Our Scoring Methodology
Nineteen criteria across nine weighted categories. Published in full so anybody can challenge a score — including the agencies themselves.
Principles
A ranking is only worth reading if you can see how it was produced. Ours rests on four commitments that have not changed since John Jones started this desk in 2019.
- No money changes hands for position. Agencies cannot buy, sponsor or accelerate a review. Where a vendor has ever paid us for anything, it is disclosed on their profile.
- Every claim needs evidence. Case study numbers must be corroborated by a client, an analytics export or a public source. Unverifiable claims score zero rather than being taken on trust.
- Scores are reproducible. Two analysts score independently and reconcile differences with notes. Where they cannot agree, the lower score stands.
- Vendors get a right of reply. Each agency sees its draft profile and may correct factual errors before publication. They cannot change our scores or our opinions.
How the nine categories are weighted
| Category | Weight |
|---|---|
| Capability depth Technical, content and analytics skill demonstrated in real deliverables, not sales decks. | 20% |
| Transparency Clarity of scope, pricing, reporting and any guarantee language. | 15% |
| Client references Three or more verified conversations with current or recent clients. | 15% |
| Reporting quality Can an owner read the monthly report and understand what changed and why? | 12% |
| Retention & team stability Average client tenure and whether senior staff stay on accounts. | 10% |
| Contract fairness Notice periods, renewals, asset ownership and exit cooperation. | 10% |
| Value for band Deliverables relative to the price band the agency competes in. | 8% |
| Specialisation fit Evidence of repeated results in a defined industry or site type. | 6% |
| Ethics & compliance No link schemes, no doorway pages, no fabricated case data. | 4% |
What we ask a vendor's clients
Reference calls carry fifteen per cent of the score, and they are where polished sales stories usually come apart. We ask the same seven questions every time:
- What did you expect in the first ninety days, and what actually arrived?
- Who do you speak to each month, and has that person changed?
- Can you explain your own reporting without help?
- Has the agency ever told you not to do something you wanted?
- Have deadlines slipped, and how was that handled?
- Would you renew at a higher price?
- What should we ask them that we have not?
Where a vendor supplies only hand-picked references and refuses others, we note it and cap the category score.
What can remove a vendor from the list
Ranked agencies are re-checked quarterly. Any of the following removes them until the next full review:
- Manipulative link buying, private blog networks or doorway page tactics.
- Fabricated or unattributable case study figures.
- Client references that stop confirming the results we published.
- Contract terms changed to add automatic renewals without clear notice.
- Loss of the senior staff whose work earned the original score.
If you have evidence that a listed agency no longer deserves its place, write to support@top10seocompanylist.com. We investigate every credible report and publish corrections.
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