If you run marketing for a brand that sells across multiple cities, states, or countries, searching for "best SEO agency near me" or "SEO agency [city name]" will give you a list of agencies optimized for one thing: being near you. That is useful if you need someone to manage your Google Business Profile. It is not useful if you need an end-to-end partner who can run SEO and AI search optimization across your entire digital footprint.

The "near me" instinct made more sense when SEO work required regular in-person meetings, access to local print media, or knowledge of regional search patterns. For most national and global brands in 2026, none of those constraints apply. The work is remote. Search is platform-based, not geography-based. And the agencies that show up for local queries are, by definition, the ones that invested in local SEO for their own site rather than the capabilities your brand actually needs.

This piece covers why the local search framing fails for national brands, what actually matters when choosing an SEO and AEO partner, and what to search for instead.

Why "Near Me" Made Sense for Old SEO and Does Not Anymore

Local SEO queries worked as a selection method when three conditions were true:

• SEO work benefited from in-person collaboration (whiteboard sessions, on-site audits, regular face-to-face check-ins)

• The agency's local knowledge gave them an edge in reading regional search behavior

• The talent pool was limited to whoever operated within commuting distance

In 2026, all three conditions have weakened. SEO execution happens through shared dashboards, recorded walkthroughs, and async communication. AI search optimization is platform-based (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews), not geography-based. And the best talent for any given specialization is distributed globally, not clustered in your metro area.

When you search for "SEO agency New York" or "best SEO agency near me," the results reflect which agencies optimized their own local SEO. That is a valid marketing skill, but it tells you nothing about whether they can run technical SEO across a 10,000-page e-commerce site, earn AI citations for your brand across multiple platforms, or attribute organic work to pipeline.

What Actually Matters When Choosing an SEO and AEO Partner

If location is not the filter, what should be? Three attributes separate agencies that can deliver for national or global brands from those built for local or regional work.

Execution Model, Not Office Location

Ask how the agency delivers work. The relevant questions are about team structure and production capacity, not about where those people sit:

• How many production-ready actions do they ship per month? (Content pieces, technical fixes, link actions)

• Is the team in-house or subcontracted? Subcontracted work at scale introduces quality variance that is hard to control

• What is the communication cadence? Weekly async updates with monthly strategy calls is a common model that works well regardless of time zone

A remote agency with a dedicated team and a clear production cadence can outperform a local agency with a generalist team and ad-hoc meetings, simply because the work is production-oriented, not meeting-oriented.

Platform Coverage Across AI Engines

A national or global brand needs visibility across Google, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews. An agency whose capabilities are limited to Google rankings cannot serve the full surface where your buyers now research.

Ask specifically:

• Do they track AI citations across all major platforms, or only Google?

• Do they run generative engine optimization as a distinct workstream, or treat it as a buzzword layered on top of existing SEO?

• Can they show case studies where AI visibility moved alongside SEO performance?

Revenue Attribution, Not Vanity Local Rankings

For a national brand, "we ranked you #1 for [city] + [service]" is not a meaningful outcome. Revenue attribution that connects organic and AI search work to actual business results is what matters.

The test: ask the agency to walk you through how they attribute organic traffic to revenue. If the answer stops at "we track rankings and traffic in Search Console," they may not have the analytics integration needed for a brand that measures marketing by pipeline or revenue contribution.

When Location Genuinely Still Matters (Being Fair About It)

Location is not irrelevant in every case. If your brand operates a physical location strategy (retail stores, restaurant chains, franchises), local SEO expertise matters for the Google Business Profile, local pack, and location-specific landing page work. If your market has regulatory or language-specific requirements (legal, healthcare, region-specific compliance), a team with local knowledge may have a genuine edge.

The distinction: location matters when the work itself is local. It does not matter when the work is national or global, and the only local element is the agency's office address.

A Better Search: What to Type Instead of "Near Me"

If you are searching for an SEO and AI search partner for a national or global brand, the query itself shapes the shortlist. Here are more productive searches:

• "SEO and GEO agency for [your industry] brands" (e.g., "SEO and GEO agency for DTC e-commerce brands")

• "AI search optimization agency with case studies"

• "End-to-end SEO and GEO partner for [company stage]" (e.g., "for Series B SaaS")

• The specific problem you need solved: "agency that tracks AI citations across ChatGPT and Perplexity" or "SEO agency with revenue attribution for e-commerce"

These queries surface agencies that have invested in demonstrating their capabilities for your type of problem, rather than agencies that invested in ranking for "[city] SEO agency."

Choose the Execution Model, Not the ZIP Code

The agencies that rank for "near me" and city-specific queries are good at local SEO. That skill may or may not overlap with what your brand needs. For national and global brands, the selection criteria that matter are execution capacity, AI platform coverage, revenue attribution, and proof of results in your vertical.

Passionfruit works with brands across geographies as a remote, end-to-end SEO and GEO partner. See how Passionfruit runs ​search engine optimization and ​generative engine optimization as one system. Review the ​case studies library for proof points by vertical, and ​talk to the team about your brand's coverage gaps.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Hiring a Local SEO Agency Better Than a Remote One?

For local SEO work (Google Business Profile, local pack, location pages), a local agency may have a genuine edge. For national or global SEO and AI search optimization, execution model and platform coverage matter more than office location. The best partner is the one whose capabilities match your scope.

What Should I Search for Instead of "SEO Agency Near Me"?

Search for the specific problem you need solved: "AI search optimization agency for e-commerce," "SEO agency with revenue attribution," or "GEO agency with case studies in [your industry]." These queries surface agencies that demonstrate relevant capabilities rather than local rankings.

Can a Remote SEO Agency Deliver the Same Results as a Local One?

Yes, and often better for national brands. SEO execution happens through shared dashboards, async communication, and structured production workflows. A remote agency with a dedicated team and clear cadence can outperform a local generalist agency on both speed and depth.

Why Do So Many SEO Agency Searches Default to Local Results?

Google interprets "near me" and city-modified queries as local intent and surfaces agencies that have optimized for local SEO. This is useful for locating local services but counterproductive for locating a national or global SEO and AEO partner, because the ranking signal is proximity, not capability.

How Do I Evaluate a Remote SEO and AEO Agency?

Check three things: execution model (team structure, production cadence, in-house vs. subcontracted), platform coverage (do they track and optimize across AI engines, not just Google), and attribution (can they connect organic work to revenue or pipeline, not just traffic and rankings). Case studies with named metrics are the best signal.