Last updated: September 16, 2024
The following article ranks the top investment banking SEO agencies of 2024. This list was compiled from a total sample size of ~50 agencies, which we evaluated and filtered based on the following factors:
- Notable Clients (40%): The top 3 investment banking clients listed on the agency’s website. In the event that no investment bank is listed, we include related financial clients at a lower score.
- Leadership Experience Score & Founder Status (30%): We gave each agency a 1-5 score of the agency’s C-suite, based on prior experience in marketing and any prior experience in investment banking or financial institutions. We also took into consideration whether or not the founders remained in a leadership role at each agency.
- Customer Reviews (20%): A 1-5 rating of the agency’s performance, based on their online reviews. Agency’s servicing a wide variety of industries have had their scores adjusted, if necessary, to reflect the reviews of apparent financial clients.
- Year Established & Median Employee Tenure (10%): The least important factors in our analysis, but the overall tenure of an agency and its employees speaks to its experience and can serve as a minor indicator of future success.
The table below represents our top 8 scoring SEO agencies. It includes the scoring details for each one, as well as additional information on the agency’s corporate headquarters and their niche specialization within SEO marketing.
The Top Investment Banking SEO Agencies of 2024
| Rank | Company | Established | Founder Led | Leadership Experience Score | Average Reviews | Median Employee Tenure | Notable Clients | Specialty |
| 1 | First Page Sage | 2009 | Yes | 4.9 | 4.9 | 4.3 years | Allen & Company, Cresset Capital | Combining investment banking thought leadership with SEO strategy for lead generation and brand authority |
| 2 | Assertive | 2011 | Yes | 4.0 | 4.8 | 3.7 years | Allianz Global Investors | PPC & link acquisition for UK-based banks |
| 3 | Marketri | 2004 | Yes | 4.6 | 4.8 | 1.3 years | Verb, Modality, Epoch Solutions, Chesapeake Corporate Advisors | Analytics-driven SEO strategy development and service outsourcing |
| 4 | MBC Strategic | 1998 | Yes | 4.2 | 4.6 | 4.2 years | Polen Capital, Russell Investments, AGNC Investment Corp | Traditional marketing and PR for investment banks |
| 5 | Merger Labs | 2016 | Yes | 3.8 | 4.7 | 6.8 years | Hyde Park Capital, Edge Healthcare Partners | SEO-focused web design for PE and M&A firms |
| 6 | Social Media 55 | 2014 | Yes | 3.5 | 4.4 | 2.4 years | Westmount Square Capital, Enrich Funding, Creccal | Branding, video, and social media marketing |
| 7 | Top Agency | 2019 | Yes | 4.6 | 4.4 | 4.8 years | Oppenheimer Funds, Ameriprise Financial, | Targeted messaging services for investment banks |
| 8 | Yes& | 2019 | Yes | 4.4 | 4.2 | 1.8 years | N/A | PR, video marketing, and SEO |
First Page Sage
First Page Sage is the leading SEO agency in the United States that specializes in SEO for investment banks. Their approach centers high-quality thought leadership content and establishing their clients as thought leaders in the investment banking / M&A space. First Page Sage reports that this approach emphasizes building trust, first with Google and then with prospective leads, using search intent analysis to craft unique content for each keyword. They report much higher close rates than paid channels such as paid search.
First Page Sage has worked with quite a few investment banks on SEO campaigns, with 3 of the larger banks noted on their website as well as a few smaller banks. Their customer reviews are excellent.
- Notable Clients: Allen & Company, Cresset Capital
- Leadership Experience: 4.9
- Company Size: 100-250
- Year Founded: 2009
- Headquarters: San Francisco, CA
- Average Reviews: ★★★★★
- Approach to SEO: Combining investment banking thought leadership with SEO strategy for lead generation and brand authority
- Contact: First Page Sage
| Summary of Online Reviews |
| Investment banking clients considered First Page Sage to be their “greatest asset when it comes to lead generation.” Their “exceptionally well-organized” teams are highly knowledgeable about finance, making their SEO strategy and content “a cut or two above what [clients] expected.” |
Assertive
Assertive is an SEO agency that specializes in paid search services, making them an ideal match for banks seeking to test new channels or roll out new services over a shorter period of time. They also help clients with low domain ratings build backlinking campaigns in order to grow their online presence, though this approach is less effective than organic backlink acquisition through publishing high quality content.
While Assertive has limited experience with investment banking clients, their exceptional customer reviews indicate an ability to work with a wide variety of client needs. Their C-suite is knowledgeable on SEO and other marketing approaches, and their lean teams provide their clients with more access to senior staff.
- Notable Clients: Allianz Global Investors
- Leadership Experience: 4.0
- Company Size: 11-50
- Year Founded: 2011
- Headquarters: London, UK
- Average Reviews: ★★★★★
- Approach to SEO: PPC & link acquisition for UK-based banks
- Contact: Assertive Website
| Summary of Online Reviews |
| Assertive “delivered an effective SEO strategy” with “knowledgeable, professional, and responsive” teams that “help [clients] become more comfortable and confident” in their campaigns. |
Marketri
Marketri provides investment banking clients with several options for SEO. The first is their outsourced marketing team, which provides several marketing processions to create and implement a marketing strategy on behalf of clients. In addition, they provide consulting services for larger firms wishing to optimize their existing marketing departments. Both options provide clients with a strategy roadmap to improve their online presence.
Marketri has worked with several notable banking clients, and their leadership is well-versed in both SEO and the financial world. Their teams are kept quite small for an agency of their tenure, however, and larger investment banks may be better served by working with an agency that provides larger teams.
- Notable Clients: Verb, Modality, Epoch Solutions, Chesapeake Corporate Advisors
- Leadership Experience: 4.6
- Company Size: 11-50
- Year Founded: 2004
- Headquarters: Philadelphia, PA
- Average Reviews: ★★★★★
- Approach to SEO: Analytics-driven SEO strategy development and service outsourcing
- Contact: Marketri Website
| Summary of Online Reviews |
| Marketri provides clients with a “seamless integration” of their “professional” teams which has “improved brand awareness and created a stronger online presence,” providing clients with “measurable results.” |
MBC Strategic
MBC Strategic focuses on the strategy side of SEO marketing, providing initial consulting and auditing services. Prospective investment banking clients would want to consider a marketing agency like MBC Strategic to improve or rebuild their online image.
MBC Strategic has very few online customer reviews available to the public, despite having worked with several high-profile banking clients. Their C-suite consists of marketing professionals from a wide range of specialties rather than SEO specifically, hence their offering of it as one of several services.
- Notable Clients: Polen Capital, Russell Investments, AGNC Investment Corp
- Leadership Experience: 4.2
- Company Size: 11-50
- Year Founded: 1998
- Headquarters: Santa Monica, CA
- Average Reviews: ★★★★☆
- Approach to SEO: Traditional marketing and PR for investment banks
- Contact: MBC Strategic Website
| Summary of Online Reviews |
| N/A |
Merger Labs
Merger Labs provides investment banks with web development and UX design services designed to improve the technical SEO of their existing website or to build a new one from the ground up. These services are particularly helpful for banks with older websites that can benefit from a full redesign.
Merger Labs has been in business for less than a decade, but despite their small size they have moderate experience working with investment banking clients. Their customer reviews indicate a high degree of client confidence in their work.
- Notable Clients: Hyde Park Capital, Edge Healthcare Partners
- Leadership Experience: 3.8
- Company Size: 11-50
- Year Founded: 2016
- Headquarters: San Diego, CA
- Average Reviews: ★★★★☆
- Approach to SEO: SEO-focused web design for PE and M&A firms
- Contact: Merger Labs Website
| Summary of Online Reviews |
| Merger Labs provides “very helpful” teams that “take the time to understand” clients goals and provide “great service.” |
Social Media 55
Social Media 55 is an investment banking SEO agency specializing in social media and video marketing, which makes them ideal for investment banks seeking to increase brand awareness by distributing industry reports and market analysis for widespread consumption. In addition, they provide branding services for banks seeking to update their unique company language.
Social Media 55 has extensive experience working with financial clients, albeit not necessarily investment banks proper. Their website features little information on their C-suite, but some investigation reveals a standard level of experience in marketing.
- Notable Clients: Westmount Square Capital, Enrich Funding, Creccal
- Leadership Experience: 3.5
- Company Size: 11-50
- Year Founded: 2014
- Headquarters: Montreal, Quebec
- Average Reviews: ★★★★☆
- Approach to SEO: Branding, video, and social media marketing
- Contact: Social Media 55 Website
| Summary of Online Reviews |
| Social Media 55 provides “teams [that] meet the client’s needs”, resulting in “higher engagement and consistency” as well as “positive stakeholder response” in their campaigns. |
Top Agency
Top Agency specializes in targeted messaging and branding services for investment banks. This makes them a good match for prospective clients who are targeting their marketing strategy towards niche or narrow target audiences or for investment banks seeking to rebrand their digital image. To the same effect, Top Agency also provides options for full PR teams for banks seeking to improve or rebuild that image.
Top Agency has moderate experience with investment banking clients and their C-suite, while specializing more on the branding side of marketing services, has a healthy amount of SEO expertise to offer clients. The agency has seen considerable growth despite being relatively new to the market compared to others on this list.
- Notable Clients: Oppenheimer Funds, Ameriprise Financial,
- Leadership Experience: 4.6
- Company Size: 150-200
- Year Founded: 2019
- Headquarters: Austin, TX
- Average Reviews: ★★★★☆
- Approach to SEO: Targeted messaging services for investment banks
- Contact: Top Agency Website
| Summary of Online Reviews |
| Top Agency provides “very professional” teams that are “up to the challenge,” providing “excellent results” for their clients. |
Yes& Agency
Yes& Agency is an investment banking SEO agency that specializes in PR and video marketing, allowing clients to grow their brand and connect with existing and new audiences. This allows banks of various sizes to create engaging content that can help establish smaller firms in the industry and lend credibility to their specialization within it, assuming they have someone on staff who is camera-ready.
Yes& Agency does not have any prior experience working with investment banks according to their website, however their exceptional customer reviews, company size/tenure, and C-suite experience would all suggest an agency with exceptional capability representing financial clients.
- Notable Clients: N/A
- Leadership Experience: 4.4
- Company Size: 51-100
- Year Founded: 2019
- Headquarters: Alexandria, VA
- Average Reviews: ★★★★☆
- Approach to SEO: PR, video marketing, and SEO
- Contact: Yes & Agency Website
| Summary of Online Reviews |
| Yes& Agency provides “strong project management” with teams that “communicate consistently, adhere to deadlines, and adjust accordingly” to “deliver excellent results.” |
