Most "best of" directories sell their rankings. We don't. This post walks through exactly how an agency ends up on a ranked list — and the three lines we won't cross.
The qualification bar is binary
Before any ranking math happens, every agency has to clear the same floor: a verifiable track record in the niche, at least twelve months of live client retention, a named founder we can reach, and public case studies or reviews we can audit. If any of those are missing, the agency is not on the site — full stop.
Tier (TITAN, 7FA member, or qualified non-member) is a tiebreaker between already-qualified agencies. It never opens the gate.
The weighted rubric
Once an agency qualifies, the ranking score is built from five weighted criteria — niche depth, proof, retention, pricing transparency, and editorial signal. Weights vary by niche because what matters in plumbing marketing is not what matters in SaaS. Every category page lists the exact weights for that niche.
The firewall
Three rules we enforce, without exception:
- No pay-for-placement. Agencies cannot buy a rank. They can buy a disclosed sponsored slot that sits outside the ranked list.
- Disclosure is mandatory. If we have a commercial relationship with an agency — featured placement, affiliate, Seven Figure Agency membership — it is disclosed on the page. No hidden relationships.
- Review cadence is public. Every page shows a "last reviewed" date. If we haven't looked at a list in more than 180 days, we pull it down until we do.
That's it. The rest is judgment, and we try to show our work.