Run Your Agency Like a Business, Not a Fire Drill
Fractional COO for Agencies
A former agency COO
Works with what you have
What we take on
- Delivery & Operations
- Capacity & Resourcing
- Margins & Profitability
- Hiring & Team Structure
- Client Service & Retention
- Tools & Automation
The details
What does a fractional COO do for an agency?
Delivery and operations
Owns how work flows from sale to delivery to reporting, and fixes the bottlenecks that slow it down.
Capacity and resourcing
Workload planning, utilisation and forecasting, so the team isn't overloaded one month and idle the next.
Margins and profitability
Hours, pricing and supplier costs tracked per client, so you know which accounts actually make money.
Hiring and team structure
Role design, hiring, onboarding and performance rhythms that let the team grow without chaos.
Client service and retention
Account management processes, health checks and escalation paths that keep clients longer.
Systems and automation
Project management, reporting and AI workflows that save hours every week.
Learn more →How the fractional COO role works
Many agency owners end up running operations by default: scheduling work, chasing late tasks, fixing client issues and checking margins at night. A fractional COO takes that on for a set number of days each month, so you can get back to growing the agency.
- Assess We start with a short review of how the agency runs today, or a full agency audit.
- Prioritise We agree the operational problems to fix first and what success looks like.
- Improve We work inside the agency each month: running meetings, building processes, coaching managers and tracking the numbers.
- Hand over As things stabilise, we step back, or help you hire a full-time operations lead.
Fractional COO or fractional CMO?
A fractional COO fixes how the agency delivers. A fractional CMO fixes how it wins work. Agencies whose SEO team needs leadership often start with a fractional head of SEO instead. If you’re unsure, our article on the agency growth ceiling is a good place to start.
Case studies
We got our first lead from AEO and closed them. It's a great feeling to know the work we're doing has translated to client acquisition so quickly.
Through Harry's services, the Google search rankings for almost all SEO target phrases have improved from low to very high rankings within a few months! I am very happy to recommend Technical Content Links for marketing consultants and ad agencies.
The team are fast to respond and always have answers when I need them. He's helped us scale our agency faster than we would have done so by hiring employees. I can't recommend the service enough.
FAQ
Everything you need to know
What does a fractional COO do in a digital agency?
Runs the operational side of the agency part time: delivery, resourcing, margins, hiring, client service and the systems that hold it together.
How many days a month is the role?
Most agencies start with two to six days a month, adjusted as the business changes.
Do we need a fractional COO or an operations manager?
An operations manager runs the existing system. A fractional COO designs a better one, sets priorities and coaches your managers. Many agencies use a fractional COO to set things up, then hire a manager to run it.
How long before we see a real difference?
Usually a few months. We build new systems and processes around your existing ones rather than replacing everything overnight, so the change sticks. As they bed in, efficiency improves, output increases and your non-technical staff are upskilled to run them. Most agencies see things start to shift after the first few months.