The launch button gets pressed. Then the marketing starts from zero.
Two products ship the same month. One team briefs a marketing agency after launch, and six weeks later that agency is still learning what the product does. The other team had positioning, SEO, content, and AI-citation groundwork running since week one of the build.
By launch day, Google has already indexed one of them. The brand is already turning up in AI answers. The campaigns are built, tracked, and ready to switch on.
The difference was never the marketing budget. It was the sequence.
Launch day should be the middle of your growth story, not the first page.
The average software product takes six months post-launch to start generating meaningful organic traffic. Add the time to hire a growth agency, brief them on the product, and get campaigns live: you hand competitors who launched later a nine-month head start.
The problem is sequencing. Product work and growth work run back to back at most companies. Build finishes. Then marketing starts. By the time a marketing agency understands the product well enough to position it accurately, the launch window has closed and Google has indexed your competitors instead of you.
RaftLabs runs both tracks simultaneously: the product track (Discover, Design, Build, Ship) and the growth track (Position, Foundation, Content & Brand, Launch & Scale). We have taken 30+ products from build to their first paying customers over 9+ years of full-lifecycle engagements, rated 4.9/5 by clients on Clutch, with organic rankings typically landing within 90 days from zero.
While the product is being designed and built, the growth motion is already moving. Positioning is defined from the same discovery interviews that shape the product. SEO and AI visibility foundations are laid while the codebase is written. Social profiles are built, content starts earning impressions, and your brand starts getting cited in AI answers before launch day arrives.
This works when growth runs with the build, not months behind it.
Everything on the left should already be true for your company. Even one thing on the right, and a one-off audit or a single freelancer is the smarter first step.
A fit01You are building or have just launched a software product and want growth moving before launch day, not months after.
02You would rather one company own both the build and the go-to-market than brief a separate agency from scratch.
03You have budget for a monthly retainer and want every channel measured against revenue, not impressions.
Not a fitYou want a strategy document handed over, not a team that runs the campaigns.
You judge marketing on impressions and reach rather than trial signups, activation, and revenue.
You need a single one-off channel audit, not a continuous growth engagement.
What we build
Strategy and foundation, built while we build your product
ICP definition, competitive positioning, messaging hierarchy, and a channel plan tied to your unit economics and launch timeline. Built from the same user research that shapes the product, not a persona workshop conducted after the build is done. You leave week one with a written strategy, a prioritized channel stack, and a 90-day activation plan.
02AI search visibility: AEO, AIO, and GEO
The next generation of search is AI-generated answers. When someone asks ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, or Gemini a question in your category, your brand should be the one cited. Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) structures your content to appear as the direct answer. AI Overview Optimization (AIO) gets your brand featured in Google's AI-generated summaries above traditional results. Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) builds the authority signals AI models use to decide which sources to cite. We build all three into the content strategy from day one, not bolted on after the fact.
Organic search foundation that starts compounding before launch. Technical SEO audit, keyword cluster mapping, on-page optimization, link-building strategy, and a content calendar tied to commercial intent. We do not treat SEO as a channel separate from AI visibility, the same content that ranks on Google is the content that earns AI citations when structured correctly.
Google Business Profile setup and optimization, local citation building, NAP consistency across directories, and geo-targeted landing pages for businesses that serve specific markets. If your product or service targets customers in London, Sydney, or Chicago, local search is a channel your competitors are almost certainly not using correctly. We build the local footprint during the product build so it has traction by launch day.
High-performance landing pages, campaign microsites, and conversion-optimised web properties built for speed, search, and lead capture. Not a full product build: targeted web engineering for the marketing surfaces your campaigns point to. Page speed, Core Web Vitals, structured data, and conversion tracking configured from the start.
06Analytics and attribution
Measurement infrastructure configured before a single ad is run. GA4 setup, conversion event tracking, UTM taxonomy, and multi-touch attribution wired in at the product level, not retrofitted six months after launch. Every marketing decision your team makes is backed by data that shows channel contribution to revenue, not to clicks. We set this up during the build so the historical data exists from day one.
Content and brand, building presence before your competitors notice
01Content strategy and development
A content plan built around keyword clusters, funnel stages, and sales-cycle intent, not a blog calendar invented from thin air. We map every content type (article, case study, comparison, guide, video script) to a search query your buyers are already asking, a funnel stage it serves, and a metric it is expected to move. Content is produced in-house: written, edited, and published to brand standards. No generic AI output, no content for content's sake.
Ongoing editorial output that compounds over time. Blog articles, long-form guides, case studies, pillar pages, and comparison content targeting high-intent keywords with low-to-moderate difficulty. Content tied directly to your AEO and GEO strategy so every piece has a dual purpose: ranking in traditional search and being cited as a source in AI-generated answers. Volume scales with your retainer. Quality does not drop.
03Building online brand presence
Structured brand visibility across every surface where your buyers spend time (organic search, AI answers, social platforms, review sites, and industry directories. This is not vanity metrics) it is the deliberate construction of the authority signals that AI models, investors, journalists, and buyers use to evaluate your credibility. We build the digital footprint that makes your brand look like the obvious choice before anyone books a call.
Brand-consistent visual assets for every channel: social graphics, ad creatives, email headers, landing page illustrations, pitch deck visuals, case study layouts, and infographics. Designed to the brief, not templated. Every asset is sized and optimized for the platform it runs on. Fast turnaround without a separate agency relationship or a three-week briefing process.
Earned media strategy: identifying the publications, podcasts, and newsletters your buyers trust, crafting the angles that editors will cover, and managing the outreach to land placements. PR placements build the authority signals search engines and AI models weight heavily, a brand cited in TechCrunch, Forbes, or a niche trade publication earns link equity, social proof, and AI citation credibility simultaneously. We manage the PR motion in-house as part of the growth retainer.
Growth and acquisition, the channels that bring buyers to you
- 01
Social media marketing
Platform-specific strategy and execution across LinkedIn, Instagram, X, Facebook, and TikTok: whichever channels your buyers actually use. Organic social that builds community and brand authority, not just follower counts. Content calendars tied to campaign launches, product milestones, and content publishing. Community management and engagement. Monthly performance reports showing reach, engagement, and traffic driven to your site.
- 02
Influencer marketing
Identifying, vetting, and managing partnerships with creators and subject-matter experts who have genuine audiences in your category. Not follower-count chasing: micro and mid-tier influencers with real engagement rates in your niche consistently outperform large accounts with disengaged audiences. We manage briefs, content approvals, payment, and performance tracking so you are not running an influencer program on top of everything else.
- 03
Performance marketing
Paid search and paid social campaigns built for measurable acquisition, not impressions. Google Ads, Meta Ads, and LinkedIn Ads with conversion tracking and attribution configured before spend starts. Every channel is evaluated against cost per acquisition at your unit economics, if a channel cannot generate positive-ROI leads at your average contract value, it gets cut, not optimized indefinitely. You see cost per trial, cost per MQL, and cost per closed deal, not cost per click.
- 04
App store optimization
App Store and Google Play keyword strategy, metadata optimization, screenshot copy, and review management for mobile products. For apps we build, ASO starts before submission, you rank on target keywords from day one, not after 60 days of guessing. For existing apps, we audit the current metadata, rebuild the keyword strategy from search volume data, and implement changes with measurable ranking uplift.
- 05
Lifecycle and email marketing
Onboarding sequences that activate trial users, retention campaigns triggered by product behavior, and win-back flows for churned accounts. Email is the highest-ROI channel for most SaaS and app-based products when it is tied to product events rather than a weekly newsletter blast. We build the sequences alongside the product so activation triggers are wired in from launch, not bolted on six months later when churn is already a problem.
- 06
Conversion rate optimization
Landing page A/B testing, pricing page optimization, onboarding flow analysis, and funnel drop-off identification tied to real behavioral data. CRO without measurement is guesswork, which is why attribution and event tracking are configured before any test runs. You see where users drop, why they drop, and what the fix is worth in incremental revenue before committing to the change. Winning tests ship. Losing tests are documented so you do not run the same experiment twice.
We know the product before we write a word of copy. Go-to-market strategy built by an agency that spent three weeks learning the product is strategy built from assumptions. We run discovery with your users before the first sprint. That research shapes the positioning, the ICP, the keyword clusters, and the AEO content strategy, not a persona workshop conducted after the build is done.
AI citation authority is built during the build, not after. The entity associations, topical authority signals, and structured content that AI models use to decide which brands to cite take months to build. Starting after launch means your competitors, who started earlier, have a compounding lead. We start the moment the product strategy is defined.
Attribution is built into the product, not retrofitted. Instrumentation decisions (which events to track, how to structure funnel data, how to tie trial signups to acquisition channels) cost a fraction when made at build time. Add them six months post-launch and the historical data is already gone.
No cold-start on launch day. By the time the product ships, the SEO foundation has been running for months, early content is ranking, AI citations are accumulating, and campaigns are ready to activate. You arrive at launch with momentum, not a blank slate.
Which part of your growth is stuck?
Tell us where you are: just launched with no traction, spending on ads with no attribution, or building a product and want marketing to run alongside it. We will scope the right engagement.
How it works
From strategy to scale
Every growth engagement starts with a strategy sprint. Nothing runs without measurement configured first.
- Week 1
01Diagnose
We audit your current marketing state: what channels have been tried, what data exists, what attribution is in place. We define your ICP from discovery research, identify the AI answer opportunities in your category, map the funnel, and configure measurement before any spend begins. You leave week one with a written channel strategy and agreed KPIs.
- Weeks 2-3
02Build the foundation
Channel selection, content plan, AEO and GEO strategy, campaign architecture, and keyword research. Paid campaigns are architected before spend begins. SEO and AI visibility technical foundations are implemented. Social profiles are built or audited. Analytics tracking is confirmed live across all active channels.
- Week 4
03Launch
Paid campaigns go live. First content pieces are published. Social profiles start posting. App Store metadata is submitted. PR outreach begins. Every channel that activates launches with tracking confirmed and attribution verified: no spend runs without measurement. You see the numbers from day one.
- Month 2 onward
04Grow
Weekly performance reports against agreed KPIs. AI citation tracking alongside organic ranking reports. A/B tests on channels already generating results. Losing channels cut fast, winning channels expanded. Monthly strategy review to adjust the channel mix as data accumulates and your market understanding deepens.
Growth marketing is priced on a monthly retainer, not a per-project fee. Where you land depends on active channels, content volume, and the paid media we manage, not negotiation:
- One-week strategy sprint
- A fixed-fee sprint to define the channel stack, agree the KPIs, and confirm the monthly retainer before the ongoing engagement begins.
- Monthly retainer, $3,000-$15,000
- Ongoing execution across your active channels. The range depends on the number of channels, content output volume, and the paid media budgets we manage. We charge for our time and strategy, not a percentage of ad spend. Paid media budget runs through your own accounts.
What it costs
A monthly retainer priced on channels and output, not a cut of your ad spend.
Every engagement starts with a fixed-fee strategy sprint to lock the channel stack and KPIs before the retainer begins.
$3,000-$15,000Per month, by scope. We charge for our time and strategy, not a percentage of ad spend. Paid media budget runs through your own accounts.
We run the work: strategy, content, campaigns, and reporting. Not a strategy deck and a handshake.
Measurement before spend
No campaign runs without attribution configured first. You see cost per trial and cost per acquisition by channel from day one, not after three months of unattributed spend.
Weekly, not quarterly
We report weekly on spend, results, and variance against plan. If a channel underperforms, you hear about it in the same week's report with a recommendation, not at the quarterly review.