Comparevs. an SEO agency
An AI SEO agency, without the agency.
Most agencies sell hours, meetings and a monthly PDF. We ship real changes to your site every day. Here is the honest difference, including where an agency is the better pick.
| FirstIndex | A typical SEO agency | |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | Real changes ship to your site every day | Agency: Strategy, audits and a list of things to do |
| Who does the work | We do. Changes ship straight to your site. | Agency: Often you or your developers, from their notes |
| Search and AI | Google, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and AI Overviews, together | Agency: Mostly Google. AI is an add-on, if it is there. |
| How you see progress | A daily change log and a weekly report | Agency: A monthly report, often a PDF |
| Meetings | None needed. Text Josh, the founder, any time. | Agency: Weekly or monthly calls |
| Contract | 3 months to start, then month to month | Agency: Often 6 to 12 months |
| Price | $2,000 a month, one plan | Agency: About $25,000 a month for the full plan* |
*Every line of our plan priced at published agency rates, October 2026. Check the math
Drag to a day. See what you’d have.
Each square is one day. Blue means a change went live that day. FirstIndex uses our clients’ real ship rate over the last 30 days. Agency and freelancer are typical timelines, not measured.
Day 1Day 90
FirstIndex
A typical SEO agency
A typical freelancer
A change went liveA call, audit or reportNothing that day
Pick FirstIndex if
- Your marketing site runs on a platform or CMS we can reach.
- You want the work done, not a plan for doing it.
- You care where AI answers send buyers, not only Google.
Pick an agency if
- You need PR, paid ads or brand work in the same contract.
- Your team wants regular strategy meetings.
- You are an enterprise with procurement and a locked CMS.
Don’t take our word for it.
Dated results from clients who agreed to share them.