EliteAEOScoring factors
| Factor | Weight | What we look at |
|---|---|---|
| AI SEO specialization | 25 | Does the provider actually sell answer engine or AI search work, or is it a line on a general SEO menu? |
| Vertical evidence | 20 | Case studies, named clients, a vertical service page, or a vertical-only practice. |
| Demonstrated outcomes | 20 | Published results, case study depth, and third-party proof. |
| AI measurement capability | 10 | Whether the provider reports AI visibility, citations or share of voice, not just rankings. |
| Third-party reputation | 10 | Reviews and profiles on independent platforms, years in business. |
| Relevant market coverage | 5 | On city pages: an office or verified clients in that metro. On national pages: US coverage. |
| Transparency | 5 | Public pricing, team, and clear service descriptions. |
| Freshness and verification | 5 | How recently we checked the evidence. |
Eligible
A provider is eligible for a ranking when it is a live, legitimate company, it actually offers answer engine or AI search services, it serves the vertical and market in question, and we found no evidence problem. Eligibility is decided before scoring and never considers payment.
Verified
A provider is marked Verified when we have checked three things ourselves: the website is live and belongs to a real company, at least one independent third-party profile exists, and at least one piece of evidence ties the provider to the vertical it is ranked in. Verification never requires payment. Providers who claim a free profile display the EliteAEO badge on their site, linking to their profile. The badge never affects editorial rank.
When a city page is published
A city page is published only when at least five eligible providers have an office in that metro or list it as a served market on their own site, at least three of them are verified, the metro has local depth (two providers with an office there, or one office plus five verified providers, or seven verified providers), and the metro has real demand for that kind of provider. Cities that do not meet the bar are not published, so you will not find thin pages here.
Location claims
We record where a provider is based and which markets it serves as two separate facts. A provider with an office in a metro is marked with that office. A provider with verified clients there is marked as serving the metro. A provider that only lists the city on a service page is marked remote. Pages are titled "serving" a metro for this reason.
Paid placement
Featured and Sponsored positions are sold. They are labeled, they sit outside the editorial list, and the ranking code never reads the sales data. A provider ranked seventh can buy visibility. It cannot buy seventh into first. See the advertising policy.
Corrections
Providers can claim a profile to correct any fact. Buyers can report an error to hello@eliteaeo.ai. We re-check evidence on claimed profiles and re-review every ranking at least quarterly.