First Rank

Pay for results rather than for a list of tasks is the idea behind this Winnipeg search marketing company. It says that most SEO firms sell packages tied to specific jobs, whereas its services are based on the outcome it will achieve, and that if a project takes twice the effort it expected, that cost is its own. Its stated approach is to keep working until the client ranks.

A framework of six pillars

The company's SEO strategy is built on what it calls a six pillar approach, covering on-page and technical work and off-page outreach. A typical engagement starts with a free audit of the client's website. Where a site has been damaged, the company describes cleaning it up: removing poor-quality links left by earlier SEO providers, repairing a site that had been hacked, and then improving technical and on-page elements and adding quality outreach. It says its methods keep to Google's guidelines rather than loopholes that win a quick ranking and lead to de-indexing later.

Choosing the right service

The company describes several service types and says it factors in how competitive an industry is and how often relevant terms are searched when it sets expectations:

• Single site SEO, aimed at ranking a website first in organic search for as many related keywords as the client wants to target, through keyword research and ongoing on-page and off-page work. It suggests this for small and medium businesses starting out.
• Local business SEO, an add-on that targets the local result packs Google shows with a map, which are decided by a different algorithm from organic results.
• Video SEO, which optimizes promotional videos, uploads them to YouTube and aims to rank them on the first page of Google.
• Search engine domination, which tries to take several first-page positions, including social profiles and directory listings, so competitors are pushed down.
• Online reputation management, which ranks properties a client owns for its brand name in order to push negative press onto the second page.
• Integrated marketing, with sales funnels that use low-threshold offers, opt-in incentives and an email autoresponder series, so that traffic also converts.

It also runs a reseller program for agencies that want to white label its SEO.

Measuring where customers come from

The company offers proprietary call tracking and analytics software so that clients can follow leads through each step of the sales process, see which advertising brings in revenue and decide which campaigns to scale or cut.

Results it reports

Its site shows case studies on a clinic whose search clicks rose over three months, a contractor that saw growth in traffic from large language model search, a therapy clinic that increased calls from its business profile, and a reduction in cost per lead. The company also says it tests its methods on sites of its own.