The verdict on hiring an AI SEO company: a specialist that does classic SEO, AEO and GEO together beats DIY, freelancers and generalist agencies for most businesses that already have a working site.
Below is the scorecard, the reasoning behind each number, and who should pick something else.
Want your own options scored against your site? Book a free SEO strategy session.
How these ratings were judged
Every score is editorial judgement, built from what the platforms publish and what each option can realistically cover.
No lab tests, no ranking experiments, no secret data.
The yardstick is five jobs any AI SEO provider must handle:
- Crawler and index access for Google, Bing, ChatGPT, Perplexity and Claude.
- Non-commodity content that's worth citing.
- Entity clarity: consistent names, schema, Business Profile.
- Links and mentions that sit inside Google's spam policies.
- Measurement across Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools and analytics.
The scorecard: five ways to get AI SEO done
| Option | Score /10 | One-line reason |
|---|---|---|
| DIY with the official docs | 6 | Google says small local firms can do much of it themselves, but links and measurement get skipped. |
| Freelancer or AI SEO specialist | 7 | Deep on one or two jobs, thin on outreach capacity and cover when they're away. |
| Generalist digital agency | 6 | Strong on web and ads, but AI crawler access and citation tracking are often an add-on. |
| Specialist AI SEO company | 8 | Covers all five jobs under one plan, as long as it passes Google's vetting questions. |
| Goldie Agency / Julian's team | 9 | SEO, GEO, AEO and link building under one roof, with manual outreach and its own public testing. |
Scores by job
| Job | DIY | Freelancer | Generalist | Specialist | Goldie Agency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crawler access | 7 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 9 |
| Citable content | 8 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Entity clarity | 6 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 8 |
| Links and mentions | 3 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 9 |
| Measurement | 5 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 |
DIY scores high on content for one reason: nobody knows your business better than you, and Google's generative AI guide puts unique, first-hand content at the top of its list.
What the platforms say an AI SEO company should be doing
Judge any provider against the source, not the sales deck.
- Google says AI Overviews and AI Mode have no extra requirements beyond SEO best practice, per its AI features guide.
- OpenAI says to allow OAI-SearchBot and its IP ranges if you want to appear in ChatGPT search, per its bots page.
- Perplexity recommends allowing PerplexityBot to show up in its results, per its crawler page.
- Anthropic warns that switching off Claude-SearchBot may reduce visibility, per its help article.
- Bing says Copilot rides on the same foundation as classic Bing search, per its guidelines.
Any plan that ignores these and sells "secret AI hacks" loses points instantly.
Strengths and limits of each option
DIY
Strengths: zero dependency, full control, and the best raw material for content.
Limits: outreach takes time most owners don't have, and reading AI citation data is a learned skill.
Pick it if: you run a small local business with a simple site and a few spare hours each week.
Start with Google's SEO Starter Guide, which Google says covers much of what a hired SEO would do.
📞 Stuck between DIY and a company? Book a free SEO strategy session and get a scored view of what your site needs first. → Book your strategy session
Freelancer or specialist
Strengths: one expert, direct contact, often sharp on technical access and schema.
Limits: one person rarely covers content, outreach, reporting and fixes at the same pace.
Pick it if: you have an in-house writer and need a technical audit or a short project.
Generalist digital agency
Strengths: design, development and paid media in one place.
Limits: AI search work can be a side line, and link building is often outsourced again.
Pick it if: you're rebuilding the whole site and want SEO baked in from day one, which Google calls the best time to hire.
Specialist AI SEO company
Strengths: all five jobs under one plan, with one set of reports across Google, Bing and AI answers.
Limits: quality varies widely, and a bad one can do damage; Google says you're responsible for the actions of any firm you hire.
Pick it if: you have a working site, real competition and no time to run outreach.
See how named providers stack up in our ranking of the best AI search agency options.
Goldie Agency: why it scores 9
Goldie Agency positions itself as an SEO, GEO, AEO and link building agency, which covers every row in the job table.
Its link building is described as "Manual outreach, no PBNs", which lines up with Google's link spam policy.
Its homepage claims "10+ years of results in tough niches".
Julian's self-reported figures: a perfect Upwork Job Success Score of 100%, more than 240 clients, over 1,000 campaigns in SEO and link building, and a YouTube audience of 425K+ subscribers.
His about page adds that new search tactics are trialled on the agency's own websites weekly, with the results shared in public.
It drops a point because no provider, this one included, can guarantee a ranking or an AI mention.
🔥 Want to score higher on the DIY row? Inside the AI Profit Boardroom you learn AI SEO yourself with step-by-step video trainings, the installable Agent OS and four coaching calls a week. → Join the AI Profit Boardroom
Why links and measurement decide most scores
The biggest gaps between options show up in two rows of the job table.
Links and mentions: Google's ranking systems guide still lists link analysis and PageRank, and Bing names relevant external links as a discovery signal.
Earning those through real outreach takes hours of research and personal pitches every week, which is why DIY scores 3 and a link-focused company scores higher.
The rules are clear: paid placements carry rel="sponsored" or nofollow, per Google's outbound link guidance, and link schemes are out.
Measurement: AI visibility now has its own reports.
- Search Console's generative AI performance reports show impressions inside AI Overviews and AI Mode, by page, country and device.
- Bing's AI Performance dashboard shows total citations, cited pages and the grounding queries behind them.
- Analytics shows visits from chatgpt.com and perplexity.ai; in our own data ChatGPT traffic often carries utm_source=chatgpt.com, which is our observation rather than an OpenAI statement.
An option that can't report across all three gets marked down, however good its content is.
What the scorecard doesn't capture
Three things can move any score up or down for your business.
- Your market. A solo trader in a quiet town needs far less than a software firm in a crowded category.
- Your time. DIY scores assume a few spare hours a week; without them, the DIY row falls fast.
- Fit. Google's hiring page says a good SEO should be interested in your business and ask what makes it different, and no scorecard measures that.
Use the numbers to shortlist, then use a call to decide.
Red flags that drop any option to zero
- A guaranteed #1 ranking or guaranteed ChatGPT mention; Google's hiring page and OpenAI's search help both rule that out.
- A "special relationship" with Google or a "priority submit" service.
- Private blog networks, link farms or bulk directory links, all listed in Google's spam policies.
- Paid placements without
rel="sponsored"or nofollow. - Secret methods they won't explain.
- Claims that llms.txt or "chunking" boosts Google; Google says Search doesn't use llms.txt and chunking isn't required.
- Third-party tools claiming access to "internal" Google metrics, which Google says no outside tool has.
Five questions that confirm a score on a sales call
A provider's score only holds if the answers match. Ask these, taken from Google's interview list and the AI platform docs:
- "Which official docs back this recommendation?" Google suggests checking whether an SEO cites its documentation as evidence.
- "Which crawlers will you allow, and which will you leave alone?" A good answer separates search bots from training bots without being prompted.
- "How will I see every change?" Look for a shared log with reasons, not a monthly PDF of rankings.
- "Walk me through one link you earned last month." You want a real site, a real editor and a clear reason the link exists.
- "What will you report on AI visibility?" The right answer names Search Console's gen AI reports, Bing's AI Performance view and referral traffic.
Weak answers on two or more of these knock a provider down at least two points.
Who should pick what
| Your situation | Best pick |
|---|---|
| Solo trader, one town, simple site | DIY, then a one-off audit |
| Strong writer in-house, technical gaps | Freelancer or specialist |
| Full rebuild coming | Generalist agency plus SEO input from the start |
| Competitive market, working site | Specialist AI SEO company |
| Need links, content and AI visibility together | Goldie Agency |
Small-business examples, scored in practice
A dog groomer in one suburb:
- Start DIY: confirm the Business Profile, hours and phone match the site.
- Check robots.txt allows OAI-SearchBot and PerplexityBot.
- Write one page on each service with real before-and-after notes.
- Bring in a specialist only if competitors keep getting named in AI answers.
A software firm selling to accountants:
- Hire a specialist AI SEO company, because comparison queries are crowded.
- Make sure feature pages render in HTML that crawlers can read.
- Earn mentions in trade publications through genuine outreach.
- Track Copilot citations in Bing's AI Performance report and Google's gen AI reports.
Final verdict
For most businesses with a live site and real competition, a specialist that runs SEO, AEO and GEO as one plan is the best pick.
DIY wins only when the site is simple and the owner has time.
Whoever you choose, check their advice against the official docs, keep every account in your name and walk away from guarantees.
📞 Ready for a second opinion on your shortlist? Book a free SEO strategy session and we'll rate your current setup on all five jobs. → Book a free session now
🎁 Free tools to test any provider Use the 200+ AI SEO Prompts to check your own visibility, and read the free link building book to spot weak outreach plans. → Book a free SEO strategy session
Prefer to build the skills first? Learn AI SEO yourself in the AI Profit Boardroom.
Also On Our Network
- 🌐 The eight-step order of work I'd run with any AI SEO company
- 🌐 Whether a small business should hire an AI SEO company, and what to ask first
- 🌐 Six Agent OS prompts to run before you hire an AI SEO company
- 🌐 Which AI models score best on the page work an AI SEO company does
FAQ: AI SEO Company Verdict
Are these AI SEO ratings based on tests?
No. They are editorial judgement drawn from platform documentation and what each option can cover across the five jobs.
Why does DIY score well on content?
Google says unique, first-hand content will likely matter most for AI search, and owners hold that knowledge.
What drops a provider to zero?
Guaranteed rankings or AI mentions, private blog networks, unmarked paid links, secret methods and claims about internal Google data.
Is a generalist digital agency a bad choice?
Not at all. It is a good fit during a full rebuild, but check that AI crawler access and citation tracking are actually in scope.
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About Julian
I'm Julian Goldie, an SEO entrepreneur, author and founder of the AI Profit Boardroom, which has 3,400+ members.
I help business owners scale with AI agents, automation and SEO.
- I've built a 7-figure SEO and link building agency, Goldie Agency, with a team of 70+ SEO experts.
- I've grown a YouTube channel to 400,000+ subscribers.
- I wrote "Link Building Mastery".
- My Udemy courses have taught over 29,000 students.
→ Get my best AI training inside the AI Profit Boardroom
Score your options on the five jobs, cut anyone who guarantees results, and book a free strategy session to pressure-test the AI SEO company you pick.
