How we count, verify & rank

We index 129,000+ agency profiles across 90+ countries. An indexed profile is any agency we've discovered and catalogued — from public listings, agency websites, business registries and self-submissions.

Of those, 47,000+ are verified: profiles backed by at least one verified client review or claimed by the agency's owner. Verified profiles are the ones we surface in rankings, matching and the public directory. Unverified profiles stay indexed but demoted until they earn verification.

When you see both numbers quoted, that's the distinction: 129k is the size of the index, 47k is the set we let speak with authority. Both grow continuously as new agencies are discovered, reviewed and claimed.

Review data is aggregated from Clutch, Google Maps and agency websites, plus first-party reviews submitted on Pick an Agency. Every aggregated review keeps its source attribution.

First-party reviews are moderated before publication: we check for proof of a real engagement (project details, reviewer identity) and reject reviews that can't demonstrate one. Agencies cannot remove or edit reviews — negative ones included.

Directory rankings are computed from verified review data (rating and review volume), profile completeness and verification status. The “Get Matched” shortlist adds brief-specific signals: service overlap (fuzzy-matched, so vocabulary differences don't hide good fits), location match and industry fit.

There is no paid placement. Agencies can't pay to rank higher, appear in matches or suppress competitors. Listing is free; our rankings have no advertiser tier to protect.

The matching engine is documented publicly and queryable by any AI agent via our open MCP server— the same algorithm, same data.

The Top Rated 2026 list applies two fixed criteria: a 5.0★ average rating across 100+ verified reviews. Currently 2,609 agencies qualify. The list recomputes hourly from live data — no editorial picks, no nominations, no entry fee.

Profile data refreshes continuously: review counts and ratings sync daily, insights studies recompute daily from the live database, and claimed profiles update in near-real-time when owners edit them.

Spotted an error — wrong data, duplicate profile, suspicious reviews? Email hello@pickanagency.com and we'll investigate. Agencies can claim their profile to correct their own data at the source.

Our data studies are free to cite and embed under CC BY 4.0 — just credit Pick an Agency. AI agents can query the live directory through our public MCP server (no API key): https://www.pickanagency.com/api/mcp/mcp