SitePerfector vs an SEO agency
An agency does the work and sends you a report. SitePerfector shows which topics were chosen, which were set aside, and who you would be beating.
A good agency does the work, and no subscription buys hands and hours. This page is for the owner who is already paying for SEO and still cannot say which topics were considered, which were set aside, or which sites they are trying to outrank. SitePerfector shows all three, and if you want the work done for you we sell that as well.
$7 today · then $39/mo · cancel anytime
SitePerfector: the picks in order, the sites you would be beating, and every option left out.
Who each one is for
an SEO agency
Done for you
Owners who want the problem off their desk. You are buying hands, hours, one person to call, and judgment built up over years in a market. Ahrefs polled 439 providers and found that 78.2% of them work on a monthly retainer, so this is usually a standing commitment rather than a one-off project.
SitePerfector
Topic-first SEO
Owners who want to keep the decision and see how it was made. You get the topics that were considered, the ones that were set aside with the reason, and the sites you would be beating on each one. If you would rather not run it yourself, we sell that too, at $349, $749 and from $1,200 a month.
How the two approaches differ
Keyword tools hand you data and leave the decision to you. Topic-first SEO hands you a decision, with the reason and the competitors named. The method itself is explained in Topic-first SEO: what it is and why it works. This page only shows the contrast.
an SEO agency
You start with
A discovery call, a proposal and a keyword list chosen inside the agency. How that list was arrived at, and what was left off it, is a question you have to remember to ask.
You publish
Pages the agency writes and ships, reported monthly as rankings and traffic. The work happens whether or not you follow it.
What you get
- ✕You get the work done, and the thinking behind it usually stays with the agency.
- ✕You get a service description that covers a $250 a month provider and a $10,000 one.
- ✕You get a standing monthly commitment, which is how 78.2% of the providers Ahrefs polled charge.
- ✕You get whatever the contract says you keep on the day you stop paying.
SitePerfector
You start with
Your whole market, read from live search results and grouped into themes, topics and pages. Up to 1,500 keyword ideas are vetted per map. Around a hundred earn a place, and you can see what was set aside.
You publish
The page worth writing next, with the sites you would be beating named and a blueprint built from what the top results cover and the gap they leave. You write it, edit an AI draft, or hand the brief to a writer.
What you get
- ✓You get every topic decision written down, including the ones set aside and the reason.
- ✓You get the sites you would be beating named per topic, read from the live results.
- ✓You get your site laid over demand: covered, off the map, or ranking without you knowing.
- ✓You get the map, the reasoning and the page briefs in your own account.
What each one does, job by job
Rows marked their strength are jobs an SEO agency does better than SitePerfector.
| Job to be done | an SEO agency | SitePerfector |
|---|---|---|
|
Do the work: write the pages, fix the site, publish their strength |
Yes This is the purchase, and no software closes that gap. |
No The software shows what to do, and our own service at /done-for-you does it from $349 a month. |
|
Bring hours, a named person to call, and pattern recognition from your market their strength |
Yes A good one has seen your situation before, and no subscription buys that. |
No Software has no opinion about your industry, only the live results, read and explained. |
|
Decide what to publish next, and show you the reasoning |
Partly The decision gets made, and whether you get to inspect it varies by agency. |
Yes Every topic carries a call: own it, build up to it, or leave it, with what was ruled out listed. |
|
Name the specific sites you would be beating on each topic |
Partly Sometimes in the proposal, less often in the monthly report. |
Yes Read from the live results per topic, so you can open a topic and read the names. |
|
Keep your existing pages laid over demand, as a standing view |
Partly Most engagements open with an audit, and how often it is refreshed varies. |
Yes Covered, off the map, and ranking without you knowing, from a crawl of your site. |
|
Let you re-read the reasoning next month without asking anyone |
No Reports show rankings and traffic, and the working stays with the agency. |
Yes The map, the calls and the briefs stay in your account, and briefs export as PDFs. |
|
Track how ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity mention your brand |
Partly Some now sell this, so ask for it in writing before you sign. |
No Not built, because AI answers cite what ranks and that is the same work. |
|
Backlink, PPC and keyword database |
No They may hold seats in one, and the account is usually theirs. |
No Neither, so keep Ahrefs or Semrush for that. |
Price |
Across 439 providers polled by Ahrefs, agencies average $3,209 a month and freelancers $1,348, and 68.8% charge $2,000 or less. Clutch puts the average monthly SEO project at $3,199. Small businesses commonly pay $2,500 to $5,000 a month. |
$7 for the first 14 days, then Basic $39/mo. Pro $99, Agency $179. Cancel anytime. |
Facts about an SEO agency checked 3 Sep 2026 on their own pages. The sources are listed at the bottom of this page.
Three differences you can check
1.An agency report shows rankings and traffic. SitePerfector shows the topics it considered and the ones it ruled out.
SitePerfector lists the topics it considered, the ones it ruled out, and the reason for each, and for every topic it recommends it names the sites currently holding those results. The recommendation and the evidence arrive together. An agency's monthly deliverable is usually a rankings and traffic report, which tells you what happened rather than what was decided and why. A report is built to show results, so the reasoning behind the plan is a separate thing to ask for. Ask for it up front and a good agency will give it to you.
Open your last monthly report and look for the name of one site you are trying to outrank on a named page. If it is not in there, ask for that list before the next invoice.
Check it yourself
2.Agency prices run from $250 to $10,000 a month for the same service description.
Ahrefs polled 439 SEO providers. Prices run from $250 to $10,000 a month, 63% of buyers spend between $500 and $5,000, agencies average $3,209 a month against $1,348 for freelancers, and 68.8% of all providers charge $2,000 or less. Upwork's median hourly rate for an SEO expert is $21. Clutch, working from verified client reviews, puts the average monthly project at $3,199 and the typical timeline at twelve months. Cheap SEO help exists, and nothing in a proposal tells you which end of that range you are buying. Asking for specifics before you sign is the only way to find out.
Open the Ahrefs survey of 439 providers and read the average retainer and the share charging $2,000 or less. Hold the quote in front of you next to both numbers.
Check it yourself
3.If you want the work done for you, SitePerfector sells that at $349, $749 and from $1,200 a month.
SitePerfector sells the work as well as the software. Our done-for-you service runs on this system: the market mapped first, then the pages in the order the map puts them, then the writing, done by the person who built the tool. The difference from a standard retainer is that the map lives in your account, so you read the same reasoning we work from and you keep it. Buy the software, buy the service, or start with the software and hand the map to whoever does the work. All three are fine.
Open /done-for-you and read the three tiers and what each one includes. The map underneath is the same map either way.
Check it yourself
When to choose an agency, and when to choose SitePerfector
Choose an SEO agency if
- You want the whole problem off your desk and you have the budget for hands and hours.
- You want one named person to call when a month goes by and nothing has moved.
- Your market needs judgment from someone who has worked in it for years.
- You are never going to open a dashboard, and you already know that about yourself.
Choose SitePerfector if
- You are paying for SEO and cannot say which topics were considered or which were set aside.
- You want every recommendation to name the sites you would be beating, so you can check it.
- You want the strategy in your own account, ready to hand to whoever does the work.
- You want to see the map before you decide about hiring.
Questions
Is SitePerfector an alternative to an SEO agency?
It replaces the strategy layer, not the hands. SitePerfector decides what to publish and shows the reasoning, and somebody still has to write the pages and fix the site. If that somebody is not you, hire an agency or take our done-for-you service.
How much should I be paying for SEO?
There is no single answer. Ahrefs polled 439 providers: agencies average $3,209 a month, freelancers $1,348, and 68.8% of all providers charge $2,000 or less. Small businesses commonly land between $2,500 and $5,000 a month. What matters more than the number is whether you can see what the money is buying.
Can you run it for me?
Yes. SEO Care is $349 a month, SEO Growth $749, and Managed SEO starts at $1,200, all on /done-for-you. Same system and same map, run by the person who built it. You still get the account, so you can read the reasoning whenever you want to.
Can I use both?
That is often the best arrangement. Bring the map to your agency, and the monthly conversation starts from the topics, the order and the sites you are trying to outrank. They do the work and you keep the plan.
What does the $7 get me?
Fourteen days of the full product on Basic: your market mapped, your site laid over it, the pages worth writing in order, and a blueprint for each. Then $39 a month, cancel anytime. It is an intro price on Basic, so nothing is held back.
Next
- See the three done-for-you tiers. SEO Care $349 a month, SEO Growth $749, Managed SEO from $1,200, all run on the same map.
- Run What Ranks Here on one keyword you care about. It is free, and it shows what kind of page Google ranks for that keyword.
- Map your own market for $7. Fourteen days of the full product, then $39 a month.
Sources for every claim about an SEO agency on this page
- Ahrefs: SEO Pricing, How Much Does SEO Cost? 439 people polled checked 3 Sep 2026
- Clutch: SEO Agency Pricing Guide checked 3 Sep 2026
- Upwork: SEO expert hourly rates checked 3 Sep 2026
- WebFX: SEO pricing, retainers and hourly consulting checked 3 Sep 2026
- Digital Applied: what SEO services cost, small-business band checked 3 Sep 2026
- SitePerfector: done-for-you SEO services and prices
- SitePerfector: How it works, with our own measurements
If something here is out of date, tell us and we will fix it.
Ready to grow your online presence?
Full access for 14 days — your topic map built, your gaps found, your content plan ready. Then Basic at $39/mo, locked for life for the first 50 members.
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