Ranked SEO agencies for startups

Key Takeaways

Here are key takeaways and what you should know:

• Our top SEO agency for startups: We recommend either SERPdojo or TripleDart as the top two agencies that work alongside a variety of technology startups.
• Choosing an agency to work with: We highly recommend that you always choose to work with an agency that can prove they understand how modern SEO works. You don't want to agency who just simply takes what they read online and are using your startup business as an opportunity to test it.
• Newest SEO agency for startups: Our "newest" agency is Growth Plays, a very small boutique group of folks who are focused on technology startups and SEO, in particular.

Our top SEO agencies for startups

Based on our evaluation of the number of SEO agencies out there, here is who we would recommend working with if you have a technology startup. It's important to note that there are plenty of "verticals" under the concept of being a technology startup. From AI to healthcare. And from fintech to prop tech. However, most of the "startup SEO" approaches that you'll see mentioned are roughly the same given your vertical and/or niche. Oh, by the way, if you're looking for a list of SaaS SEO agencies, go right here.

1. SERPdojo

We are going to rank ourselves as #1 on this list. And that's because we've had a number of technology startups ourselves. As previous and now current founders, we understand how SEO and organic search is still widely used. Google owns 95%+ of the market share when it comes to search demand. And for any type of startup, there's probably great alignment with what you offer and the search demand that's out there.

The only downside to SERPdojo is that it's a relatively new agency. That's right, we're still small and new. However, there's some advantages to working with a company like ours (say hello to discounts for giving us a shot!).

Some of the top clients that SERPdojo spouts includes Volusion, CVS Health, Oak Street Health, Geico, GoodRX, and many more. While these are not startups, Volusion still certainly stacks up on the list of startups. Back "in the day," it was trying to compete with the likes of BigCommerce and other players like that. As a result, they learned quickly that paid search only goes "so far."

SERPdojo is known for coming up with highly innovative SEO strategies. One's that can be reused across the board and also are generally "ahead of where everyone is going." If you don't believe me or us, definitely reach out and ask for a brief call.

The team has plenty of technology startup experience and is comfortable managing all of the most important KPIs that should go into an SEO campaign that probably needs to move at a very fast pace (much like you probably want your startup to move). We tend to track important metrics like keyword growth, impression growth, rank position growth, activations, LTV:CAC ratio, activations, NPS (net promoter score) feedback, and much more.

Here's our overview of SERPdojo:

• Overall rating: 91 out of 100.
• Benefits: Extremely boutique and capable of bringing new SEO strategies to the table.
• Drawbacks: Not a very large team, limited in terms of additional service capacity.

For more information on SERPdojo, visit their website right here.

2. TripleDart

TripleDart has an incredible list of startup companies that it's worked with. When you go to the case studies portion of the TripleDart website, you're smacked with a long list of startups. Which is why we've got to put TripleDart at the top.

With more than 100+ startup companies listed on the site, we're pretty sure that they have the experience you need if you're a technology startup. They include HR tech, developer tools, fintech/CFO tools, data/IT tools, generative AI tools, and much more.

The only drawback to TripleDart is that they're not located in the United States. In particular, most technology businesses need a close partnership with their agency (almost integrated, if you think about it) to drive success. Time differences can certainly have an impact on the working relationship and the results.

Here's our overview of TripleDart:

• Overall rating: 90 out of 100.
• Benefits: Very clear examples of working with technology startups on the SEO front from almost every vertical.
• Drawbacks: Located internationally, which can be a significant problem for many new companies.

For more information on TripleDart, visit their website right here.

3. Growth.cx

Growth.cx is a newer SEO agency that's coming in high on the list for us. And here's why: they seem to be working with a lot of startups that are searching for product-market fit. In fact, as part of their case studies page, they even included which startups were searching for product-market fit and how they helped.

With customers like Factors.ai, SurveySensum, Retable, and other clear technology startups, we had to put this team on the list. One drawback here is that we couldn't really find any public reviews. That would otherwise tell us that the company is still pretty new. However, for a lot of startup companies, that might not be a complete deal breaker.

Another drawback and one factor that always impacts our score and review is where the team is located. It does seem to be a team that's mostly outside of the United States. And like we've said before, a lot of startup companies want that "integrated" feeling with their SEO agencies. As a result, timezones can really have a drastic impact on the feeling of "moving quick."

Here's our overview of Growth.cx:

• Overall rating: 87 out of 100.
• Benefits: Pretty incredible examples of helping startup companies find their niche market. Which is a great benefit when it comes to growing organic search traffic.
• Drawbacks: Located internationally, which can be a significant problem for many new companies that feel like they want to "move quickly."

For more information on Growth.cx, visit their website right here.

4. Growth Plays

Growth Plays is a very small and boutique SEO agency that's focused on technology startups. Founded by John-Henry T. Sherk, Growth Plays makes it onto our list just based on their pretty clear background with early and late-stage startups.

With clients like Lattice, Calendly, Copy.ai, and LaunchDarkly—it's just too hard not to list Growth Plays, here. And, certainly, consider us jealous in terms of getting to work with those fantastic technology startups!

Much like with Growth.cx, we couldn't find any public reviews of the agency. Most likely, it's based on relationships and the founders are using their technology relationships to find customers. That's fair! Not every agency really has the time to devote to their public appearance. Especially ones that are heads down focusing on their clients.

The only other real drawback to Growth Plays is understanding the team size. While startups probably don't need to worry about robust and highly scalable SEO solutions. As startups begin to enter that "later-stage" part of their lifespan, they'll want a team that can scale with them.

Here's our overview of Growth Plays:

• Overall rating: 86 out of 100.
• Benefits: Incredible list of startups that they're working with. We love Calendly and Lattice.
• Drawbacks: Not entirely sure of the team size or the pricing for their agency.

For more information on Growth Plays, visit their website right here.

5. Rock the Rankings

We really like Rock the Rankings. In particular, Justin Berg, the founder of the agency seems to really "get" modern SEO. Justin's agency would certainly be higher up on this list if we were able to see more startup experience publicly. However, we certainly found a number of public reviews from startups!

This agency is run by Justin Berg. The two startups that really stand out in Justin's portfolio are both Toast and Exploding Topics. Both of these properties really have strong SEO and organic search presence. And it shows that he really knows what he's doing.

Alexander Vandervert, CEO at Quiker left a nice public review on Clutch saying, "The team took control of their responsibilities and allowed us to focus on our other responsibilities."

The only real drawback that I'm currently seeing to Rock the Rankings is that they don't have a larger number of technology startups or startup businesses on their website. Certainly, this could be a scenario where there is more available upon request. Generally, we like Justin and Rock the Rankings!

Here's our overview of Rock the Rankings:

• Overall rating: 84 out of 100.
• Benefits: Clearly shows that he "gets it" when it comes to modern SEO.
• Drawbacks: Not a ton of technology startups listed on the website.

For more information on Rock the Rankings, visit their website right here.

Most affordable SEO agency for startups

While many of these SEO agencies don't disclose what their rates are, we can usually assume that the base-rate for most SEO agencies is going to be in the $4,000 per month range. As a result, our winners for the most affordable agencies would be:

• TripleDart: Coming in at around $3,500 per month for the scope.
• SERPdojo: Coming in at around $4,000 per month for a scope.

Choosing an agency based on price is our biggest "no-no." Try to find an agency that really understands that you're going to need a creative and unique approach to SEO in order to get traction for your startup.

The "startup" focused SEO agency with the most expertise

In terms of the SEO agency who has the most startup technology experience, it's going to be the following:

• TripleDart: Once again, coming in here with a really strong background of working with startups.
• Growth Plays: With an impressive late-stage startup list of clients, we're going to put Growth Plays on the list of having the second most startup experience.

Picking an agency by their startup experience is definitely going to be wise, given that you're likely to want to "move fast and break things" when it comes to your overall approach.

Our recommendations for how to choose an SEO agency for your technology startup

Here are the best tips that we have when choosing an agency to work with:

Applying SEO for startups

It's really important that the agency knows about Google patents. And generally knows how to bring unique and new insights to the table. You're also going to need an agency that can "write really well," specifically for the types of things that you need to write for. Patents like the Information Gain patent (US20200349181A1) are important to know about. Does your agency know about this? Or are they just fooling you?

Having a really strong foundational understanding of SEO is key to find "the edge" in getting your startup some product-market fit.

Don't choose someone based on budget

It's kind of the "classic startup thing" to think about only budget. While it's important to consider, also consider what results you're really going to get. If you aren't "doing it right," you probably shouldn't be doing it at all.

We typically see startups wanting that "overnight growth" when it comes to SEO. That's not really a possible thing to do. You can't force search engines (or Google) to do what you want it to do. You can only influence these machines over time and continue to nurture the campaign into success.

Avoid the "we can do it" approach

Hey, let's face it, startup founders want that hands-on approach. And that can work to a certain extent. However, is writing your own articles really the best use of your time? Find an agency that knows how to take your insights and your unique perspectives and put them to scalable use.

Written by Joshua Davis - VP of SEO
Published on October 2nd, 2024
Updated on October 2nd, 2024