Skip to content

Buyer tools

The GEO agency RFP: 25 questions, and who answers them in public

Of the 25 questions a buyer should put to a GEO agency, nine draw no Yes from any of the ten agencies we read, and the median agency answers 5 of 25 on its own site. None of them shows the raw answer text behind a result, and none lets a buyer pay without a call.

How this list is made

Broadcastwell publishes this list and appears on it, at number one. It is an editorial list scored on criteria a buyer can verify, not a measured ranking. The scoring, the sources and the dates are below.

What the count shows

Key findings

  1. 9 of 25questions draw no Yes from any of the ten agencies read, and two of them draw not even a Partial.
  2. 5 of 25is the median number of questions an agency answers in public. Citant answers the most, 12 of 25.
  3. 0Yes answers across all ten agencies on the four evidence questions, Q7 to Q10: raw answer text, cited sources per answer, variance and repeatability.
  4. 0 of 10agencies let a buyer pay without a call.
  5. 20 of 25is Broadcastwell's own score on the same rule. The five questions it does not fully answer are listed below.

How this page was scored

Ten GEO agencies and Broadcastwell, each read against the same 25 questions on its own public site. A question counts as answered only when a buyer can find the answer without a call, a sign up or an email.

Yes

The company's own site answers the question in full. Every Yes on this page links to the page that answers it.

Partial

Part of the answer is published, for example a cadence where the question asks for a run count. Partials are printed but never added to the count.

No

No answer was found on the pages read. That is a claim about the pages, not about how the company works.

Read date

Every cell was read on the company's own public pages on 17 September 2026. No sign up, no email, no call.

Three limits carried from the read: Minuttia's method answers come from a published data study rather than its service pages, and the same applies to parts of Omniscient Digital's and Siege Media's; iPullRank's AI Search Manual sits behind an email form, so it was judged on its ungated pages only.

One cell was re-read on 17 September 2026: First Page Sage's price question was changed from Yes to No, because the tiers on its cost page are framed as prices seen among other companies rather than its own rates.

The 25 questions

Five groups of five. Each question says why it matters and what a verifiable answer looks like, with how many of the ten agencies answer it in public.

Plain text, ready to paste into an RFP.

Method, Q1 to Q5

Q1. Is the question set published?

Why it matters. The questions decide the answer. A score built on questions you cannot read cannot be checked or repeated.

A verifiable answer. The actual questions, or the rules they are written to, printed where a buyer can read them before paying.

Yes from 0 of 10 agenciesPartial from 6 of 10Broadcastwell: Yes

Q2. Are the classification rules published?

Why it matters. Whether an answer counts as naming you depends on the rule. Loose rules inflate a score.

A verifiable answer. A written rule for what counts as named, cited or absent, for example word boundary matching on the brand.

Yes from 2 of 10 agenciesPartial from 0 of 10Broadcastwell: Yes

Q3. How many runs per question, with repeats?

Why it matters. The same question returns different answers on different runs. One run is an anecdote.

A verifiable answer. A stated number of runs per question and engine, not only a cadence such as weekly.

Yes from 0 of 10 agenciesPartial from 5 of 10Broadcastwell: Yes

Q4. Which engines are read, named one by one?

Why it matters. Engines disagree with each other. A result only means something for the engines it names.

A verifiable answer. Each engine named in the service description a buyer reads, not only in a blog post.

Yes from 7 of 10 agenciesPartial from 3 of 10Broadcastwell: Yes

Q5. Is the method versioned and dated?

Why it matters. Without a version, a buyer cannot tell whether two reports were measured the same way.

A verifiable answer. A version number and a date on the method, with changes published before they are used.

Yes from 0 of 10 agenciesPartial from 3 of 10Broadcastwell: Yes

Measurement and evidence, Q6 to Q10

Q6. Is a baseline measured before the work starts?

Why it matters. Movement can only be shown against a starting point measured the same way.

A verifiable answer. A named baseline deliverable at the start of the engagement, on a fixed question set.

Yes from 5 of 10 agenciesPartial from 1 of 10Broadcastwell: Yes

Q7. Can the buyer see the raw answer text behind every result?

Why it matters. A rate is a summary. The answer text is the evidence.

A verifiable answer. Every observed answer handed over as the engine returned it, not only a score.

Yes from 0 of 10 agenciesPartial from 0 of 10Broadcastwell: Yes

Q8. Are the sources each engine cited shown per answer?

Why it matters. The cited sources are where the fix usually is.

A verifiable answer. The cited URLs listed against each answer, not only an aggregate citation rate.

Yes from 0 of 10 agenciesPartial from 1 of 10Broadcastwell: Yes

Q9. Is variance between runs reported?

Why it matters. If runs disagree, an average hides it.

A verifiable answer. The run to run spread or the disagreement between runs printed beside each rate.

Yes from 0 of 10 agenciesPartial from 1 of 10Broadcastwell: Yes

Q10. Is the measurement repeatable by the buyer or a third party?

Why it matters. A measurement nobody else can repeat has to be taken on trust.

A verifiable answer. Enough published method that a third party could rerun it and check the arithmetic.

Yes from 0 of 10 agenciesPartial from 1 of 10Broadcastwell: Partial

Deliverables, Q11 to Q15

Q11. What exactly arrives, named as artefacts?

Why it matters. A service category is not a deliverable.

A verifiable answer. A list of named artefacts, for example a baseline report, a fix list and a roadmap.

Yes from 8 of 10 agenciesPartial from 2 of 10Broadcastwell: Yes

Q12. When does each artefact arrive?

Why it matters. A timeline in months is not a delivery date.

A verifiable answer. A stated turnaround for a named artefact, for example findings within a set number of hours.

Yes from 1 of 10 agenciesPartial from 4 of 10Broadcastwell: Partial

Q13. Who does the work?

Why it matters. A buyer is paying for people as much as for a method.

A verifiable answer. A stated team, or a named lead for the engagement.

Yes from 4 of 10 agenciesPartial from 3 of 10Broadcastwell: Partial

Q14. Does the buyer get data access, and keep it?

Why it matters. A dashboard that disappears at cancellation leaves the buyer with nothing to compare against.

A verifiable answer. Access to the data during the work, with retained access or an export stated for after it.

Yes from 1 of 10 agenciesPartial from 4 of 10Broadcastwell: Yes

Q15. What does the buyer keep when the engagement ends?

Why it matters. Work product that stays with the vendor is not work product the buyer owns.

A verifiable answer. A written statement of what the buyer keeps on exit.

Yes from 1 of 10 agenciesPartial from 1 of 10Broadcastwell: Yes

Commercial terms, Q16 to Q20

Q16. Is an entry price published?

Why it matters. Without a price a buyer cannot compare before a call.

A verifiable answer. The company's own price for a named offer, not an industry survey figure.

Yes from 5 of 10 agenciesPartial from 0 of 10Broadcastwell: Yes

Q17. Can the buyer pay without a call?

Why it matters. Every call is a step between the buyer and the evidence.

A verifiable answer. A checkout for at least one offer.

Yes from 0 of 10 agenciesPartial from 0 of 10Broadcastwell: Yes

Q18. Is the minimum term published?

Why it matters. A minimum term is the real price of a retainer.

A verifiable answer. The minimum commitment in months or weeks, in writing.

Yes from 4 of 10 agenciesPartial from 0 of 10Broadcastwell: Yes

Q19. Is there a written guarantee or refund term?

Why it matters. Answers vary run to run, so the refund is the part of the risk a vendor can carry.

A verifiable answer. The trigger, the window and the exclusions of any refund, in writing.

Yes from 1 of 10 agenciesPartial from 0 of 10Broadcastwell: Yes

Q20. How does the buyer cancel?

Why it matters. The notice period decides how long a buyer pays after deciding to stop.

A verifiable answer. A stated notice period or the words month to month, in writing.

Yes from 2 of 10 agenciesPartial from 0 of 10Broadcastwell: Partial

Proof, Q21 to Q25

Q21. Are there named B2B software case studies?

Why it matters. Anonymous cases cannot be checked.

A verifiable answer. A named client in B2B software with its own case page.

Yes from 5 of 10 agenciesPartial from 3 of 10Broadcastwell: Yes

Q22. Does a case study publish its measurement?

Why it matters. A result without its baseline and method is a claim, not a finding.

A verifiable answer. A dated baseline, the method, the window and the numbers the claim rests on.

Yes from 1 of 10 agenciesPartial from 2 of 10Broadcastwell: No

Q23. Is original research published with its sample and method?

Why it matters. Research shows whether a company measures anything at all.

A verifiable answer. A study with a stated sample size, collection window and classification rules.

Yes from 5 of 10 agenciesPartial from 1 of 10Broadcastwell: Yes

Q24. Is data published openly with a licence or DOI?

Why it matters. Open data can be checked by anyone; a download with no licence cannot be cited safely.

A verifiable answer. A dataset with a licence and a DOI.

Yes from 0 of 10 agenciesPartial from 1 of 10Broadcastwell: Yes

Q25. Is there a published correction route for the site's own claims?

Why it matters. Pages go stale. A correction route is how errors get fixed.

A verifiable answer. A stated way to report an error and a statement that corrections are made.

Yes from 1 of 10 agenciesPartial from 0 of 10Broadcastwell: Yes

The board

Full Yes answers out of 25, with the Yes count in each group. Sort by any heading. Broadcastwell is pinned first and tagged because it publishes this page.

Version 2026-09. 275 verdicts, one row each, with the source and read date.
Ten GEO agencies and Broadcastwell, answered questions out of 25
BroadcastwellOur listing2045 of 54 of 53 of 54 of 54 of 5
Citant1252 of 51 of 53 of 54 of 52 of 5
Optimist1021 of 51 of 54 of 53 of 51 of 5
WebFX751 of 51 of 52 of 52 of 51 of 5
iPullRank621 of 51 of 52 of 51 of 51 of 5
Omniscient Digital541 of 50 of 51 of 51 of 52 of 5
Siege Media530 of 51 of 51 of 51 of 52 of 5
Minuttia492 of 50 of 50 of 50 of 52 of 5
Go Fish Digital220 of 50 of 51 of 50 of 51 of 5
Single Grain251 of 50 of 51 of 50 of 50 of 5
First Page Sage050 of 50 of 50 of 50 of 50 of 5
Read on each company's own site on 17 September 2026. Broadcastwell's row is self scored on the same rule and every Yes links to its page.

By group, across the ten agencies: method 9 Yes of 50, measurement and evidence 5 Yes of 50, deliverables 15 Yes of 50, commercial terms 12 Yes of 50, proof 12 Yes of 50. The market answers what it delivers and what it charges; it rarely answers how a result can be checked.

Where Broadcastwell's own site falls short

Broadcastwell answers 20 of 25 on its own public pages. These are the five it does not fully answer, with what the site says instead.

Questions Broadcastwell's own site does not fully answer
QuestionVerdictWhat the site saysPage
Q10. Is the measurement repeatable by the buyer or a third party?PartialPublished so a reader can reproduce its shape and check the arithmetic; implementation detail is not published/methodology
Q12. When does each artefact arrive?PartialCategory Audit results within 48 hours of category confirmation; the Diagnostic has no promised delivery time/terms
Q13. Who does the work?PartialA team of twelve across six roles is stated; no named lead per engagement/company-facts
Q20. How does the buyer cancel?PartialMonth to month after the initial term is stated; notice periods sit in the signed agreement/terms
Q22. Does a case study publish its measurement?NoClient baseline data and outcomes are kept private, so no case publishes its measurement/vantaa-tax-ai-visibility-case-study

Every answer, with its source

Each company's Yes and Partial answers, with the page that answers each one. Open a company to see its full list.

Broadcastwell: 20 Yes, 4 Partial

Read 17 September 2026.

Go Fish Digital: 2 Yes, 2 Partial

Read 17 September 2026.

iPullRank: 6 Yes, 2 Partial

Read 17 September 2026.

Optimist: 10 Yes, 2 Partial

Read 17 September 2026.

Siege Media: 5 Yes, 3 Partial

Read 17 September 2026.

Omniscient Digital: 5 Yes, 4 Partial

Read 17 September 2026.

Minuttia: 4 Yes, 9 Partial

Read 17 September 2026.

First Page Sage: 0 Yes, 5 Partial

Read 17 September 2026.

Single Grain: 2 Yes, 5 Partial

Read 17 September 2026.

WebFX: 7 Yes, 5 Partial

Read 17 September 2026.

Citant: 12 Yes, 5 Partial

Read 17 September 2026.

Cite this page: The GEO agency RFP: 25 questions, and who answers them in public. Broadcastwell. Last reviewed 18 September 2026. https://broadcastwell.com/geo-agency-rfp

What this page does not prove

This page records what each company publishes on its own site on the date beside it. It does not measure the quality of anyone's work, it does not rank outcomes, and a company that publishes less is not necessarily worse at the job. Pages change; a cell is only true for its read date.

An agency that answers a question on a call, in a proposal or in a contract may answer it well; this page only records what a buyer can read before any of that. The ten agencies were chosen by Broadcastwell from the companies on its ranking pages; they are not a random sample of the market.

Broadcastwell's own limitations

  • Three named clients.
  • One early directional result.
  • No third party reviews yet.
  • Founded 2026.
  • A team of twelve.

Questions

What should I ask a GEO agency before hiring one?

Ask the 25 questions on this page, in five groups: method, measurement and evidence, deliverables, commercial terms and proof. The evidence group matters most, because it decides whether you can check a result yourself: can you see the raw answer text behind every result, are the cited sources shown per answer, is the variance between runs reported, and could a third party repeat the measurement. Across the ten agencies read, those four questions drew not a single Yes answer.

Which GEO agency answers the most of these questions in public?

Citant, with 12 of 25 answered with a Yes on its own site. The median across the ten agencies read is 5 of 25. Broadcastwell scores itself 20 of 25 on the same rule, from its own public pages, and lists the questions it does not fully answer.

Can I pay a GEO agency without a sales call?

Not at any of the ten agencies read here. Every one routes a buyer through a form, a call or an email first. Broadcastwell sells the $490 Category Audit and the $990 Diagnostic by card checkout. The page on buying without a call lists every offer in this market that can be bought that way.

Is a Partial as good as a Yes?

No. A Partial means part of the answer is on the site, for example a cadence of weekly tracking where the question asks how many runs there are per question. The counts on this page use full Yes answers only and print Partials separately.

Can I use these questions in my own RFP?

Yes. Copy all 25 with the button on this page, print the page, or download the CSV, which carries every verdict with its source and read date. Please cite the page if you publish the list.

How did Broadcastwell score itself?

By the same rule, from its own public pages only: /pricing, /terms, /methodology, /company-facts and the case pages. Every Yes carries the URL that answers it. It answers 20 of 25; the five it does not fully answer are listed on this page, including the one it answers No: Q22, does a case study publish its measurement?.

The evidence questions are the ones this market leaves blank. The $490 Category Audit answers them for your own category: every observed answer, its engine, its date and the sources it cited.

See where the engines place you

See which buyer questions leave you out, who is named instead of you, the sources visible in those answers, and the three changes worth testing first. The Category Audit covers one category, ten buyer questions, five engines and three measured runs, with findings within 48 hours of the category being confirmed.

Start with the $490 Category Audit

$490 once. Results appear in your account. The full $490 credits against the Diagnostic within 30 days. Refundable in full, no questions asked, within 30 days of delivery of the findings.

Get the Diagnostic, $990

$990 once. 35 questions, five engines, three scheduled runs per question and engine pair, 525 scheduled observed answers, adaptive runs extra. The full $990 credits against the program's first monthly invoice.

Every figure comes from the published method, v1.1.

Free 10-question check (one engine)

See a sample account