Why we exist
Hiring an agency is a high-stakes decision usually made with terrible information. The "best of" lists ranking at the top of search are mostly paid placements or roundups padded with generalists who list every service under the sun. The agencies' own sites are marketing. And the big directories let firms write their own profiles and buy their way up the rankings.
So a buyer is left to reverse-engineer the truth on their own, across dozens of near-identical pitches. That's the gap we fill. We pick a category, define what actually predicts good work in it, and then check every agency against that list using information anyone could verify, whether the agency talks to us or not.
The result is a shortlist you can trust, with the reasoning shown. Not a longer list. A more honest one.
What we stand for
Free to be listed
We research and list agencies whether they engage with us or not. A place on the list is never for sale.
Editorial never for sale
Ranking, score, and our verdict stay ours. Paying only unlocks presentational features, and it's always labelled.
Public record first
Every claim traces to something checkable: Amazon's partner directory, third-party reviews, the firm's own case studies.
We show our work
Each profile labels what's verified, what's merely stated, and what still needs an interview. No black-box scores.
How we research
Every category runs its own checklist, because vetting an Amazon PPC team isn't the same as vetting a casino SEO agency. But the method is always the same four moves:
- 1Define the checks. We write down what actually separates a specialist from a generalist in that category, before looking at any firm.
- 2Research from public record. Partner directories, third-party reviews, case studies, company data. If we can't verify it, we don't state it as fact.
- 3Label the evidence. Each finding is marked verified, stated, or pending, so you can see exactly how solid the ground is.
- 4Write the honest take. A named researcher writes the verdict, including who each firm isn't right for.
Who's behind it
agency.guide is run by a small team of researchers and operators who've spent years building, ranking, and reviewing websites and the businesses behind them.
Harsha Kiran
Harsha leads the research desk and writes the assessments you see across the site, starting with the Amazon PPC category. His focus is turning messy public information into a clear, honest read a buyer can act on.
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Raj Vardhman
Raj has spent over a decade building and ranking websites, with deep expertise in WordPress, technical SEO, and research-driven content. He's built and led content and SEO at several tech publications and brings the search and site-building know-how behind agency.guide.
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Ranji Mercado
Ranji works across content and editorial, keeping the writing clear, accurate, and consistent from one category to the next. The goal is always the same: say what's true in plain language, and make it easy to read.
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