CASE STUDY

iPullRank

How a Leading U.S. SEO Agency Secured Two Data Relevance Engineers for Enterprise

300+

Targeted outreach contacts across the search

Bespoke stack-specific technical assessments created

Unicorn Data Relevance Engineers placed for enterprise

iPullRank

iPullRank is one of the most respected SEO agencies in the United States, trusted by some of the world’s most recognizable brands, including American Express, Adidas, Etsy, Target, Nordstrom, and Coinbase.

The agency is led by Michael King, who was named AI Search Marketer of the Year by Search Engine Land in 2025, receiving this award in recognition of his leadership and innovation in SEO and AI-driven search strategy as the founder and CEO of iPullRank.

The bar for talent at iPullRank is exceptionally high: every hire must be capable of operating at an enterprise level from day one.

The brief

When Mike King came to Search For Hire, referred by mutual trusted advisor Nick Eubanks, he had a very specific need: two Data Relevance Engineers who could hard-code Python scripts for automation, demonstrate a deep and current understanding of SEO, and still hold their own in client-facing conversations.

The challenge

The challenge was that these two skill sets are almost polar opposites in the talent market.

The most technically gifted engineers rarely want to be client-facing. The most polished SEO strategists rarely have the depth of coding ability required.

Candidates who claimed to have both were often either vibe-coding with AI assistance or relying on a degree from a decade ago.

“Most technical SEOs don’t want to be client-facing.

They’d rather be in the weeds with the technology, building automations and pushing AI to its limits. To merge those two skill sets (which are almost polar opposites) was the challenge.“

— Daris Benallal, Head of Recruitment at Search for Hire

The process

Search For Hire treated this as a flagship search. Over 300 outreach contacts were made and more than 100 candidate calls were conducted. To ensure no candidate reached the client without being genuinely qualified, eight bespoke technical tasks were created, each tailored to the specific skill set of the individual candidate.

For example, a candidate proficient in Python received a Python-specific challenge, while another working in PHP received a task designed around their stack. This prevented any candidate from reaching the interview stage under false pretences, protecting iPullRank’s time and ensuring every introduction was a genuine fit.

Additional Differentiator: Golden Recruitment Formula

Before any candidate was introduced, they were sent a link to Search For Hire’s Agency Growth Club podcast episode featuring Mike King. This gave candidates a deep understanding of iPullRank’s culture, growth plans, and expectations, adding cultural pre-alignment to the technical vetting process as part of the Golden Recruitment Formula approach.

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The outcome

Both roles were successfully placed. The two new hires are now integral members of the iPullRank team, contributing to work for some of the world’s most demanding enterprise clients.

One of the placed candidates, Patrick, has since been featured as a speaker in a live iPullRank webinar, a clear signal of the quality and impact of the placement.

SUMMARY

Results

RESULTS	IMPACT
Both Roles Placed	Two Data Relevance Engineers successfully hired for enterprise-level client work at one of the most respected SEO agencies in the US.
300+ Targeted Outreaches	Flagship-level search effort, not a volume spray, but a precision-targeted approach to surfacing genuinely rare hybrid talent.
100+ Candidate Calls Conducted	Every shortlisted candidate was deeply evaluated before being introduced to iPullRank, protecting the client's time at every stage.
8 Bespoke Technical Assessments	Each task tailored to the candidate's actual stack, Python challenges for Python engineers, PHP challenges for PHP engineers, eliminating AI-assisted surface-level talent.
Cultural Pre-Alignment via Podcast	Candidates pre-screened on iPullRank's culture, expectations, and growth plans before interview, raising decision confidence and reducing friction.
Placed Hire Featured as Webinar Speaker	Patrick, one of the two placed engineers, was subsequently featured as a speaker in a live iPullRank webinar, confirming the quality of the placement.

Why this matters

For enterprise SEO agencies, the hardest hires are the ones where two rare capability sets must coexist in the same person.

Technical depth and client-facing confidence are not natural companions in the talent market. The engineers who code at the level iPullRank required are usually the ones who least want to be in a client meeting. The communicators who shine in presentations rarely have the coding fluency to back it up.

Addressing that gap required more than outreach, it required a vetting process engineered to filter out false positives.

Eight bespoke assessments, each built around the candidate’s actual stack, meant that by the time anyone reached iPullRank, they had already proved their capability under real conditions.

Not claimed it. Proved it.The post-placement outcome, a hired engineer featured as a webinar speaker for one of the US’s most prominent SEO agencies, is the most definitive proof point a case study can offer. The hire didn’t just fill a role.

They became a public face of iPullRank’s expertise.

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