SEO for PE-backed companies, built to compound
Organic search and AI answers that lower blended CAC over the hold, and keep producing after ad spend stops.
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search
renting demand vs owning some of it
Paid media is renting: valuable when CAC and incrementality hold up, and it stops when spend stops. Organic search is closer to owning: rankings and pages keep producing pipeline after the work is done, and a buyer's diligence team can see them.
The risk isn't paid media. It's dependence on bought demand with no compounding asset behind it. Private equity SEO builds that asset, and it should show up as a lower blended CAC, not just more traffic.
paid media vs organic search, over a hold
Most portcos need both. They behave differently over a hold, and a buyer will look at the mix.
When spending stops
paid media
Demand stops
organic search
Most visits keep coming for a time
Cost over the hold
paid media
Tends to rise as competitors bid
organic search
Marginal cost tends to fall as pages and authority build
What the company owns
paid media
The account and the data; the platform owns the inventory
organic search
The pages, the rankings and the demand they bring
In AI answers
paid media
Not a factor
organic search
Part of what AI answers draw on
In diligence
paid media
Judged on CAC and incrementality
organic search
Evidence of demand that doesn't depend on spend
see what search is leaving on the table
The free Portfolio Marketing Audit shows where marketing appears to lose money from the outside, an estimated cost where the evidence allows, and what we'd validate first inside the business, from lost rankings to ad spend covering for weak organic search. No call needed.
how much is marketing adding to EBITDA?
The free audit starts the answer: where marketing is likely losing money, what each leak may cost, and what to validate first.
Free Delivered by email No call needed
proof, not promises
At U.S. Waterproofing, a Rotunda Capital Partners portfolio company, organic search now brings in more leads the company doesn't pay a click for.
u.s. waterproofing · paid and organic search, run together
3 months
Booked out, with more customers asking than the crews can serve (reported by the company)
Paid and organic search, run together
read the case studyu.s. waterproofing · seo and turning visits into leads
+157%
Leads from organic search (1,105 → 2,843)
157% more leads from organic search
read the case studyu.s. waterproofing · seo and articles
+450%
Clicks from Google on “basement waterproofing” (76 → 418)
From position 44 to 24 on “basement waterproofing”
read the case study
buy-and-build breaks search.we fix it first.
Every add-on brings its own website and its own rankings. Migrate the sites badly and years of rankings can disappear in a weekend, along with the pipeline they produced. It's one of the most common, and most avoidable, value leaks in buy-and-build.
We plan the migration across locations and acquired brands before anything moves: redirects mapped page by page, a page for each location, local listings and a cutover plan tied to the brand plan. It matters most in multi-site sectors like home services and healthcare.
what the diagnosis may call for
Search is a lever in the value creation plan, not a side project. It earns budget when the diagnosis shows organic demand is under-built, at risk in a migration, or being covered by ad spend. We size it against the revenue targets and run it with content, AI search (GEO) and the rest of the system.
the SEO program
- Technical audit and fixes
- Keyword research tied to the searches that produce pipeline
- New pages and articles built to rank
- Groundwork for AI answers (GEO)
- Site migrations and consolidation in buy-and-build
- Local search for multi-location companies
- Search Console, analytics and tracking in the company's name
- Reporting on pipeline, not just rankings
questions, answered
Something we didn’t cover? Ask it on the audit form.
SEO planned around the hold period. The goal is organic search demand that lowers blended CAC over time and gives a buyer's diligence team evidence of demand that doesn't depend on ad spend.
Optimizing for inclusion in AI answers from tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Google's AI results. It builds on the same groundwork as SEO: clear, trusted pages, a site machines can read, and third-party validation.
We audit every site before consolidating, map redirects page by page, and plan location and brand pages so rankings carry over instead of starting from zero. We time the migration with the brand decision, not after it.
Technical fixes can show up within weeks. Content and authority build over months, so SEO works best started early in the hold.
Usually not, and not all at once. Paid media buys pipeline now and is worth keeping where CAC and incrementality hold up; organic search builds pipeline that doesn't stop with spend. The right mix depends on your targets, and the audit flags where ad spend may be covering for weak organic search.
keep reading
- GEOGenerative engine optimization agency: raise the odds your company is named when customers ask ChatGPT, Gemini or Google AI who to hire. Free audit.read more
- content marketingThe content marketing agency for private equity: thought leadership that supports deal flow, and portco content tied to pipeline. Free marketing audit.read more
- value creation leversThe four value creation levers marketing contributes to in a PE-backed company: brand, acquisition, retention and exit readiness. Get a free audit.read more
see where marketing is losing you money.
the free audit
what you get
- (01)
Where demand leaks
Search, the website, speed to lead and paid media: the leaks visible from outside the business.
- (02)
What each one may cost
An annual cost estimate wherever the evidence supports one, with the assumptions shown.
- (03)
What to fix first
Fixes ranked by likely payback for the work involved.
- (04)
What we’d validate inside
The CRM, ad and revenue data we’d check first to turn the estimates into numbers for your value creation plan.
what lands in your inbox
how much is marketing adding to EBITDA?
The free audit starts the answer: where marketing is likely losing money, what each leak may cost, and what to validate first.
Free Delivered by email No call needed