Twelve years of operating experience expressed as numbers you can verify, with three case studies linked at the end where the named client will confirm our work on a 15-minute reference call.
Ottawa SEO Inc. was founded by Martin Vassilev in 2014. Twelve years of continuous operation under the same ownership, the same brand, and largely the same senior team. The agency has operated through every major Google update from Penguin to the 2024 Helpful Content System and the 2025 Core Updates.
Why this matters: most SEO is done by agencies less than three years old. The tactics that win in a 90-day window are often the tactics that get a site penalized in month nine. A 12-year operating record is the first proxy for "this agency knows what does not blow up later."
Cumulative work since founding:
- **200+ client engagements** completed across services, e-commerce, legal, medical, SaaS, and trades. - **3,400+ pages of strategic content** shipped on client sites. - **18,000+ backlinks earned** through digital PR, original research, and relationship-driven outreach (zero from paid networks). - **41 active retainer clients** as of April 2026. - **84% twelve-month retention** (see Transparency Report 2026 for the full denominator).
We have meaningful operating experience in:
- Legal services (personal injury, family, immigration) - Medical & dental practices - Trades and home services (HVAC, roofing, electrical) - B2B SaaS (Series A through Series C) - Multi-location retail and e-commerce - Professional services (accountants, consultants, financial planners) - Construction and engineering
"Meaningful operating experience" means: at least five engagements in the vertical, at least one currently active, and we can show you the playbook for that vertical.
Three current clients have agreed to take 15-minute reference calls with serious prospects. The client list, what they will discuss, and how to book the call is provided after a mutual NDA is in place. This is the only credible way to verify an agency's experience and we make it easy.
Yes. Three named current clients will take a 15-minute reference call after a mutual NDA. They will tell you what we did, what worked, and what did not.
Twice in 12 years. Both before 2018, both inherited situations from prior agencies that we worked through and recovered from. Details available on request.