Who handles the work • 17 years
See who will actually shape your strategy, execution, and communication.
If you want to know who will actually handle the work after the first call, this page gives you that answer directly. The same senior team shown here shapes strategy, technical quality, authority building, and client communication across 13,277+ campaigns delivered over 17 years.
Quick answer
This page exists to answer a high-stakes buyer question fast: “Who is actually behind the work?” The answer is that the same senior team presented here is shaping strategy, technical execution, authority work, and communication. If you want to verify the system around them, review the media page, founder profile, and case studies next.
13,277+
SEO Campaigns
17 Years
In the Game
100% U.S.-Based
Headquartered in Lansing, MI
1,900+
Page-1 Rankings
3 Strategists
Zero Outsourcing
Leadership
The Team Behind the Campaigns
Operating model
Senior strategy stays inside the same room from planning through execution
The premium difference is not just experience. It is continuity buyers can actually verify. Matt sets direction, Danielle pressure-tests technical quality, Marc strengthens authority pathways, and Cathy keeps the communication layer clear and human.
That means buyers do not have to translate strategy across departments or wonder whether the people they met in the sales process are still close to the work once the engagement begins.
Matt LaClear
Founder & Chief Strategist
SEO Strategy
Web Development
Sales & Growth
Campaign Architecture
GEO
Matt is the person buyers evaluate when the question is who sets direction, sequences priorities, and stays close to the work after kickoff. He leads strategy, sales, and web development, helped shape more than 13,277+ SEO campaigns, wrote Authority First, and hosts Rankings and Retainers for operators who want practical tactics instead of fluff. He is still directly involved in the work, not just the meetings, and runs the business from Lansing, Michigan.
Danielle Peffers
Senior On-Page & Technical SEO Strategist
On-Page SEO
Technical SEO
Site Audits
Client Relations
Core Web Vitals
Schema & Structured Data
Danielle is the person buyers should care about when the open question is who protects technical quality and on-page performance once the strategy is set. She leads audits, on-page strategy, and technical SEO priorities across a campaign portfolio shaped by more than 13,277+ SEO campaigns. A former partner in the business, she stepped back from leadership responsibilities to spend more time with her family, but never stepped back from the work itself. She still drives technical clarity, implementation judgment, and client-facing quality control with the same intensity she always has.
Marc LaClear
Senior Link Acquisition Strategist
Link Building
Guest Post Outreach
Authority Strategy
Editorial Placements
Backlink Analysis
Marc is the person buyers should look at when they want to know who builds real authority instead of chasing low-quality backlink theater. He has spent 17 years leading link acquisition strategy across healthcare, finance, legal, home services, and other competitive markets inside a campaign history of more than 13,277+ SEO engagements. Marc thinks editorially, not transactionally, so every placement has a purpose and a trust standard behind it. He is a big part of why the authority layer inside the LaClear operating model still feels disciplined and personal.
Specialization Map
Who Owns What Inside the Operating Model
The team stays intentionally small, but each person owns a distinct layer of campaign performance. That separation is part of what keeps strategy, execution, and communication from getting diluted.
Matt LaClear
Owns positioning, growth strategy, campaign architecture, and commercial fit — including the book, podcast, and founder authority layer that supports the brand publicly.
Best fit: buyers who need direction, sequencing, and a senior view of what to prioritize first.
Danielle Peffers
Owns technical audits, on-page structure, Core Web Vitals, schema quality, and much of the clarity clients need when technical work has to become a real action plan.
Best fit: pages with structural drag, underperforming service content, and implementation details that need senior QA.
Marc LaClear
Owns outreach quality, editorial placement strategy, and authority-building decisions that help rankings hold up in competitive and trust-sensitive markets.
Best fit: brands that need stronger trust signals, cleaner link profiles, and authority growth without shortcuts.
Cathy LaClear
Owns the communication and coordination layer that keeps the agency responsive, organized, and human while the strategists stay focused on the work itself.
Best fit: every engagement that needs smooth onboarding, clear next steps, and fewer dropped details.
Proof by buying question
Use the team page to verify the person behind the concern you are trying to reduce
Most buyers do not actually need “more bios.” They need to know whether someone identifiable owns strategy, technical quality, authority building, or communication before they trust the engagement enough to move forward.
You are questioning sequencing or commercial fit
Review the founder profile
See founder context →
You are worried about technical drag or weak on-page quality
Review Danielle’s technical SEO profile
Review the technical layer →
You are worried about authority quality and backlink risk
Review Marc’s authority-building profile
Review authority strategy →
You are worried about responsiveness and client experience
Review Cathy’s client-continuity role
See the continuity layer →
Behind the Scenes
The Glue That Holds It Together
Cathy LaClear
Client Relations Specialist
Client Communication
Admin & Operations
Scheduling
Account Support
Cathy is the person buyers should think about when they want to know who keeps communication, coordination, and day-to-day responsiveness reliable after the first conversation. She handles the operational side of the client experience, makes sure details do not slip through the cracks, and is often the first friendly voice clients hear when they reach out. Her role is a major reason the agency can feel organized and human at the same time.
Process
What buyers can expect from the way this team operates
You hire three strategists — not a department. Every campaign that leaves this agency is touched by the same team that's been building them for 17 years. Matt sets the strategy. Danielle makes sure the technical foundation is bulletproof. Marc builds the authority that makes rankings stick. There's no intake team, no junior handoff, no "your new account manager" email three months in. We stay small so we can stay good — and so every client gets the senior-level attention that most agencies reserve for their biggest accounts.
Authority Footprint
The Team Works Inside a Public, Verifiable System
Buyers do not have to trust invisible expertise here. The founder profile, the podcast, the media appearances, and the team structure create a visible authority trail around the work.
Founder Profile
See the strategic background behind the team
The founder profile explains the methodology, background, and commercial thinking behind how this team operates.
View founder profile → Media & PressReview the public authority footprint
Podcast appearances, published resources, and interview materials show the expertise is not trapped inside private client work.
See media page → ServicesSee how the team is mapped to delivery
Service pages show how strategy, technical cleanup, authority building, and communication are organized into real deliverables.
Review services →Founder context
How the founder layer helps buyers verify the system around the team
Matt wrote Authority First as a step-by-step playbook for becoming the obvious choice in your market — the same framework the agency runs on every day. He also hosts Rankings and Retainers, a podcast built for SEO professionals and agency owners who want real tactics from real campaign data, not recycled theory. For buyers, this founder layer matters because it makes the thinking behind the team easier to inspect in public. For bios and interview resources, see the media & press page, or learn more in Matt’s full profile.
Delivery Structure
How the team supports execution
Each senior lane exists to keep strategy, implementation, and client communication aligned.
Strategy
Planning, sequencing, and commercial prioritization
Technical SEO
Site health, crawlability, and implementation quality
Authority building
Trust assets, positioning, and supporting content systems
Client experience
Expectation-setting, communication, and accountable follow-through
Common follow-up questions
How should serious buyers use the team page?
Best use of this page
Use the team page to verify the delivery model and who owns which lane. Use the founder, media, and guarantee pages when you need deeper trust validation beyond the headshots.
Does this page show the real delivery team?
Yes. The point of this page is to make the operating model visible before the first call so buyers can see who owns strategy, technical quality, authority building, and communication.
What should I review after the team page?
Move next to the media page, founder profile, case studies, and guarantee terms if you are verifying trust from multiple angles.
When should I book a consultation?
Book once the team structure, public proof, and service model all look credible enough that you want help mapping the right next step for your business.
Let's Talk
Ready to Talk Strategy?
No pitch decks. No pressure. Just a straightforward conversation about where you are, where you want to be, and whether we're the right team to get you there. If we're not the right fit, we'll tell you that too.