About Everstage
Everstage builds sales commission automation software for revenue teams. Founded in 2020 and headquartered in New York, they help RevOps leaders, finance teams, and sales managers automate incentive compensation planning, calculation, and payout.
The product was winning deals. But Everstage had limited visibility on Google and across emerging AI searches for high-intent queries like "sales commission software" and "incentive compensation management."
Competitors and third-party review platforms were capturing that visibility instead.
Why did Everstage come to us?
Everstage had a strong product. But AI search didn't reflect that.
Missing category coverage: Everstage lacked dedicated pages for high-intent keywords like "commission tracking software".
AI search gap: Everstage had no citation visibility across Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Perplexity.
- ~54,000 monthly organic sessions
- 778 keywords ranking in positions #1–3
- Limited SERP feature ownership
- Zero presence in AI search platforms, i.e., no citations in ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, AI Mode, or Gemini
- 120 MQLs per month
Authority gap: At DR 41, Everstage trailed competitors with DR 60+.
Content bottleneck: Their internal team couldn't support the volume of content needed to compete.
- Data quality
- Data lineage
- Data catalog
- Data governance
- Metadata management
Where they started: 225 daily visits, 155 top-3 keywords, DR 41, 400 referring domains, 0 category pages.
- Increase top-3 keyword rankings
- Capture featured snippets
- Expand keyword footprint across adjacent categories
- Build sustainable, compounding organic growth
Our approach
Building a Content Engine for AI Search Dominance
Everstage needed more than higher Google rankings. We built a content engine designed to capture buyers across the funnel and increase visibility in Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Perplexity through AEO, GEO, SEO, and content marketing.
1. Intent-led content architecture
Mapped high-intent keywords using Ahrefs and Semrush. Built category pages and TOFU/MOFU blog clusters around sales commission software, incentive compensation, and related buyer queries.
2. SERP research and content planning
Analyzed the top 10 Google results to identify search intent, content gaps, and ranking opportunities. Used Clearscope to strengthen semantic coverage and optimize briefs before drafting.
- Informational vs commercial intent
- Comparison vs definition queries
- Buyer-stage alignment
3. AEO- and GEO-optimized content
Added TL;DR summaries, FAQs, direct-answer blocks, and credible sources to make content easier for AI platforms to extract and cite. Structured pages to target both traditional search and AI-generated answers.
- Content depth benchmarks
- Schema and formatting patterns
- Featured snippet structures
- Comparison table placement
4. AI-assisted content production
Combined ChatGPT and Perplexity with human research, editing, and quality reviews. Published 20+ long-form blogs within two months while scaling the broader initiative to 200+ pages over 14 months.
- Featured snippet capture
- Definition clarity
- Structured lists
- Comparison sections
- SERP-friendly formatting
5. Internal linking and authority building
Connected related pages to strengthen topical relevance and guide readers across the funnel. Supported this with strategic outreach, growing referring domains from 400 to 1,500 and DR from 41 to 51.
- Accuracy and domain credibility
- Strong E-E-A-T signals
- Brand alignment
- Contextual authority
- Internal linking precision
6. Continuous content optimization
Tracked rankings and content performance, then refined pages using Clearscope and SERP insights. Updated underperforming articles and expanded successful topics to capture more organic and AI search opportunities.
- Meta titles and descriptions
- Keyword placement strategy
- H1–H3 structure
- Schema alignment
- Featured snippet formatting
- Transition optimization
- Crawl depth and internal link mapping
Results
14 months. 200+ pages. Here’s what moved.
Everstage’s organic growth accelerated across every major SEO and AEO KPI.
.webp)
.avif){kind=icon}