Core Optimisation
Core Optimisation is a Shannon, Ireland-based digital marketing and transformation agency delivering SEO, paid search, paid social, programmatic, digital PR, and AI consultancy services to enterprise and mid-market clients across retail, FMCG, tourism, technology, and finance sectors in Ireland, the UK, and beyond.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersShannon, Ireland
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Core Optimisation does
Core Optimisation Ltd is a Shannon, Ireland-headquartered digital marketing and digital transformation agency founded in 2015 by CEO Caroline Dunlea and COO David Brett. The firm positions itself as a results-driven growth partner for enterprise and mid-market clients, with a documented go-to-market emphasis on sales-led enterprise engagement, including competitive pitch wins such as Tesco Ireland. Its service portfolio spans digital strategy, search engine optimisation, paid search (PPC), paid social (Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn), programmatic buying, data measurement, digital PR (added through the June 2025 ClearStory International acquisition), Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO), and AI consultancy. The company holds Google Premier Partner status (top 3% of Irish Google Ads partners) and Meta Business Partner status, supported by Enterprise Ireland. Recognition includes Irish eCommerce Large Agency of the Year 2025, four consecutive Deloitte Technology Fast 50 rankings, a Deloitte EMEA Technology Fast 500 ranking in 2024, and Great Place to Work certifications in 2025 and 2026.
The operating model is professional services-based, generating revenue through ongoing retainer contracts, project engagements, and performance-based arrangements across mid-market (€3k–€20k+ monthly budget intake) and enterprise clients. Technology comprises AI-driven real-time bidding across Google DV360 and The Trade Desk, GA4/GTM implementation, bespoke dashboards in Looker Studio, Tableau, and Power BI, cross-channel attribution frameworks, and creative/DDC analysis. Distribution combines direct sales, website lead capture with budget tier intake, and strategic referrals, including a partnership with Enterprise Ireland. The ClearStory International acquisition added PR capabilities across media relations, thought leadership, influencer partnerships, and crisis communications, broadening the integrated brand narrative offering.
The customer base includes 70+ to 80+ brands across retail/FMCG (Tesco Ireland, WaterWipes, ARYZTA Ireland, Carraig Donn, Kilkenny Design, Keans Claremorris), food and agriculture (Tirlán), tourism and hospitality (Fáilte Ireland, The Grafton Hotel, Wren Urban Nest), and technology/finance (via ClearStory's 200+ clients across 35+ countries). The firm employs 60+ specialists across Ireland and the UK, with a headquarters in Shannon, a Dublin office opened in March 2026, and planned North American and MENA expansion capitalised by a €500,000 investment in 2025.
Core Optimisation firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Core Optimisation
- Legal name
- Core Optimisation Ltd
- Website
- https://coreoptimisation.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Core Optimisation is a Shannon, Ireland-based digital marketing and transformation agency delivering SEO, paid search, paid social, programmatic, digital PR, and AI consultancy services to enterprise and mid-market clients across retail, FMCG, tourism, technology, and finance sectors in Ireland, the UK, and beyond.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Core Optimisation is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Shannon
- HQ country
- Ireland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Core Optimisation business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Digital Marketing Agency Services: Full-service digital marketing services including digital strategy, SEO, PPC/paid search, paid social, content strategy, data & analytics, and digital PR. Revenue generated through ongoing retainer contracts, project-based engagements, and performance-based arrangements with clients across multiple sectors.
- Digital PR Services: Integrated PR services following ClearStory acquisition, including media relations, thought leadership, influencer partnerships, reputation management, and crisis communications.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Monthly | Small business digital marketing budget |
| Other | Monthly | Mid-market digital marketing budget |
| Other | Monthly | Enterprise digital marketing budget |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels9 records
Core Optimisation product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Core Optimisation is a full-service digital marketing and digital transformation agency delivering an integrated portfolio of services: Digital Strategy, SEO, Paid Search (PPC), Paid Social, Digital PR, Data Measurement, Programmatic Buying, Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO), and AI Consultancy. Services are delivered as retainer, project, and performance-based engagements to mid-market and enterprise clients across retail, FMCG, tourism, technology, and finance sectors in Ireland, the UK, North America, and MENA. Following the June 2025 acquisition of ClearStory International, the offering combines performance marketing with full-service PR capabilities.
Product overview
Core Optimisation is a full-service digital marketing and transformation agency that offers an integrated suite of services rather than a unified software product. The portfolio includes Digital Strategy, SEO, Paid Search (PPC), Paid Social, Digital PR (enhanced by ClearStory International acquisition), Data Measurement, Programmatic Buying, Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO), and AI Consultancy. These services are delivered as ongoing strategic engagements and campaigns, combining data-driven insights with creative execution to drive customer acquisition, retention, and lifetime value for clients across retail, FMCG, tourism, tech, and finance sectors.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Digital Strategy Strategic digital planning and consulting services that align digital efforts with business goals, audience needs, and market opportunities through data-driven insights, audience segmentation, and performance benchmarks; for businesses seeking a structured digital roadmap.
- Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) SEO services improving website visibility on search engines through on-page optimisation, technical SEO, content strategy, and Answer Engine Optimisation for AI-driven search results; for businesses seeking organic traffic growth.
- Paid Search (PPC) Pay-per-click advertising management across Google Ads and Bing Ads, including campaign strategy, keyword targeting, ad copywriting, bid management, and conversion tracking; for businesses seeking direct-response performance from search engines.
- Paid Social Social media advertising services across Meta (Facebook & Instagram), TikTok, and LinkedIn, including audience targeting, creative development, bid optimisation, and campaign performance tracking; for brands seeking paid social customer acquisition.
- Digital PR Digital public relations combining ClearStory International's global PR expertise with performance marketing — including media relations, thought leadership, influencer partnerships, and reputation management; for brands seeking integrated earned-media coverage.
- Data Measurement Analytics and measurement services including measurement strategy, first-party data segmentation, Google Tag Manager implementation, custom dashboards in Looker Studio/Tableau/Power BI, and creative analysis; for businesses needing attribution and ROI visibility across marketing channels.
- Programmatic Buying Programmatic advertising using AI-driven real-time bidding across Google DV360, The Trade Desk, and other platforms, with audience data integration, cross-channel attribution, and dynamic creative optimisation; for advertisers running large-scale display and video campaigns.
- Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) Optimisation services for AI-powered search engines, voice assistants, and Google's Search Generative Experience, using structured data, schema markup, and content structured for featured snippets; for brands seeking visibility in AI-driven search.
- AI Consultancy AI strategy and transformation consultancy including AI maturity assessment, workforce training, strategy development, and governance frameworks for ethical AI adoption; for organisations adopting AI across marketing and operations.
Quantifiable outcome
- Tirlán multi-brand: MyMilkman cost down 9%, sign-ups up 20%; FarmLife cost down 32%, ROAS up 44%; CountryLife cost down 27%, ROAS up 29%
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Core Optimisation
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Core Optimisation technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Core Optimisation partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- ClearStory InternationalcoreCore Optimisation acquired ClearStory International, an international PR agency founded by James McCann in 2017. The acquisition integrates ClearStory's PR capabilities into Core's service offering and expands the client base across tech, finance, defence, and hospitality sectors. ClearStory's 200+ clients across 35+ countries are now part of the Core Optimisation group, accelerating growth into North America and MENA markets.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights7 records
Core Optimisation competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Greenlight Digital: UK digital marketing agency with a similar performance-led SEO and paid media offering, serving mid-market and enterprise brands. Comparable on service portfolio and target customer type, with slightly larger scale.
- Hallam Internet: UK-based full-service digital marketing agency (SEO, PPC, paid social, PR) of comparable scale. Closely comparable to Core Optimisation in service breadth, mid-market and enterprise mix, and Google/Meta partnership positioning.
- Jellyfish: Global digital marketing agency offering paid media, SEO, content, analytics and programmatic across The Trade Desk and DV360 — directly overlapping Core Optimisation's paid media, programmatic and analytics service lines for enterprise clients.
- Croud: UK-headquartered digital performance agency with a similar service portfolio (paid media, SEO, programmatic, analytics) and a tech-enabled delivery model. Direct comparable on services, geography (UK/international) and enterprise client focus.
- Wolfgang Digital: Ireland-based digital marketing agency of comparable size and service mix (SEO, PPC, paid social, analytics). Wolfgang Digital is one of Core Optimisation's most direct competitors in the Irish mid-market and enterprise segment, with similar Google Premier Partner positioning.
- Tug (Brainlabs): Performance digital agency (now part of Brainlabs) covering SEO, paid media, programmatic and analytics for enterprise clients. Comparable service mix, tech-platform integration (DV360/Trade Desk), and client profile to Core Optimisation.
Broad incumbents
- dentsu: Global advertising and media services holding company offering paid media, programmatic, SEO and analytics at global scale. Direct overlap on the media-buying and analytics services Core Optimisation provides, but with vastly broader geographic and balance-sheet reach.
- WPP: World's largest advertising holding company with agencies (GroupM, Ogilvy, VMLY&R) covering media, creative, PR, and digital. Competes for the same enterprise clients as Core Optimisation in cross-border RFPs and represents the global benchmark the company must scale to challenge.
- Publicis Groupe: Global advertising holding group with strong digital, media, and data practices (Publicis Media, Sapient). Competes with Core Optimisation in enterprise media and digital transformation mandates, particularly via Publicis's Epsilon data capabilities.
Others
- ClearStory International: Acquired by Core Optimisation in June 2025, ClearStory is now its wholly-owned PR subsidiary rather than an independent peer; included here for reference as the PR capability that shapes Core Optimisation's integrated offering and international footprint.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Core Optimisation social profiles
Digital presenceCore Optimisation financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Core Optimisation leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
Core Optimisation subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Core Optimisation funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Core Optimisation M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Core Optimisation
What does Core Optimisation do?
Core Optimisation is a full-service digital marketing and digital transformation agency delivering an integrated portfolio of services: Digital Strategy, SEO, Paid Search (PPC), Paid Social, Digital PR, Data Measurement, Programmatic Buying, Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO), and AI Consultancy. Services are delivered as retainer, project, and performance-based engagements to mid-market and enterprise clients across retail, FMCG, tourism, technology, and finance sectors in Ireland, the UK, North America, and MENA. Following the June 2025 acquisition of ClearStory International, the offering combines performance marketing with full-service PR capabilities.
Is Core Optimisation a public or private company?
Core Optimisation is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Core Optimisation founded?
Core Optimisation was founded in 2015. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Core Optimisation based?
Core Optimisation is headquartered in Shannon, Ireland, in the Europe region.
How does Core Optimisation make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Digital Marketing Agency Services are the primary driver. The others are digital PR Services.
Who are Core Optimisation's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Greenlight Digital, Hallam Internet, Jellyfish, Croud, Wolfgang Digital and Tug (Brainlabs). Broad incumbents are dentsu, WPP and Publicis Groupe. ClearStory International is listed as an others.
Does Core Optimisation have an API?
No public API is recorded for Core Optimisation.