Performance marketing agency vs GEO agency: which one fits
Performance marketing agency vs GEO agency comes down to the fee: a percentage of spend and paid media alone, versus a flat fee covering paid ads plus search, AI answers and social. Want the AI-answer side covered too? See Noetio's AI SEO services.
Book a call →Feature comparison
| A performance marketing agency | Noetio | |
|---|---|---|
| How the fee works | Commonly a percentage of media spend | Flat fee, scoped on a call, unchanged if budget doubles |
| Incentive on budget | More spend pays the agency more | More spend pays us the same |
| Which number is reported | The platform's own attributed conversions | Platform's number and your CRM's, in one row, gap named |
| Channels covered | Paid media, usually paid alone | Paid ads plus search, AI answers, social and earned media |
| Who you talk to | An account manager, plus a buyer you rarely meet | The founder, on the first call and after it |
| Commercial shape | Retainer, often with a minimum term | Three-month minimum, buy one line or all |
This table describes the common commercial shape of a retained media engagement rather than any named firm. Fee models vary, flat-fee and hybrid performance agencies exist, and a good one beats this description in several rows.
Choose based on your situation
You need an agency of record: brand, media planning, studio and PR in one place
A performance agencyYou suspect the platform is counting conversions you never saw in your CRM
NoetioYou don't want the people advising on budget paid out of it
NoetioFAQ
Why does a percentage of spend bother you?
Because it pays your agency more for spending more, on the one decision where your interests must be identical. A flat fee isn't automatically cheaper — at small budgets it's often dearer. It's simply neutral: nobody in the room earns more from a bigger bid.
What is wrong with the platform's conversion number?
Nothing, as long as everyone remembers who produced it: Meta counts what it attributes, on a window it picked, against a model it doesn't show you. We report that number and your CRM's number in the same row, and name the gap.
What happens to the channels that are not ads?
They're why you'd buy ads from us, not a pure media shop. The same team runs SEO, AI SEO, your social media, and the earned pages an AI answer quotes, reported against one number. Most performance agencies never touch the three that aren't paid.
Bring the account; we'll read it live.
We compare what the platform says against your CRM, name the gap, and tell you where to start.
Read: GEO agency cost · how to verify AI visibility results · can GEO be automated