About
Independent reviews of SEO, hosting and email software
Stackmerit exists because most software "reviews" are spec sheets with affiliate links bolted on. We research SEO, hosting and email marketing software carefully, drawing on official documentation, pricing, and what real users report, and we score it the same way every time.
Last updated
How we review, in one paragraph
Every tool in a category is assessed against the same five-part rubric, so a score means the same thing across our reviews. We build each review from the vendor's own documentation and live pricing pages, checked and dated, and from what verified users report across the major review platforms. The score is our editorial judgement against that rubric. A review we have not finished yet carries an In testing badge and no score. We do not describe features we have only read about as though we tested them.
Who writes these
By Jake Harris, Owner. 15+ years in SEO and agencies.
Stackmerit is written and edited by Jake Harris. Jake has spent more than 15 years in SEO and agency work, running search campaigns, managing hosting for client sites, and building the email automations that sit behind them. That background shapes what these reviews look for and what they flag.
Experience changes what you notice. That background helps these reviews look past the feature list to the things that actually decide it: where a tool slows you down, what it quietly charges extra for, and how support behaves when something breaks. Jake puts his name to every score.
How we review
Every tool in a category is scored against the same fixed, five-part rubric, so scores are comparable within a category. The weights shift by category (speed and uptime carry more in hosting; data quality carries more in SEO tools), but the discipline is identical: the same criteria, applied the same way, drawing on official documentation, pricing, and publicly available user reviews.
- Official sources. We work from each tool's own documentation and pricing pages, checked and dated, not a sales pitch.
- User evidence. We weigh what real users report across the major review platforms, not just the vendor's claims.
- A fixed rubric. The same weighted criteria every time, so a score means the same thing across our reviews.
- Honest numbers. We attribute figures to their source and date them, we don't publish invented numbers, and where a review is still in testing we show that instead of a score.
How we make money
Stackmerit is reader-supported. Some of our outbound links are affiliate links: if you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. That funding never decides our rankings; we settle the order on merit first and check commissions second. The full details are on our disclosure page.
Tell us we're wrong
If you spot a factual error, or a tool changes after we've reviewed it, we want to know. We correct mistakes quickly and note material changes. Reach us any time via the contact page.
Frequently asked questions
How does Stackmerit make money?
Stackmerit is reader-supported. Some outbound links to the tools we recommend are affiliate links, so we may earn a commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. That funding never decides our rankings; we settle the order on merit first and check commissions second.
Do vendors pay for reviews or better rankings?
No. We don't accept payment for reviews, rankings or favourable coverage, and a correction from a vendor never buys a better score. Rankings are decided on merit, before we look at which tools have affiliate programs.
How do you research the tools you review?
We build each review from the tool's own documentation and live pricing pages, checked and dated, and from what verified users report across the major review platforms. Every tool in a category is scored on the same five-part rubric, so a score means the same thing across our reviews. The score is our editorial judgement against that rubric. A review we have not finished yet carries an In testing badge and no score.