Josh Nelson, in his own words.
I'm a digital marketing agency owner who got lucky enough to make every mistake in the book early. The agency I run today is the fourth time I've tried to do this. The first three taught me what works.
Today I run three companies: Plumbing & HVAC SEO, the niche agency I scaled past $7M; Seven Figure Agency, the coaching company where I help other agency owners do the same; and TopMarketingAgencies.com, the editorial directory of America's best niche marketing agencies.
The path here
- 2000
First web design and hosting company
Built websites for local businesses out of college. Learned what clients actually buy versus what agencies sell.
- Early 2000s
Reach Local
Joined one of the original internet marketing firms. Saw enterprise-level paid media and SEO operations from the inside.
- Mid-2000s
Generalist agency — and the failure that taught everything
Launched a full-service marketing agency for local businesses. Stalled. Couldn't differentiate. Lesson: the riches are in the niches.
- 2011
Niched down to plumbing & HVAC
Rebuilt the agency around a single vertical. Plumbing & HVAC SEO grew 333% in three years to $4.5M annually.
- 2014–2017
Inc. 5000 — four years running
Plumbing & HVAC SEO made the Inc. 5000 list of America's fastest-growing private companies four consecutive years.
- 2017
Founded Seven Figure Agency
Started coaching other agency owners through the same playbook. First handful of clients turned into a community of 185+.
- 2025
Launched TopMarketingAgencies.com
After watching too many small businesses get burned by generalist agencies, built the editorial directory we wished existed: 600+ vetted niche specialists, 87 industries, editorially ranked, zero pay-to-play on the lists.
- Today
Three companies. One mission.
Plumbing & HVAC SEO (the agency). Seven Figure Agency (the coaching company). TopMarketingAgencies.com (the editorial directory). All three exist to prove that niche-specialist agencies — built like real businesses — outperform generalists every time.
The agency that proved the playbook.
35-person team. Hundreds of plumbing and HVAC clients across the U.S. and Canada. Four-time Inc. 5000 honoree. Everything I teach at Seven Figure Agency, I run here first.
Visit Plumbing & HVAC SEO →The riches are in the niches.
Generalists run the same playbook for every client. Specialists know the channel mix that works, the pricing that's realistic, the regulatory landscape, and what a healthy month looks like — for one specific kind of client.
Specialists charge more, retain longer, and grow faster. Every agency I've helped scale past seven figures got there by picking a niche and committing.
The other half of the work is operational: install systems, hire ahead of the curve, and build a team that runs without you. The goal isn't to work harder. It's to make the agency a real asset.