Best B2B SEO agency alternatives for AI search (AEO, GEO)

Updated November 24, 2025

Why the best B2B SEO solution might not be an agency anymore

The shift from 10 blue links to AI-generated answers fundamentally changes what "good SEO" means. Traditional agencies optimized for clicks from Google's results page. AI platforms optimize for zero-click research, where prospects receive pre-qualified recommendations without visiting your website. For a B2B SaaS company with a $25K average contract value, capturing even 10% more of this AI-driven traffic translates to $300K-$600K in additional pipeline per quarter.

Market research confirms that B2B buyers are increasingly using AI in their purchasing process. When your CEO asks "What's our AI search strategy?" during the next board meeting, saying you hired a traditional SEO agency won't demonstrate the forward-thinking leadership they're looking for.

The question isn't "which agency should we hire?" The question is "which model fits the AI era?"

The 5 models for B2B search visibility (and what they actually cost)

Budget-conscious marketing leaders face an overwhelming amount of options. Here's what each model actually delivers, what it costs, and where it breaks.

1. The traditional full-service agency (status quo)

Traditional SEO agencies built their expertise on Google's algorithm. They focus on keyword rankings, backlink profiles, domain authority, and getting your pages to position #1 in search results.

Investment breakdown:

• Monthly retainer: $5,000-$25,000
• Setup fees: $2,000-$5,000 (typically)
• Contract length: 6-12 months minimum
• Mid-sized B2B companies typically spend around $2,500-$10,000 monthly

What you get: You'll receive 10-15 blog posts per month, technical site audits, link building campaigns, keyword research, and monthly ranking reports showing your position in Google's traditional results.

Pros:

• Established playbooks for traditional search
• Good for maintaining existing Google rankings
• Experience with technical SEO fundamentals
• Comprehensive reporting dashboards

Cons:

• Most lack specialized methodology for AI citation
• Slow content cadence (10-15 posts/month vs. the daily volume AI platforms reward)
• Optimize for clicks and rankings, not AI recommendations
• Long-term contracts (6-12 months) with limited flexibility
• No visibility tracking across ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity

Best for:

• Legacy protection: Companies with strong brand recognition needing to maintain Google positions
• Slow adaptation timeline: Organizations with 12+ months to gradually shift to AI search
• Stable organic performance: Businesses where organic traffic is growing or flat (not declining)

Not suitable for: Companies experiencing declining organic MQLs or already invisible in AI answers.

Expected outcomes: You'll maintain stable traditional rankings, but see minimal impact on AI citation rates. You'll preserve your Google position while competitors capture the 48% of buyers researching with AI.

2. The in-house team (maximum control, maximum cost)

Building a dedicated SEO and AEO team inside your company gives you complete control over strategy, brand voice, and execution speed.

Investment breakdown:

We estimate a conservative first-year investment of $403,000, which includes:

Team composition:

• SEO Manager ($60K-$80K)
• Content Strategist ($55K-$70K)
• Technical SEO Specialist ($70K-$90K)
• Content Writers - 2x ($50K-$65K each)
• Data Analyst ($65K-$85K)

Additional costs:

• Benefits and taxes (add 30-40% to base salaries)
• Tools and software ($12K-$24K annually for Ahrefs, Semrush, schema tools, analytics)
• Recruitment and training costs ($15K-$30K)

Our detailed breakdown in Building Your In-House AEO Team shows how this scales at different company stages.

What you get: You build a team that lives and breathes your product, understands your technical audience deeply, and can pivot strategy instantly based on market feedback.

Pros:

• Complete control over strategy and execution
• Deep product and industry knowledge
• No coordination overhead with external partners
• IP and strategic insights stay in-house
• Team scales with your growth trajectory

Cons:

• Massive upfront investment ($403K+ year one)
• 3-6 month ramp time to productivity
• Ongoing recruitment and retention challenges
• Risk of knowledge loss if key team members leave
• Requires in-house expertise to manage effectively

Best for:

1. You've reached $20M+ ARR with strong gross margins (>70%)
2. You view SEO and content as strategic differentiators, not just marketing tactics
3. You operate in a highly regulated or technical industry requiring deep domain expertise
4. You can commit $403K+ in year one and wait 6-12 months for results
5. You have existing marketing leadership capable of recruiting and managing specialists

Expected outcomes: After a 6-month ramp, expect citation rates of 35-45% across buyer-intent queries if the team executes well. The long-term ROI can be exceptional, but the short-term cash commitment is substantial.

3. The freelance specialist network (flexibility with coordination costs)

Freelance SEO specialists offer targeted expertise for specific challenges without the overhead of a full-time employee or agency retainer.

Investment breakdown:

Freelancers offer flexible pricing models:

• Hourly rates: $50-$200+ per hour, with US average at $47.71/hour
• Project-based: $500-$5,000 for specific deliverables (audits, keyword research, content strategy)
• Monthly retainers: $500-$5,000 per month for ongoing support, with most charging in the $501-$1,000 range

What you get: You gain access to specialized skills exactly when you need them. A technical SEO freelancer can audit your site architecture. A content strategist can map your buyer journey. A link building specialist can secure high-authority mentions.

Pros:

• Pay only for what you need
• Access to niche specialists (technical SEO, content strategy, Reddit marketing)
• Flexibility to scale up or down quickly
• Lower overhead than agencies or in-house
• Can assemble a custom "dream team" for your specific needs

Cons:

• Coordination overhead increases with each freelancer added
• Quality and consistency vary significantly
• Limited scalability (one person's bandwidth caps your volume)
• No integrated strategy across multiple specialists
• Freelancers juggle multiple clients, limiting availability

Best for:

• Testing phase: Startups and SMBs with $500K-$5M ARR testing SEO/AEO before committing to larger investments
• Specific projects: Companies with well-defined projects (site migration, technical audit, content refresh)
• Budget constraints: Organizations wanting expert help on $500-$2,000 monthly budgets

Not suitable for: Companies needing comprehensive, coordinated strategies or daily content production.

Expected outcomes: You'll see strong results on focused projects, but fragmented execution limits overall AI visibility impact. Expect 10-20% citation rate improvements on targeted query clusters, but gaps remain across your full buyer journey.

4. SEO platforms and SaaS solutions (tools without strategy)

Software platforms like Semrush, Ahrefs, and emerging AI-focused tools provide data and automation to support your internal team's SEO efforts.

Investment breakdown:

• Standard plans: $100-$300 per month for core features
• Professional tiers: $300-$500 monthly for advanced capabilities
• Enterprise plans: $500-$2,000+ monthly for larger teams and data limits

What you get: You receive keyword research tools, rank tracking, site audit capabilities, competitor analysis, and reporting dashboards. Some platforms now include AI visibility tracking features for ChatGPT and AI Overviews, as shown in this Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit walkthrough.

Pros:

• Lowest direct cost option
• Comprehensive data access
• Continuous platform updates and new features
• You own the expertise built internally
• Scalable as your team grows

Cons:

• Requires significant internal expertise to use effectively
• Tools provide data, not execution or strategy
• Time investment to learn platform capabilities
• No content production or implementation
• Limited guidance on AI-specific optimization

Best for:

• Existing expertise: Companies with marketing teams that have baseline SEO knowledge and capacity to execute
• Internal IP building: Organizations that value building internal expertise over outsourcing
• Hands-on approach: Teams that want to control every detail of implementation

Not suitable for: Companies lacking internal SEO expertise or those needing turnkey execution.

Expected outcomes: Results depend entirely on your team's skill executing on the platform's insights. Our analysis in The Hidden Cost of DIY AEO Tools shows most teams struggle to achieve meaningful citation improvements without specialized AEO methodology.

5. The hybrid AEO partner (specialized framework meets execution)

Hybrid AEO partners combine technology infrastructure with specialized content frameworks purpose-built for AI citation. This model emerged specifically to solve the AI visibility gap traditional agencies couldn't address.

Investment breakdown:

• Monthly retainer: $5,000-$20,000+ depending on content volume and scope
• Contract terms: Month-to-month (no long-term lock-in)
• Setup costs: Typically included in first month
• At Discovered Labs, our packages start at €5,495/month for 20+ AI-optimized articles

What you get: You receive daily content production using proven frameworks like our CITABLE methodology, AI visibility tracking across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews, third-party validation building through Reddit marketing, G2 reviews, and industry forums, plus technical optimization for LLM retrieval.

Pros:

• Purpose-built for AI citation, not adapted from SEO
• High content volume (20-60+ pieces monthly vs. agency standard of 10-15)
• Proprietary tracking tools show citation rates in real-time
• Month-to-month terms with no long-term lock-in
• Combines technology efficiency with strategic human oversight
• Faster time-to-value than in-house (results in 3-4 months vs. 6+ months)

Cons:

• Higher monthly cost than freelancers or platforms
• Still requires some internal coordination
• Specialized focus means they don't handle paid ads, social, or web design
• Newer category with fewer established providers

Best for:

1. Declining MQLs: B2B SaaS at $2M-$50M ARR experiencing declining organic leads despite stable Google rankings
2. AI invisibility: Companies where competitors appear in ChatGPT recommendations while you remain unseen
3. Speed required: Organizations needing results within 2-3 months, not 6-12 months
4. Expertise gap: Teams wanting proven methodology without building internal expertise from scratch

Not suitable for: Companies under $500K revenue.

Expected outcomes: You can expect citation rates of 40-50%+ within 4-6 months. Our case study shows a B2B SaaS client went from 500 to 3,500+ monthly AI-referred trials in 7 weeks using this approach.

Comparison: Pricing, speed, and expected outcomes

The hidden costs matter as much as the visible ones. Traditional agencies lock you into 6-12 month contracts while delivering methodology that doesn't address AI search. In-house teams carry $403K+ first-year investments plus ongoing recruitment risk. Freelancers require coordination overhead that scales poorly. Platforms require internal expertise most teams lack.

Decision framework: Which model fits your stage?

Your budget is one variable. Your goals, timeline, and organizational capacity matter just as much.

When to keep your traditional agency

You should maintain your relationship with a traditional SEO agency if:

• Your Google rankings are strong and organic traffic is stable or growing
• Your primary goal is protecting existing search positions, not expanding into AI
• You have 12+ months to gradually adapt to AI search
• Your buyers primarily use traditional search (rare in B2B, but possible in certain niches)
• Budget constraints prevent exploring new models ($2,000-$5,000 monthly max)

Traditional agencies excel at legacy search fundamentals. But recognize what you're optimizing for: a channel Gartner predicts will decline 25% by 2026.

When to build in-house

Building an in-house AEO team makes sense if:

• You've reached $20M+ ARR with strong gross margins (>70%)
• You view SEO and content as strategic differentiators, not just marketing tactics
• You operate in a highly regulated or technical industry requiring deep domain expertise
• You can commit $403K+ in year one and wait 6-12 months for results
• Leadership views AEO as a core competency to own, not outsource
• You have existing marketing leadership capable of recruiting and managing specialists

The in-house model offers maximum control and long-term ROI, but requires significant upfront investment and patience. Use our in-house team building guide to assess readiness.

When to hire a specialized AEO partner

A hybrid AEO partner is the right choice when:

• You're experiencing declining organic MQLs despite stable Google rankings
• Your competitors appear in ChatGPT recommendations while you remain invisible
• You need proven methodology without building internal expertise from scratch
• You want results within 3-4 months, not 6-12 months
• Your budget supports $5K-$20K monthly investment but not $403K in-house build
• You value flexibility (month-to-month terms) over long-term lock-in
• Your CEO is asking "What's our AI search strategy?" and you need a credible answer

This model solves the expertise gap without the overhead. For most B2B SaaS companies at $2M-$50M ARR, it's the fastest path to AI visibility with controlled risk.

How we approach modern B2B SEO at Discovered Labs

We built Discovered Labs because traditional SEO agencies couldn't solve the AI visibility problem. Our approach combines proprietary technology with specialized content frameworks proven to earn AI citations.

The CITABLE framework (built for LLM retrieval)

AI platforms don't cite content the same way Google ranks pages. They retrieve passages based on clarity, verifiability, structure, and external validation. Our CITABLE framework addresses each factor:

This isn't SEO tactics rebranded as "AI optimization." It's methodology engineered specifically for how LLMs retrieve and cite information. Watch this explanation of SEO vs. AEO differences to understand the distinction, or see our scientific approach to AEO testing to see how we validate what works.

Daily cadence and month-to-month terms

Traditional agencies deliver 10-15 blog posts monthly. Our packages start at 20 articles minimum, scaling to 2-3 pieces daily for larger clients. This volume matters because AI platforms reward content breadth and freshness differently than Google.

We operate on month-to-month terms with no 6-month minimums and no aggressive termination penalties. We must earn your business every month by delivering measurable citation improvements and pipeline impact. Learn more about our answer engine optimization services and transparent pricing structure.

Measuring what matters: Citation rate vs. rankings

Google rankings tell you where you appear in a list. Citation rates tell you whether AI recommends you when buyers ask for solutions.

We track:

• Citation frequency: How often your brand appears in AI answers across 50-100 buyer-intent queries
• Share of voice: Your citation rate compared to your top 3 competitors
• Citation sentiment: Whether AI positions you positively, neutrally, or recommends alternatives
• Platform coverage: Your visibility across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and Copilot

Our analysis of AI visibility tracking platforms revealed fundamental measurement flaws in existing tools, which is why we built our own proprietary tracking system.

For a comprehensive walkthrough of our full methodology, download our AI Search Playbook.

Frequently asked questions about B2B SEO companies

How much should a B2B company spend on SEO and AEO monthly?
Budget $5,000-$10,000 monthly minimum for meaningful results. Companies under $2M ARR can start with project-based approaches to test impact before committing to retainers. Our ROI calculator shows expected pipeline impact based on your deal size.

How long before we see AI citation improvements?
Initial citations appear in 1-2 weeks. Meaningful impact (citation rates above 30%) takes 3-4 months. Our case study client saw 4x trial growth in 7 weeks.

Can traditional SEO agencies handle AEO effectively?
Only 12-15% can, based on our competitive analysis of 50+ agencies. Most lack specialized frameworks for LLM retrieval. Ask agencies: "Show me your client's citation rate in ChatGPT for 10 buyer queries." If they can't answer with specific numbers, they're not doing AEO. Learn the key differences between AEO and SEO in this explainer.

Should we hire freelancers or an agency for AI search?
Freelancers work for targeted projects ($500-$5,000/month) but lack coordination for comprehensive strategies. Hybrid AEO partners deliver integrated execution at $5,000-$20,000 monthly. Compare the approaches in our guide to optimizing content for AI search.

What's the ROI of AI-optimized content vs. traditional SEO content?
AI-referred traffic often converts higher than traditional search because the AI has already pre-qualified your solution. Our complete AEO playbook breaks down expected outcomes by company stage.

What tools track AI visibility across ChatGPT and other platforms?
Several major platforms now offer AI visibility tracking, including Semrush, Ahrefs, and specialized tools like Otterly.ai. Watch this guide to auditing your AI search presence to understand what to measure.

Glossary of key terms

AEO (Answer Engine Optimization): The practice of optimizing content to be cited by AI assistants like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity when users ask questions. Different from SEO's focus on ranking in traditional search results. Learn more in our complete guide to AEO.

Citation Rate: The percentage of times your brand is mentioned when AI platforms answer relevant buyer queries. A 40% citation rate means you appear in 4 out of 10 AI responses for your target question set.

AI Overviews: Google's AI-generated summaries launched May 2024, displayed above traditional search results. Synthesizes information from multiple sources and replaced traditional featured snippets for 40%+ of queries.

LLM (Large Language Model): The AI technology powering ChatGPT, Claude, and similar platforms. LLMs process and generate text by understanding patterns across billions of training examples.

Share of Voice: Your brand's citation frequency compared to competitors. If competitors are cited 60% of the time and you're cited 15%, you have a -45% share of voice gap.

Third-Party Validation: Mentions of your brand on external sites like Wikipedia, Reddit, G2, and industry blogs that AI platforms trust more than your owned content. Learn how we build this through Reddit marketing strategies.

CITABLE Framework: Discovered Labs' methodology for creating content optimized for AI citation: Clear entity and structure, Intent architecture, Third-party validation, Answer grounding, Block-structured for RAG, Latest and consistent, Entity graph and schema. See the full framework breakdown for details.

GEO (Generative Engine Optimization): Another term for AEO, focusing on generative AI outputs. Watch this comparison of SEO, AEO, GEO, and AIO to understand the terminology.

The choice most B2B leaders are making in 2025

Traditional SEO agencies optimized you for a declining channel. Gartner predicts 25% less search volume by 2026, while 48% of B2B buyers now research with AI.

You have five paths forward: build in-house ($403K+ year one, 6-12 month ramp), hire freelancers ($500-$5K monthly with coordination overhead), use DIY platforms ($100-$300/month requiring internal expertise), stick with traditional agencies ($5K-$25K monthly with slow AI adaptation), or partner with a specialized AEO provider ($5K-$20K monthly, purpose-built for AI citation).

For most B2B SaaS companies at $2M-$50M ARR, the hybrid AEO partner model delivers the fastest path to AI visibility. You get specialized frameworks like CITABLE, daily content production, proprietary visibility tracking, and month-to-month flexibility.

Want to see where you stand today? Request an AI Visibility Audit showing exactly where your company and your top 3 competitors appear when prospects ask AI for recommendations. We'll show you the gaps, the opportunity, and whether our approach fits your situation. Or explore our complete AEO methodology to see how B2B brands engineer their way into AI recommendations.