The campaign ran in one of the most densely populated cities in America. On top of that, private investigators are fairly competitive online anywhere in the world. New York multiplies both. Here are the areas we covered to make sure we did the best job possible.
- Directory citations across directories built for investigators, plus broader local citations
- Guest posts that earn high authority backlinks in true crime, legal, and insurance verticals
- New website with a custom WordPress theme built from scratch for the brand
- SSL certificate, which is table stakes, but you'd be surprised how many PI sites still don't have one
- Blogs on his website, with 600+ programmatic location × case type pages
The 800 Pound Gorilla Problem
David is an Emmy Award winning private detective. He didn't understand why platforms like Thumbtack were able to show up ahead of his business in Google search. The honest answer is hard to swallow. Sometimes it's not just the local competition you have to outperform. It's also enterprise level directories that market themselves to every city in the country simultaneously.
Within a span of 90 days we were able to outperform them. As David put it, "they're like the 800 pound gorilla since they market their directory to every city in the country as well as New York." The process was not easy. But it worked.
For the full technical breakdown of the build, including the custom WordPress theme, the 600+ programmatic page architecture, and the citation strategy, read our NYIA case study.
What Made the Campaign Work
Real Content, Not Fluff
Our processes are in line with what Google actually wants to see before it ranks a business higher in organic search. That holds no matter the client or situation. The articles and content we produce fit the people most likely to read them. They also provide actual value instead of just fluff. No fluff content here.
Content for the sake of keyword density has always been a poor strategy. In 2026 it's not just poor. It's actively penalized. The Helpful Content Update and later algorithm refinements made it brutally clear that thin, AI slop content gets buried. We knew this in 2018. We know it harder now.
Organic Guest Posts, Not PBNs
We do guest posts in a truly organic fashion to create backlinks for our clients. We do not purchase them and we do not use shady sites like Private Blog Networks (PBNs). Google's link spam updates have gotten so good that link profiles built on PBNs get devalued or penalized within months. The shortcut isn't worth the eventual collapse.
Real guest posts on real publications with real readers. That's the only link strategy that compounds over years.
What's Next for Our Private Investigator in New York
David wants to expand and will be adding offices across the country to grow his offerings. In addition to many common areas a private detective handles, he offers the services below.
- TSCM (Technical Surveillance Countermeasures) debugging services
- Domestic surveillance
- Armed security
- Overseas investigation
- Locating missing persons
A Personal Note About Trusting Your Client
With many clients I can't honestly say I'm certain they do a great job for their customers. At the end of the day, we're their external marketing firm, not an audit team. With David, I can say with absolute certainty he is great at his job.
Recently, a partner company we do business with had an employee steal financial information from them, including some of ours. With a quickness you'd only see in a movie, David was able to locate the gentleman, assist in necessary police intervention, and resolve the matter in two hours. His quick support protected our business from any amount of frustrations that could have been caused by that issue.
I thought surely when I called him it would be a couple of days at best. He had the information I needed back in my hands inside two hours. I've never dealt with most of David's staff. But that personal experience gave me a deeper look at what he excels at than we usually get with most clients.
If you need a private investigator that's great, hire David Schassler at New York Intelligence Agency. If you need a digital marketing firm that ranks for "best local SEO company" because we actually are, hire us. Either way, you'll be in good hands.
