After assessing over 4,900 agency portfolios, awards, and client reviews, we have curated a list of leading startup SEO companies that have helped businesses like yours achieve profitable growth. Learn more about these agencies and their specialties below.

The Number 1 Startup SEO Company as Selected by DesignRush Is:

HigherVisibility

• Best for: Overall
• Average hourly rate: Inquire
• Minimum budget: $1,000-$10,000
• Founded: 2008
• Location: Memphis, TN
• Notable clients: Warner Brothers, eBay, HotWorx, Allied Van Lines

HigherVisibility aims to drive measurable, profitable growth for startups through data-driven, customized strategies and precise audience targeting. Its expertise includes local SEO, eCommerce SEO, franchise SEO, link building, and web design. It also offers technical SEO, on-page SEO, keyword strategy, content marketing, digital public relations, and ongoing optimization. As a testament to its expertise, HigherVisibility has been recognized as the Best SEO Agency for five consecutive years by Search Engine Land.

HigherVisibility Success Story

• Challenge: A business struggled with low online visibility and leads due to its low-quality content, spammy links, and damaged site trust. As such, it quickly fell behind the competition.
• Solution: HigherVisibility studied visitor data and previous PPC campaigns to identify conversion-driven keywords and customer behavior. It also conducted on-page and technical optimization, recaptured lost links, engaged in link outreach, and produced content that aligned with user intent.
• Results: HigherVisibility’s holistic SEO strategy increased the client’s organic traffic by 2.6%, monthly leads by 800%, and organic conversions by 9.4%.

Check Out HigherVisibility Agency Profile

SmartSites

• Best for: Local SEO
• Average hourly rate: $100
• Minimum budget: Inquire
• Founded: 2011
• Location: Paramus, NJ
• Notable clients: Classic Audi, Rolls-Royce, Rakuten, Air Duct Brothers

With its team of 100 experts, SmartSites has helped thousands of clients double their organic traffic and generate over $100 million in cumulative revenue. Its services include SEO analysis, technical SEO audit, SEO consulting, copywriting and blogging, digital PR, link building, and mobile migration. It’s also proficient in local, national, eCommerce, technical, franchise, and mobile SEO. As a top startup SEO company, SmartSites aims to propel the digital growth of small businesses through custom, data-driven SEO strategies.

SmartSites Success Story

• Challenge: Originally named “First Aid Service,” the airduct cleaning and repair company was attracting the wrong audience and traffic. Additionally, its outdated website resulted in high bounce rates and client distrust.
• Solution: SmartSites rebranded the client’s company to “Air Duct Brothers” to clearly communicate its services and brand. It also converted the single-page site into a full website with a navigation structure, added content pages and blog posts, and conducted an aggressive link-building campaign. At the same time, it implemented local SEO tactics, targeting the tri-state area.
• Results: Air Duct Brothers increased leads by 375% and organic search traffic by 244%, strengthening its online presence and expanding its market share.

Check Out SmartSites Agency Profile

Searchbloom

• Best for: eCommerce SEO
• Average hourly rate: $100
• Minimum budget: $1,000-$10,000
• Founded: 2014
• Location: Draper, UT
• Notable clients: Nordstrom, Divvy, bill.com, Jitterbug

Searchbloom combines its 10-year proven methodologies, data, and AI to craft SEO strategies that deliver tangible results. With a focus on eCommerce SEO, the SEO agency for startups offers Shopify SEO, WooCommerce SEO, local and national SEO, franchise SEO, Google Business Profile optimization, technical SEO, and SEO consulting. It also provides SEO analytics and testing, link acquisition campaigns, keyword research and strategy, and search engine ranking reporting. Through its unique approach, Searchbloom has been recognized as one of the top SEO agencies by Backlinko, Search Engine Land, and Forbes.

Searchbloom Success Story

• Challenge: An artisan coffee business experienced a decline in visibility and sales due to increased online competition and shifting customer behavior brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Seeking to recover from this setback, it partnered with Searchbloom.
• Solution: Searchbloom acquired high-quality backlinks from reputable industry sources and produced SEO-optimized content that aligned with customer interests. It also revamped the website structure to improve user experience, site speed, mobile responsiveness, and search engine indexing.
• Results: Searchbloom’s tailored strategy increased the client’s year-over-year online traffic by 16% and grew annual online sales by $287,676.60 (8%).

Check Out Searchbloom Agency Profile

Big Leap

• Best for: SEO audit
• Average hourly rate: $125
• Minimum budget: $1,000-$10,000
• Founded: 2008
• Location: Lehi, UT
• Notable clients: BambooHR, Pluralsight, Younique Foundation, Latest Solutions

Big Leap is a leading SEO agency for startups that seeks to turn visibility into measurable success through brand-led SEO. Its offerings encompass research an analysis, technical SEO, local SEO, link building, digital PR, AI SEO, and GEO. It also conducts an 180-point site audit to identify and resolve critical issues and uncover growth opportunities. With over 17 years of expertise, Big Leap has helped various clients increase new leads to over 100,000, organic reach by 8,912%, and revenue by $27,000.

Big Leap Success Story

• Challenge: IT software and consulting company Latest Solutions had no online presence and relied on word of mouth, limiting its reach and growth. Wanting to improve brand awareness and online conversions, it partnered with Searchbloom.
• Solution: Big Leap performed a 180-point audit, evaluating the site’s content, indexability, metadata, crawl directives, and keyword diversity and volume. Using this information, it defined the client’s brand voice and target audiences and crafted a custom keyword and content strategy. Additionally, the startup SEO company developed 7 new pages, 4 blog posts, and optimized the entire website.
• Results: Within 6 months, Latest Solutions increased its Google Ranking positions to 1,624, ranked for 121 new keywords, and boosted organic traffic by 1,900%.

Check Out Big Leap Agency Profile

Disruptive Advertising

• Best for: Link building
• Average hourly rate: Inquire
• Minimum budget: $10,000-$25,000
• Founded: 2012
• Location: Pleasant Grove, UT
• Notable clients: Adobe, KPMG, Diesel Power Gear, Funding Company

Disruptive Advertising guarantees results within 90 days through its decade-long expertise, goal-aligned strategies, and unmatched client dedication, exclusively working with 10 new clients monthly. As an SEO agency for startups, it provides a comprehensive SEO audit, content development, backlinking, keyword research, and continuous optimization and testing. It supplements these services with conversion rate optimization (CRO), data analysis, lifecycle marketing, paid search and social, and lead generation campaigns. To date, Disruptive Advertising has conducted over 10,000 audits and managed over $1 billion in annual ad spend for clients.

Disruptive Advertising Success Story

• Challenge: Funding Company, a small business loan provider, faced low online visibility and poor organic traffic, as its competitors ranked higher on relevant search engine results pages.
• Solution: After a thorough audit, Disruptive Advertising resolved technical issues and optimized on-page elements. It also deployed link-building campaigns to showcase credibility in its niche while increasing referring domains. Moreover, the startup SEO agency produced topical, helpful, and authoritative content targeting relevant keywords and audience interest.
• Results: Funding Company ranked for 3,861 keywords, tripled its organic leads, and reduced customer acquisition costs, enabling it to invest in additional marketing initiatives.

Check Out Disruptive Advertising Agency Profile

How We Picked the Best Startup SEO Agencies

We selected the top startup SEO agencies by meticulously reviewing their testimonials, case studies, industry reputation, team expertise, client roster, and executive management. Our team of agency experts developed a scoring system to measure their overall performance based on several important factors:

• Reviews: Quality of work, client satisfaction, and level of trustworthiness
• Portfolio: Ability to deliver real-world business results
• Awards and press: Industry reputation and recognition
• Team bios: The agency’s qualifications and team dynamics
• Startup SEO expertise: Proven record of driving organic online growth through strategies tailored to startups

Visit the DesignRush Agency Ranking Methodology for more information on how we research agencies.