A new marketing partner and approach

Initially, Electric Alley was brought in to fix and manage Novello’s paid search campaigns. However, it quickly became apparent that the business needed a strategic marketing partner—someone to step in as an extension of the team and help them build a sustainable, long-term marketing engine that matched their service-first ethos.

From there, Electric Alley took over all aspects of Novello’s marketing: SEO, content, social, design and PR. The focus was on weaving these channels together, so they worked as a whole, not in silos—making the most of every touchpoint in the funnel. Messaging stayed consistent throughout and reflected Novello’s values, carrying their personal, service-led approach through into every part of their marketing.

Buying a home is one of the most expensive, stressful and emotionally loaded decisions a person will ever make. When something goes wrong or when technical expertise is needed, homebuyers want a trusted advisor, not a generic report or a hard sell. That’s the positioning we wanted to embed across every marketing channel: Novello as the expert on your side.

Fixing the foundations

We started by rebuilding their paid search campaigns from the ground up. Previous campaigns were broad and unfocused, which meant Novello was spending money attracting the wrong kind of clicks or paying for leads they couldn’t convert. We restructured the campaigns to focus on tighter keyword groupings and clearer intent, which allowed us to tightly control keyword targeting and align ads with the specific services and locations Novello wanted to grow in.

We also resolved long-standing issues with conversion tracking, which had been muddying performance data. With tracking in place, we could optimise spend using automated bidding strategies. We introduced responsive search ads, dynamic creative, and performance max campaigns and started testing custom intent audiences to further improve targeting.

Content that answers real questions

Next, we turned our attention to organic search. Rather than churn out generic content stuffed with keywords, we built a content strategy around the questions customers were asking. How do I prepare for a house survey? Do I need a party wall agreement to convert a roof space? What does a drone roof survey involve, and is it worth the money?

Many of these ideas came directly from Novello’s surveyors, based on conversations they had with clients daily, as well as desk research to see what type of questions people were asking on the web. The goal was to create genuinely valuable resources grounded in lived experience that could both attract traffic and gain conversions. No spammy link building. No chasing keyword positions. Just straightforward, helpful content that showed experience, authority and trust, which in turn earned links, traffic and the most important metric - customers.

A consistent brand and a flexible model

Consistency became more important than ever as Novello began expanding into new regions, first across London and then into Surrey, Kent, Hampshire, Essex, Cambridge, Hertfordshire, and Yorkshire.

Electric Alley supported Novello’s on-the-ground expansion by growing local search presence so they could compete effectively against established firms in each new area. We developed service-specific landing pages, helped refine their brand guidelines, and provided ongoing design support to maintain consistency as the business scaled.

As conversions increased, we built out their marketing automation, ensuring prospective customers received a helpful, well-paced experience without overwhelming the internal team. This allowed Novello to maintain their high standard of service even as demand grew rapidly.

Because Novello’s team was still lean, our role often flexed to fill gaps as needed, sometimes acting as in-house marketing, other times as a strategic advisor or entire design team. That flexibility meant Novello could focus on growing the business, knowing their marketing was covered.

The results

In just over two years, Novello grew from handling just a few bookings each month to hundreds, supported by sharp growth across every channel:

• Web traffic increased by over 800%

• Organic traffic rose by more than 2,000%

• Paid search traffic grew by over 1,500%

• Conversions increased by more than 1,100%

• Staff numbers grew by 300%

• Novello expanded from a handful of local offices to 27 locations across the UK
  
  

More importantly, Novello built a marketing engine aligned with their core values: expertise, personal service and trust. They weren’t chasing volume or racing to the bottom—instead, they carved out a premium position in a market that often defaults to lowest-cost providers.

That foundation laid the path for something bigger:

A national presence

This year Novello announced the acquisition of Gold Crest Chartered Surveyors—marking a major milestone in their journey. This move establishes Novello Group as one of the largest independent providers of home surveys in the UK, set to deliver over £8 million worth of surveys to homebuyers in 2025. 

A different kind of surveying firm

Novello’s success isn’t just down to marketing; it’s down to how they’ve chosen to run the business. While many firms push surveyors to complete as many reports as possible, Novello limits the number of surveys per surveyor to just three or four per week. That allows for better surveys, more concise reports and proper aftercare, including advice on negotiation strategies and help finding qualified contractors.

They’ve also invested in technology: drone training for every surveyor, thermal imaging, and custom-built reporting software that helps them deliver insights faster than competitors. They’ve built internal systems, such as CRM and staff training programs, to ensure consistency as the business scales.

It’s all part of the same philosophy: treat customers with care and staff like people. That approach has led to hundreds of five-star reviews and industry recognition. Founder James Brook was named RICS Young Surveyor of the Year and later became one of the youngest surveyors ever awarded Fellowship status.

Final thoughts

“Electric Alley helped us grow from a small team covering southwest London into a well-established firm operating across London and the South East. They understood how we wanted to communicate, built a strategy that reflected our values, and delivered consistently strong results throughout our time working together.” — James Brook FRICS, Founder, Novello Chartered Surveyors.

Novello started with a simple idea: that buying a home is stressful enough, and clear, helpful advice at the right moments can make all the difference. They’ve built a business around transparency, expert support and technical excellence.

And with an innovative, agile marketing partner in place during their early growth, they managed to scale that model without losing what made it special.

It’s not often you see a start-up in a traditional industry breakthrough so quickly or effectively. But Novello’s story shows what’s possible when deep expertise and customer-first thinking are matched with a joined-up, well-executed marketing strategy. Electric Alley’s work helped create the visibility, consistency and momentum needed to turn a strong proposition into a fast-growing business.