Simonne Raffa is at the head of “De main de maître”, a dog behavior company launched in June 2013 with 3 customers.
In October of the same year, she invested in a small, very simple website and in our Web – SEO trainings.
This young business leader (23 years old) who now has about fifteen employees tells us about the rise of her company thanks to its positions on the Internet, its Web marketing and… her work that she did not count.
His rise is due to his great capacity for work since having only a very small budget, our services have been limited to
- the creation of a very basic site under WP + Genesis
- SEO training and courses
- On-demand support and advice
An article that shows that:
- That with training and work, you can take care of the optimization of your website and
- that quality positioning is accompanied by customer conversions
And that’s what counts
Note that since the publication of this article on June 16, 2016, the site has progressed further to reach more than 55,000 monthly visits at the end of 2017.
then more than 100,000 in November 2018 (updated)

The Analytics curve shows a steady increase in traffic and peaks of up to 4800 visits per day.
This summer update shows the continued rise of the site, which now reaches 235,000 page views per month.
From canvassing to online presence
June 2013 – Opening of the company, creation of a website (Demaindemaître.ca) by herself in pure HTML.
July 2013 to October 2013 – Canvassing partners (veterinarians, groomers, pet shops) intensively in order to be referred to their organizations, but also to organize collaborative activities.
She realizes that her website is not visible in search engine results, and despite all her reading and all her personal attempts, she can’t get anywhere!
During this period, she pays a “fortune” (in relation to her income) in Adwords campaigns (more or less $500 per month).
A simple website and training
October 2013 – Contact with the SME SEO agency and creation of a new very basic website, without design, SEO.
It also invests in training in the SEO management of the platform, and an optimized writing course.
In the field, Simonne continues to look for partners, and to organize various activities and competitions alongside them.
November 2013
As soon as the website redesign is online, it gets more visitors who turn into customers.
- the ergonomics of the site,
- its aesthetics although basic,
- his texts are longer and better designed (more mature language, texts with more developed arguments)
I apply the basics of “search engine oriented” writing with more understanding and finesse
A first inbound link creation campaign
It commissions us to carry out a backlink campaign (publication of articles on other sites, pings from other sites, etc.
Simonne then forced herself to write one article per week that she published on her site or offered as guest articles on other portals.
In the top 3 in less than 4 months
November 2013 to April 2014 –
The website rises to the first page of Google results on master queries and brings its share of customers. As of April 2014, the company will stop Adwords campaigns.
During this period, Simonne has also followed the backlinking training, and she tries to make a link “every morning” (via forums, in comments on articles on blogs, and on guest articles from partner sites)
She attends the best Canadian e-marketing conferences.
Time well invested on Facebook
A must-see site on the Web on the theme of dog training
May 2014 to November 2014 –
The website is recognized in the dog field, and attracts at least 300 unique visitors every day. Simonne is taking advantage of her rise to prominence to seek larger partnerships with related companies (major brands of dog food and accessories).
December 2014 to May 2015 –
In December, following the advice/coaching of our SEO consultants, she took advantage of the seasonal drop in customers to do a BIG cleaning (update of best practices) on the site, and reworked her internal networking.
We also improve the loading speed of the site.
In less than 2 weeks, the site skyrockets on every query imaginable, sometimes having 2 or 3 pages displayed in Google or Bing results for the same query.
Marketing with multiple channels.
In the field, it continues, twice a year, to tour companies that offer related services and forges links with new partners.
June 2015 to August 2015:
The site now receives 27,000 page views each month, for 21,000 unique users, which propels the opening of the online store where it sells a puppy guide, and clothes for their owners.
Online payment solution
Most of the services offered in groups are payable directly online, which simplifies the management work.
Simonne offers free events with partners, offers new services, she publishes 2 times a month content that responds to the problems encountered by dog owners (she has hired an excellent writer, but continues to optimize her texts herself).
In the summer of 2015, the company operates with 4 dog trainers, the year no longer knows a slow period.
Direct referral efforts with
- veterinary clinics,
- pet shops or
- groomers
cover only a minimal influx of new customers. 90% of its new clientele comes from the Web.
I believe that the way people shop has changed a lot over the years, and that people rely on their own research to contact a professional, more than on direct reference.
Installation of a newsletter on the website
September 2015 to December 2015:
Given the number of visitors to the site, it was decided to set up a newsletter script that would promote the group activities offered by Demaindemaître. The enthusiasm is considerable and is propelling the sales of these activities.
In December, 2 new educators joined the team, increasing the number of employees to 6 people.
From 1 to 7 employees in two years
January to March 2016
Hiring a customer service manager significantly increases customer satisfaction and the speed of appointment fulfillment.
At the same time, the site uploads at least 4 new pages or articles per month.
It is a real reference in the French-speaking dog world, with more than 155,000 page views per month
To continue writing quality content, Simonne surrounds herself with two dog world enthusiasts.
Since January 2016,
- The company hires one new dog trainer per month, sometimes two;
- It now covers the Quebec City region, from Sherbrooke, Granby to Mont-Tremblant in addition to the greater Montreal area, its first market;
- 15 dog trainers are involved in the company.
More popular than ever because it is more affordable, the company now gives 8 group classes per week as well as one seminar per week.
At only 23 years old, his professional life is rich, not to say over-busy
The visibility of Demaindemaître.com on the Internet in figures
Review of the SEO agency’s services.
- Redesign of the site on the Genesis framework $500
- Adword Campaign Setup $180
- Basic SEO Training + Web Writing $400
- Training netlinking $185
- One-time advice over 3 years $400
- 1 month netlinking campaign $600
That’s a $2200 file spread over 5 months… and a lot of personal work.
And you, how much did you spend on the SEO optimization of your website?
SME SEO in Montreal 438 875 0503
Read also about training
Any other SEO cases experienced?