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Agency comparison · Updated August 15, 2026

SmartSites vs IMA: Which to Pick

One of these sells you a website, rankings and paid campaigns. The other runs managed influencer programs for global brands from inside a large group. SmartSites is a US digital vendor with influencer as an add-on. IMA is an influencer agency within Media.Monks under S4 Capital. Concrete digital deliverables against a managed global program.

Short answer: pick SmartSites if you want a US vendor selling SEO, PPC and web deliverables. Pick IMA if you want a global managed influencer program from a large group. Or pick Flinque if you would rather find and vet creators yourself at a flat price you can start free.
See Flinque pricing
4.9/5 across 2,000+ reviews10M+ verified creatorsUsed by Vodafone, Hyatt and Abbott
The 5-second answer

Which one is right for you

Three buyers, three picks. Find the column that sounds like your team.

Choose SmartSites if

  • You want SEO, PPC and a website delivered
  • You are a smaller US business
  • Tangible digital work matters more than creator scale

Choose IMA if

  • You want a managed global influencer program
  • You are a large brand wanting agency scale
  • Enterprise creator depth matters more than a website
Free, no card

Choose Flinque if

  • You want to find and vet creators yourself with no sales call
  • You want flat published pricing you can start free
  • You want to run discovery in-house, not hire an agency
Side by side

SmartSites vs IMA vs Flinque

Fourteen factors across all three, from a US digital vendor to a global influencer agency. Flinque is the flat-price software option on the right.

FactorSmartSitesIMABest valueFlinque
Best forUS SEO, PPC and web deliverablesGlobal managed influencer programsTeams running discovery in-house
TypeDigital marketing firmFull-service influencer agencySelf-serve software
HeadquartersParamus, New JerseyAmsterdam, NetherlandsRemote, serving 25+ countries
OwnershipIndependentMedia.Monks, under S4 CapitalIndependent
FocusSEO, PPC and web designGlobal influencer campaignsDiscovery and vetting
Influencer roleAn add-onThe whole focusThe whole product
What you getA website, rankings, paid mediaA managed creator programA searchable index
Reported clientsMinimal public dataDiesel, Tommy Hilfiger and NiveaSelf-serve, no client gate
ScaleSMB digitalGlobal, enterprise brands10M+ verified creators
Creator poolNot its focusAgency-managed network10M+ verified creators
Published pricingNoneNoneFree $0, Starter $49, Enterprise $150
Self-serve searchNoNoYes
Free tierNoNoYes, no card
Data per creatorNot publishedNot published200 data points reported

How we compared: Engagement models and minimums come from each agency's own site and public reporting and client reviews, cross-checked and dated June 2026. Where an agency hides its pricing we say undisclosed rather than guess a number. The verdicts are ours, not the agencies'.

The detail

What each agency actually does

What is SmartSites

ParamusDigital vendorSEO and webAdd-on influencer

SmartSites sells concrete digital deliverables. From Paramus, New Jersey, what you buy is a website, search rankings and paid-media campaigns, with creator outreach available only as an add-on to that work rather than a program it runs in depth. For a smaller business whose need is tangible, being found on Google and having a site that converts, that is the appeal: a vendor that hands over specific digital assets, with a little influencer attached if the brief calls for it.

The limit is that this is not a managed influencer operation. SmartSites is a digital-marketing shop, so the depth, network and coordination that a dedicated agency brings to a creator program are not its strengths. That is fine when influencer is a minor line in a wider digital brief and a poor fit when it is the whole campaign. It publishes little beyond its digital positioning, so confirm exactly what the add-on covers and who runs it before relying on it for creator work.

What SmartSites does well

  • Delivers a website, SEO and paid media
  • Tangible digital deliverables
  • Suits a smaller US business
  • Digital fundamentals in one place

Where it falls short

  • Influencer is only an add-on
  • No managed creator program
  • Not built for enterprise scale
  • No published pricing and no self-serve search

What is IMA

AmsterdamGlobal agencyMedia.MonksEnterprise

IMA, the Influencer Marketing Agency, runs managed programs at global scale. Based in Amsterdam, it sits inside Media.Monks, itself part of S4 Capital, so a brand engaging it is engaging a team backed by a large group rather than an independent shop. Reported clients like Diesel, Tommy Hilfiger, Nivea and Samsung mark it as an agency trusted with major-brand work. For a company that wants a creator campaign planned and run for it across markets, that scale and backing are the reason to look here rather than at a local digital vendor.

The trade against a digital shop is remit. IMA does not build your website or run your search campaigns, since managed influencer work is its focus. Its group ownership is worth understanding too: S4 Capital absorbed IMA into Media.Monks in 2019, with the group rebranding to Monks in 2024, so confirm how that structure shapes your account. That suits a large brand whose main event is influencer. If your need is a site and local search visibility, a global agency is answering a different and larger brief.

What IMA does well

  • Managed global influencer programs
  • Backed by Media.Monks and S4 Capital
  • Reported clients are major brands
  • Built for enterprise-scale campaigns

Where it falls short

  • No web, SEO or paid-search offer
  • Sits inside a large group, confirm the structure
  • Overkill for a smaller digital brief
  • No published pricing and no self-serve search

SmartSites vs IMA head to head

The choice is concrete deliverables against a managed program. SmartSites hands you a website, rankings and paid media, with influencer as an add-on, which suits a smaller US business whose gap is digital fundamentals. IMA runs managed influencer campaigns for global brands from inside Media.Monks, which suits a large company whose main event is creators and wants agency scale behind it. If your brief is tangible digital work, the vendor fits. If it is a managed global creator program, the agency does, since that depth is not something a bolt-on can match.

There is a way to handle the creator part yourself, whichever describes you. Flinque indexes 10M+ verified creators across 4 platforms, each with a fake-follower score and 200 reported data points, at $0 to start and $49 a month after, so you can run discovery and vetting in-house and add a digital vendor or a global agency only when the work genuinely calls for one.

By scenario

Which should you actually pick

Forget the pitch decks for a second. Match the partner to the situation you are in.

You want digital deliverables

You need a website, SEO and paid media, with a little creator outreach. That points to SmartSites.

→ Pick SmartSites

You want a managed program

You want a global influencer campaign run for you by an agency at scale. That is IMA.

→ Pick IMA

You want to run creators yourself

At any scale, on data. Flinque reports 200 data points per creator, free to start with no card.

→ Pick Flinque

You want a knowable price

Neither publishes pricing. Flinque is $0 to start and $49 a month, so you can begin without a sales call.

→ Start with Flinque
A third option

Flinque: verified discovery at a flat price

If both feel like too much retainer and too little control, Flinque does one job and does it well. Find and vet real creators yourself, fast, then run the campaign in-house. No pitch deck, no monthly retainer, no discovery call to learn the price.

  • 10M+ verified creators
  • 4 platforms: IG, YouTube, TikTok, X
  • 200 data points per creator
  • 12 search filters
  • Fake-follower check on every profile
  • Free, $49, $150, published
Watch

See Flinque in action

Short walkthroughs on pricing, discovery and vetting from the Flinque team.

Influencer Discovery Platforms That We Made Easy and Affordable

Find Influencers for $49 a Month: Flinque vs Modash and HypeAuditor (2026)

FAQs

Common questions about SmartSites and IMA

What is the difference between SmartSites and IMA?
SmartSites is a Paramus digital-marketing firm selling SEO, PPC and web design with influencer as an add-on. IMA is an Amsterdam influencer agency running managed global campaigns from inside Media.Monks under S4 Capital. One hands you concrete digital deliverables. The other runs a managed creator program at scale, so they suit very different briefs.
Does SmartSites run enterprise influencer programs?
No. Its work is delivering a website, search rankings and paid media for smaller businesses, with creator outreach sitting at the edge as an add-on rather than a managed program. So an enterprise campaign gets little depth here. For a global managed program a large agency like IMA is built for it, while SmartSites suits a brand where influencer is a minor line in a wider digital brief.
What does IMA's Media.Monks ownership mean?
IMA was absorbed into Media.Monks in 2019 under S4 Capital, then the group rebranded to Monks in 2024, so the agency operates inside a large group rather than as a standalone shop. That can bring broader resources and reach, while it also means you are engaging a team within a bigger structure. Confirm how the group shapes account teams and scoping before committing.
Which suits a large brand wanting a managed program?
IMA, clearly. A campaign that is genuinely about creators at global scale gets an agency built for that, backed by Media.Monks. SmartSites offers influencer as an add-on to digital deliverables, so for a brand whose main event is a managed influencer program the agency is the far stronger fit while SmartSites suits smaller digital work.
Which suits a smaller US business?
SmartSites, since delivering SEO, paid search and websites is exactly what it does. A smaller company wanting tangible digital assets and to be found online gets a vendor built for that. IMA is a global influencer agency rather than a local digital shop, so for web-first fundamentals SmartSites is the closer fit while IMA suits enterprise creator campaigns.
How big is IMA's creator network?
IMA is one of Europe's larger influencer agencies, though public figures for its network size are inconsistent across sources, so it is not a number to lean on. What is clearer is the model: a managed, agency-run program backed by Media.Monks, aimed at major brands. The fair check is to ask IMA directly what reach is relevant and active for your specific campaign rather than trusting a headline count.
How much do they cost?
Neither publishes pricing. SmartSites quotes a US digital engagement scoped to SEO, PPC or web, while IMA quotes a managed global influencer program. So costs only firm up once each scopes your brief, with the models pointing at very different needs and budgets.
Is there a software alternative to both?
Yes. Flinque is self-serve software covering discovery and vetting, indexing 10M+ verified creators across 4 platforms with 200 data points per creator reported on each profile. There is no demo and no annual lock-in. The Free Plan is $0, Starter is $49 a month and Enterprise is $150.

Written & reviewed by Flinque Research Team

Influencer Marketing Research · View team →

Our research team specialises in influencer marketing strategy, creator analytics and platform comparisons. Details on this page were verified against agency sites, public reporting and client review platforms in June 2026.

Disclaimer: Information here is collected from publicly available sources, third-party review sites and vendor pages. Pricing and features change, so confirm current details with each provider before buying. This content is for informational purposes only.

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