How I ended up here
I moved to Austin after selling my agency, Barrera Search Marketing, to BuzzShift in 2013, and went client side. At Offers.com I tripled traffic, and when Ziff Davis acquired Offers.com, my job grew into SEO and broader work across Ziff Davis brands including PCMag and Mashable. After that I was VP of Audience & Review Generation at TrustRadius, an Austin software company, and I was on the leadership team at Bluehost. At Newfold Digital, Bluehost's parent company, I grew the team from a handful of people to about 50.
Today I run Mark Barrera Consulting LLC from Austin. Most of the companies I work with are B2B startups. More about my background.
What I do for B2B teams
I'm most useful when a company needs a senior person to decide what to do in a channel and then do the important parts. The work usually falls into these areas:
- B2B SEO and AI search (AEO, GEO): how you show up in Google and in answers from ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity, and whether that turns into demos
- B2B paid media and Google Ads: what to keep, stop, change or test across campaigns, landing pages and follow-up
- Marketing analytics and HubSpot reporting: one set of numbers marketing, sales and the board agree on
- Fractional growth leadership: an agreed part of marketing that I own, with a monthly report on what changed and why
On AI search, my view is that showing up in an answer only matters if it leads to pipeline. I track which questions buyers ask, who gets named, which pages get cited, and whether any of it shows up in deals. How to track what AI search tells B2B buyers about your brand.
Fractional CMO, consultant or agency
Austin has plenty of fractional CMOs and plenty of agencies. A fractional CMO usually sets strategy across all of marketing and manages the people who do the work. An agency brings a team that produces volume. I sit between the two. I own a defined part of marketing and do the channel work myself, so the person on the call is the person in your Google Ads account and your Search Console.
If you need someone to manage a large team, or dozens of ads and articles a week, I'm not the right fit and I'll say so. Fractional chief growth officer vs. fractional CMO goes into the difference.
How we'd start
We talk first. If you're in Austin, that can be coffee. After the call I audit your marketing from the outside for free: your site, Google, AI answers, your ads and your competitors' ads. You get a written readout with each finding labeled observed, you told me or unknown, and what I'd do first. It's yours to keep either way.
If you want me to do the work, I scope it in writing. Projects I've quoted run $2,000 to $60,000. Retainers run $5,000 to $30,000 a month. How I work: a call, a free audit, then a project or retainer.
Questions people ask
Are you based in Austin?
Yes. I live and work in Austin, Texas. I moved here after selling my agency in 2013.
Do you only work with Austin companies?
No. Most of the work is remote, and I work with B2B companies across the US. Austin teams can meet me in person.
Are you a fractional CMO?
Close. I work as a fractional growth leader, which means I take responsibility for an agreed part of marketing, usually search, AI answers, paid media and reporting, and I do the work in those channels myself. If you need someone to run every part of marketing and manage a large team, a full fractional CMO may be the better fit, and I'll tell you that on the call.
What does it cost?
I set the price after a free audit, once we both know the scope. Projects I've quoted run $2,000 to $60,000. Retainers run $5,000 to $30,000 a month.
What industries do you work in?
Software, web hosting, publishing, online marketplaces, e-commerce, financial services, distribution and professional services. Most of the companies I work with are B2B startups.
Who does the work?
I do. There's no account manager and no junior team. When the work calls for more hands, I help you hire your own people.