Case Study
Five Years Building a Category-Defining Visibility Engine
How The Robinson Agency helped a pre-revenue supply chain IoT startup become the most recognized name in shipment visibility — through content, SEO, thought leadership, and pioneering AI search optimization — over a five-year partnership beginning April 2021.
7.9K
Monthly Organic Traffic
$33.2K
Monthly Traffic Value
The Origin
TRA’s First — and Longest-Tenured — Client
Tive is not just another client. They are The Robinson Agency’s very first client — and, five years later, the longest-tenured marketing relationship in the company’s history. When Tive CEO Krenar Komoni took a chance on TRA in April 2021, the company was still in its early stages. They had a revolutionary product — real-time IoT trackers for supply chain visibility covering temperature, shock, light, and location — but almost no content infrastructure, minimal SEO presence, and no thought leadership strategy.
Tive needed a full-stack content and digital marketing partner who could not only produce volume, but do it with the strategic depth required to own an entire category. They needed someone who understood supply chain technology and could make complex IoT products accessible to logistics decision-makers. TRA was that partner from day one.
“Real-time visibility is no longer just a value-added service — it’s become a fundamental customer expectation.”
— Krenar Komoni, Founder & CEO, Tive — EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2025, 3× “Rock Star of the Supply Chain”
Before TRA (Pre-April 2021)
Published blog postsMinimal
SEO keyword strategyNone
Page 1 keywords0
Thought leadershipNone
Content cadenceSporadic
AI search presenceN/A
Customer stories0
After 5 Years with TRA
Published blog posts122+
SEO keyword strategyFull program
Page 1 keywords332
Thought leadershipState of Visibility report
Content cadence6 pieces / month
AI search presenceActive monitoring
Customer stories35+ produced
The Strategy
Five Pillars. One Unified Engine.
TRA designed a five-pillar marketing engine for Tive — each pillar reinforcing the others to create compounding returns over time. Content feeds SEO. SEO informs AI visibility. Thought leadership amplifies content. High-touch assets close deals.
Content Engine
From zero to 122 published posts
TRA established a consistent publishing cadence that grew Tive’s blog from near-zero to 122+ published posts. A weekly blog rhythm with six content pieces per month spans SEO articles, product marketing, thought leadership, and market education — covering cold chain, cargo security, IoT, sustainability, 3PL differentiation, and compliance.
SEO Dominance
332 keywords on page 1
Systematic search engine optimization turned Tive into a dominant presence for their core keyword clusters. The result: 332 keywords ranking on page 1, generating 7,900 monthly organic visitors worth $33,200 in traffic value — with 17 keywords in the #1 position.
AI Visibility
The frontier of search
As AI search reshaped buyer discovery, TRA built an entirely new discipline for Tive — monitoring and optimizing their presence across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Grok, and Claude. LLMS.txt deployed. Prompt-led content production. AI visibility reports delivered directly to the board of directors.
Thought Leadership
Category authority, not just content
The flagship State of Visibility annual report established Tive’s CEO as the definitive voice in supply chain visibility. Original research, data-driven insights, and embargo-worthy findings that generated industry-wide attention and media coverage.
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The Content Engine
A Full-Stack Marketing Operation — Built From Scratch
Over five years, TRA didn’t just write blog posts for Tive — the team built and operated an entire marketing department across content, SEO, social media, paid search, analytics, and event support. Here is the full inventory of what TRA delivered.
122+ SEO Blog Posts
Three articles per month at 750+ words each, spanning SEO, product marketing, and thought leadership. Covering cold chain compliance, cargo theft prevention, pharmaceutical transportation, IoT asset tracking, OTIF metrics, and supply chain sustainability.
SEO
Product Marketing
Thought Leadership
35+ Customer Stories & Case Studies
A full-scale customer story engine managed via a dedicated production board. Published stories span industries: Geodis, Alpine Fresh, Biocair, Mercury Solutions, Kunsttrans, OBE Organic, Potomac Metals, Dulces de la Rosa, Phalanx Logistics, CYSPACK, Masterpiece International, LinFox, and 20+ more.
Geodis
Alpine Fresh
Biocair
Mercury
LinFox
+25 more
White Papers & High-Touch Assets
One high-touch asset per quarter: white papers for Supply Chain Brain advertising campaigns, the annual State of Visibility report with original research, gated content for lead generation, and sales enablement materials.
White Papers
State of Visibility
Lead Gen
Social Media Management
TRA managed Tive’s social media presence across LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook — including stepping in to provide uninterrupted coverage when Tive’s internal social media lead departed. 3–5 posts per week with custom graphics, thought leadership quotes, event coverage, and product announcements.
LinkedIn
Twitter
Facebook
Custom Graphics
Google Ads & Paid Search
TRA built and managed Tive’s Google Ads campaigns from inception — brand campaigns, high-intent search, and retargeting. Built the paid search foundation so effectively that Tive was able to bring it in-house with confidence.
Google Ads
Search Campaigns
Retargeting
Analytics & Reporting
Custom Looker Studio marketing dashboard built and maintained by TRA. HubSpot integration, conversion tracking, and weekly performance reviews. Marketing data infrastructure from scratch.
Looker Studio
HubSpot
Google Analytics
Webflow CMS & Site Management
Blog publishing, category organization, URL strategy, metadata optimization, and ongoing site maintenance. TRA manages Tive’s content infrastructure end-to-end on the Webflow platform.
Webflow
CMS
URL Strategy
PR, Events & Industry Thought Leadership
Award submissions (Food Logistics Top Software & Tech, Top Tech Startup), webinar collaborations (State of Logistics & Transportation Visibility), event social content, and press release coordination. TRA represented Tive’s voice across the supply chain media landscape.
Awards
Webinars
Press Releases
Events
SEO Performance
From Invisible to Page 1 — 332 Keywords Strong
TRA’s SEO program didn’t just improve Tive’s rankings — it built them from nothing. The tracked keyword data below shows where each keyword started versus where it ranks today. Most went from unranked to page 1.
332
Keywords ranking on page 1
7.9K
▲ Monthly visitors
Organic traffic from page 1
$33.2K
▲ Monthly value
Traffic cost (if paid via ads)
17
▲ #1 positions
Keywords in the top spot
48
▲ 40 new to top 10
Total keywords in top 10
+10.15%
▲ From 2.6% to 12.75%
SemRush visibility score growth
Tracked Keyword Rankings — All-Time Progress (Mar 2023 → Mar 2026)
196 tracked keywords · 89 positions improved · 48 now on page 1 (40 NEW to top 10)
| Keyword | Start Rank | Current Rank | Change | Volume |
|---|
| cargo theft prevention | Not ranked | 1 | NEW | 170 |
| end to end visibility | 22 | 1 | ↑21 | 140 |
| pharmaceutical transportation | Not ranked | 1 | NEW | 260 |
| on time and in full | Not ranked | 1 | NEW | 110 |
| supply chain otif | Not ranked | 1 | NEW | 110 |
| pharma supply chain challenges | 5 | 1 | ↑4 | 170 |
| prevent cargo theft | Not ranked | 1 | NEW | 70 |
| shipment monitoring system | 71 | 1 | ↑70 | 30 |
| shipment security | Not ranked | 1 | NEW | 70 |
| transportation visibility | 5 | 1 | ↑4 | 70 |
| monitor shipments | 60 | 1 | ↑59 | 20 |
| in-transit visibility | 8 | 1 | ↑7 | 20 |
| retail supply chain visibility | 2 | 1 | ↑1 | 30 |
| otif meaning | Not ranked | 2 | NEW | 1,300 |
| otif definition | Not ranked | 2 | NEW | 260 |
| what is otif | Not ranked | 2 | NEW | 210 |
| what does otif stand for | Not ranked | 2 | NEW | 110 |
| end to end visibility supply chain | Not ranked | 3 | NEW | 590 |
| what is otif in supply chain | Not ranked | 3 | NEW | 110 |
| pharmaceutical transport | 2 | 3 | ↓1 | 140 |
| biocair tracking | Not ranked | 4 | NEW | 590 |
| pharmaceutical shipping | Not ranked | 4 | NEW | 140 |
| pharma shipping | Not ranked | 4 | NEW | 70 |
| pharma transportation | Not ranked | 5 | NEW | 90 |
| shipping pharmaceuticals | Not ranked | 5 | NEW | 110 |
| otif acronym | Not ranked | 5 | NEW | 50 |
| on time in full | Not ranked | 6 | NEW | 260 |
| pharma transport | Not ranked | 6 | NEW | 210 |
| end to end supply chain visibility | Not ranked | 7 | NEW | 590 |
| otif supply chain | Not ranked | 7 | NEW | 390 |
| otif on time in full | Not ranked | 7 | NEW | 170 |
| otif calculation | Not ranked | 7 | NEW | 70 |
| nist traceable calibration | Not ranked | 8 | NEW | 480 |
| nist calibration standards | Not ranked | 8 | NEW | 140 |
| produce transportation | Not ranked | 8 | NEW | 140 |
| real time transportation visibility | 11 | 8 | ↑3 | 70 |
| transit damage | Not ranked | 9 | NEW | 480 |
Source: SemRush Position Tracking · Project ID 6953682 · tive.com · US · All Time (Mar 2023 → Mar 2026)
All Organic Rankings — Page 1 Keywords by Volume (March 2026)
332 total keywords on page 1 · 7.9K traffic · $33.2K traffic cost value · Brand keywords excluded
| Pos. | Keyword | Volume | Traffic |
|---|
| 1 | otif | 2,400 | 196 |
| 5 | supply chain sustainability | 1,600 | 56 |
| 1 | otif meaning | 1,300 | 171 |
| 4 | gamp 5 | 880 | 38 |
| 4 | biocair tracking | 590 | 8 |
| 5 | end to end supply chain visibility | 480 | 11 |
| 4 | bio pharma supply chain risk | 480 | 16 |
| 7 | temperature tag | 480 | 9 |
| 3 | end to end visibility supply chain | 390 | 25 |
| 9 | pharma supply chain risk | 390 | 7 |
| 7 | transit damage | 390 | 11 |
| 4 | end-to-end visibility in supply chain | 320 | 14 |
| 1 | pharmaceutical transportation | 320 | 26 |
| 4 | on time in full | 260 | 11 |
| 4 | cold chain compliance | 260 | 6 |
| 3 | end-to-end visibility supply chain | 260 | 7 |
| 1 | otif definition | 260 | 9 |
| 8 | what is otif | 260 | 1 |
| 5 | iot asset tracking news | 260 | 6 |
| 4 | pharmaceutical shipping | 210 | 9 |
| 7 | cargo security | 210 | — |
| 1 | prevent cargo theft | 170 | 19 |
| 1 | cargo theft prevention | 170 | 28 |
| 8 | nist calibration standards | 170 | — |
| 7 | otif on time in full | 170 | — |
| 1 | pharma supply chain challenges | 170 | 31 |
| 4 | pharmaceutical cold chain | 140 | 4 |
| 3 | pharmaceutical transport | 140 | 7 |
| 8 | produce transportation | 140 | 1 |
| 5 | end to end visibility | 110 | 11 |
| 1 | on time and in full | 110 | 17 |
| 5 | shipping pharmaceuticals | 110 | 3 |
| 1 | supply chain otif | 110 | 4 |
Source: SemRush Organic Positions · tive.com · US · Desktop · Top 10 Only · Brand names excluded · March 20, 2026
Paid Search
Google Ads — Built From Scratch, Conversion-Optimized
TRA — through its paid search arm The Ad Engine — built and managed Tive’s entire Google Ads program from inception. The goal was never just impressions or clicks — it was conversions: demo requests, contact form submissions, and high-intent leads. Brand campaigns, high-intent search campaigns, and retargeting were designed to drive qualified conversions across the buyer journey.
1.1M
Monthly impressions (June 2024 peak)
14.4K
Clicks in a single month
32.5%
▲ vs. 5% benchmark
High-Intent Search CTR
$0.30
Average cost per click
High-Intent Search Campaigns
Conversion-focused search campaigns targeting buyers actively searching for shipment visibility, cold chain monitoring, and cargo tracking solutions. 32.5% CTR — six times the industry benchmark — with conversion tracking tied directly to demo requests and contact forms.
Demo Requests
Contact Forms
32.5% CTR
Retargeting & Conversion Recovery
Display retargeting campaigns designed to stay top-of-mind with site visitors who hadn’t yet converted. Consistent conversion generation from retargeting kept qualified leads moving through Tive’s pipeline — recovering interested buyers who needed multiple touchpoints before requesting a demo.
Pipeline Conversions
Retargeting
Lead Recovery
3PL & Industrial Awareness
Category awareness campaigns reaching 3PL providers and industrial logistics buyers at scale. Nearly 1 million impressions in a single campaign flight, building brand familiarity that supported both conversion campaigns and organic discovery.
~1M Impressions
Brand Awareness
3PL Vertical
Source: Google Ads reporting via The Ad Engine · Campaigns built and managed 2021–2025 · Full performance tracking ledger maintained
AI & LLM Visibility
Pioneering a New Discipline in B2B Marketing
As AI-powered search tools began reshaping how B2B buyers discover solutions, TRA didn’t wait. They built an entirely new capability — monitoring and optimizing Tive’s presence across AI platforms — making Tive one of the first companies in logistics to have a dedicated AI visibility program.
LLMS.txt Deployment
Deployed March 2026 on tive.com to make Tive’s content machine-readable and discoverable by AI crawlers. One of the first logistics companies to implement this emerging standard.
AI Discoverability
Technical SEO
LLM Platform Monitoring
Systematic tracking of Tive’s mentions and recommendations across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Grok, and Claude. CSV-level reporting showing every prompt where Tive is mentioned.
ChatGPT
Perplexity
Grok
Claude
Board-Level Reporting
AI visibility reports delivered directly to Tive’s board of directors. Not just a marketing metric — a strategic KPI at the highest level of the organization.
Executive Reporting
Strategic KPI
Prompt-Led Content Planning
Content production designed to address AI-driven buyer queries. 5–7 topic clusters defined for prompt-led visibility optimization. Monthly AI visibility snapshots with 2–4 priority actions per cycle.
Topic Clusters
Prompt Optimization
“Supply chains don’t need more data; they need ground truth data at the right time — the ability to act on it before shipments are lost, delayed or rejected.”
— Krenar Komoni, Founder & CEO, Tive — 3× Supply & Demand Chain Executive “Pros to Know”
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The Journey
Five Years of Compounding Momentum
April 2021
Engagement Begins
TRA onboards Tive as its very first client. Full-scope engagement launches: weekly blog cadence, SEO foundation, social media management, Google Ads, analytics infrastructure (Looker Studio + HubSpot), and Monday.com project management boards. Krenar Komoni takes a chance on TRA before Tive has raised significant capital.
2021 – 2022
Foundation Building
Content library grows rapidly. SEO foundation laid across “tracking,” “visibility,” and “pharmaceutical transportation” keyword clusters. Social media presence established. Google Ads built and optimized. White papers produced for Supply Chain Brain. Award submissions secured (Food Logistics Top Software & Tech, Top Tech Startup). Customer story production ramps up.
2023
Content Machine at Scale
Blog count surpasses 100. Customer story production board grows to 35+ stories across industries. Webinar collaborations launch, including the “State of Logistics & Transportation Visibility” webcast. TRA steps in to manage Tive’s social media when their internal lead departs — providing seamless, uninterrupted coverage. SEO rankings strengthen across cold chain, pharma, and OTIF keywords. Tive named to FreightTech 100.
2024
Record Growth Year
Traffic up 55% vs. 2023. Organic search up 14% in a declining organic landscape. Search impressions hit 7.7M with 120K clicks. 122 blog posts published on tive.com. Google Ads peaking at 1.1M monthly impressions with 32.5% CTR on high-intent campaigns. AI search begins reshaping the landscape — TRA starts building an AI visibility discipline.
2025
Maturation & Thought Leadership
State of Visibility 2025 report published with original research: IoT adoption at 60%, AI adoption jumped from 35% to 45%. Tive raises $20M from Lightsmith Group. The paid search and social media foundations TRA built are strong enough for Tive to bring in-house — a sign of a mature, well-built marketing infrastructure. Partnership evolves to focus on the highest-leverage work: content marketing and SEO/AI visibility.
2026
AI-First Visibility Engine
LLMS.txt deployed on tive.com. LLM visibility reports delivered to the board. 332 keywords ranking on page 1. 5–7 topic clusters active for prompt-led content. Monthly AI visibility snapshots operational. CEO Krenar Komoni pursuing “Agentic AI in the Supply Chain” category ownership. 1.1M+ trackers sold. The partnership enters its sixth year.
The Results
Five Years. One Compounding Engine.
TRA built the marketing infrastructure that powered Tive through multiple funding rounds, industry recognition, and category leadership. Every pillar — content, SEO, social, paid search, analytics, AI visibility — was built from scratch and delivered compounding returns year over year.
$100M+
Total funding raised by Tive during TRA partnership
1.1M+
Trackers sold — billions of real-time alerts
FT100
Named to FreightTech 100 list
332
Keywords ranking on page 1 of Google
122+
Blog posts published on tive.com
35+
Customer stories produced
$33.2K
Monthly organic traffic value
#1
TRA’s first & longest-tenured client
“I am the longest-tenured marketing professional in that company. That says something about the relationship — and the results.”
— Adam Robinson, Founder & CEO, The Robinson Agency
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