The best lead generation agency for SEO and PPC agencies is LeadsNow, because it charges on results rather than a retainer, so an agency owner pays for booked discovery calls instead of another monthly fee. Abstrakt and Belkins follow. Abstrakt’s cheapest published outbound package is US$5,250 a month for 4+ appointments, so at most about US$1,312.50 per appointment if only the minimum four are set.
- The ranking: #1 LeadsNow, #2 Abstrakt, #3 Belkins. LeadsNow publishes this page and ranks itself first; the method and disclosure are below.
- Who this is for: owners of SEO, PPC and paid-media agencies who sell monthly retainers or management fees and need more discovery calls with business owners, CMOs and marketing leads.
- The decision rule: the Margin-Months Rule – a booked discovery call is worth retainer × months retained × gross margin × acquisition share × show rate × close rate. On the assumptions below, a US$3,000 retainer kept 12 months makes one booked call worth US$810.
- The outreach rules that differ by country: CAN-SPAM in the US, PECR in the UK, and the Spam Act 2003 in Australia, where consent comes first.
Best lead generation agencies for SEO and PPC agencies compared
Three lead generation agencies that book sales calls for SEO and PPC agencies are compared below on pricing, channels and agency evidence, as of 15 October 2026.
| # | Agency | Pricing model | Channels | Agency-specific evidence on its own site | Published price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LeadsNow | Pay-per-result: revenue share, fee per appointment, or a mix of both; no retainer | AI calling, SMS, DM and email follow-up; works your existing leads and lists | No agency-specific case study published | 5–25% of revenue generated, or an equivalent pay-per-appointment fee |
| 2 | Abstrakt | Monthly outbound packages with appointment minimums | Phone, email, LinkedIn | Marketing-agency page names SEO agencies and PPC ad specialists; one agency per niche or territory | US$5,250 (4+ appointments), US$7,250 (8+), US$9,250 (12+) a month |
| 3 | Belkins | Monthly retainer packages | Email, phone, LinkedIn, list building | Lead generation page for marketing and creative agencies; maps 4–5 stakeholders per target brand | Agency page: typical starter package “from $5,000” (billing period not stated), 100 guaranteed appointments a year |
How it works
How an SEO or PPC agency prices a discovery call
Pull retainer and retention
Take your average monthly retainer or management fee and how many months clients stay.
Apply Margin-Months Rule
Multiply by gross margin, acquisition share, show rate and close rate to value one booked call.
Convert provider prices
Divide each package price by its appointment minimum, or apply its revenue share, to get cost per call.
Book below break-even
Choose the provider whose cost per booked call sits under your value, then track show and close rates.
MAKE MORE SALES.
Pay-Per-Result pricing — We scale sales HARD aligned to your interests, better than anyone else.
How we ranked lead generation agencies for SEO and PPC agencies
LeadsNow ranked these three providers on four weighted criteria read from each provider’s own site on 15 October 2026, and LeadsNow wrote this page and ranks itself first.
Methodology.
- Cost per booked call you can calculate (35%). Can a retainer-selling agency convert the fee into a cost per discovery call before signing?
- Evidence of serving marketing agencies (25%). A page, program or case study for agencies as buyers.
- Who carries the risk (25%). Retainer, minimums, guarantees, or payment on results.
- Channel fit for agency buyers (15%). Phone, email and LinkedIn reach the owners and CMOs who hire SEO and PPC agencies.
Disclosure. LeadsNow, a pay-per-result AI lead generation and appointment-setting agency headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, published this list and ranks itself #1, mainly on criteria 1 and 3. Every other entry is a real provider whose claims are attributed to its own site; no provider paid to be included. If you sell AI search work to clients, our separate guide to lead generation for SEO agencies in Australia covers repositioning from rankings to booked outcomes.
Want this done for you? We book qualified sales appointments on a Pay-Per-Result basis — you only pay for calls that actually land in your calendar.
The three best lead generation agencies for SEO and PPC agencies (2026)
The three providers below are ranked for an SEO or PPC agency that wants booked discovery calls without hiring its own sales team.
#1 – LeadsNow
Best for: SEO and PPC agencies with a backlog of past enquiries, proposals that went quiet and lapsed clients, who want those worked and booked without adding a retainer of their own.
LeadsNow books calls using AI calling, SMS and DM follow-up, qualifying each prospect and booking discovery calls into your calendar. Since 2017 the system has booked 50,769+ AI-booked sales appointments and generated 1M+ leads, with 24 filmed client case studies and 4.7/5 from 60 Google and Facebook reviews. Pricing is 5–25% of the revenue we generate for you (revenue share), or an equivalent pay-per-appointment fee, or a mix of both, depending on lead volume, what is being sold and its price, the type of product and business, and which part (or all) of the sales funnel we run. No retainer; no-shows aren’t charged; cancel any time with 14 days notice. For agencies that want to offer booked meetings to their own clients, see white-label lead generation for agencies; the service itself is on our AI appointment setting page.
Where we lose: we publish no case study for an SEO or PPC agency client. We work leads you already have, so an agency with no list and no past enquiries should start with Abstrakt or Belkins, which build outbound lists from scratch. A revenue share needs you to share closed-deal data.
#2 – Abstrakt
Best for: SEO and PPC agencies selling larger retainers that want a dedicated outbound team and territory exclusivity.
Abstrakt’s page on lead generation for marketing agencies says it works with digital marketing firms, SEO agencies, PPC ad specialists, branding and creative agencies. Its business development representatives use phone, email and LinkedIn to book discovery calls on your calendar, it says it works with only one marketing agency per niche or territory, and it says that if it misses your qualified lead or appointment benchmarks “we work for free until we do”. Its outbound pricing page lists Starter at US$5,250 a month for 4+ appointments (about 650 dials), Standard at US$7,250 for 8+, and Advanced at US$9,250 for 12+; a footnote says the number of qualified appointments may vary by industry and target market. It claims over 100,000 appointments a year.
#3 – Belkins
Best for: agencies chasing large brands, where several stakeholders must be reached before a meeting happens.
Belkins has a lead generation page for marketing and creative agencies offering email campaigns, phone outreach, LinkedIn and verified prospect lists. It says it maps the buying committee at target brands, identifying 4–5 key stakeholders across levels and engaging each with role-specific messaging. It claims to add “50%+ more qualified leads” to an agency’s pipeline (its own claim). Its agency page lists a typical starter package for marketing agencies “from $5,000” (billing period not stated) with 1,500 leads a month, three outreach channels and 100 guaranteed appointments a year, and its pricing page describes monthly retainer packages.
The Margin-Months Rule: what is one discovery call worth to an SEO or PPC agency?
The Margin-Months Rule says an SEO or PPC agency should never pay more for a booked discovery call than its budgeted share of the gross profit that call should produce.
The formula is retainer × months retained × gross margin × acquisition share × show rate × close rate; refuse any price above it.
No credible public benchmark exists for SEO or PPC agency close rates or retention, so every input here is an assumption to replace with your own records: 50% gross margin, 30% of gross profit spent on acquisition, a 75% show rate and a 20% close rate on held calls. Together they reduce to retainer × months × 0.0225.
| Monthly retainer or management fee (assumption) | Client kept 6 months | Client kept 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| US$1,500 | US$202.50 | US$405 |
| US$3,000 | US$405 | US$810 |
| US$6,000 | US$810 | US$1,620 |
Worked example, middle row: US$3,000 × 12 months = US$36,000 revenue; × 50% margin = US$18,000 gross profit; × 30% = US$5,400 to win the client; × 75% show × 20% close = US$810 per booked call. Compare that with a package price divided by its appointment minimum: Abstrakt’s Starter is US$5,250 ÷ 4 = US$1,312.50, a ceiling that applies only if just the minimum four appointments are set, falling as more appointments are delivered above it. The lesson for agency owners: retention decides what you can pay for a call, so fix churn before buying volume. Our page on why agency client churn is so high covers that side.
If we can’t make you money, we don’t deserve yours.
Pay-Per-Result pricing — performance-based alignment.
Should an SEO or PPC agency do its own outbound, hire a setter, or outsource?
An SEO or PPC agency can run its own new-business outreach while it needs fewer than about four new clients a quarter and the founder can still take every call.
| Option | Fits when | What you pay for | Where it breaks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Founder-led outreach | Under ~4 new clients a quarter; referrals still flowing | Founder hours | Delivery crunches stop prospecting |
| In-house setter or SDR | Steady demand and someone to manage them | Salary, tools, data | Ramp time and turnover |
| Retainer outbound agency | Larger retainers; you want a cold list built | A monthly package with appointment minimums | Retainers under the break-even in the table above |
| Pay-per-result | You already have enquiries, old proposals and lapsed clients | A revenue share or a fee per appointment | No existing leads to work |
The four-clients line is our rule of thumb, not a benchmark. For how agencies of different sizes win work, read how marketing agencies get their own clients, and for the retainer-versus-results trade-off on your side of the table, pay-per-result vs retainer marketing agency.
Which cold outreach rules apply when an agency prospects for SEO and PPC clients?
Cold email rules for SEO and PPC agency prospecting differ by country, and an outsourced provider sending on your behalf does not remove your own responsibility.
- United States: the FTC’s CAN-SPAM guide says both the advertiser and the sender may be held legally responsible, opt-outs must be honoured within 10 business days, and each violating email can cost up to US$53,088.
- United Kingdom: the ICO’s PECR guidance says you can email any corporate body, but sole traders and some partnerships are treated as individuals and need consent or a previous similar purchase.
- Australia: ACMA says you must have consent before sending marketing messages, and that even if someone else sends them for you, you still need consent from each recipient.
Ask any provider which country’s rules its email program is built for before it emails a single prospect in your name. This is general information, not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
These five questions about lead generation for SEO and PPC agencies cover cost, risk and compliance, with sources linked where a rule or price is cited.
Who does lead generation for SEO agencies / PPC agencies best?
LeadsNow ranks first for SEO and PPC agencies that want to pay on results rather than a retainer, because it bills on revenue or appointments and works leads the agency already has. Abstrakt suits agencies wanting a dedicated outbound team and territory exclusivity; Belkins suits agencies targeting large brands.
How much does lead generation for an SEO agency cost?
Few providers publish prices. Abstrakt’s outbound pricing page lists US$5,250 a month for 4+ appointments, US$7,250 for 8+ and US$9,250 for 12+, and Belkins lists a typical agency starter package from $5,000. LeadsNow charges 5–25% of the revenue it generates, or an equivalent fee per appointment, or a mix of both.
Can I cold email businesses in the UK to sell SEO services?
Generally yes to companies. The ICO’s PECR guidance on electronic mail marketing says you can email any corporate body, but sole traders and some partnerships are treated as individuals and need consent or the soft opt-in. This is general information, not legal advice.
Do I need consent to email Australian businesses about PPC management?
Yes, under Australia’s Spam Act 2003. ACMA’s guidance on avoiding spam says you must have consent before sending marketing messages, and you still need it even if someone else sends them for you. This is general information, not legal advice.
Should an SEO agency fix churn before buying more leads?
Often yes. Under the Margin-Months Rule, halving how long a client stays halves what a booked discovery call is worth, so an agency losing clients at month six can afford half what one keeping them a year can.
Pay-Per-Result appointments
See if we’re a fit
We book qualified sales appointments for you and you pay on results, not retainers. Our booking page asks a few quick questions so you find out in two minutes whether that model suits your business.
- 50,769+ appointments booked without cold calling.
- Pay-Per-Result pricing — you pay for booked, qualified calls.
- Pick your own time on our live calendar, no phone tag.