Whether in strip malls or search engine results, big-box businesses dominate the digital and brick-and-mortar business landscapes. Between the major players funneling millions of dollars into advertising every year and growing competition for bandwidth, it has become increasingly difficult for small businesses to have their voices heard. Perhaps then, the future of digital advertising lives not in paid targeted ads but in something else. According to GR0, SEO is king.

GR0 is a digital marketing agency created by co-founders and long-time friends Kevin Miller and Jonathan Zacharias at the start of 2020. Despite the countless challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, GR0 has managed to flourish and become a pioneer in the world of organic SEO.

While improving SEO is beneficial for businesses of any size, it is particularly helpful for small businesses trying to grow brand awareness and increase traffic to their websites. SEO stands for search engine optimization, which determines how high a website ranks on Google search results. Sites with stronger SEO appear at the top of the page, whereas those with lower SEO drop to the bottom.

Earning a higher ranking, particularly the #1 search result spot is hugely beneficial for growing businesses. In fact, that #1 spot has over a 25% percent click-through rate. Statistically, sites with strong SEO are much more likely to generate traffic than websites lower on the results page. This coveted #1 spot cannot be bought outright, which evens the playing field between small businesses and major corporations. Instead, SEO is grown organically.

One way that GR0 supports organic SEO growth is through performance PR marketing. GR0 has relationships with major news outlets such as Forbes, The New York Times, and CNN.

Reporters reach out to GR0 directly for expert sources when researching new articles and feature GR0’s clients in their online articles alongside a link to their company’s website. Building a web of backlinks from trusted news outlets helps create online authority, traffic, and trust.

Not only does GR0 have strong relationships with major news sources, but the LA-based firm also works with a myriad of celebrities, influencers, and public figures. At GR0, small businesses can get their products and services in the hands of influential people who they wouldn’t have access to otherwise. GR0’s influencer partners can even create reviews of these products or services, which are a powerful tool when supporting social media campaigns.

These partnerships allow consumers to learn about products organically from figures they already know and trust, rather than being forcefully exposed through intrusive paid advertising. SEO is a more affordable alternative to paid advertising for small businesses, and it helps build consumer-to-business relationships while shaping their brand image.

For example, GR0 partnered with Ritual, a company made by women for women that sells healthy, nutritional products and supplements for prenatal care, postnatal care, and everyday use. Despite launching successful Facebook and Google campaigns, Ritual found itself hitting a wall when it came to growth. By using a combination of content writing, performance PR, and on-page optimization, GR0 was able to help Ritual organically expand its reach and client base.

Lauren Kleinman, one of the founders of Ritual, had this to say about her experience working with GR0: “Kevin [Miller] was an amazing SEO/SEM asset at Ritual. So much so that I’ve brought GR0 onto the 15+ DTC clients I work with at Dreamday, who have all had great experiences. There is no one else that I would think to recommend!”

Since partnering with GR0, Ritual has claimed the #1 result spot on searches for “prenatal vegan vitamins.” Additionally, within one year, GR0 helped expand Ritual’s website traffic from 12,000 unique monthly visitors to 65,000. Similar results would have cost $164,000 through traditional paid advertising.

GR0 tailors its approach to each company’s needs, no matter the scale or industry. Part of what allows GR0 to generate such personalized work is their large team of staff writers. GR0’s writing team is located across the country, coming from diverse geographical and professional backgrounds. This allows businesses to build their catalog of SEO-optimized content while sharing well-researched and engaging blog posts, articles, and more with their customers.

In just over one year, GR0 has helped countless businesses thrive during an economic crisis. With the tremendous success GR0 has seen themselves, they’ll be staying at the forefront of organic growth SEO for some time.

“Since we began operations in 2020, our employees have been working through the growing pains of being a new agency and persevering to bring us to a place where we can be acknowledged as one of the top SEO firms,” says Miller. “We will continue to work hard to prove that we can apply outstanding work and strategic insights to our clients’ needs, industries, and markets.”