David Haas has spent almost three decades in marketing, and he’s seen the industry evolve from print to digital to the AI‑driven age we live in today. In the last year, however, he’s taken a different approach that’s proving especially effective for growth‑stage tech and healthcare companies that lack an in‑house SEO team or dedicated content function. By combining a solid SEO foundation with AI‑powered visibility tools, he’s helped brands like Frenos climb the search rankings in record time.
Who Is David Haas?
David Haas is a growth‑focused fractional Chief Marketing Officer. He works with companies that have the budget to invest in marketing but don’t yet have the resources or expertise to build a full‑time SEO or content team. His job is to level the playing field so these organizations can compete with larger firms that have deep marketing departments.
“A solution like Semrush One is an incredible advantage for these companies—typically, they won’t have enough resources and expertise in‑house,” David says. He’s built a repeatable framework that leverages AI search engines to give smaller brands a chance to be discovered.
The Power of a Strong SEO Foundation
When David sits down with a new client, the conversation almost always ends up with the same point: you have to build the base before you build the rest of the tower. Growth‑stage teams often want to jump straight into AI visibility because it feels fast, new, and exciting. But David knows that without a solid SEO foundation, any AI gains are fragile.
He explains, “I tend to sit down and talk strategy, and it always seems to gravitate toward building a solid SEO foundation first, and then building the AI plan on top of that. Once you’ve gotten that and built out your content and backlink strategies, it all just builds on itself.”
By layering SEO and AI in sequence, the two layers reinforce each other. A strong keyword strategy, on‑page optimization, and a healthy backlink profile create the groundwork that AI tools can amplify. Conversely, AI insights can surface new keyword opportunities and content gaps that feed back into the SEO plan.
Building Frenos’s Growth Strategy
Frenos, an operational technology cybersecurity company, was a perfect test case. In July 2025, the brand had almost zero search visibility on Google. By January 2026, Frenos’s visibility score had jumped to 18.32%, outpacing multiple competitors in a niche, highly technical market. The brand’s presence in Google’s AI Overviews also grew steadily over time.
David’s approach to Frenos was based on the “Foundation Up” framework—a step‑by‑step process that starts with measurement and ends with continuous optimization.
Step‑by‑Step Workflow
- Step 1: Establish an SEO Baseline – David began by measuring current performance. He used Semrush One to audit Frenos’s existing site, identify technical issues, and assess keyword rankings. This baseline provided a clear picture of where the brand stood and what needed improvement.
- Step 2: Technical SEO Fixes – The audit revealed several crawl errors, slow page load times, and missing meta tags. David prioritized these fixes, ensuring the site was technically sound and ready for higher rankings.
- Step 3: Keyword Strategy Development – With the technical foundation in place, David mapped out a keyword strategy that balanced high‑volume, high‑competition terms with long‑tail, niche phrases relevant to cybersecurity operations. He also identified content gaps that could be filled with new pages.
- Step 4: Content Creation & Optimization – Frenos’s content team produced high‑quality, data‑driven articles, whitepapers, and case studies. Each piece was optimized for target keywords, internal linking, and user intent.
- Step 5: Backlink Acquisition – David implemented a targeted outreach program, securing backlinks
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