# An independent field guide to South African agencies

Choosing a marketing agency usually starts with a search, a handful of glossy websites and very little evidence. Agency Scout exists to put the evidence first.

## What we do

We survey marketing agencies in South Africa’s major cities, give each one a Scout Score for every service it offers, and publish rankings for every service and city with enough data to compare fairly. The score is built mostly on public Google reviews, with points for evidence of the work: service pages, case studies with measurable results and partner status. Every agency is measured the same way, and the formula is [published in full](https://www.agencyscout.co.za/methodology.md).

## How the data is collected

Our data comes from public Google Business Profile listings: rating, review count, categories, contact details and review topics. We refresh it monthly. Agencies are tagged with the services their listings evidence, and only agencies with a website are included.

Evidence comes from each agency’s own website. An AI model reads candidate pages and judges whether each is a genuine case study, service page or partner claim; what it finds counts as self-reported. People check claims against independent sources, such as partner directories, before marking them verified.

## Editorial policy

- **No paid rankings.** Positions come from the formula alone. There are no sponsored slots, and agencies can’t pay to move up.
- **Our words, not theirs.** Agency summaries are written from the data. We never republish an agency’s own description as our assessment.
- **Corrections fix facts.** We correct wrong details quickly, but we don’t change scores on request.
- **Evidence is checked, not bought.** Verification is free, and verified evidence moves a score only through the published formula.
- **Links to agencies are nofollow.** Listing an agency is not an endorsement of its website.

## Getting matched

If you’d rather not do the shortlisting yourself, send us a [short brief](https://www.agencyscout.co.za/get-matched.md). With your consent, we share it with up to three suitable agencies. The service is free for businesses.

## Contact

Questions, corrections or press: [hello@agencyscout.co.za](mailto:hello@agencyscout.co.za). Agencies can read [how listings work](https://www.agencyscout.co.za/list-your-agency.md).

---

Canonical page: https://www.agencyscout.co.za/about. Agency Scout: independent rankings of South African marketing agencies. No paid placements.