For readiness, pentest, vCISO, and consulting firms Flat fee, no cut Google already cites these pages
Ask Google “soc 2 penetration testing firms.” The AI Overview cites this directory first, and the same page sits at #1 organic. Most buyers never fill out a form: they read that answer, then reach out. Featured puts your firm on the page the answer is built from.
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Not ready yet? See the category demand and the full pricing first.
“soc 2 penetration testing firms”
- AI source
- #1 · this directory
- Organic
- #1
- Page cited
- /soc-2-penetration-testing-firms/
Not a mock. Google's AI Overview cites SOC 2 Penetration Testing Firms Compared (2026) as its first source. Screenshot below.
Here's that answer.
One query, one screenshot: Google's AI Overview for “soc 2 penetration testing firms” cites SOC 2 Penetration Testing Firms Compared (2026) as source #1, and the same URL is the first organic result. The overview names firms from that comparison because they are on the page. Featured puts your firm there. The page currently compares 54 provider options, including 45 independent firms with explicit SOC 2 support.
The categories you can sponsor.
A category is one buying moment, with its own page and its own stream of questions. Google's receipt above is on the pentest hub — one query, one engine. Each row below is a live hub buyers can click through and verify.
best SOC 2 readiness firm best vciso providers soc 2 compliance consultants iso 27001 consultants soc 2 penetration testing firms Firm counts are the live hub populations a buyer can click through and verify — pentest includes the attach-partner table on that page. Not sure which is yours? Email the category and we'll show you the numbers before you pay.
Two engines, one signal. We never add them.
The receipt and the category hubs are what a firm is buying into. These three figures are the same directory those pages sit on — property-level, not a promised share for any one listing.
Two measurement systems, one signal: these pages are being surfaced inside AI answers. Google reports property-level link impressions; Microsoft reports source citations. We show the figures separately and never add them. Visitors are monthly sessions. A Featured profile puts your firm on the source pages these systems already use; it does not sell you a promised share of any sitewide figure.
Three ways a buyer lands on your firm.
All three are about being the firm a buyer finds on their own. Buyers can send us a request from your profile or category page. We review mixed and service requests by hand. Service firms are not in the lead matcher. There is no automatic outreach and no exposure-floor guarantee on this side. The dependable value is the visibility itself; captured requests are upside on top.
Category rankings
The 5 category pages buyers and AI read to choose a provider. You're compared among the firms in your category on what you do, where, and how you work. Featured names you in the Featured block at the top.
AI search
Google is already assembling answers from these pages — the receipt above is one query. Copilot + partners cited the five hubs 2,742 times in the last 30 days. A complete, current profile gives both systems a clear source to quote.
An AI-quotable profile
Most of the value is the profile itself: a clear, structured, current page about your firm on a directory the answer engines already trust. On Featured we build it and keep it current, so it stays the version they read.
The click you bid on is turning into an answer you can't.
Google will still sell you a click on these terms. Here is the going rate — and where that same buyer is actually going. The answer has no bid box.
| Keyword (US) | Cost per click |
|---|---|
| soc 2 consultant | $125 |
| soc 2 penetration testing | $62.50 |
| virtual ciso services | $22.48 |
Keywords Everywhere, US CPC estimates, retrieved 2026-07-17.
One click, $62.50. Featured is $600/mo to be on the page the answer cites.
You are not renting one click at auction against every other firm. You are present, always-on, on the category page Google already reads — for a flat quarterly fee that does not move with the auction. One readiness, pentest, or vCISO engagement is $10,000–$30,000 on these category pages. There is no exposure floor on this side; price the seat for the visibility.
Three ways to show up.
Free to be listed. Featured to be found. Sponsor to own your category.
One flat fee per tier. No cut of any engagement, no per-lead charge. The same price whether zero clients or fifty come through your listing. This is not the auditor Featured seat — no autoquote, no shortlist guarantee.
Be in the directory. Be in the directory, on your terms.
- Verified listing with your services, specialties, and location
- Full control, request corrections anytime
- Indexed by search and visible to AI crawlers
- In your category page, always, never gated
Be the firm buyers find. Named in your category and built into the AI answers.
- Everything in Listed
- Complete, AI-quotable profile we build, write, and keep current, the version answer engines read
- Named in the Featured firms block at the top of your category
- A link to your site from your profile
- Direct "Book a meeting" link on your profile
- Monthly visibility report: Google AI impressions, Microsoft citations, category views, ranking movement
- Featured badge everywhere you appear
- A second category at +$300/mo
Own your category. Featured, plus done-for-you marketing on your own brand.
- Everything in Featured
- Sole top-of-category placement, one firm per category (1 per hub), labeled
- Done-for-you marketing: a category spotlight, external placements and AI-discovery pointed at your own brand, priority across all your categories
- One co-published, bylined article on our blog each quarter, carrying a followed link to your site
- Quarterly strategy review
- 1 firm per category · limited seats
Billed quarterly. Cancel any quarter; no long-term contract. Monthly available on request.
| Listed | Featured | Category Sponsor | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | $600/mo | $1,500/mo |
| Listed in your category, never gated | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| AI-quotable profile, built and kept current | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Named in the Featured block | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Book a meeting + site link on profile | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Monthly visibility report | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Extra category | — | +$300/mo | separate Sponsor |
| Sole top-of-category, labeled | — | — | ✓ |
| Done-for-you marketing + quarterly byline | — | — | ✓ |
| List free | Get Featured | Get Sponsor |
- Day 1
Your Featured placement goes live.
You're named in the Featured firms block at the top of your category, with the Featured badge everywhere your firm appears.
- Week 1
Your profile goes live.
We write it, check the facts with you, and structure it so the answer engines can parse and quote it. It carries a link to your site and a direct "Book a meeting" link if you have a scheduler.
- Month 1
Your first visibility report lands.
Google AI impressions, Microsoft citations, category views, and ranking movement for your profile, so you can see what the spot is doing before you renew. The two AI metrics stay separate.
- Ongoing
Freshness passes.
We keep the profile current as your services, pricing, and coverage change, so it stays the version the engines read.
Listed here never conflicts with the auditor.
You do readiness, security testing, vCISO work, ISO 27001, or consulting: you prepare a company for SOC 2. You don't sign the report. The CPA firms that perform the attest engagement are listed separately, in a different dataset, at soc2auditors.org/for-auditors. The two pools never mix.
That separation tracks the AICPA independence boundary (ET 1.297): a firm that designs, implements, or operates the controls generally can't be the independent firm that attests to them. Keeping the pools apart means a listing here carries no conflict with whoever signs your client's report, and we never imply a referral relationship with any auditor.
We sell exposure, never the report, and never a referral.
Featured isn't for every firm.
We'd rather you keep your money than buy a spot that won't pay off. Skip it if you:
Won't keep the profile current
The completeness is the whole point: it's what answer engines quote and what buyers trust. A stale profile wastes the spot.
Need a predictable lead volume
Buyers can send a request from your profile or category page, and Featured's top placement gets more of them in front of buyers. We review those requests by hand — there is no automatic routing and no guaranteed volume. If a steady stream of leads is what you're after, this isn't it yet. It's visibility that sometimes turns into a reviewed request.
Want to buy the ranking
Ordering is payment-blind, verified-first then alphabetical, and the "best for" picks are earned. Paid tiers buy labeled placement, never a higher rank.
Only want a backlink
We don't sell standalone link placements, and the links on listings and profiles are nofollow. Category Sponsor includes one followed link a quarter, inside a co-published article we write with you. If a link is the whole reason you're here, that's an expensive one. The named mention is what moves AI visibility.
If any of those is you, claim the free listing and keep your money. You'll still show up in your category.
Asked before signing.
Is this the same Featured as on /for-auditors/?
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No. Auditor Featured is a different product: autoquote, named placements on the highest-intent auditor pages, and a written shortlist guarantee. Service-firm Featured is labeled category placement plus an AI-quotable profile we write. Same word, different seat, different price. There is no exposure-floor guarantee on this side because service firms are not in the lead matcher.
How do you measure AI visibility?
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Three separate measurements, never added. The receipt: Google's AI Overview for “soc 2 penetration testing firms” cites /soc-2-penetration-testing-firms/ as source #1 (captured 2026-08-13). Hub citations: Bing Webmaster Tools, AI Performance — citation sources: Microsoft Copilots and Partners reports 2,742 citations on the five hubs in the last 30 days. Directory-wide: Google Search Console, Generative AI performance (Search) reports property-level link impressions; Bing Webmaster Tools, AI Performance — citation sources: Microsoft Copilots and Partners reports source citations. Different events, different engines. We label them separately and never create a combined total.
Do I get a backlink?
+
Yes. Featured gives you a link to your site from your profile, plus your firm named on the pages the AI engines read. Those directory links are nofollow, the same for every firm, paid or not. Category Sponsor adds one followed link a quarter, inside a co-published bylined article we write with you and label as sponsored. What we don't sell is a standalone link placement, on any tier. Worth knowing either way: the follow flag does close to nothing for AI citation. What moves that is being mentioned by name on a source the engines already trust, and every tier gives you that.
Will you send me leads?
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Sometimes a Featured spot helps a buyer find you and send a request. We review mixed and service requests by hand; we do not auto-route them to your inbox, never guarantee a number, and never charge per lead. Price the listing for the visibility, being found and named on a directory buyers and AI read, and treat captured requests as upside that grows as the workflow does.
Does paying change how I rank?
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No. Within a category, ordering is verified-first then alphabetical, and it reads no payment field. Featured and Category Sponsor earn labeled placement blocks at the top, clearly marked; the grid below stays payment-blind. The "best for" picks are earned, never sold.
What is the AICPA independence boundary, and why does it matter?
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The AICPA's rules (ET 1.297) say a CPA firm performing the SOC 2 attest engagement must be independent of the client: a firm that designed, implemented, or operated the controls generally can't also be the independent attester. That's the line between an "auditor" and a "service firm." Advisory-only work can be permissible under the ET 1.295.040 four-part safeguard, but the cleanest arrangement keeps readiness and audit with separate firms. We reflect that by keeping the two pools in separate datasets and never cross-listing a firm. A listing here implies no referral relationship with any auditor.
Featured or Category Sponsor?
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Featured gets you found: the complete profile, named placement in your category, a direct "Book a meeting" link on your profile, a monthly visibility report, and a second category at +$300/mo. Sponsor is the done-for-you tier: everything in Featured, plus sole ownership of your category (1 firm per hub), a co-published bylined article each quarter with a followed link to your site, and marketing pointed at your own brand. Sponsor is self-serve, but seats are limited (one firm per category, capped), so we confirm your category is open before activating, and refund in full if it's already taken.
Can I list in more than one category?
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Yes. The free listing covers your primary category. On Featured, each extra category is +$300/mo. Category Sponsor covers one category; a second category is a separate Sponsor agreement.
What if the Sponsor slot in my category is taken?
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Each category has one Sponsor slot (1 per hub). If it's taken, claim Featured and join the waitlist; we'll tell you where the line stands and close the slot the moment it sells. The free listing is always open and you still appear in your category.
Do you take a cut of my engagements?
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Never. The flat advertising fee is the whole arrangement: no percentage, no per-lead fee, no per-intro fee, no per-deal fee. What you bill your client is between you and your client. We are not party to any contract between you and a buyer.
How does billing work?
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Default billing is quarterly. Featured is $600/mo, billed quarterly at $1,800/quarter. Category Sponsor is $1,500/mo, billed quarterly at $4,500/quarter. Monthly billing is available on request at the rates shown. Cancel any quarter; there's no long-term contract.
Get listed. Get found.
Claim a Featured spot and we build the profile the AI answers read. Or start with the free listing — it's indexed, and you'll still show up in your category.
Claim a Featured spot Talk to Peter
Not sure your category has the demand yet? Email me before you pay a cent. If it's there, I'll show you. If it isn't, I'll tell you that too.
Peter Korpak, founder · hello@soc2auditors.org
Featured and Category Sponsor are advertising placements, not referrals. soc2auditors.org takes no part of any engagement and charges nothing contingent on whether a buyer hires you. Directory ordering is payment-blind, and the two firm pools (auditors and service firms) are kept in separate datasets.