Fuel Made review

Strong — 4 of 5 on this rubric’s scale, from Poor (1) to Excellent (5). This dimension carries 25% of the total score.

Benchmark — across the 25 other agencies evaluated in this discipline, this dimension runs Excellent 17 · Strong 6 · Weak 1 · Poor 1. The typical agency here scores Excellent, and 17 of them score higher than this one.

What this dimension measures: Runs statistically-valid experiments: proper sample sizes/power, avoids peeking, sequential/Bayesian methods, honest win-rate reporting.

Scores high — Named testing methodology and honesty about losers/flat tests score 4-5.

Scores low — 'We A/B test button colors' or claims of 90%+ win rates score 1-2 (a red flag).

What we found — A reviewed engagement includes split testing and ongoing analysis, though statistical practice is not publicly detailed. That is the high band above, which is why it scored Strong.

On the record — “A Live Bearded review describes a $5,000 monthly engagement with split testing and conversion rising from about 3% to 5.5-6%.” clutch.co ↗

Evidence: verified — checked against a named source you can open; the links under Sources below are where to check it yourself.

Strong — 4 of 5 on this rubric’s scale, from Poor (1) to Excellent (5). This dimension carries 18% of the total score.

Benchmark — across the 25 other agencies evaluated in this discipline, this dimension runs Excellent 13 · Strong 10 · Adequate 1 · Weak 1. The typical agency here scores Excellent, and 13 of them score higher than this one.

What this dimension measures: Grounds tests in real research: heuristic analysis, analytics, session replay, surveys, user testing, not guesses.

Scores high — Research-led hypotheses score 4-5.

Scores low — Best-practice checklists with no research score 1-2.

What we found — CRO, UX, and data-informed ecommerce optimization are visible across services and reviews. That is the high band above, which is why it scored Strong.

CRO — conversion-rate optimization: raising the share of visitors who buy or sign up through structured testing, not redesign by taste.

Evidence: verified — checked against a named source you can open; the links under Sources below are where to check it yourself.

Excellent — 5 of 5 on this rubric’s scale, from Poor (1) to Excellent (5). This dimension carries 15% of the total score.

Benchmark — across the 25 other agencies evaluated in this discipline, this dimension runs Excellent 5 · Strong 18 · Adequate 2. The typical agency here scores Strong, and none scores higher than this one.

What this dimension measures: Can design AND build high-converting pages/sites fast (not just recommend).

Scores high — In-house design + dev score 4-5.

Scores low — Recommendations handed back to the client's team score 2-3.

What we found — Shopify design and development are core capabilities. That is the high band above, which is why it scored Excellent.

Evidence: verified — checked against a named source you can open; the links under Sources below are where to check it yourself.

Strong — 4 of 5 on this rubric’s scale, from Poor (1) to Excellent (5). This dimension carries 15% of the total score.

Benchmark — across the 25 other agencies evaluated in this discipline, this dimension runs Excellent 7 · Strong 14 · Adequate 4. The typical agency here scores Strong, and 7 of them score higher than this one.

What this dimension measures: Sound measurement: clean analytics implementation, event tracking, attribution, and guarding against false positives.

Scores high — Strong analytics score 4-5.

Scores low — Reliance on platform vanity dashboards scores 2.

What we found — A client review specifically references data analysis during the retainer. That is the high band above, which is why it scored Strong.

attribution — working out which marketing touch actually caused a sale. Good practice names its model and its blind spots; bad practice quotes each ad platform’s self-graded numbers, which overlap and overclaim.

retainer — a fixed monthly fee regardless of hours or output — predictable, but worth tying to a defined scope.

Evidence: verified — checked against a named source you can open; the links under Sources below are where to check it yourself.

Strong — 4 of 5 on this rubric’s scale, from Poor (1) to Excellent (5). This dimension carries 12% of the total score.

Benchmark — across the 25 other agencies evaluated in this discipline, this dimension runs Excellent 14 · Strong 9 · Adequate 2. The typical agency here scores Excellent, and 14 of them score higher than this one.

What this dimension measures: Reports revenue-per-visitor / incremental revenue lift, not just conversion-rate deltas on micro-conversions.

Scores low — Revenue-lift focus scores 4-5; micro-conversion vanity scores 1-2.

What we found — A client reports a large purchase-conversion improvement; public revenue math is thinner.

Evidence: verified — checked against a named source you can open; the links under Sources below are where to check it yourself.

Excellent — 5 of 5 on this rubric’s scale, from Poor (1) to Excellent (5). This dimension carries 8% of the total score.

Benchmark — across the 25 other agencies evaluated in this discipline, this dimension runs Excellent 6 · Strong 9 · Adequate 10. The typical agency here scores Strong, and none scores higher than this one.

What this dimension measures: Deep in the buyer's actual stack (Shopify for ecom, Webflow/Next for B2B/SaaS).

Scores low — Match scores 4-5; mismatch/generalist scores 2-3.

What we found — Shopify-exclusive positioning since 2010 and longstanding Plus-partner status.

On the record — “Fuel Made states that it has worked exclusively with Shopify since 2010 and was an original Shopify Plus Partner.” fuelmade.com ↗

B2B — business-to-business: selling to companies rather than consumers — longer deals, more decision-makers.

SaaS — software as a service: subscription software; as a client type it brings recurring revenue and metrics like churn and lifetime value.

Evidence: verified — checked against a named source you can open; the links under Sources below are where to check it yourself.

Strong — 4 of 5 on this rubric’s scale, from Poor (1) to Excellent (5). This dimension carries 4% of the total score.

Benchmark — across the 25 other agencies evaluated in this discipline, this dimension runs Excellent 11 · Strong 14. The typical agency here scores Strong, and 11 of them score higher than this one.

What this dimension measures: Ecommerce CRO vs B2B SaaS/lead-gen CRO are different crafts.

Scores low — Named clients matching the buyer score 5; mismatch scores 1-2.

What we found — Best suited to established DTC and subscription commerce brands.

CRO — conversion-rate optimization: raising the share of visitors who buy or sign up through structured testing, not redesign by taste.

B2B — business-to-business: selling to companies rather than consumers — longer deals, more decision-makers.

SaaS — software as a service: subscription software; as a client type it brings recurring revenue and metrics like churn and lifetime value.

DTC — direct-to-consumer: brands selling on their own site rather than through retailers.

Evidence: verified — checked against a named source you can open; the links under Sources below are where to check it yourself.

Adequate — 3 of 5 on this rubric’s scale, from Poor (1) to Excellent (5). This dimension carries 3% of the total score.

Benchmark — across the 25 other agencies evaluated in this discipline, this dimension runs Excellent 2 · Strong 4 · Adequate 7 · Weak 9 · Poor 3. The typical agency here scores Adequate, and 6 of them score higher than this one.

Scores high — Month-to-month or short terms with a pricing anchor score 4-5.

Scores low — 12-month lock-ins or bespoke-only score 2.

What we found — Clutch shows a $5,000 minimum and $150-$199 hourly band, but scopes vary widely. That is between the two bands, which is why it scored Adequate.

On the record — “Clutch lists 28 reviews, a $5,000 minimum project, and a $150-$199 hourly range.” clutch.co ↗

Evidence: verified — checked against a named source you can open; the links under Sources below are where to check it yourself.