Cold email software for SEO agencies
Acqro gives SEO and search marketing agencies cold email that researches each prospect's company before writing. Below: verified federal data on the industry across all 50 states, the buyers it sells to, and a playbook for outreach that earns replies.
Onboarding in batches. No credit card to join.
How many SEO agencies are in the United States?
The United States had 52,258 establishments in NAICS 541613, marketing consulting services, in 2023, employing 315,229 people. The largest markets by establishments were California, Florida and Texas. Source: U.S. Census Bureau County Business Patterns.
SEO agencies in the US by the numbers
- US establishments
- 52,258+4.5% vs 2022Census CBP 2023, NAICS 541613
- Paid employees
- 315,229Census CBP 2023
- Average annual pay
- $83,009Census CBP 2023
- Firms under 10 employees
- 90.8%Census CBP 2023
- Largest state
- CaliforniaBy establishments, CBP 2023
Census does not publish a separate category for SEO and search marketing agencies; figures use NAICS 541613, Marketing Consulting Services, the closest official industry. 90.8% of establishments have fewer than 10 employees, so most firms in the industry run outbound with a founder or a very small sales team. The 4,701 firms with 10 to 249 employees are the ones most likely to be building a repeatable outbound process.
The five largest states hold 48.3% of all establishments. Among states with at least 100 establishments, the fastest growth between 2022 and 2023 was in Wyoming (+23.3%), Delaware (+17.5%) and Oklahoma (+17.2%). Growing markets bring new competitors and new buyers at the same time, which rewards outreach that is specific rather than volume-driven.
SEO agencies by state
All states and DC ranked by number of establishments, with the change since 2022.
| Rank | State | Establishments | Employees | Change vs 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 9,390 | 42,511 | +1.8% |
| 2 | Florida | 6,745 | 27,166 | +6.0% |
| 3 | Texas | 3,719 | 20,435 | +7.8% |
| 4 | New York | 3,447 | 23,458 | −0.1% |
| 5 | Georgia | 1,956 | 11,624 | +4.2% |
| 6 | Illinois | 1,921 | 17,518 | +2.2% |
| 7 | Colorado | 1,854 | 6,810 | +3.7% |
| 8 | North Carolina | 1,476 | 8,860 | +6.0% |
| 9 | New Jersey | 1,367 | 9,495 | +3.6% |
| 10 | Arizona | 1,280 | 10,915 | +1.1% |
| 11 | Washington | 1,222 | 7,162 | +2.3% |
| 12 | Pennsylvania | 1,153 | 9,083 | +2.7% |
| 13 | Utah | 1,115 | 6,148 | +2.5% |
| 14 | Virginia | 1,075 | 5,983 | +2.7% |
| 15 | Ohio | 1,058 | 10,536 | +5.3% |
| 16 | Nevada | 989 | 4,338 | +7.5% |
| 17 | Massachusetts | 983 | 8,943 | +5.6% |
| 18 | Michigan | 972 | 14,094 | +7.0% |
| 19 | Minnesota | 897 | 6,332 | +5.8% |
| 20 | Oregon | 752 | 4,239 | +4.3% |
| 21 | Tennessee | 701 | 4,370 | +9.2% |
| 22 | Maryland | 694 | 8,153 | +1.5% |
| 23 | Indiana | 682 | 3,292 | +7.1% |
| 24 | Missouri | 618 | 10,107 | +6.7% |
| 25 | Wisconsin | 587 | 3,422 | 0.0% |
| 26 | Connecticut | 487 | 4,026 | +10.7% |
| 27 | South Carolina | 464 | 4,024 | +8.4% |
| 28 | Idaho | 359 | 1,280 | +14.0% |
| 29 | Arkansas | 320 | 1,437 | +4.2% |
| 30 | Kansas | 304 | 1,128 | +2.7% |
| 31 | Alabama | 294 | 1,486 | +16.2% |
| 32 | Oklahoma | 293 | 1,255 | +17.2% |
| 33 | Louisiana | 283 | 1,043 | +10.1% |
| 34 | Wyoming | 280 | 542 | +23.3% |
| 35 | Kentucky | 278 | 1,489 | +8.2% |
| 36 | Delaware | 268 | 1,081 | +17.5% |
| 37 | Iowa | 256 | 1,502 | +2.8% |
| 38 | Nebraska | 199 | 1,986 | −0.5% |
| 39 | District of Columbia | 198 | 2,482 | +15.1% |
| 40 | Montana | 185 | 453 | +12.8% |
| 41 | New Hampshire | 147 | 877 | −6.4% |
| 42 | Maine | 146 | 607 | +7.4% |
| 43 | Hawaii | 144 | 640 | +14.3% |
| 44 | Rhode Island | 139 | 753 | +11.2% |
| 45 | Mississippi | 123 | 298 | +7.0% |
| 46 | New Mexico | 118 | 307 | +8.3% |
| 47 | South Dakota | 98 | 288 | +11.4% |
| 48 | Vermont | 79 | 423 | 0.0% |
| 49 | North Dakota | 55 | 363 | +19.6% |
| 50 | West Virginia | 55 | 370 | +12.2% |
| 51 | Alaska | 33 | 95 | +10.0% |
Who SEO agencies sell to
Common buyer industries for SEO and search marketing agencies, with US establishment counts and how many have 10 to 249 employees.
| Buyer industry | Establishments | 10–249 employees | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal Services | 181,092 | 23,511 | 1,190,297 |
| Offices of Dentists | 135,665 | 36,422 | 1,028,889 |
| Software Publishers | 18,425 | 5,923 | 1,011,187 |
| Construction | 814,557 | 147,964 | 7,659,459 |
How SEO agencies should run cold email
SEO and search marketing agencies sell search engine optimisation, content strategy and paid search management. These are the contacts, triggers and messages that make a first email relevant rather than generic.
Who to email
- Owner or founder
- Head of marketing
- Digital marketing manager
- E-commerce lead
Signals worth researching
- Website redesigns or migrations
- Marketing hires or agency changes
- New locations or services without matching search pages
- Visible technical issues on the site
What to say
- Share one specific, verifiable observation about their search presence
- Tie the observation to leads or revenue, not rankings alone
- Offer a short, concrete audit
What to avoid
- Automated audit reports with generic errors
- Ranking guarantees
Cold email for SEO agencies, answered
How many SEO agencies are there in the US?
There were 52,258 establishments in NAICS 541613 (Marketing Consulting Services) in 2023, employing 315,229 people. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023.
Which states have the most SEO agencies?
By establishments in 2023: California (9,390), Florida (6,745), Texas (3,719), New York (3,447) and Georgia (1,956). Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023.
How should SEO agencies personalise cold email?
Use one specific, accurate observation about the prospect's own site: a migration that lost pages, a service with no landing page, or a location missing from search results. Generic automated audits are widely ignored because every agency sends them.
What businesses buy SEO services?
Businesses where search drives customer acquisition: professional services, healthcare practices, home services, software companies and e-commerce. Owners and marketing leads are the usual buyers.
Is cold email legal in the United States?
Yes. The federal CAN-SPAM Act permits commercial email to business contacts without prior consent, provided the message identifies the sender accurately, uses a truthful subject line, includes a valid physical postal address and a working opt-out, and honours opt-out requests promptly. CAN-SPAM applies in every state and preempts most state commercial email laws, except provisions aimed at falsity or deception. This is general information, not legal advice.
Explore related pages
SEO Agencies by state
Other industries
Sources and methodology
Every figure on this page comes from a federal statistical release and is shown with its source and reference year. Figures the agencies withhold or publish with high noise are left out rather than estimated. Page updated September 17, 2026.
- U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023 and 2022: establishments, paid employment for the pay period including March 12, annual payroll, and establishments by employment size. Industries use NAICS 2017 codes.
- Industry definition: NAICS 541613, Marketing Consulting Services, used as the closest official category for SEO and search marketing agencies.
Built for SEO agencies who sell to a finite list
Acqro researches every account on your list and writes the first email from what it finds.
Prefer a conversation? Get in touch.