An honest look at where our Ottawa SEO team uses AI in client work — research, schema generation, draft acceleration — and the lines we won't cross because Google and clients can both tell the difference.
Ottawa SEO Inc. is a senior-led search agency founded in 2014 by Martin Vassilev. We run technical SEO, local SEO, content programs, and AI-search optimization (GEO) for Canadian businesses — from law firms and medical clinics in Ottawa to e-commerce brands across Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, and Calgary. Every engagement is led by a strategist with at least seven years of in-the-trenches SEO experience, not a junior account manager. We do not subcontract client work to overseas teams, we do not use generic templates, and we do not promise rankings we cannot defend. What we do promise is a clear plan, transparent reporting in plain English, and measurable movement in qualified organic traffic within 60 to 90 days.
AI is now part of how every serious SEO team works, and pretending otherwise is dishonest. We use large language models for keyword research at scale, draft acceleration, schema generation, internal-link planning, and competitor gap analysis. We also use AI to monitor how our clients appear inside Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, ChatGPT search, and Claude. The work AI does well is the boring, structured, repetitive part. The work AI does badly — and where we refuse to use it — is original strategic thinking, customer-voice research, expert review, link outreach, and anything a client would be embarrassed to put their name on. Every page we ship is reviewed and edited by a human strategist before it goes live. That is the line.
A typical engagement begins with a 90-day strategic foundation: a full technical audit, a Core Web Vitals pass, a content gap analysis against your top three competitors, a local presence cleanup (Google Business Profile, citations, schema), and a 12-month editorial calendar. From month four we move into compounding execution — publishing one to four pages per week, building topical authority around the entities that actually matter to your business, earning links through digital PR and resource pages, and tightening internal navigation as the site grows. We measure progress in qualified organic sessions, branded vs non-branded share, AI-engine citations, and assisted conversions — never in vanity ranking screenshots.
Our client base is concentrated in Ottawa, Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and Halifax, with a long tail of smaller markets across Ontario and Quebec. Vertically, we have deep operating history in legal services, medical and dental clinics, healthcare startups, B2B SaaS, professional services, e-commerce, and home services (plumbing, HVAC, roofing, construction). Most of our engagements run six to twenty-four months. We are not the right fit for every business — if you need a 30-day campaign, a 00/month retainer, or guaranteed first-page rankings, we will refer you elsewhere. We are the right fit when you want compounding organic growth built by people who understand both Google's technical guidelines and how Canadian buyers actually search.
Every engagement starts the same way: a free 30-minute strategy call. A senior strategist (not a salesperson) will review your site live, identify the highest-leverage opportunities, and give you an honest assessment of how we can help — even if that assessment is that you do not need us. There is no pitch deck and no pressure. Book a call from the contact page or email hello@ottawaseo.com.
Senior-led teams, transparent reporting, and a methodology proven across hundreds of Ottawa businesses.
Most clients see meaningful movement within 60–90 days and full ROI inside 6–12 months.
Yes. We offer fully integrated SEO, PPC, content, and digital PR through our packages.
Yes. We work with clients across Canada, with a particular focus on Ontario and Quebec markets.
A 90-day strategic commitment, then month-to-month.