Real Strategy, Real People
Every campaign starts with a marketer who understands your business and your market. The strategy, judgment, and accountability are always ours, we just use modern tools to execute faster and sharper than the old way.
Marketing That Delivers · Proudly based in Dallas, Texas
Marketing that helps local business outperform corporations
We build the websites, search presence, and ad campaigns that turn local searches into paying customers, hands-on work from real marketers who know your market. Modern tools let us do it faster and for less: big-agency results, small-business price.
Who you’re working with
A local agency, and the person behind it
No account managers, no handoffs to a junior team. You talk to the marketer building your site, running your campaigns, and answering for the numbers.
Trace Christian is the founder of Main Course Media, a Dallas-based marketing agency for local small businesses. He came to marketing from venture capital and financial analysis, spent two-plus years at an established digital-marketing firm, and now writes and builds the websites, SEO, and ad campaigns behind every Main Course client.
Our founder’s work has been featured in
What We Do
Everything your business needs to be found
One team for your website, your search rankings, your advertising, and your social media, all working together.
Websites Built to Convert
Fast, modern websites that turn visitors into paying customers, not just look pretty, designed and built to perform.
Website design
SEO & Search Optimization
Get found first when local customers search for what you offer, with proven on-page and technical SEO.
Local SEO
Google Ads & Advertising
Get in front of people already searching for your services with profitable, expertly managed ad campaigns.
Google Ads & advertising
Done-For-You Social Media Management
Consistent, on-brand posting across Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and X, plus SEO blogs and real engagement. You send photos of your work; we write, schedule, post, and report on the rest.
Social media management View all services
Only need one thing? Single services start at $495/mo.
Why Main Course
What sets us apart from other agencies
Big-Agency Results, Small-Business Price
A lean, senior team plus modern tooling means you get the caliber of work big corporations pay a fortune for, without the big-agency overhead, retainers, or runaround.
Radically Transparent
You’ll always see your real numbers and own your accounts. We’re honest about what we do, how we do it, and what it’s doing for you.
Our Simple Process
What to expect when you work with us
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Discovery Call
We hop on a video call to learn about your business, your current marketing, and your goals.
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Onboarding
Sign up, fill out our new-client questionnaire, and book your onboarding call to kick things off.
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Growth & Reporting
Monthly reports, meetings as needed, and same-day answers from a team that actually picks up.
Want the detail? How onboarding, reporting, and support actually run.
Backed by Groundbreaker Marketing 
Main Course Media is backed by Groundbreaker Marketing, an established digital-marketing firm with 6+ years and 60+ local businesses grown. You get the personal attention of a small agency, with their support, resources, and proven processes behind every campaign.
- 6+ yrs Established track record
- 60+ Local businesses grown
Pricing
Simple, all-in-one packages
Pick the package that matches where your business is today. Everything's bundled to work together — no add-ons to decode.
Starter
$790 /mo
The foundation every business needs: a custom website plus the local SEO to get it found.
- Professionally designed website, hosting & updates included
- Local SEO — optimized city & service pages
- Google Business Profile optimization
- On-page & technical SEO, citations & reviews
- Transparent monthly reporting
No setup, build, or onboarding fee.
Get Started See everything included →Growth
$1,390 /mo
Everything in Starter, plus done-for-you ad management across every channel — run one, two, or all three, whatever fits.
- Everything in Starter
- All-channel ad management — Google Search & Local Service Ads + Meta Ads
- Run one channel or all three — your call
- Lead & call tracking included, with monthly reporting
Ad spend billed separately.
Get Started See everything included →Market Leader
$1,890 /mo
Everything in Starter and Growth, plus a done-for-you social presence that keeps you top of mind. You just share the photos.
- Everything in Growth
- Full social media management — 4 posts/week on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn & X
- SEO/GEO blog content, published & syndicated
- Priority support + ongoing strategy
Ad spend billed separately.
Get Started See everything included →Every package is a simple monthly plan — no long lists of add-ons to decode, and no setup, build, or onboarding fee. Your website is included from month one; ad spend on the Growth and Market Leader packages is billed separately. Not sure which fits? Tell us your goals and we’ll point you to the right one. Prefer just one service? See à la carte pricing.
Straight answer
Is this worth it for your business?
Do the envelope math
If your average job is worth $500 and you close half your leads, Starter needs to bring in about four extra leads a month to pay for itself. If your average job is a $3,000 upgrade, one job every couple of months covers Market Leader.
Don’t hire us if
- You can’t handle more work right now — fix capacity first, it’s free.
- $790 a month would put real pressure on payroll.
- You need the phone ringing next week and can’t fund ad spend.
- You want to be judged on rankings and impressions.
The full honest breakdown What it costs over a full year Every cost beyond our invoice
Where we work
Local means local
We’re based in Dallas and work with businesses across the Metroplex. Each city below has its own page on how local search works there.
- Fort Worth Near Southside · Cultural District · West 7th Marketing in Fort Worth
- Arlington Entertainment District · Downtown Arlington · Pantego Marketing in Arlington
- Plano Legacy West · Downtown Plano · West Plano Marketing in Plano
- Frisco The Star · Frisco Square · West Frisco Marketing in Frisco
- McKinney Historic Downtown McKinney · Craig Ranch · Stonebridge Ranch Marketing in McKinney
- Denton Downtown Square · University of North Texas area · Denton County Marketing in Denton
Also covering Dallas County, Tarrant County, Collin County, Denton County — and clients nationwide. See all service areas or reach out from anywhere.
Resources
Free advice, no form required
We publish the same guidance we give clients. Start here if you'd rather do some of this yourself.
SEO
The Local SEO Checklist Every DFW Small Business Should Start With
A practical, do-it-today checklist to help your Dallas–Fort Worth business show up when nearby customers search, from your Google Business Profile to reviews, citations, and on-page basics.
AdvertisingHow Much Should a Local Business Spend on Google Ads?
There's no magic number, but there is a sensible way to set a Google Ads budget for a local business. Here's how to think about it, what a starting budget looks like, and how to know it's working.
Web Design5 Signs Your Small-Business Website Is Costing You Customers
Your website should be your hardest-working salesperson. Here are five common signs it's quietly turning visitors away, and what to do about each one.
Common questions
The questions we get before every first call
Answered here in full, with real numbers. There are 70 more where these came from.
How much does Main Course Media cost per month?
Our packages are $790 a month for Starter (custom website plus local SEO), $1,390 a month for Growth (adds all-channel ad management), and $1,890 a month for Market Leader (adds social media management and content). Single services à la carte start at $495 a month for one advertising channel, $595 for SEO, and $600 for social media management.
Every package is a flat monthly rate covering everything listed on the plan, with no setup, build, or onboarding fee and no long list of add-ons to decode. Ad spend on the Growth and Market Leader packages is billed separately and paid directly to Google or Meta.
Who will I actually be talking to?
Trace Christian, the founder, and whoever else is directly working on your account. Not a rotating account manager and not a support queue. You will always know who is responsible for your marketing.
How long does SEO take to work?
Four to nine months in most markets before SEO is genuinely producing, with results compounding from there. Google Business Profile work moves faster — map pack movement typically shows in 60 to 90 days — which is why we do that piece first.
Anyone promising first-page rankings in 30 days is either targeting keywords nobody searches or is about to do something that gets you penalized. SEO is a compounding asset, not a switch.
Do you mark up my ad spend?
Never. Your ad budget goes directly to Google or Meta from your own account, and our fee is a flat monthly amount that does not change with your budget. You can verify this yourself at any time because the account is yours.
How long does a new website take?
You see a first design concept within ten business days of sending us your content and access, and the finished site goes live within thirty days of your approval. That is weeks rather than the months a traditional development shop takes — and there is no build fee, because the website is included in your monthly plan from month one.
Speed is one of the real advantages of how we work. A marketer sets the direction, our trained AI systems do the heavy build, and a person reviews every piece before it ships. The main variable is how quickly we get your content — photos, service details, and answers about your business.
You use AI. What am I actually paying for?
Expertise and judgment. A real marketer studies your business and decides the strategy, our trained AI systems do the heavy execution, and a person reviews every piece before it ships. Everything the AI does, we know how to do by hand and have done by hand.
The tools are available to anyone; knowing which ones matter, in what order, and how to make your website, SEO, ads, and Google listing reinforce each other is the part that takes years. AI is why one expert can do the work of ten, and that efficiency is why the price is what it is.
Where to next
Get to know us first
Everything a local business owner usually wants to see before a call.
Ready to grow your business?
Let’s talk about where you are and where you want to be. No pressure, no jargon. Just a clear next step.