Sophia Deluz-Bhan, COO and co-founder of Search Atlas Group, has scaled the AI-powered search marketing company from $2M to $30M ARR in five years—profitably, entirely remote, and without massive VC funding—through operational excellence and a contrarian multi-brand strategy.
The 250+ employee company now operates 3 distinct brands serving enterprise, mid-market, and SMB segments, positioning itself at the forefront of Answer Engine Optimization as traditional SEO undergoes its most significant transformation in decades.
The Contrarian Start: Agency-First in a Software World
While most tech entrepreneurs chase SaaS from day one, Deluz-Bhan and co-founder Manick Bhan took a different path in 2019. They launched LinkGraph, an enterprise SEO agency, before building software.
“Starting with the agency was strategic,” Deluz-Bhan explains. “It generated immediate revenue, funded our product development, and most importantly, built enterprise relationships that would inform everything we built later. We were solving real problems for real clients, not building in a vacuum.”
That agency-first approach proved prescient. LinkGraph scaled to $10M ARR by 2022, serving major enterprise clients including Roto-Rooter, Shutterfly, and Serena & Lily. More crucially, it revealed market gaps that would shape the company’s flagship AI product, OTTO SEO.
Building for Scale: Remote Operations as Competitive Advantage
Deluz-Bhan made another contrarian call: building Search Atlas as remote-first from day one, pre-pandemic, when most companies still viewed remote work skeptically.
“Remote wasn’t just about geography. It was about building scalable operational systems from the ground up,” she notes. “We implemented documentation culture, async-first communication, and output-based performance management that could scale to hundreds of employees across dozens of countries.”
That infrastructure became Search Atlas Group’s secret weapon. While competitors struggled with remote transitions during the pandemic, Search Atlas seamlessly scaled from 50 to 150 employees without missing a beat.
The company’s performance management system focuses on outcomes rather than hours, enabling high-performing team members across different time zones and work styles to thrive. This approach has become increasingly relevant as AI search marketing demands rapid iteration and cross-functional collaboration.
Strategic Expansion: The Signal Genesys Acquisition
In 2022, Deluz-Bhan led Search Atlas Group’s first major M&A transaction, acquiring Signal Genesys, a press release distribution platform. The move expanded the portfolio to 3 brands and showcased her operational leadership.
“Most companies acquire and then struggle with integration,” industry observers note. “Sophia successfully integrated operations, go-to-market strategies, and product synergies across 3 distinct business models.”
The acquisition created an ecosystem approach that differentiated Search Atlas from competitors offering point solutions. Clients could now access enterprise SEO services, AI-powered search marketing software, and press distribution through one unified partner.
OTTO SEO: Years in the Making, Built by Practitioners
The 2024 launch of OTTO SEO represented the culmination of years of product development informed by real client needs. Deluz-Bhan oversaw the entire launch process, from product positioning to sales strategy, customer success infrastructure, and marketing coordination.
“OTTO wasn’t built by engineers who thought they understood SEO,” Deluz-Bhan states. “It was built by practitioners solving problems we encountered daily with enterprise clients. That’s why it’s positioned for Answer Engine Optimization, not just traditional SEO.”
The platform addresses the seismic shift happening in search marketing as AI-powered answer engines transform how users discover information. Traditional SEO tactics are becoming obsolete; OTTO SEO helps businesses optimize for how AI systems surface and present information.
The multi-segment go-to-market strategy Deluz-Bhan designed targets enterprise clients through LinkGraph upsells, mid-market companies through product-led growth, and SMBs through digital marketing partnerships, maximizing reach across the entire market.
Market Validation: $30M ARR and Industry Recognition
Search Atlas was awarded the “Best SEO Global Software Suite” at the 2024 Global Search Awards, validating Deluz-Bhan’s operational execution and the company’s technology positioning. The recognition came as the company hit $30M ARR, representing 15x growth from its 2019 starting point.
“Reaching $30M ARR profitably, without burning through massive VC rounds, proves there’s an alternative path,” Deluz-Bhan reflects. “Operational excellence, strategic growth, and building what customers actually need can create sustainable, high-growth companies.”
The achievement is particularly notable in an industry that experienced rapid consolidation and widespread layoffs. While competitors raised hundreds of millions and struggled to find product-market fit, Search Atlas grew methodically through revenue generation and strategic acquisitions.
The accolades continued to pile up. Capterra named Search Atlas the #1 SEO Platform of 2024, with the platform maintaining a 4.9 out of 5 average rating. Software Advice selected Search Atlas as a Front Runner for SEO Platform, while GetApp designated it as a Category Leader. Gartner voted Search Atlas the #1 SEO platform for customer satisfaction and usability.
Search Atlas earned the “Best AI Search Software Solution” award at the Global Search Awards 2025, cementing its position as a leader in AI-powered search marketing
Visionary Leadership in AI Search Marketing Evolution
Deluz-Bhan’s leadership extends beyond operational metrics. She has positioned Search Atlas Group at the intersection of 3 major trends: AI transformation of search, the rise of answer engines, and the shift from manual to agentic marketing.
“The next five years will see more change in search marketing than the previous twenty,” she predicts. “Companies that understand Answer Engine Optimization, that build AI into their workflows, that think in terms of agent-driven marketing—those are the ones that will dominate.”
Her vision has shaped Search Atlas Group’s product roadmap, with OTTO SEO incorporating AI capabilities that automate previously manual SEO tasks while maintaining the strategic thinking that separates high-performing campaigns from mediocre ones.
Team members describe Deluz-Bhan as an inspiring leader who maintains high standards while empowering employees to own their domains. Her operational playbook emphasizes clear documentation, autonomous decision-making, and accountability—creating a culture where distributed teams execute with the precision of co-located ones.
The Operational Playbook: Lessons from $2M to $30M
Deluz-Bhan’s scale-up approach offers lessons for other AI marketing companies:
Start with revenue generation, not just product development. The agency-first model funded growth and provided market intelligence that informed better product decisions.
Build scalable systems early. Remote-first infrastructure, documentation culture, and output-based management scaled from 50 to 250+ employees without major restructuring.
Think ecosystem, not point solutions. The multi-brand portfolio addresses different customer needs and creates competitive moats through integration and complementary offerings.
Time major launches carefully. OTTO SEO launched as the market shifted toward Answer Engine Optimization, positioning Search Atlas as a leader rather than a follower.
Prioritize profitability over growth-at-all-costs. Sustainable unit economics and strategic acquisitions created durable competitive advantages.
Looking Forward: Agentic Marketing and the Next Phase
As Search Atlas Group enters its next growth phase, Deluz-Bhan is focused on agentic marketing—where AI agents handle complex, multi-step marketing tasks with minimal human intervention.
“We’re moving from tools that assist marketers to agents that execute marketing strategies,” she explains. “OTTO SEO is evolving to enable that future, where businesses set strategic goals and AI agents optimize search presence across traditional engines and AI answer platforms.”
The company is also expanding its enterprise offering, leveraging LinkGraph’s relationships to introduce OTTO SEO to Fortune 500 companies facing the Answer Engine Optimization challenge.
With 250+ employees, three proven brands, and $30M in annual recurring revenue, Deluz-Bhan has built one of the fastest-growing AI search marketing companies by focusing on what many startups overlook: operational excellence, sustainable growth, and solving real customer problems.
“We’re just getting started,” Deluz-Bhan concludes. “The transformation happening in search creates massive opportunities for companies that combine practitioner expertise, operational discipline, and genuine AI innovation. That’s exactly what we’ve built.”
About Sophia Deluz-Bhan
Sophia Deluz-Bhan is COO and co-founder of Search Atlas Group, which she scaled from $2M to $30M ARR. She has built Search Atlas as a fully remote organization of 250+ employees. Search Atlas was awarded Best SEO Software Suite (Global Search Awards 2024), Best AI Search Software Solution (Global Search Awards 2025), and named #1 SEO Platform by Capterra with a 4.9/5 rating. Sophia advocates for work-life integration over balance and designs operational systems that enable working mothers to lead without sacrificing presence. She also operates Paz Sanctuary, an animal rescue across two countries.
