Most marketing advice won't work for your startup. That's not a problem. It's the reality.
Sterling Snow, Co-Founder and CEO at Redo, has learned this lesson three times over. What worked at his first company failed at Jive. The Jive playbook crashed at Divvy. And the Divvy wins? Useless at Redo. This pattern isn't random. It's the core truth about early-stage marketing that most people miss.
The industry sells playbooks, templates, and proven strategies. Marketing leaders want someone to hand them a list of tactics that work. But here's the hard truth: great marketing only works once. "Great marketing will never work again for another company at a different time," as Paxton Gray puts it. It only works right now, for this exact audience, at this exact company.
The real skill isn't copying someone else's success story. It's building the muscle to create channels nobody else has found yet. Welcome to the anti-playbook.
Every startup begins in what Sterling calls the "haystack phase." Picture it: a huge pile of potential marketing tactics, and somewhere buried inside is the needle, the thing that actually works. The problem? Nobody knows what the needle looks like.
Most marketers respond by overthinking. They build complex attribution models. They debate where good ideas should come from. They claim to be data-driven. Sterling's response is blunt: "People who say they're data-driven in the haystack phase, like there's no data, so what are you talking about?"
The haystack phase needs a different approach. Forget perfect strategy. Focus on action. More action creates more insights. More insights lead to faster iteration. Speed beats precision every time.
Sterling's formula strips away the complexity: find the cheapest CPM out there, pair it with a bold offer, then take it to as many channels as you can. No overthinking. No analysis paralysis. Just rapid testing with clear rules for success.
This approach makes traditional marketers squirm. They want to be strategic, thoughtful, measured. But in the early stages, those instincts kill momentum. The goal isn't to find the perfect channel through careful analysis. It's to run enough tests fast enough that you stumble into something that works.
"Finding a needle in a haystack is basically about your ability to create insights off of your activity," Sterling explains. Not insights that lead to action. Action that creates insights. The order matters.
Define clear tests. Set time limits. Know what success looks like. Then run as many as you can handle at once. When something shows promise, double down now. When something fails, move on. The winners will show themselves through results, not theory.
Performance marketing, SEO, content marketing, these are table stakes. Every rival has access to the same Google Ads platform, the same LinkedIn targeting, the same email tools. Playing only in known channels means competing on execution alone. For an early-stage startup, that's a losing game.
"Good marketers create new channels instead of just allocate money and energy into the ones that exist," Sterling says. The difference matters. Channel creation isn't just another tactic. It's life or death for early-stage companies.
Sterling learned this the hard way at Divvy. Channels that worked at Jive were failing. He was spiraling, convinced he'd be fired. The breakthrough came from a simple question: where are the buyers when they're not on LinkedIn or Google?
Finance pros, it turned out, read niche business newsletters. Not big publications, but small, focused ones like Owler that sent fancy Google alerts in email format. These newsletters had audiences but no ad model.
Sterling called Owler directly. The pitch was simple: "Can I pay you a thousand bucks and see what this does?" They'd never sold ads before. They were curious if it could work for them. That thousand-dollar test generated hundreds of demo requests.
The channel exploded. Sterling quickly expanded to Morning Brew and The Hustle, often becoming their first advertiser before they had formal ad programs. Not everything worked. A deal with the New York Times flopped completely. But newsletter advertising became Divvy's number one channel for years.
Here's the key: this channel worked because Sterling created it. Once rivals noticed and followed, the edge vanished. The cycle repeated. Find a new channel, exploit it, watch others copy it, find the next one.
Creating proprietary lead flow means looking where others aren't. It means calling companies that don't sell ads and getting them to try. It means building partnerships before partnership programs exist. It means being comfortable without a roadmap.
Traditional marketing teams organize around specialties. Companies hire an email marketer, a paid ads specialist, a content writer, an SEO expert. Each person owns a channel, optimizes their metrics, stays in their lane. This makes sense for companies with proven channels. For early-stage startups, it's death.
The anti-playbook needs different people. Not specialists who execute set strategies, but thinkers who figure out which strategies to pursue. Not copywriters, but people who decide what copy needs to exist in the first place.
When hiring, Sterling looks for a specific pattern: people whose brains just work differently. He described a candidate who had a lawn mowing business as a teenager. Nothing unusual there. What was unusual is what he did next. He had ten clients. He went to each one and said, if you go post about me in your community forums, I'll mow your lawn free for a month. Overnight, his demand grew five times over.
"If you can find people who their brains just sort of think like that, they're a little more hacker, a little bit more artist, a little bit more mad scientist," Sterling says. Those are the people who create channels. Performance specialists who are very good at spending money in known channels have their place. They just shouldn't be your first hire.
This hiring philosophy connects to how Sterling builds culture. He doesn't think in terms of a marketing team and a sales team. He thinks in terms of a revenue team, where each person owns a different leg of the relay race. To reinforce that, he compensates people one level deeper in the funnel than their direct role. Marketers get measured closer to revenue, not just on MQLs or ROAS. It forces tighter alignment and clears out credit seeking fast.
Sterling pairs this with a goal-setting framework he calls budget, quota, and stretch. Budget is the board number, the floor you have near-certain confidence in. Quota is the team number, a real win that reflects a healthy business. Stretch is the ceiling, where extra rewards kick in, whether that's trips, faster promotions, or additional comp. The system pushes the team to empty the tank while still protecting the business.
The result of building this way? "Really great marketers love it because they sort of shine through," Sterling says, "and really bad ones absolutely hate it because there's just like nowhere to hide."
The traditional B2B sales motion is dying. The SDR role, that cornerstone of predictable revenue, is going away. Not because sales development doesn't matter, but because a dedicated human SDR no longer makes economic sense.
Sterling's companies tell the story. Jive and Divvy ran heavy SDR motions, the classic Utah sales playbook. Redo has zero SDRs. The shift isn't philosophical. It's practical. Every handoff adds cost. Every transition point loses customers. In an era demanding efficiency, those inefficiencies are fatal.
The future Sterling sees: full-cycle reps handling everything from first touch to close, backed by heavy automation. Tools like OneMind, which Sterling calls "quite wild," act as AI SDRs and SCs. They flip through decks, answer questions, qualify leads, book meetings. The technology isn't just helping human SDRs. It's replacing the role.
"Anything that comes that's inbound, I think is highly likely to be mostly automated in the very near future," Sterling predicts. The human touch stays critical for complex, outbound, strategic deals. Everything else becomes a technology play.
On the marketing side, Sterling also points to Clay and Unify as tools providing real value right now. Not silver bullets, but the next iteration of how B2B teams work. And as AI continues to make cold outreach easier for everyone, he expects the real alpha to shift back toward human, high-touch approaches: micro events, in-person interactions, and targeted ABM-style plays that cut through an inbox everybody's learned to ignore.
Freemium debates miss the point. The question isn't whether to give something away free. It's how to make money while giving something away free.
"I love freemium, but I don't like not making money," Sterling says. Traditional freemium hopes free users eventually upgrade. Sterling's model makes money on free users from day one.
Divvy proved it. The software was free. Revenue came from interchange fees on transactions. Users paid nothing directly but generated revenue through usage. Redo follows the same logic: free software, monetization on usage. The customer gets value without paying. The company makes money without charging.
"If you put your head down, you can figure out how to make money on something that's free," Sterling says. The constraint forces new thinking. Partnership agreements, usage-based back ends, revenue flows that don't depend on a subscription. If the product must be free but the company must make money, the answer is rarely obvious at first. But it's there.
The search for marketing playbooks makes sense. Playbooks offer comfort. They promise that someone, somewhere, has figured it out, and all you need to do is follow their steps.
But early-stage marketing doesn't work that way. Success comes from creating unique channels, not optimizing ones that exist. It comes from hiring creative thinkers, not task doers. It comes from rapid testing, not careful planning.
Stop looking for what worked elsewhere. Start building the muscle to discover what works for you. The anti-playbook isn't about rejecting all frameworks. It's about developing the ability to create your own.
The future belongs to marketers who find needles in haystacks through sheer action. Who spot proprietary channels before they become common. Who build business models that make free profitable. The playbook for that doesn't exist. And that's exactly the point.
See what Sterling is building at https://redo.com/en
Connect with Sterling on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sterling-snow-051baab5/
Connect with Paxton on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paxtongray/
Looking for an agency that'll be worth the investment? 97th Floor creates custom, audience-first campaigns that drive pipeline and conversions. Get started here: https://97staging.com/lets-talk/.
00:41 - The haystack phase: activity beats strategy
04:07 - Creating proprietary channels vs. following playbooks
05:25 - The $1,000 newsletter ad that changed everything
26:23 - Why SDRs are becoming extinct
28:42 - Making freemium actually profitable
Sterling Snow is the CEO and Co-founder of Redo, a customer experience platform for online brands.
He's a member of Utah's oldest and largest early-stage venture firm.
He was a former Senior VP or Revenue at BILL, a former Chief Revenue Officer at Divvy, and a former Marketing and Sales Director at LogMeln.
Sterling is also an angel investor mainly in the seed and Series A rounds His investment portfolio includes Kaedim (AI for 2D and 3D image modeling) and Trinsic (full-stack identity platform).
Running an ecommerce business is a lot of work. You’re managing all your products, solving your customers’ problems with great services, and trying to grow in a competitive industry. With AI changes coming to SEO as well, it’s hard to know where to start with SEO and marketing. The good news is you don’t have to figure it out on your own.
This guide explores the current state of ecommerce SEO with AI optimization involved and where it’ll be going in the coming years. Read on to learn how to handle your SEO to keep your ecommerce brand thriving.
Ecommerce SEO is the process of optimizing your online store so that your product pages, category pages, and brand pages rank higher in search results. Unlike traditional SEO, which often focuses on blog content and service pages, ecommerce SEO also deals with thousands of SKUs, filtering options, navigation, and constantly changing inventory.
Executing an intentional ecommerce SEO strategy is essential because organic search is one of the strongest revenue channels for online retails. When shoppers search, they’re already showing intent to buy—so ranking higher gives you the chance to be the product they see. Effective ecommerce SEO makes sure the right products appear at the right time for the right customer, which can help both your immediate sales and long-term brand visibility.
Even the most advanced AI tools and content strategies won’t deliver results if your key ecommerce SEO fundamentals aren’t in place. Before scaling product content or experimenting with automation, your site needs a strong technical foundation that helps search engines and AI tools discover and trust your pages. These four essentials make your store findable, fully crawlable, and ready to compete in organic search.
Search engines need clean, discoverable paths to your product and category pages. Use robots.txt and XML sitemaps to guide crawl behavior and make sure the most valuable URLs are included. For very large catalogs, monitor crawl budget and prioritize high-converting or frequently searched products so that they’re indexed quickly and consistently.
Filters, sorting, and faceted navigation can create thousands of parameter-based URLs that look like duplicate pages to search engines. Instead of letting your best pages get lost to crawlers, use canonical tags, “noindex” rules, and URL structure. In addition, check that you don’t have any actual duplicate pages and that could be confusing both your users and the search engines and consolidate those.
Most ecommerce traffic now comes from mobile, so your site must be fast, responsive, and easy to navigate on a phone. Optimize Core Web Vitals at the template level so that your product and category pages load consistently and quickly on any device. Other ways to pick up your site speed include compressing product imagery and streamlining scripts.
Structured data helps search engines understand and display your products more effectively. A good way to help create structured data is to add products, reviews, pricing, and availability schema to your site. This provides your customers and search engines with rich results like star ratings and stock status in search listings. Keep your schema updated to reflect inventory changes so that shoppers receive accurate, up-to-date information before they even click.
AI and SEO go hand-in-hand. AI helps you scale what used to require hours of manual research, writing, and analysis. It can cluster thousands of keywords into logical product and category groups, personalize recommendations based on user behavior, and forecast demand by analyzing past performance and seasonality. AI search SEO allows you to build smarter navigation structures and target intent-based search opportunities more effectively.
AI can also automate repetitive tasks, such as generating product descriptions, meta tags, FAQs, and schema markup at scale. With the right prompts and review workflows, these outputs stay accurate to brand voice while freeing your teams to focus on higher priorities. AI-driven anomaly detection and performance monitoring tools can also surface issues—like sudden ranking drops, broken pages, or out-of-stock items—before they meaningfully impact your company.
However, AI should act as an assistant, not a replacement. Your team and your agency will provide the expert creative direction while AI speeds up the process.
A strong ecommerce SEO content strategy includes more than blog posts. The goal is to help shoppers make confident decisions while signaling relevance and authority to search engines. Here are a few ways to help build out your strategy.
Your blog should focus on topics that closely align with your products and the problems they solve. Target high-intent queries like comparisons, “best of” lists, and how-to content that moves potential customers toward purchasing.. Each article should support a product or category.
Evergreen content (like buying guides and care instructions) builds compounding search value over time. Seasonal or trend-driven content helps you stay relevant during peak shopping windows or product launches. Both matter—evergreen builds foundation and seasonal captures timely demand.
Long-tail content like “how to choose,” “best for,” and detailed FAQs helps potential customers confidently purchase. Some other content types you might want are comparison grids, sizing explanations, and care instructions.
Every piece of content should strategically link to the right product and category pages. Internal linking helps search engines understand relationships between pages and distributes authority where it matters most. Use clear calls-to-view products, related collections, or comparison pages to guide both users and search engines toward your most valuable URLs.
Off-page SEO helps build the authority, trust, and credibility that search engines use to determine which brands deserve top rankings. For ecommerce sites, it’s about earning signals that show your products are valued by real customers. Here are a few strategies to boost your off-page SEO:
As you scale, SEO needs often evolve beyond basic optimizations. Deciding whether to manage SEO in-house or to partner with an agency depends on your specific needs and goals. Most ecommerce SEO agencies offer technical audits, on-page optimization, content strategy, link-building, and performance reporting. They often bring specialized experience with product feeds, schema markup, faceted navigation, and large catalog indexing—areas that can be difficult for generalist marketers to manage.
If rankings are flat or your internal teams are stretched thin, an agency can help. Other common signals it might be time for agency help include frequent site changes, large or rapidly growing product catalogs, and the need for structured testing to improve performance.
When you need agency help, 97th Floor takes a strategic, outcome-driven approach that can change the way your company handles SEO. Rather than applying surface-level fixes, we optimize information architecture, content ecosystems, and product discovery workflows to influence full-funnel performance. Our team combines expert strategy with AI-supported execution to scale insights, reduce manual lift, and align SEO outcomes with real results.
Search engines need clear signals about which version of each page is intended for each audience—otherwise, rankings can become diluted and customers may land on the wrong currency, language, or shipping region. International ecommerce SEO helps you make sure shoppers see the right page for their location. Here are a few tips to get you started:
While position improvements matter, the real SEO impact shows up in revenue, conversion rates, customer lifetime value, and product discoverability. The goal is not simply to rank—it’s to drive profitable, sustained growth from organic search. Below are a few ways to track how well your SEO strategy is working:
When SEO goals map directly to revenue and merchandising priorities, it becomes a scalable lever for long-term ecommerce growth.
Even experienced teams can run into challenges when scaling product catalogs and content. Recognizing and resolving them early can help you grow sustainably and reach your customers effectively. To up your SEO strategy, make sure you avoid:
Ecommerce SEO is shifting from static keyword targeting to dynamic, personalized experiences powered by AI and real-time intent signals. AI search engines are getting better at predicting what shoppers want before they explicitly say it. That means personalized recommendations, dynamic product rankings, and individualized search results will become standard—requiring ecommerce brands to optimize for user intent and behavior.
Another development on the horizon is voice commerce and conversational queries.
As voice assistants and conversational interfaces evolve, queries are becoming longer and more natural. You’ll want to be ready to handle question-based searches, comparisons, and instructional content to meet shoppers where they are.
Shoppers increasingly search using images, screenshots, and voice—often all in the same product search. Product pages in coming years will need rich visuals, clean metadata, and structured information to perform well in visual and AI-driven environments.
Expect search results to look more like curated guides than lists of blue links. AI-driven shopping assistants will become commonplace, pulling product data, reviews, inventory, and pricing from multiple sources at once. Brands that invest now in structured data, differentiated content, and flexible content pipelines will be positioned to lead the next era of ecommerce discovery.
Running an ecommerce brand in 2025 is like hauling feral cats out of a burning building — noble work, but try it alone and you’ll come out with more scars than survivors. That’s because ecommerce isn’t a single challenge; it’s dozens of moving, clawing parts that demand your attention all at once. Scaling an online store goes way beyond having great products. Visibility, customer experience, and platform mastery all play a role in turning browsers into buyers.
Ecommerce agencies step in as that extra set of hands. They handle the heavy lifting across SEO, paid ads, conversion rate optimization, design, and retention so you can focus on keeping your business upright and your capital from bleeding dry.
In this guide, we’ll cover what ecommerce agencies actually do, how to know if it’s time to hire one, what makes a ‘best’ agency stand out, and seven agencies in the U.S. worth your attention in 2025 — including ours (because, full disclosure, we’re really good at what we do).
If you’re reading this, you probably already have a sense of what an ecommerce agency does. Still, let’s not skip the basics.
An ecommerce agency is a specialized partner built to help online stores grow faster, smarter, and with fewer headaches. Unlike general digital agencies, ecommerce agencies focus specifically on the unique demands of online retail.
That means:
They’re measured by commerce-specific metrics like average order value (AOV), lifetime value (LTV), return on ad spend (ROAS), and retention — not just traffic or impressions. All of this is to say an ecommerce agency’s job isn’t finished once visitors land on your site. Their role is encouraging those visitors to stick around and actually buy something.
We’re not going to sugarcoat it: Hiring an ecommerce agency isn’t cheap. But the right one can more than pay for itself by uncovering growth opportunities you didn’t even know existed. It’s like figuring out which wire to cut on a ticking bomb after watching one YouTube tutorial. Technically possible, but maybe bringing in a professional would be safer?
In other words, the benefits go way beyond saving time (though that’s nice, too). Here’s why brands turn to ecommerce agencies in 2025:
Without checking any listings, we’re pretty confident in telling you that there are thousands of agencies out there ready to take your call. But what separates the good from the genuinely great? Flashy websites and slick pitch decks are nice, but results are what actually matter. The best ecommerce agencies prove their worth by showing exactly how they’ve helped brands move the needle.
Not every agency that slaps ‘ecommerce’ on its homepage is worth your budget. The best agencies share a few traits:
Statista projects that worldwide ecommerce sales will hit roughly $3.66tn by the end of 2025. And, if you’re like me and don’t immediately recognize ‘tn’ as a unit of measurement, it stands for trillion (12 zeroes). That’s a lot of potential growth; having a dependable agency by your side can help your business carve out its share instead of getting buried under everyone else’s.
You made it. This is the list you came here for. These seven agencies stand out in 2025 not only for their services, but for their ability to deliver measurable, platform-specific results. We’ll cover who they’re best for, what services they offer, and what makes them different in a crowded space.
Best for: Integrated growth across SEO, paid, and conversion optimization
Most agencies promise growth. 97th Floor has made a business of proving it. With deep roots in content, SEO, and analytics, 97th Floor doesn’t just help ecommerce brands ‘get more traffic’ — they work with you to align every marketing channel to generate more sales, more efficiently.
97th Floor is a full-service growth agency with a knack for turning ecommerce complexity into measurable outcomes. Their bread and butter includes:
If you want a partner that doesn’t just tweak one channel but instead pulls the whole system into alignment, 97th Floor is a top choice.
Best for: Content-driven ecommerce growth
Content is king, but only if it ranks — otherwise it’s just some obnoxious court jester that capers around the digital courtyard juggling outdated keywords (don’t mind me; just stress testing a metaphor). Siege Media built its reputation on creating research-backed, SEO-optimized content that ecommerce brands can use to win organic visibility. If you’re tired of writing blog posts that nobody reads, this is an agency that can change the story.
Strengths include:
If organic growth is your north star, Siege is the kind of agency that can help you outrank competitors without relying solely on ad spend.
Best for: Platform migrations and storefront optimization
Technology can be a brand’s biggest advantage — or its biggest bottleneck. 1Digital® Agency specializes in fixing that problem by making sure your storefront is fast, functional, and scalable, no matter which platform you’re on. Whether you’re moving from Magento to Shopify, need a WooCommerce overhaul, or want to unify your BigCommerce setup, they’ve been there.
They offer:
Overall, 1Digital® Agency is a good fit for brands with growing pains tied to their tech stack.
Best for: ecommerce SEO at scale
SEO may not be flashy, but it’s the backbone of sustainable ecommerce growth. WebFX has built a reputation on measurable outcomes, particularly around SEO. They’re a fit for ecommerce brands that want more organic traffic and are ready to invest in long-term visibility.
Services include:
They’ve worked with thousands of clients and have the scale to match complex ecommerce needs.
Best for: Amazon and marketplace strategy
For many brands, Amazon is both an opportunity and an obstacle — massive reach, sure, but also high fees, fierce competition, and limited control over the customer relationship. Nuanced Media helps navigate that complexity by giving you a strategy not only for your own storefront, but also for Amazon, Walmart, and other marketplaces where your customers are already shopping.
Highlights:
Great for brands that want to diversify beyond their own dot-com.
Best for: Conversion rate optimization and UX
If you’ve ever looked at your analytics and thought, Why aren’t more people buying? Inflow is the agency built to answer that question. They specialize in conversion rate optimization and user experience, making sure the traffic you already have does more heavy lifting.
Core strengths:
Traffic is great. Conversions are better. If your store has healthy traffic but underwhelming conversions, Inflow is a CRO partner to look at.
Best for: Performance marketing and paid growth
Growth often comes down to how well you spend your ad dollars. Upgrow focuses on performance marketing — paid search, paid social, and scaling strategies — so ecommerce brands can grow quickly without throwing money into the void.
They offer:
For ecommerce brands ready to put budget into scaling, Upgrow brings the paid expertise to do it properly and profitably.
This has been fun, hasn’t it? I mean who doesn’t love a good listicle. But it's worth recognizing that knowing who the top agencies are is only the first step. The real challenge is figuring out which one you actually want a long-term relationship with. You’re not swiping for a quick fling here — you’re looking for a partner who won’t ghost you when the budget conversation gets awkward.
Not every agency offers every service, but most ecommerce specialists fall into one or more of these categories. Think of it like a restaurant menu — you don’t have to order Ultimate Feast, but it’s good to know whether crab is available and if the lobster is fresh.
The service menu is broad, but most ecommerce agencies will cover some or all of these areas:
Do you need all of that? Maybe not. But if you’re building a working relationship with an ecommerce agency, then it might be a good idea to find one that can do everything in case your needs evolve somewhere down the line.
We sell ecommerce services, so maybe we’re not the most objective source to be asking. But we also get it: in an economy like this one, it doesn’t make sense to invest in something you might not need. If that’s you, and you’re wondering if ecommerce is the next step for your business, consider asking yourself the following questions:
In the ‘in-house vs. agency’ debate, the tipping point usually comes when you realize a single marketing hire can’t cover the breadth of expertise you need. Agencies provide a full team of specialists for the cost of one or two more employees.
At this point, you know what ecommerce agencies do, you know what makes a great one, and you know which names stand out in 2025. So why should you consider 97th Floor? The short answer: because we choose not to focus on optimizing channels and instead put our expertise to work optimizing outcomes.
97th Floor has helped ecommerce brands grow by aligning creative, technical, and analytical expertise into a single strategy. Our teams handle everything end-to-end:
At 97th Floor, the goal isn’t isolated channel wins. The goal is connecting those wins so they push the whole business forward (metaphorical cats and all).Ready to scale smarter? Let’s talk. Contact 97th Floor today to see how we can help your ecommerce brand grow in 2025 and beyond.
An ecommerce agency helps online businesses grow by improving visibility, traffic, and sales. Their work usually covers SEO, paid ads, conversion rate optimization (CRO), email marketing, UX design, and platform support (like Shopify or Magento). The goal is simple: bring more qualified buyers to your store and help them convert.
An ecommerce marketing agency takes a full-funnel approach, handling everything from ads to design to retention. An ecommerce SEO agency, on the other hand, focuses specifically on organic growth through technical SEO, content, and link-building. If you need broader support across multiple channels, a marketing agency is a better fit; if organic visibility is your biggest challenge, an SEO agency might be the right call.
The ‘best’ agency depends on your goals. Look at case studies, client results, and platform expertise. A good rule of thumb: startups often need quick traffic gains, growth-stage brands want conversion and scaling, and enterprises focus on retention and international expansion. Always check for transparency around pricing and reporting before committing.
Most agencies work with major platforms like Shopify, Magento, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and Salesforce Commerce Cloud. Some specialize in one or two platforms, while others cover a wider range. Make sure your agency has direct experience with the platform your store runs on.
Signs include: steady traffic but low conversions, difficulty scaling into new channels or marketplaces, limited in-house expertise, or stagnant ROI from your current marketing. If your growth feels stuck, an agency can bring the team and tools to push past that plateau.
Common KPIs include revenue growth, conversion rate, return on ad spend (ROAS), average order value (AOV), customer lifetime value (LTV), and retention rate. These metrics tie directly to profitability, making them more useful than vanity metrics like impressions or raw traffic.
You’ve been watching traffic slide for months. Competitors suddenly show up in AI Overviews, while your brand barely appears. Reports keep pointing to “algorithm changes,” but no one on your team can explain why conversions are down.
With how quickly algorithms and AI features can change, it’s no wonder businesses are struggling to keep up. But this is exactly where an AI SEO agency proves its worth. They combine machine learning, automation, and a strong dose of human expertise, all to help brands surface to the top of a sea of generative results.
Here, we’ll show you what makes an AI SEO agency stand out and explore the benefits of partnering with the right agency.
An AI SEO agency is built for the way search works now, not the way it worked five years ago. Instead of relying only on manual keyword research and historical data, these agencies use artificial intelligence to uncover opportunities faster and adapt to changes in your industry.
The big shift is focus. Traditional SEO looks backward — analyzing what drove results in the past. AI SEO agencies look forward. With predictive analytics and natural language processing, they anticipate where demand is moving and position your brand to show up at the right time.
AI also takes over the repetitive work: technical audits, clustering topics, generating schema, or tracking where your brand appears in AI Overviews and chat results. That gives strategists more space to do what matters most — build campaigns, craft content, and connect your message with real people. The tech handles the scale and speed; the people make sure the strategy is thoughtful, creative, and aligned with business goals.
The big question for a lot of marketers or small business owners is: what is an AI SEO agency going to do that I can’t do myself? The right agency isn’t trying to sell you shiny new tools, but they are trying to make your job easier.
In short, the biggest benefit is peace of mind. You don’t have to second-guess whether your SEO strategy can keep up with how search is changing.
Not every agency that talks about AI is actually using it in a meaningful way. Some lean too heavily on automation, others promise results they can’t deliver. When you’re shopping for a professional partner, it pays to know both the green flags and the red ones so you can avoid trouble in the first place.
There’s no shortage of agencies talking about AI, but only a handful have proven they can use it to drive real results. Here are 7 different agencies that are taking AI SEO marketing by the reins and forging a path forward.
97th Floor has built a reputation for staying ahead of how search evolves, including with AI SEO. We blend that technical expertise with creative execution. Our experience has shown that it’s not enough to help clients simply rank, but to build lasting authority.
The approach centers on entity-led content, structured data, and technical optimization — all critical for visibility in AI-driven results. But what sets 97th Floor apart is how we tie these tactics back to measurable outcomes. Campaigns aren’t judged only by traffic; they’re evaluated on real business impact like qualified leads, revenue growth, and brand recognition.
As a full-service AI SEO agency, 97th Floor brings together strategists, analysts, writers, and developers under one roof. That integration makes it easier to adapt to search shifts and deliver cohesive campaigns. For brands that want both innovation and accountability, 97th Floor is a partner that delivers both.
Siege Media is known for combining SEO with content marketing, and they’ve quickly adapted those strengths for the AI era. Their focus is on creating high-value content that performs in both traditional search results and AI Overviews.
One of their core advantages is a data-driven approach to identifying opportunities competitors miss. Instead of chasing broad keywords, Siege Media zeroes in on topics where brands can earn visibility, citations, and long-term traffic value. Their emphasis on Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) positions clients to surface in emerging search formats like Google’s AI-driven results.
Directive Consulting specializes in SEO for B2B brands, and they’ve built their reputation on tying search efforts directly to revenue. Their approach to AI SEO reflects that same focus: less about vanity metrics, more about connecting demand generation to long-term business growth.
Where Directive stands out is in GEO. They design strategies that anticipate how AI will surface information and make sure that clients show up in the conversations and citations that influence buying decisions. Combined with their full-funnel approach, this helps brands capture visibility at every stage of the customer journey.
For B2B companies that want search strategies aligned with sales outcomes, Directive is a solid choice. Their emphasis on revenue impact makes them a strong choice for teams under pressure to prove ROI from SEO investments.
Spicy Margarita is a boutique agency that’s carved out a name in B2B by building content designed for AI visibility. Instead of focusing on keyword volume alone, their strategies emphasize answer-ready content — the kind of material that AI systems parse, cite, and elevate in Overviews.
Their specialty is blending content-led SEO with GEO. That means they are focused on crafting resources that address buyer questions directly and position brands as credible sources in emerging AI-driven results. Conversion is always at the center — rankings matter, but only if they lead to qualified leads and revenue.
uSERP is known for its focus on authority building in the age of AI search. Their approach combines technical SEO, advanced link building, and their proprietary Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) framework, which helps brands surface in AI-generated results and conversational queries.
Unlike agencies that chase short-term visibility, uSERP invests in strategies that strengthen a site’s credibility across multiple signals. That means better rankings in traditional SERPs and more frequent appearances when AI systems pull answers from trusted sources. Their track record includes hundreds of clients across industries.
iPullRank has earned respect in the SEO world for tackling enterprise challenges at scale. Their approach, called “Relevance Engineering,” blends semantic modeling with technical SEO to deliver strategies that line up with how search engines — and increasingly, AI systems — interpret meaning.
This focus on depth has led to billions in organic search value generated for clients. iPullRank’s strength lies in taking complex enterprise sites and making them more discoverable, structured, and ready for AI-driven interpretation. Their emphasis on technical precision and semantic relevance sets them apart from agencies that rely too heavily on surface-level tactics.
First Page Sage is known for its thought leadership approach to SEO. They specialize in creating research-driven content that builds authority, particularly for B2B SaaS and other industries where credibility is a key differentiator.
Their team has integrated generative AI optimization into this model, focusing on content that not only ranks but also earns trust in AI-driven environments. By combining long-form, authoritative resources with demand generation strategies, they position clients as the go-to source in their field.
There’s a point where DIY SEO or even a capable in-house team starts to hit a ceiling. You may be seeing:
Because AI is quickly becoming the foundation of how search works, our generative systems are rewriting the rules. Brands can optimize for blue links, but they also need to prepare content that is even more obviously structured, credible, and, most importantly, ready to be cited by AI. What we’re seeing from top SEO companies that are seeing results are things like:
Agencies that understand what SEOs need to know are already positioning clients to succeed. The pace of change is fast, but it’s not unpredictable. Strong AI SEOs already build for this future by focusing on clarity, authority, and adaptability — qualities that matter no matter how search evolves.
The right SEO agency isn’t a plug-and-play type of resource. Again, you have to balance the technical and creative sides of SEO to finally start seeing results. Consider these core services that the pros are offering:
Plenty of agencies are experimenting with AI, but 97th Floor has already built a track record of driving results with it. Our team combines technical SEO, content strategy, and analytics to help brands show up where it counts. We’ve got the traditional search results mastered, but we’re also paving the way forward for brands like yours. Entity-led optimization, structured data, and performance tracking are core to how we work.
What makes 97th Floor different is the integration of people and process. Analysts, strategists, and developers work side by side, which means campaigns are cohesive and built to scale. That’s how we turn AI SEO from a buzzword into growth you can measure.
Learn more about our AI SEO services or start with a free audit.Let’s Talk | Get an AI Audit
Traditional agencies lean on manual research and historical data. An AI SEO agency uses automation, predictive analytics, and natural language processing to spot opportunities faster and adapt to search changes more effectively.
The tools that stand out are those that handle entity mapping, structured data, and keyword modeling. Platforms that monitor AI Overviews and share of voice are also increasingly valuable for visibility.
If traffic has plateaued, competitors are showing up in AI-driven results, or your team lacks bandwidth for technical and content work, it’s a sign that an agency could provide needed scale and expertise.
Look beyond rankings. Focus on qualified leads, conversions, revenue influenced by organic traffic, and AI share of voice to see the full impact of your investment.
Yes — but only when combined with human oversight. Agencies use AI to speed up production, then refine for accuracy, originality, and brand voice. That balance is what helps content rank and perform.
Yes. Schema helps search engines and AI systems interpret your site. Organization, FAQ, and product schemas are often the most impactful for visibility in AI-driven results.
National Funding is a leading financial services company specializing in providing small and medium-sized businesses with tailored financing solutions.
Following a Google algorithm update, National Funding lost great rankings for focus keywords in their space such as “bad credit business loans.” They approached 97th Floor to reclaim rankings vital for generating new leads.
97th Floor implemented a holistic SEO strategy to fully optimize National Funding’s pages for keyword searches. Their tactics included:
The implemented strategy successfully restored and significantly enhanced rankings for crucial keywords— including "bad credit business loans" ranking #1. These rankings resulted in increased sessions and leads for National Funding.
When it comes to B2B marketing success, personalization isn't just a buzzword – it's a proven strategy. According to McKinsey, 77% of B2B companies that implement personalized experiences see an increase in market share. Yet many organizations struggle to effectively segment their markets, particularly in the B2B space where the rules of engagement differ significantly from B2C.
While consumer marketing can often rely on broad demographic data and personal preferences, B2B segmentation requires a more nuanced approach. Today's B2B buyers expect personalized experiences that speak directly to their unique challenges and pain points. But how do you deliver that personalization at scale while avoiding the pitfalls that derail many segmentation efforts? Let's explore a practical approach to industry segmentation that drives real results.
The B2B landscape presents unique challenges that make traditional segmentation approaches less effective. First, the decision-making process is inherently more complex than in B2C. Instead of convincing a single consumer, you're often dealing with multiple stakeholders, each with their own priorities and concerns.
Adding to this complexity is the reality of smaller audience sizes. While B2C companies might target millions of potential customers, B2B markets often consist of much smaller pools of qualified prospects. This makes traditional statistical approaches to segmentation less reliable and requires a more focused strategy.
Then there's the "95-5 rule" – a fundamental principle of B2B marketing that states only 5% of your potential market is actively looking to buy at any given time. This means your segmentation strategy needs to account for both immediate opportunities and longer-term relationship building.
Finally, B2B products themselves tend to be more complex, often requiring different approaches for different use cases. A solution that works perfectly for a small business might need significant modification for an enterprise client, even within the same industry.
Before diving into complex segmentation models, smart B2B marketers start by understanding the natural segmentation that already exists within their business. Take Bill, a financial operations platform, as an example. They serve two distinct markets: direct companies and accounting firms. These audiences solve similar problems using the same software but in fundamentally different ways.
This natural segmentation often emerges from how sales teams operate. Sales professionals instinctively adjust their approach based on company size, industry, and specific use cases. As Rick Golan, SVP of Growth Marketing at Bill, notes, "Sales will naturally segment in order to best communicate with, best set expectations for, and best sell the product that you have."
Company size frequently serves as a proxy for needs and complexity. A manager at a 2,000-person organization has very different requirements and decision-making processes compared to a small business owner. These natural divisions provide a foundation for more sophisticated segmentation strategies.
Success in B2B segmentation requires balancing rigorous data analysis with real-world sales insights. While large organizations might have teams of PhDs analyzing customer data, smaller companies often rely more heavily on sales team feedback and market testing.
The key is adopting an "explore and exploit" methodology. This means continuously testing different segments while being ready to double down on opportunities that show promise. The story of Divi (now part of Bill) illustrates this perfectly. While the platform wasn't initially built for accounting firms, the team discovered through market exploration that it solved a crucial pain point for accountants and their clients. This discovery led to a highly profitable segment that might have been missed with a more rigid segmentation approach.
To identify and validate segments effectively:
Once you've identified your key segments, the challenge becomes creating targeted messaging that resonates without crossing into what customers might perceive as "creepy" territory. According to research from Smarter HQ, 63% of consumers would stop purchasing from companies whose marketing feels too invasive.
One common challenge is the homepage dilemma – how do you speak to multiple audiences through a single asset? Rather than forcing visitors to self-identify through "Are you X or Y?" buttons, consider a "choose your own adventure" approach. Present key benefits and features that naturally appeal to different segments, allowing visitors to gravitate toward what matters most to them.
Small networks often provide the best opportunities for targeted messaging. When you can speak directly to the specific challenges of a niche industry or role, word-of-mouth marketing – still the most powerful driver of B2B growth – happens naturally.
Implementing effective segmentation requires the right tools and approaches. Popular options include:
The key is working closely with sales teams to identify momentum and amplify success. As Golan puts it, "Great creative work is born out of constraints," and specific segment targeting provides the perfect constraints for creating impactful marketing.
Remember to balance personalization with accuracy. While tools can help identify company characteristics, being wrong about personal details can damage credibility. Instead, focus on business challenges and industry-specific needs that resonate even if some assumptions are slightly off.
Effective B2B segmentation isn't about perfect data analysis – it's about taking action on insights and continuously refining your approach. Start with your natural business segments, validate them through sales team feedback, and test messaging in small networks before scaling.
Remember: "You can't hyper-segment your homepage," but you can create targeted experiences that speak to specific business challenges. Focus on understanding and solving real problems for defined segments, and the results will follow.
The key is to stop overthinking and start testing. Connect with your sales team, identify opportunities, and move quickly to exploit them. In B2B marketing, success often comes from finding and serving smaller networks exceptionally well rather than trying to be everything to everyone.
"When I’m showing off our program to Sr. Leadership and the C-team, those are the metrics I turn to…I'm really thrilled with the results we're seeing and hope you guys know you’re killing it!" – Head of Organic Marketing, Point of Contact at B2B SaaS
Our client is a B2B SaaS customer management software used by small- and medium-sized healthcare businesses.
Our client needed an SEO strategy to break into four target verticals.
We conducted vertical-focused keyword research and created topic clusters for each of the client’s four focus areas. Based on our research, we began delivering 20 content briefs to the client each month.
Traffic and inquiries have increased in each of our four targeted verticals, with a 39% increase in organic traffic YoY; 28% increase in ranking keywords; and 77% increase in organic traffic YoY.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is an important part of digital marketing, where our primary goal is to increase a website's visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs) through both paid and organic strategies. SEM includes a range of activities including paid search advertising, search engine optimization (SEO), and pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, all aimed at amplifying a brand's presence in search results.
To return profits, SEM leverages the power of search engines like Google and Bing, allowing marketers to place their ads in front of motivated customers who are ready to buy at the right time to make conversions happen. This makes SEM a highly targeted, effective, and measurable form of marketing.
SEM bridges the gap between businesses and their potential customers. With millions of people turning to search engines like Google, Youtube, and Microsoft Bing every day to find answers, products, and services, SEM places your brand directly in their line of sight. It’s all about targeted visibility, reaching individuals who have already expressed an interest in what you offer.
SEM offers a level playing field for businesses of all sizes. Whether you're a startup or a Fortune 500 company, SEM allows you to compete for the same space in SERPs, based on the relevance and quality of your content and ads (not just on the size of your budget).
This aspect offers a unique opportunity for growth and expansion.
Lastly, SEM is measurable, generating results in concrete, quantifiable data. This data enables businesses to understand their audience, refine their strategies, and continually improve their marketing efforts for better ROI.
Like most marketing strategies, SEM offers a mix of immediate results and long-term gains. Here are a few specific advantages you can expect in your SEM efforts when performed correctly.
While both Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) aim to increase a website's visibility in search engine results, their approaches and outcomes differ.
SEM is like renting out the top spots in the SERPS, offering immediate but temporary visibility. SEO could be compared to building equity in a property by improving its value over time, leading to lasting visibility. Both strategies are complementary and, when used together, can enhance the overall online presence and effectiveness of a marketing campaign.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) operates on a blend of technology, strategy, and creativity. It involves multiple steps and components working together to increase a website's visibility in search engine results. Here are five recommended steps to take as you begin your SEM efforts.
JK Moving is the largest independent mover in North America, having made over half a million moves. Their residential services include local, long-distance, and international moves. They offer commercial services including office and facility relocation, biotech and lab services, and warehousing and archival services.
JK Moving came to 97th Floor after a previous agency failed to deliver cost-effective leads through JK Moving’s search advertisements.
JK Moving needed a strong partner to take control of disorderly ad accounts and execute a strategy that would consistently deliver leads at a low cost.
97th Floor immediately took a deep dive into the client’s ad accounts, reviewing the entirety of the account history to own a complete understanding of previous and current campaign results.
Based on this audit, 97th Floor’s goal for the account was to maintain and increase JK Moving’s ad’s high conversion rate while decreasing costs and using budget more efficiently to ultimately increase the return on investment.
97th Floor’s meticulous fine-tuning produced a 190% increase in new users to the site, and a 108% increase in leads overall, while lowering JK Moving’s cost per lead by 50%.
Want the details? Read more to get the full picture.
In Search Engine Marketing (SEM), success hinges on understanding and utilizing various methods and metrics. Here’s a quick overview of the ones we’ve found most effective.
Understanding and leveraging these methods and metrics will lead to targeted SEM campaigns, boosting your ROI in digital marketing.
A well-developed SEM strategy ensures your brand keeps pace with and stands out from competitors. Key Elements of an Effective SEM Strategy include:
By focusing on these key elements, you can develop an SEM strategy that reaches your target audience and drives meaningful results, contributing to the overall success of your digital marketing efforts.
In Search Engine Marketing (SEM), the way you structure your account and campaigns matters. A well-organized account is easier to manage, optimize, and scale. It also provides clearer insights into performance, allowing for more strategic decision-making.
A strategic account and campaign structure not only improve the performance of your SEM efforts but also provide a strong foundation for scaling your campaigns as your business grows.
The right targeting strategies can significantly improve campaign performance, increase conversions, and enhance ROI. These strategies involve selecting specific parameters to provide Google with signals to optimize for the highest visibility by your target audience. Here are a few of what we’ve found to be the most effective.
The following tools offer a wealth of data and insights, helping you make informed decisions, track performance, and stay ahead in the competitive digital marketing landscape. Be sure to research which tools will best fit the needs of your campaign.
Each of these tools offers unique functionalities that can enhance different aspects of your SEM campaigns, from keyword research to performance tracking.
SEM is a digital marketing strategy aimed at increasing a website's visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs) through paid advertising and sometimes combined with organic search tactics like SEO.
SEM primarily involves paid advertising (like PPC ads), offering immediate visibility in SERPs, whereas SEO focuses on optimizing a website to rank higher in organic search results over time.
The key components include keyword research and selection, ad creation and optimization, bid management, targeting strategies, and performance monitoring and analysis.
Keyword research is crucial as it helps identify the terms and phrases your target audience is searching for, allowing you to tailor your ads to match their search intent.
Quality Score is a metric used by search engines to assess the relevance and quality of your ads and keywords. A higher Quality Score can lead to better ad positions and lower costs.
The ad auction process determines the placement of ads in SERPs. It considers the advertiser's bid amount and the ad's Quality Score. Ads are ranked and placed accordingly.
Effective strategies include geographic targeting, demographic targeting, device targeting, time-based targeting, and audience targeting (like remarketing).
Yes, SEM can significantly enhance brand awareness by placing your brand at the top of SERPs, thus increasing visibility to a relevant audience.
Success is measured using metrics like click-through rates (CTR), conversion rates, return on ad spend (ROAS), and overall traffic and engagement levels on the website.
SEM can be beneficial for most businesses, especially those seeking immediate visibility and targeted reach. However, the approach should be tailored to fit the business size, industry, and specific marketing goals.
Search impression share shows how often your ad pops up in search results compared to how often it could appear. It’s a percentage that reveals the visibility of your ad and its effectiveness in grabbing attention.
Every time your ad gets displayed, that’s an impression. Whether someone clicks it or not, it counts. Platforms like Google and Meta run ads based on a bidding system. You’re competing with all your competitors for those prime ad spots. Your impression share is the slice of the pie you get from all possible impressions. It’s an indicator of how much of the market your ad is reaching.
Search Impression Share is a key metric for understanding how well your ads are performing. A high impression share means your ad is out there more often than your competitors. It’s a sign of a healthy, strong campaign. On the flip side, a low impression share means it’s time to make some improvements in your ad’s content, targeting, or budget.
A high impression share means your ad is being seen by more people, giving you a better chance to attract potential customers. It’s a clear indicator that your campaign is on the right track. Conversely, a low impression share is a wake-up call to make some changes in your strategy It tells you that your ads are not performing as well as they could be, and it’s time to pinpoint weak spots and perform optimizations.
There are two primary types of impression share: Search Impression Share and Display Impression Share. Understanding both can help you tailor your strategies for different advertising platforms.
This type pertains specifically to ads shown in search engine results. It measures how often your ads are displayed compared to the total number of times they could have been shown, based on your target keywords. This metric is especially important for businesses focusing on search engine marketing (SEM) as it offers insights into the visibility and reach of their ads on platforms like Google and Bing.
Unlike search impression share, this display impression share measures the visibility of ads on display networks. These networks include websites and apps that show ads, where your ad is displayed in various formats like banners or videos. Display Impression Share is an important metric for businesses leveraging display advertising as it indicates the frequency and reach of their ads across a wide range of internet locations.
Now you know what impression share is and why it matters, let’s talk about how to boost it. Here are some best practices and tips to help you get more eyes on your ads.
Here’s a real-life example of what results from ad quality improvement look like.
Sold.com simplifies buying and selling a home by matching customers with a real estate agent. Sold.com knew that Google ads would be a great way to reach new customers, but its ads targeted generic keywords and sent users to the sold.com homepage, handicapping what could’ve been a killer tool for winning business.
97th Floor created a strategy to pull new leads and increase conversion while lowering cost. 97th Floor first began targeting focused search terms such as “how much is my home worth,” and “how to sell my home.” To retain these high-intent leads, our team also changed the ad landing page to the Seller’s Quiz where users can get a customized seller report. We then analyzed reports to cut underperforming ads and prioritize the most effective campaigns.
97th Floor’s efforts boosted ad quality scores and brought ROI and anticipated revenue to levels sold.com has never seen before.
It's important to consider impression share in conjunction with other Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). These related metrics provide a more comprehensive view of your campaign's overall health:
Impression share helps marketers understand the reach and visibility of their ads. It also serves as a barometer for ad competitiveness in the digital marketplace. A robust impression share signifies a strong presence in your target market, while a lower share signals an opportunity for strategic adjustments.
Improving impression share involves a mix of creative ad design, strategic keyword management, intelligent budget allocation, and continuous performance monitoring. By focusing on ad quality, targeting precision, and leveraging data-driven insights, you can take your advertising impact to the next level.
Search Impression Share is a metric that represents the percentage of times your ads were shown out of the total number of times they could have been displayed, based on your target keywords and campaign settings, in search engine results.
It gives insights into how often your ads are seen in search results, indicating the effectiveness of your keyword targeting, ad relevance, and competitiveness in auctions.
A higher impression share often correlates with increased visibility and potential customer engagement, which can lead to more conversions and a better return on investment (ROI).
Key factors include ad quality, keyword relevance, bidding strategy, budget allocation, and overall competition in the ad auction space.
Yes, a low impression share might suggest that your ads are not as competitive, either due to insufficient bidding, budget constraints, or poor ad relevance and quality.
Google calculates it by dividing the number of impressions your ad received by the estimated number of impressions it was eligible to receive, based on your current ads' targeting settings and bids.
While theoretically possible, achieving a 100% impression share is extremely difficult due to variables like budget limitations, competitive bidding, and fluctuating search volumes.
Investigate the cause – it could be due to reduced bids, budget cuts, lower ad quality, or increased competition. Respond by adjusting these factors and optimizing your ad strategies.
Yes, most ad platforms like Google Ads provide tools and analytics for monitoring impression share and offer suggestions for improvement based on campaign data.
Regularly monitoring impression share is key. Depending on your campaign's scale and dynamics, reviewing this metric weekly or bi-weekly can help in making timely adjustments for optimal performance.
Preloved is the original rent-a-booth thrift store, offering sellers and thrifters an asynchronous, in-person marketplace.
Preloved is a franchise business, and they come to 97th Floor in preparation for a new location opening.
To prepare, 97th Floor built a persona-focused content strategy, including two weeks of targeted ads and organic post blasts on Facebook and Instagram. The campaign goals included booth bookings and awareness.
To date, the new location has been the #1 best grand opening for preloved both in terms of attendance and sales dollars. The campaign resulted in 21 bookings from Facebook advertising, a 1.57x ROAS, and a 428% increase in organic reach on Instagram.
For seasonal business owners, demand rises and falls with the changing weather. While seasonality is a unique and perhaps daunting challenge, the predictable rhythm of demand means that those businesses who can sync their marketing with the mandates of sun or snow can have success year-round.
97th Floor is no stranger to seasonal marketing; we’ve executed winning strategies for businesses including pool maintenance, sports equipment, cruise lines, pest control, lawn care, solar, and moving services, just to name a few.
In this article, our resident experts in SEO, content, and advertising share five actionable tips for seasonable business marketers.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a long-term game, and waiting until peak season to focus on it can be a costly mistake. It's essential to begin your SEO efforts well in advance, ideally during the off-season.
Head of SEO Mike Witham says, “You need consistent year round efforts to maintain and improve rankings. If your peak season is in March, you should be ensuring you have solid rankings for core pages by no later than December. Do not start working on it the month before your peak season!”
For businesses serving multiple states or a large region of the country, seasonal demand may be different across these various geographies.
Enterprise advertising specialist Spencer Martin uses Google Keyword Planner to anticipate search volume fluctuations in different areas.
He shares, “We launch campaigns early so that we have 2 to 4 weeks to ramp up and capture the full demand. Campaigns need time to scale and learn, so if we wait until the season starts to launch we lose out on potential profits for our clients.”
While digital marketing is crucial, seasonal businesses can see major wins by looking at more traditional advertising. Enterprise Account Executive Nathan Hooper suggests non-digital forms of advertising, such as mailers or community events to target local audiences. Advertising on community calendar pages or local business directories can put your business in front of potential customers who may be researching local services.
Understanding your buyer and their motives for buying is essential for capturing demand at the right time.
Senior Director of Campaigns Jon Hammond shares that his clients in the travel industry refer to December through February as “The Wave.” This three-month period is the biggest sales period for travel as people look forward to summer sun during the cold, dark winter months. His clients maximize their ad budget and run major deals and promotions during this time to capture the demand.
Content Marketing Specialist Kaylee Baker emphasizes the importance of targeting specific demographics, such as 18-30 or 25-40-year-old males, who are the main consumers of seasonal services. Consider the platforms they frequent, such as YouTube, to tailor your marketing efforts accordingly.
When reporting to leadership, especially in industries with high historical seasonality, like cruises, it's essential to use Year-over-Year (YoY) data rather than Month-over-Month (MoM) data. This approach provides a more accurate depiction of progress or decline in traffic or sales over the seasons. By analyzing YoY data, you can better understand trends and make informed decisions to optimize your marketing strategies.
In conclusion, marketing a seasonal business requires careful planning, adaptation, and understanding of your target audience. By implementing these five tips, you can maximize your marketing efforts and capitalize on seasonal fluctuations in demand.
Meta ads win or lose on creative. Your targeting and budget can be flawless, but if the creative falls flat, the campaign fails. Sharpening your ad creative is one of the highest-return moves you can make on Meta. Strong creative catches attention in a crowded feed, tells a story quickly, and drives action. Any brand can apply these practices to improve performance.
At 97th Floor, we build and test Meta ad campaigns that deliver measurable ROI. These are the Meta creative best practices we see work time and again, backed by real examples you can learn from.
Let’s get into it.
Because they compete on design and emotion, luxury brand ads are great examples for creative execution. As a matter of fact, Meta is basically the only place many luxury brands are putting their paid media dollars. A smattering of ad budget goes to display ads or YouTube, but well over 75% of luxury brands' advertising efforts happen on Facebook and Instagram.
We’ve pulled Meta ads from ten luxury home brands to see how they’re pairing copy and imagery to entice their buyers.
Use these ads and our analysis as inspiration for your own Meta ads; there’s lots to think about here.
You’ve got a second—maybe less. That’s how long your ad has to earn a pause in Meta’s feed. One way to stand out is to create depth in your visuals. It makes static imagery feel more alive and immersive, pulling the viewer in instead of letting them breeze past.
Nearly all of Arhaus’ product photography, including the images in these ads, uses light and shadow to create dimension. The effect is that we can’t help but imagine what the rest of the room must look like – what must be causing those shadows – and it’s breathtaking.
The ad copy further transports us; it’s hard not to feel a warm breeze and hear the chatter of friends and neighbors.
With both imagery and copy, Arhaus’ Meta ads have us daydreaming about the possibilities a new outdoor set can introduce.
Busy feeds are packed with loud colors and visual overload. Sometimes, the most effective creative is the quietest. Giving your product room to breathe with negative space draws the eye and signals confidence. It says, “This is the whole story, and it’s worth a look!”
Instead of staging the pieces as in a home, Maiden Home’s elegance and beauty is presented uncluttered and unadorned, inviting audiences to carefully inspect the shapes and colors at play.
In these examples, the chairs are intriguing enough that standing alone is the only way to do them justice. The pieces make us curious, and the simplicity of the ad compels a click.
Authenticity wins attention on Meta, and nothing says real like content from actual customers. Showcasing your product in real homes or hands builds credibility and sparks ideas for viewers imagining the product in their own lives.
Castlery proves their products’ versatility by featuring the homes of real buyers in their ads. By showing actual living rooms of delighted Castlery shoppers, the ads supply both social proof and styling inspiration for a wide range of homeowners and decorators.
Flat visuals blend in and get forgotten. Using layered colors, tactile textures, and bold materials makes your ad feel more dimensional, more physical, and more emotional. In a fast-scroll environment, that emotional hook matters more than polish.
Giorgetti’s ads feature rich colors and a mix of interesting materials. The spaces feel out of a biopic about a brilliant musician or a mysteriously wealthy young person. We’d love to know what the fabric and the walnut talk about; we’d love to pull those pieces right off the screen and into our front room. Girogetti’s photos and copy promise audiences a “unique and personal” experience that immediately feels natural and inviting.
Want instant relevance? Tie your creative to something your audience is already thinking about. Whether it’s a pop culture moment, a viral trend, or an awards show red carpet, aligning your product with the conversation earns quick attention and clicks.
In this Meta ad, Koket highlights the similarities between Lana del Ray’s Met Gala gown and Koket’s side table. The two are remarkably alike! Whether their Met Gala-inspired Meta ad was a stroke of luck or a careful analysis of the evening’s attire, we’ll never know. Is there an audience match here? Do Koket shoppers love Lana? Not so sure. But perhaps Koket’s audience is abuzz about fashion, design, and what the A-listers wear. Not too much of a stretch, is it?
Words shape perception. If your copy says “elegant,” your visuals better deliver on it. Great Meta ads use language that complements the look, feel, and energy of the product being shown, creating a seamless experience between what’s read and what’s seen. The words and images used in Rove Concept’s ads promise what luxury furniture should provide: sophistication – in your home office, on your balcony, and everywhere else.
Product specs are forgettable. Stories stick. When your copy hints at a journey, a person, or a place, your ad becomes more than just a sales pitch. It becomes an invitation into a narrative your audience wants to join, or better yet, buy into.By giving its audience a few examples of what these stories may be and referencing their globally-sourced products, Currey & Company promises eclectic and delightful pieces without all the tariffs and bubble wrapping that accompany a purchase, and without an online cart. The copy here brilliantly matches the unusual pieces shown in the photos, and we imagine most people are interested in a ceramic cow, truly.
Sometimes the best way to sell a product is not to sell it at all, at least not right away. Ads that offer help, tools, or personalized advice can win trust faster than a discount ever could. Especially in cluttered categories, utility becomes a real differentiator.
Lulu and Georgia Meta ads sell furniture by offering free design support. Clever, ehh? Their Meta ads offer custom floor plans and mood boards made by Lulu and Georgia designers, which we’re confident will be full of Lulu and Georgia rugs, end tables, couches, and decorations. The ad copy here could’ve gone a little farther to exaggerate the pain point: trying to curate a beautiful space is a lot of work. Especially if you’re working off of a Pinterest board on which half of the links to that dreamy chandelier or pinstripe curtain set are missing or broken. Lulu and Georgia could ramp up the language around their unique selling point to strengthen these ads, but we applaud the strategy here.
Your audience isn’t just buying a product; they’re solving a personal need. If what you offer can be tailored to fit them perfectly, lead with that. Customization on Meta is an opportunity to show that you really get your customers. Interior Define’s ads invite their audience to take the designer’s seat and build bespoke furniture, choosing from hundreds of materials, features, and finishes. Surprisingly, the ads don’t focus on the boast of owning one-of-a-kind pieces. Instead, their advertisements offer help and a solution for shoppers who feel they’re never satisfied. Interior Define says, “Don’t settle.” Well, except into your custom couch, I suppose.
The right backstory can instantly elevate your product. Whether you’re born from a famous collab, a niche community, or a cultural hotspot, tying your brand to its origin story builds instant trust and makes your product feel more worthwhile.
The Soho Houses are a collection of beautifully designed homes dotted across the globe as safe havens of inspiration for members-only creatives. Soho Home came to life when guests came begging to know where they could purchase the magnificent pieces curated for each unique House.
As a consequence of this opportunistic arrangement, Soho Home pieces seem bespoke and almost necessary for a creative and inspired space. Their pieces are automatically associated with exclusivity, travel, and the arts. We’d mention the Soho Houses in every one of our Meta ads, too.
Meta Creative Testing and Optimization
Creative fatigue means wasted spend. Even the strongest ad will lose its edge if shown too often. Testing your creative isn’t an optional thing; it’s the backbone of sustainable Meta ad performance.
Use A/B testing to compare different visuals, headlines, CTAs, and copy angles. Meta’s built-in tools like Experiments and A/B Tests make it easy to isolate variables and track results. Don’t just test once; keep testing on a rolling basis. The goal is to find what works now, not what worked last quarter.
Tip: Test early and often, but don’t test everything at once. Focus on one change at a time so you know what’s actually making a difference.
No matter how good your strategy is, the wrong creative can tank performance. Here are a few of the most common mistakes we see on Meta:
The simple fix is to think like your audience. Would you stop to read your ad?
