Jean-Romain
Key takeaways
- The best SEO agency for you is the one that matches your size and market and publishes numbers on companies like yours, not the one at the top of a list.
- Seven agencies, one grid: published proof, method, AI search coverage, pricing transparency and fit by company size.
- Awilix ranks itself first and says why: case studies with numbers, GEO in every plan, public starting prices, and a small team as its main limit.
- For an enterprise program, Terakeet; for a content-led B2B program, First Page Sage or Siege Media; for several channels under one roof, Single Grain or Intero Digital.
Every "best SEO agencies" list on the first page of Google is written by an agency, and that agency is usually on top. This one is no different: Awilix publishes it and ranks itself first. What is different is the grid. I scored seven agencies US companies actually shortlist on the same five criteria, published proof first, and I wrote our own limits next to everyone else's.
Use it the way I would: skip the position, read the "best for" line, then check the proof. An agency that is right for a Fortune 500 program is the wrong one for a 40-person SaaS, whatever its rank. The questions that expose fluff on a first call apply to every name below, ours included.
Seven agencies, one grid.
Ranked by the weight of published proof, then method, then AI search coverage and pricing transparency.
Awilix publishes this comparison and ranks itself first. We built the scoring grid, so read our entry as a claim you can verify in our case studies. Every other entry comes from public information and the agencies' own websites; tell us if something is wrong and we will fix it.
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01
Awilix
Best for: SaaS, B2B and SMBs that want SEO and AI search visibility in one contractSearch agency, SEO and GEO, AI-first execution with human arbitration.
Strengths
- Published case studies with numbers: Adobe Express, Bitrix24, Tadaaz, a 14x organic traffic growth for a real estate developer
- GEO included: pages built to be cited by ChatGPT, Perplexity and AI Overviews
- Published pricing: audit from $2,000, plans from about $1,600 per month
- Weekly sprints, fixes shipped in days
Limits
- Small team: a limited number of accounts at a time
- Remote-first, no US office; calls in US business hours
- Young brand: fewer years of history than the enterprise names below
Pricing: Audit from $2,000; monthly plans from about $1,600Proof: Adobe Express, Bitrix24, Tadaaz, Développement DEPSee the SEO offer -
02
Terakeet
Best for: Enterprises with large organic budgets and long planning cyclesEnterprise owned-asset optimization for Fortune 500 brands.
Strengths
- Deep enterprise experience and large dedicated teams
- Strong research and reporting culture
- Focus on owned assets rather than ads
Limits
- Enterprise only: not built for SMBs or early-stage SaaS
- Budgets and timelines sized for large organizations
- Pricing on request
Pricing: On request, enterprise budgetsProof: Enterprise references, few public numbers -
03
First Page Sage
Best for: B2B companies ready to invest in a long content programThought-leadership SEO and content for B2B and SaaS.
Strengths
- Publishes its own benchmark studies
- Clear B2B and SaaS specialization
- Long-term, content-heavy method
Limits
- Content-led: slower to show results, needs budget and patience
- Less suited to local or ecommerce SEO
- Premium retainers, pricing on request
Pricing: Premium retainers, on requestProof: B2B case studies and published benchmarks -
04
Victorious
Best for: Mid-market companies that want a focused SEO partnerSEO-only agency with a transparent, process-driven approach.
Strengths
- SEO is the only service, no distraction
- Transparent process and reporting
- Recognized by industry awards
Limits
- Content and links often priced as add-ons
- Limited AI search (GEO) positioning
- Pricing on request
Pricing: On requestProof: Public client reviews and awards -
05
Siege Media
Best for: Brands that want high-end content to earn links at scaleContent marketing and link building for SaaS and ecommerce.
Strengths
- Design-driven content that earns links
- Strong SaaS and ecommerce references
- Clear content production process
Limits
- Content-first: technical and local SEO are not the core
- Premium budgets
- Less focus on AI answer visibility
Pricing: Premium, on requestProof: SaaS and ecommerce case studies -
06
Single Grain
Best for: Companies that want one partner for several channelsGrowth marketing across SEO, paid media and CRO.
Strengths
- Multi-channel: SEO, paid media, CRO
- Large education footprint (podcast, newsletter)
- SaaS and ecommerce experience
Limits
- SEO is one line among many
- Generalist positioning
- Pricing on request
Pricing: On requestProof: Client logos and case studies -
07
Intero Digital
Best for: Mid-market companies that want SEO, paid, web and Amazon under one roofFull-service digital marketing for the mid-market.
Strengths
- Breadth of services
- Mid-market experience
- US-wide presence
Limits
- Generalist: SEO depth varies by account
- Many service lines to coordinate
- Pricing on request
Pricing: On requestProof: Client reviews and awards
The seven agencies on the same criteria.
Scroll sideways on a phone. The Awilix column is our own claim; the others come from public information.
| Criterion | Awilix | Terakeet | First Page Sage | Victorious | Siege Media | Single Grain | Intero Digital |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | SaaS, B2B, SMB | Enterprise | B2B, SaaS | Mid-market | SaaS, ecommerce | SaaS, ecommerce | Mid-market |
| Core focus | SEO + GEO | Owned asset optimization | Thought leadership SEO | SEO only | Content + links | Growth marketing | Full-service digital |
| AI search (GEO) included | Yes, in every plan | Partial | Partial | Limited | Limited | Partial | Limited |
| Published proof with numbers | Yes, case studies | Few public numbers | Benchmarks, case studies | Reviews, awards | Case studies | Case studies | Reviews, awards |
| Pricing transparency | Public starting prices | On request | On request | On request | On request | On request | On request |
| Delivery rhythm | Weekly sprints | Quarterly programs | Monthly content | Monthly | Monthly content | Monthly | Monthly |
| Company size served | SMB to mid-market | Enterprise | Mid-market to enterprise | Mid-market | Mid-market to enterprise | Mid-market | Mid-market |
Pick the agency that matches your situation.
You sell software or B2B services
You need pages that rank and get cited by AI assistants, plus proof that the method works on SaaS. Awilix or First Page Sage.
You run an enterprise organic program
You need a large team, governance and research built for a big organization. Terakeet.
You need links at scale
You need content built to earn links in your niche, month after month. Siege Media.
You want one partner for several channels
Single Grain or Intero Digital cover SEO, paid media and more under one roof.
The grid behind the ranking.
Five criteria, applied the same way to every agency, Awilix included.
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01
Published proof
Case studies with numbers, dates and named clients weigh the most. Logos alone do not count.
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02
Method
A written, repeatable process beats a promise. We read each agency's own description of how it works.
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03
AI search coverage
Whether the agency builds for ChatGPT, Perplexity and AI Overviews, or only for the ten blue links.
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04
Pricing transparency
Public starting prices score higher than a quote-only policy.
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05
Fit by company size
An enterprise agency is not a bad agency for an SMB, it is the wrong one. We note who each agency is built for.
What separates a good SEO agency from an expensive one in 2026
Three things changed the job. Google answers more queries itself through AI Overviews. ChatGPT and Perplexity send real buyers to a handful of cited pages. And the volume of generic content exploded, so a page that says what every other page says ranks nowhere. An agency built for 2019 still sells keyword positions and a monthly batch of blog posts. An agency built for 2026 sells pages that get ranked and cited, and measures itself on qualified traffic and pipeline, not on positions alone.
So the first question on a call is not "what is your process". It is "show me a client of my size, in a market like mine, and the numbers you published about it". Then ask how they track visibility inside AI answers. If the answer is a blank look, the agency is optimizing for a shrinking share of search. The difference between SEO and GEO is the difference between the two kinds of agency on this list.
What SEO agencies cost, and what the price hides
Most agencies on this list quote on request, which is a polite way of saying the price depends on how much they think you can pay. Three pricing models exist. The monthly retainer, where you buy a team's time. The project fee, where you buy a deliverable such as an audit or a migration. And the performance deal, rare, usually reserved for ecommerce with clean attribution. I detailed the ranges in how much SEO costs in 2026.
What the price hides is scope. Content and links are often billed as add-ons on top of a "strategy" retainer, so a low headline number becomes a high invoice by month three. Ask for the full cost of the first six months in writing, content and links included. Awilix publishes its starting prices for that reason: an audit from $2,000, plans from about $1,600 per month, and the scope attached to each on the SEO services page. Whether that money comes back is a separate question, answered in the ROI of SEO.
Red flags that disqualify an agency, whatever its rank
- Guaranteed rankings. Nobody controls Google. An agency that guarantees position one either picks keywords nobody searches or plans to leave before you notice.
- Proof without numbers. A wall of logos is not a case study. Ask for the before, the after and the date. Ours are on the case studies page, with the figures the clients allowed us to publish.
- No AI search plan. If ChatGPT, Perplexity and AI Overviews never come up unprompted, the method is dated.
- Reports you cannot read. A 40-page PDF of positions hides the one line that matters: qualified traffic and what it became.
- A twelve-month lock-in before any result. Good agencies keep clients with results, not with contracts.
How to run the shortlist in two weeks
- Pick three agencies from the ranking whose "best for" line matches your size and market. Do not pick by position.
- Send the same brief to all three: your site, your three main competitors, your goal in revenue terms, your budget range.
- Ask for a sample diagnosis, not a proposal. One page on what they would fix first and why. The quality of that page predicts the engagement.
- Call one reference client of a similar size. Ask what went wrong in the first three months, not what went right.
- Compare the six-month total cost, content and links included, then decide.
If you want the sample diagnosis from us, the free audit is exactly that: where you rank, what AI assistants say about you, and what a plan would cost, within 48 hours.
Questions about choosing an SEO agency.
What comes up before a shortlist.
There is no single best SEO agency. The best one for you matches your company size, your market and your budget, and shows published results on companies like yours. For SaaS and SMBs that want SEO and AI search in one contract, Awilix. For enterprises, Terakeet. For content-led B2B programs, First Page Sage or Siege Media.
Most agencies on this list quote on request. Mid-market retainers commonly start in the low thousands per month and enterprise programs run far higher. Awilix publishes its starting prices: audit from $2,000, plans from about $1,600 per month.
Yes. A growing share of discovery happens in ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews, and the pages that get cited are built differently. An agency that ignores AI answers optimizes for a shrinking share of the search market.
By applying the same grid to its own case: published case studies with numbers, a written method, GEO in every plan and public pricing. We also list our limits: a small team, no US office, a young brand. Check the case studies and decide.
