and links built to win Birmingham's high-value, high-competition searches over time.
- Smart ad spend: budgets focused on the ZIP codes and audiences that convert, so higher click costs don't eat your margin.
- Reputation at scale: review programs that keep you ahead in a market where customers compare several options before choosing.
Industry expertise
Built for the businesses that power the Magic City.
Birmingham's economy spans healthcare, finance, professional services, construction, and a thriving food scene. We tailor strategy to how each industry buys here.
Medical & Healthcare
Local SEO, reputation management, and patient acquisition for practices and clinics competing in Alabama's healthcare capital.
Law Firms
High-stakes SEO and PPC for personal injury, family, and practice-area keywords in one of the state's most competitive legal markets.
Home Services
Google Maps and call-tracking campaigns for HVAC, roofing, plumbing, and remodeling companies covering the metro.
Restaurants & Hospitality
Marketing for restaurants, bars, and venues in a city known for its food scene, from downtown to Avondale and Southside.
Financial & Professional Services
Search, LinkedIn, and content marketing for advisors, CPAs, and firms selling to Birmingham's business community.
Real Estate & Builders
Lead generation for agents, builders, and developers working the city and fast-growing suburbs.
B2B, Tech & Startups
Demand generation and credibility-building content for B2B companies and startups in Birmingham's growing tech scene.
Retail & Multi-Location
Location pages, Maps management, and campaigns for brands with several stores across the metro.
Local SEO · Google Maps
Win the Google Maps 3-pack in Birmingham.
The top three map results get 44% more clicks than positions 4 through 10, and 76% of people searching for something nearby visit a business within a day. In a metro with this much competition, the top three spots are where most of the calls, visits, and bookings go.
Our team has moved 30+ Alabama businesses into the top 3 map results in the last 12 months, with an 87% success rate of reaching the local pack within 90 days. In Birmingham, that work happens neighborhood by neighborhood, because the map pack in one part of town can look completely different from the next.
- Google Business Profile optimization, posts, and Q&A management
- Review generation and response strategy for Birmingham customers
- Consistent citations across Jefferson County and Birmingham-area directories
- Rank tracking across the Birmingham neighborhoods and suburbs you serve
Why the map pack matters
- 44% more clicks
- go to the top 3 Google Maps results vs. positions 4–10.
- 46% of searches
- on Google have local intent (Google, 2023).
- 76% of local searchers
- visit a business within 24 hours of searching.
How we work
The Zellus launch sequence.
Five clear phases, six-month sprints instead of long contracts, and independent reporting you can check anytime.
- T−4 Week 0 · Free
Discovery & audit
We review your website, Google Business Profile, and ad accounts, map your rankings across the neighborhoods you serve, and compare you with the top competitors in each.
- T−3 Weeks 1–2
Strategy & roadmap
A written plan covering target keywords, priority neighborhoods and audiences, budget by channel, and the KPIs we'll be measured on. Nothing launches until you approve it.
- T−2 Weeks 2–4
Build & launch
We update pages, rebuild profiles, confirm tracking, and launch campaigns — usually within the first 30 days.
- T−1 Ongoing
Optimize weekly
Every week we adjust bids, creative, and content based on real calls, forms, and sales. What underperforms gets cut; what works gets more budget.
- GO Monthly
Report & scale
A monthly review using third-party reporting tools, with plain-English takeaways and a plan to grow what's bringing in revenue.
Proof, not promises
Recent missions across Alabama.
Every engagement is measured against KPIs we agree on at the start. Here's what that has looked like for businesses like yours.
Local dental practice
#1 Google Maps · 90 days- Problem
- Strong reviews but weak map visibility; new-patient calls had stalled.
- Solution
- Google Business Profile rebuild, review program, local citations, and service-area pages.
- Result
- Top of the local pack for core keywords and a steady rise in booked appointments.
Alabama personal injury firm
Top 3 maps + organic · competitive keywords- Problem
- Outspent by statewide firms on expensive legal keywords.
- Solution
- Local SEO plus tightly themed Google Ads and landing pages built for case inquiries.
- Result
- Map-pack placement and qualified case leads without a big-firm budget.
Alabama service brands
$2M+ tracked ad revenue · 12 months- Problem
- Rising ad spend without a clear view of what was converting.
- Solution
- Rebuilt tracking, consolidated Google and Meta campaigns, weekly optimization.
- Result
- Over $2M in revenue attributed to Facebook campaigns in the past year at a 4:1 average ROAS.
Client reviews
What Alabama businesses say about Zellus.
Rated 4.9 out of 5 on Google. Clients keep mentioning the same things: quick responses, honest reporting, and leads that turn into customers.
The crew
A Birmingham-area team you can actually sit down with.
You'll know everyone on your account by name, and we're happy to meet at your office or ours. It starts with the two owners who have run Zellus together since March 2012.
Managing Director · “Coach” Craig Stults
Craig runs sales, operations, and client accounts. He came to Zellus from running Gorilla Indoor Media and has spent years building relationships with Alabama business owners. Off the clock, he's usually on a soccer field — playing, coaching, or with his son.
Creative Director · “The Brains” Carl Holden
Carl leads the marketing teams and research and was named to the Huntsville Business Journal's Top 40 Under 40. A designer and self-described nerd who met Craig as a UAH student, he shapes the strategy behind every campaign. Outside work: video games, pop culture, and his wife and two young boys.
The Zellus story.
Craig was running an indoor advertising agency; Carl was a UAH student looking for an internship. In 2012 they teamed up to take on the marketing work Craig had been referring out, and Zellus was born. The name comes from "zealous" — and Zelus is the Greek god of competition.
The promise hasn't changed: simple contracts, under-promise and over-deliver, and more transparency than you'll find from most agencies.
Free marketing audit
See where Birmingham customers are finding your competitors instead.
Our audit comes with real deliverables that are yours to keep, whether or not you hire us:
- Website health check — speed, Core Web Vitals, mobile experience, and anything stopping visitors from calling
- Neighborhood map-ranking scan — where you appear in Google Maps across the Birmingham neighborhoods and suburbs you serve
- Competitive keyword report — the high-value Birmingham searches your competitors win that you don't
- Ad account review — wasted spend, rising click costs, and targeting that reaches too far
- 90-day action plan — prioritized steps with projected impact and transparent pricing
We walk through it on a 30-minute call. Keep it, act on it yourself, or hand it to your current agency.
Request your free audit.
Takes about 60 seconds. We'll reply within one business day.
Or call 256-777-8848 · craig@zellusmarketing.com
Questions, answered
Birmingham, AL digital marketing FAQ.
Does Zellus Marketing work with businesses in Birmingham, AL?
Yes. We work with Birmingham businesses from our Birmingham-area office and Huntsville headquarters, including medical practices, law firms, home service companies, restaurants, professional firms, and multi-location brands. We're happy to meet in person.
Why is it so hard to rank in Birmingham?
Because it's Alabama's largest market, many businesses — including well-funded regional and national companies — compete for the same searches. Winning takes a stronger combination of technical SEO, content, links, reviews, and Google Business Profile work than in smaller cities, plus the patience to build authority over time.
Can you help me rank in specific neighborhoods or suburbs?
Yes. Google weighs proximity heavily, so we track your rankings across the neighborhoods and suburbs you serve — from Southside and Avondale to Homewood, Vestavia Hills, Trussville, and Hoover — and build location-specific content where it makes sense.
Do you work with multi-location businesses?
Yes. We manage Google Business Profiles, location pages, reviews, and local ad campaigns for brands with several locations across the metro, with reporting for each location and the business as a whole.
How long does local SEO take in Birmingham?
Most clients see meaningful movement within 90 days — 87% of our local SEO clients reach the Google Maps 3-pack in that window. Highly competitive Birmingham keywords, like legal or medical terms, typically take 6–12 months to reach page one. Your roadmap sets realistic timelines, and we report progress monthly with third-party tools.
What's included in the free marketing audit?
A website health check, a scan of your Google Maps rankings across the neighborhoods you serve, a competitive keyword report, a review of any ad accounts for wasted spend, and a prioritized 90-day action plan. We walk through it on a 30-minute call, and it's yours to keep.
What is AI search optimization, and does it matter for a Birmingham business?
More people now ask ChatGPT, Gemini, or Google's AI Overviews for local recommendations. AI search optimization (also called AEO or GEO) helps those tools find, trust, and name your business through structured data, consistent listings, reviews, and useful content. In a crowded market like Birmingham, AI tools only name a few businesses, so strong signals make a real difference. Zellus was the first AI-certified agency in North Alabama and builds this into every local strategy.
Do you require long-term contracts?
No. We work in six-month sprints instead of year-long commitments. Each sprint has defined KPIs, and renewal is earned by results — 98% of our clients choose to stay.
How much does digital marketing cost for a Birmingham business?
It depends on your industry, competition, and the channels you use. A single-location Google Maps campaign costs far less than a multi-channel program for a law firm competing across the metro. Your free audit ends with a line-item proposal that shows what each channel costs and the return it's expected to drive before you commit.
Why choose Zellus over a national agency?
We know the Birmingham market neighborhood by neighborhood, and we're close enough to meet face to face. We hold North Alabama's first AI agency certification, we report with independent tools, and our six-month sprints mean we have to keep earning your business.
From the Zellus marketing blog
Stay ahead of the algorithm.
Why Google Maps Has Become One of the Most Valuable Marketing Tools for Local Businesses
Your next customer will probably meet your Google Business Profile before they meet you. Here's what that means for local marketing.
Read the article →AI Optimization Is NOT a Bunch of JSON
Why there's no shortcut to showing up in AI answers — and what actually moves the needle.
Read the article →How AI Is Changing Content Creation in 2026
AI makes content faster to produce. Human strategy is what makes it worth reading — and worth ranking.
Read the article →Know the city, market the city
We know the Magic City.
Birmingham grew up around iron and steel — you can still see it at Sloss Furnaces and in Vulcan watching over the city from Red Mountain. Today it's UAB and a nationally known medical community, Railroad Park and Regions Field downtown, the Civil Rights District, Innovation Depot's startups, and some of the best restaurants in the South.
Every part of town has its own character and its own customers, from Avondale to Mountain Brook to Bessemer. We build marketing that respects those differences, because Birmingham customers can tell when a business really knows their part of town.
- Serving Birmingham from our Birmingham-area office — we'll meet at yours or ours
- Serving Birmingham, Homewood, Mountain Brook, Vestavia Hills, Trussville, Hoover, and all of the metro
- Locally owned and operated since March 2012
- Also serving Hoover, Tuscaloosa, and Huntsville
- Find us on Google Maps
All systems go
Ready to stand out in Birmingham?
Get your free audit and 90-day plan. Even if we're not the right fit, you'll walk away with a clearer picture of your marketing than you've ever had.