WEO Media and Marketly Digital merge into dental-only agency WEO Marketly

WEO Media and Marketly Digital have combined into WEO Marketly, an independently owned agency focused exclusively on dental practices nationwide. The merger is designed to give practice owners one team for brand, search, AI visibility and ROI tracking as patient discovery shifts across Google, AI assistants, social and review sites.

Why it matters: - Dental practices are under pressure to show up across search, AI and social channels at the same time. - WEO Marketly is positioning itself as a single agency for both demand generation and measurement, which could reduce the handoff problems practice owners face when they use separate vendors. - The company says the goal is to make marketing spend easier to connect to new patients and production.

What happened: - WEO Media and Marketly Digital announced a merger that created WEO Marketly. - The combined company is independently owned by its two founders, Shannon Mackey and Cory Roletto. - WEO Media was founded in 2009 in Beaverton, Oregon. - Marketly Digital was founded in 1999 as Roadside Dental Marketing. - The merger was completed in May 2026. - WEO Marketly serves independent, dentist-owned practices nationwide.

The details: - The two agencies say they have served 4,657 dental practices between them. - The average client relationship lasts 7.4 years. - All existing clients continue to be served without interruption. - The company’s stated aim is to help practices get found, get chosen by the right patients and see what each marketing channel contributes. - WEO Media contributed technical capabilities, including search engine optimization, AI search visibility and ROI tracking. - Marketly Digital contributed brand-building work, including story, video, social and websites. - The combined offering includes websites built for conversion and AI-search readiness. - The company includes traditional SEO plus AI search optimization, including AEO and GEO, in every engagement. - Google and Meta paid media are measured by new patients, not impressions. - The agency also offers social, video, content and reputation management.

Between the lines: - The merger reflects a broader shift in dental marketing, where patients move between Google, AI assistants, social feeds and review sites before choosing a provider. - The founders are making a bet that AI tools work best when paired with human strategy, not used as a low-cost replacement. - Shannon Mackey said the merger was meant to eliminate the “black box” problem in marketing, where spending is hard to tie to actual patients. - Cory Roletto said AI-only shops can produce average answers, but average answers do not win patients. - The founders said there is no private equity behind the company. - The leadership structure keeps both founders in operating roles, with Mackey as chief executive officer and Roletto as chief growth officer.

What's next: - WEO Marketly is offering a Practice Growth Call, a 30-minute consultation for practice owners to discuss market conditions and goals. - The company is directing interested practices to learn more at weomarketly.com. - WEO Marketly says it will continue quarterly planning with practice owners to review performance and adjust strategy.

The bottom line: - WEO Marketly is trying to become the all-in-one dental marketing partner for independent practices that want clearer attribution, stronger visibility and less agency fragmentation.