Common questions

About Hive Creatives

Who we are, how we work and why our clients stay 4+ years on average.

• What is Hive Creatives — and what makes you different from other digital agencies?

  Hive Creatives is a full-service digital agency based in Gothenburg with clients across the Nordics. We combine strategy, design, development and performance under one roof — so website, SEO, Google Ads and paid social all pull in the same direction. What makes us different: we’re senior in every role (no juniors hiding behind a project manager), we report on business KPIs like POAS and pipeline — not vanity metrics — and we take ownership of the results, not just the deliverables.

• Which industries do you have most experience in?

  We have deep experience in e-commerce (fashion, home, health), B2B SaaS, professional services, real estate & construction, and retail with both physical stores and e-commerce. You’ll find our industry pages under /industries with specific strategies, KPIs and cases for each vertical.

• How big are the clients you work with?

  Everything from fast-growing startups with 5–15 employees to listed companies and international brands. What matters to us isn’t the size but that the client wants to invest long-term in digital growth and lets us be a strategic partner — not just a supplier of hours.

• Do you have offices or do you work fully remote?

  Headquarters in Gothenburg, but we have staff and clients in Stockholm, Malmö, Copenhagen, Oslo and London. We work hybrid — workshops and kickoffs we like to do in person, ongoing work happens digitally via Slack, Notion and weekly meetings.

• How long do your clients stay?

  4+ years on average. We measure and report on business KPIs, so it’s clear what we contribute. When the numbers speak for themselves, there’s rarely a reason to switch agencies.

Process & collaboration

How working with us goes — from the first call to ongoing operations.

• What does working with you look like step by step?

  1) Discovery call where we understand your goals and current state.

  2) Audit or workshop reviewing data, competitors and opportunities.

  3) Strategy and 90-day plan with clear KPIs.

  4) Execution with a dedicated team lead, designer, developer and specialist per channel.

  5) Weekly meetings, monthly reports and quarterly strategy reviews. You always have the same point of contact and full visibility in Linear/Notion.

• Who is our point of contact during the project?

  A dedicated Account Lead who is your primary sparring partner, plus a Tech Lead or Specialist Lead depending on project type. We use dedicated Slack channels with the team, so you reach the right person in minutes — not days.

• How often do we get reports and updates?

  Standard is weekly check-ins (15–30 min), monthly reports with comments from the responsible specialist, and quarterly strategy reviews. For performance work you always have a live Looker Studio dashboard that updates around the clock.

• Can you work as an external team for our marketing department?

  Yes — that’s how we work with 70 percent of our clients. We become an extension of your marketing team with specialists in the roles you don’t want to build in-house: SEO, paid, CRO, development and design.

• What do you need from us for the partnership to work?

  Access to your accounts (GA4, Google Ads, Meta, CMS, hosting), an internal decision maker who can approve direction and budget, plus ongoing input on assortment, campaigns and business goals. We take care of the rest.

Price & contract

Transparent pricing with no hidden costs or locked-in licenses.

• What does it cost to hire you?

  It depends on scope. Guide prices: SEO retainer from 18,000 SEK/mo, Google Ads management from 15,000 SEK/mo (plus media budget), paid social from 20,000 SEK/mo, a new WordPress site from 80,000 SEK as a project, a Shopify store from 80,000 SEK and a Shopify Plus or WooCommerce solution from 200,000 SEK. Full partnerships usually land at 45,000–120,000 SEK/mo.

• Do you charge hourly or fixed price?

  Projects (web, design, branding) we price as fixed after a short scoping. Ongoing services (SEO, ads, CRO) run on a monthly retainer with a defined scope. Hourly billing we only use for extra work outside the framework agreement.

• What's the minimum commitment?

  Projects have no lock-in — you pay for the delivery. Retainers are 3 months initially (so we have time to see impact and optimize), then rolling with 1 month’s notice.

• Are there hidden costs, licenses or royalties?

  No. You own all the code, all the design, all the accounts and all the content. We use open source (WordPress, WooCommerce, React, Next.js) or platforms you have your own contracts with (Shopify, Klaviyo, HubSpot). No lock-ins.

• Do you offer revenue share or performance-based contracts?

  Yes, for clients with clear conversion goals and full attribution. We’re happy to combine a lower baseline fee with a bonus tied to POAS, won pipeline or other business KPIs.

Web & development

Platforms, timelines and what you actually get.

• Which platforms do you build on?

  WordPress for content-heavy sites, WooCommerce and Shopify for e-commerce, Next.js or TanStack Start for custom-built solutions and Sanity/Storyblok as headless CMS when the editor needs flexibility. We choose the platform based on need — never based on what makes us the most money.

• How long does a new website take?

  An SMB site: 4–8 weeks. A content-heavy B2B site or larger WordPress solution: 8–14 weeks. A custom Shopify Plus or headless build: 12–20 weeks. You always get a set timeline with milestones and a payment plan tied to delivery.

• Is SEO and Core Web Vitals included in the web project?

  Yes. We always build technically SEO-friendly from the start: clean HTML structure, hreflang where needed, optimized images, lazy loading, server-side rendering, schema markup and a Lighthouse score of 90+ for performance and accessibility.

• Do you help with hosting and maintenance after launch?

  Yes. We offer maintenance agreements from 5,000 SEK/mo that include hosting on Kinsta or Vercel, security updates, backups, monitoring and a pool of hours for ongoing development.

• What happens if we want to switch agency later?

  You get full access to the repo (GitHub), CMS, hosting and all design files in Figma. We’ve documented everything and do a structured handover at no extra cost.

SEO, Ads & Performance

How we drive measurable growth and what you can expect.

• How quickly do we see SEO results?

  Technical quick wins (indexing, Core Web Vitals, internal linking) show up in 4–6 weeks. Rankings on commercial keywords start moving in 3–6 months. Full leverage with 2–3x organic traffic normally takes 6–12 months depending on starting point and competition.

• How quickly do we see results on Google Ads and paid social?

  First measurable results in 2–4 weeks after takeover. Stable and scalable profitability (POAS above target) usually lands in month 2–3 once we’ve tested creative, audiences and bidding strategies.

• Do you guarantee a top position on Google?

  No — and no serious agency does. What we do guarantee is a transparent process, monthly reports with clear KPIs and that we always act on what actually moves the needle for your business.

• How do you measure profitability after iOS 14 and cookie restrictions?

  Server-side GTM, Conversions API to Meta and TikTok, GA4 enhanced conversions, Consent Mode v2 and, at larger volumes, Marketing Mix Modelling. That gives a much fairer picture of each channel’s contribution than standard attribution.

• Can you take over existing ad accounts without losing data?

  Yes. We keep the history, learnings and running campaigns. We do a structured audit, identify quick wins and take over operations without interruption.

Ownership, security & GDPR

The legal and technical bits you actually need to know.

• Do we own all the code, design and content we've paid for?

  Yes. Everything we produce belongs to you, is regulated in the contract and delivered in open formats (Git, Figma, .docx, .csv). You’re never locked into proprietary formats or licenses with us.

• Is everything we do GDPR-compliant?

  Yes. We implement Consent Mode v2, a CMP (Cookiebot or Cookie Information), DPAs with all sub-processors, server-side tracking that anonymizes IP, and keep a current register of processing activities. We sign a data processor agreement with you before we start.

• How do you handle security and updates?

  Hosting on Kinsta or Vercel with WAF, DDoS protection, automatic backups and SSL. Weekly security patches for WordPress/WooCommerce, monthly penetration monitoring and yearly audit of access and permissions.

• How do you store and share our sensitive data?

  Everything in 1Password (passwords and keys) and encrypted S3 buckets for files. Access via SSO and MFA. We delete all data 90 days after the engagement ends — or earlier on your request.

Getting started

• How do we get started with you?

  Fill in the contact form or book a 30-minute discovery call directly. We reply within 24 hours (weekdays), book a first meeting and deliver a free audit or scoping within 5–10 working days.

• What's included in the free audit?

  For web: technical SEO audit, Core Web Vitals, on-page analysis and competitor comparison. For ads: account structure, bidding strategies, creative and attribution. For e-commerce: PDP, category pages, checkout flow and CRO potential. You get a written report with concrete recommendations — whether you go forward with us or not.

• What if we only want help with a specific project?

  That works perfectly. We take both one-off projects (web, redesign, SEO audit, campaign launch) and ongoing retainers. No obligation to buy the whole package.