The Situation

In 2020, Johnston Fence Contracting was a respected Orillia fencing company with rankings to match — solid at home, invisible everywhere else. The owner had bigger ambitions than one town.

What We Did

Expanded the map, town by town. Starting from JFC’s Orillia base, we built structured, targeted content for each new market in sequence: Barrie, Collingwood, Muskoka and its towns, Aurora, and onward down the Highway 400 corridor toward Vaughan. Each town earned its rankings the same way — dedicated pages, supporting content, internal linking that told Google exactly what JFC did and where.

Grew with the portfolio, not just the website. In 2022, the owner launched Canadian Fence Supply — a retail arm serving fencing contractors — and First Page Digital built its search presence from day one. Over the following two years, more businesses followed, including a retail store and a food truck. Each property got its own content strategy: targeted subpages, supporting blogs, internal linking built for that business’s customers.

Ran it like a partnership, not a service ticket. Weekly meetings, every week, for six years: reviewing the content produced, planning the next week across every property. The owner always knew exactly what was being done, why, and what came next.

The Results

• Rankings: From one town to top placements across Barrie, Collingwood, Muskoka, Aurora, and the 400 corridor — the full catchment a growing trades company actually sells into.
• The portfolio: One fencing company in 2020. Eight businesses by 2026 — several of them launched and ranked with First Page Digital from their first day online.
• The relationship: Five years. In an industry where agencies churn clients in months, that number is its own result.

The Ending — And Why We Publish It

In 2026, the Johnston portfolio reached the size where marketing became a full-time, in-house job — and the owner hired for it.

Most agencies bury that story. Here’s why we tell it: when a client’s growth turns your retainer into a salaried position, the job worked. We did a full professional handover — every strategy, structure, and account, documented and transferred.

The Fine Print

• Engagement ran 2020–2024; ranking outcomes reflect positions held across the engagement for primary commercial fencing keywords by market.
• Business launches (Canadian Fence Supply, 2022; subsequent properties through 2024) supported from launch by First Page Digital.

One Consequence Worth Knowing

For six years, the fencing spot in Barrie and Orillia was closed — I work with one company per trade, per market, and Johnston held it.

It’s open now. First time since 2020.

If you’re a fencing company in this region — or any trades company wondering what six years of this looks like — the first step is free: a 5-minute breakdown of what’s keeping you off page one.