Kern Media

What Kern Media does

Kern Media is a privately held, founder-led SEO consulting firm established in 2016 by Dan Kern and operating as Kern Media LLC out of Fort Collins, Colorado. The firm delivers white-hat search engine optimization services — including Technical SEO Audits, SEO Content Audits, Content Marketing Strategy, Lead Generation Marketing, eCommerce SEO, and Staff SEO Training for publishers — to a client mix spanning e-commerce retailers, lead-generation businesses, and online publishers. Notable engagements include Crown Publishing Group (Penguin Random House), Writer's Digest, North Light Shop, Costa Rica Escapes, Bridge Education Group, Linford & Company, Knotty Tie, and Customer Communications Group, with stated outcomes such as doubled organic eCommerce revenue and a 7x traffic lift for Writer's Digest over six months.

The firm operates without proprietary software or AI components, relying instead on industry-standard tooling — Screaming Frog, Moz, SEMRush, Ahrefs, Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Buzzsumo, and Deep Crawl — combined with the founder's nearly two decades of SEO and inbound marketing experience. Dan Kern holds Google Analytics and HubSpot Inbound certifications, and the firm carries a registered Kern Media® trademark and listings on UpCity, Clutch, and Thumbtack directories as third-party credibility signals. There is no indication of funding, acquisitions, or institutional investment.

The business model is professional services: project-based engagements, multi-year contracts, and month-to-month retainers priced in the $100–$200/hour industry band cited (with agencies clustering around ~$150/hour). Go-to-market is consultative and sales-led via website consultation forms and direct phone outreach, targeting both local Colorado and national U.S. clients. The firm describes a selective intake ("carefully chooses clients that are prepared for success"), with capacity scaling through 1099 contractor SEO consultants recruited as needed rather than FTE conversion.

Name

Kern Media

Legal name

Kern Media LLC

Website

https://kernmedia.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Kern Media is a founder-led SEO consulting firm in Fort Collins, Colorado, delivering technical SEO audits, content strategy, eCommerce SEO, lead-generation marketing, and publisher SEO training to U.S. e-commerce, lead-generation, and online-publisher clients via project and retainer engagements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

SEO Consulting Services

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAFAJAH

SEO Content Strategy & Production (Topic Research, Editorial Planning)

Business & Public Services/Marketing, Advertising & PR Services/Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Services

Keywords

• SEO consulting services
• Technical SEO audits
• Content marketing strategy
• ECommerce SEO
• SEO training

Headquarters

HQ city

Fort Collins

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations

Revenue model

1. SEO Consulting Services: Professional SEO consulting delivered through project-based engagements, monthly retainers, and ongoing consulting relationships. Services include SEO audits, content strategy, technical SEO, and SEO training. Typically involves 6-month initial engagements or month-to-month arrangements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Kern Media is a Colorado-based SEO consulting firm that delivers white-hat search engine optimization services focused on driving organic traffic, leads, and revenue growth for clients. Offerings span technical SEO audits, content audits, content marketing strategy, eCommerce SEO, lead generation marketing, and SEO training for online publishers, executed as consulting engagements and monthly retainers rather than as a software product.

Product overview

Kern Media is a Colorado-based SEO consulting company founded in 2016 that offers a portfolio of specialized SEO services delivered as consulting engagements rather than a software platform. Their service offerings include Technical SEO Audits, SEO Content Audits, Content Marketing Strategy, Lead Generation Marketing Services, ECommerce SEO Services, and Staff SEO Training for Publishers. These services are designed to help businesses improve organic search traffic, generate leads, increase eCommerce sales, and grow publisher revenue through white-hat SEO techniques, content strategy, and technical optimization.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SEO Content Audits Comprehensive content audit service that identifies content quality issues, duplicate content, indexing problems, and optimization opportunities to improve search engine rankings and protect against algorithm updates.
• Staff SEO Training + SEO for Publishers SEO training service that teaches editorial teams how to research keywords and properly optimize web content to maximize ranking potential, designed for online publishers and content creators.
• ECommerce SEO Services Specialized eCommerce SEO service focusing on technical SEO, unique product descriptions, category page optimization, and content marketing to grow traffic and online sales for retail websites.
• Content Marketing Strategy Professional content marketing strategy service that includes audience personas, keyword research, editorial calendar planning, and content tactic recommendations to drive traffic and conversions.
• Lead Generation Marketing Services Marketing service focused on generating leads for service-based businesses through SEO, content optimization, audience targeting, and technical optimization to drive qualified traffic and conversions.
• Technical SEO Audit Technical SEO audit service covering crawl efficiency, robots.txt optimization, XML sitemap improvement, redirect implementation, and rendering fixes to ensure search engines can properly index websites.

Quantifiable outcome

• North Light Shop doubled organic search revenue within one year through product and category page optimization
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Ignite Visibility: Ignite Visibility is a San Diego SEO agency offering technical SEO, content marketing, eCommerce SEO, and SEO training programs. Comparable to Kern Media across service categories, client segments, and the publisher/editorial training niche.
• HigherVisibility: HigherVisibility is a US-based SEO agency offering technical SEO audits, content strategy, link building, and full-service SEO retainers across eCommerce, publishing, and lead generation. Directly comparable to Kern Media in service mix, customer segments, and boutique-to-mid-market positioning.
• Bruce Clay: Bruce Clay is a long-established US SEO consultancy offering technical SEO audits, content strategy, and SEO training. Highly comparable to Kern Media as an audit-led, training-inclusive boutique with deep publishing and eCommerce credentials.
• SEO.com: SEO.com is a long-standing US SEO agency providing technical audits, content marketing, and link building. Comparable to Kern Media as a full-service boutique SEO consultancy targeting mid-market and enterprise clients.
• Coalition Technologies: Coalition Technologies is a US SEO and eCommerce-focused digital agency offering technical SEO, content strategy, and Shopify/eCommerce SEO services. Strong overlap with Kern Media's eCommerce SEO offering and its focus on helping mid-tier retailers compete against Amazon.
• Straight North: Straight North is a Chicago-based SEO and digital marketing agency offering technical SEO audits, content strategy, and SEO consulting for B2B and eCommerce clients. Overlaps Kern Media's boutique-consulting approach, audit-led engagements, and emphasis on organic revenue outcomes.

Emerging players

• Moz: Moz is an SEO software platform offering tools, educational content, and a managed SEO service arm. Comparable to Kern Media in client overlap (both serve eCommerce and publishers) and toolset (Moz is a tool Kern Media uses), and a competitor for SEO consulting dollars via its services arm.

Others

• Ahrefs: Ahrefs is an SEO tool platform used by Kern Media in its audits, and the company has begun offering branded SEO services and education. Adjacent rather than directly competitive today, but a rising ecosystem participant in the same SEO services value chain.

Broad incumbents

• WebFX: WebFX is a large, established digital marketing agency offering SEO alongside PPC, web design, and broader inbound marketing services. Sits in the same SEO services category but with a much wider portfolio and scale that Kern Media competes against for mid-market SEO budgets.
• Conductor: Conductor is an enterprise SEO platform with consulting and managed services for large brands, including publishing and eCommerce clients. Overlaps Kern Media at the upper end of the publishing vertical (e.g., large publishing houses) where both sell organic traffic growth and editorial workflow enablement.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kernmedia
• Facebookfacebook.com/KernMedia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kern-media-llc

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kern Media