About Us
About Citation North
Citation North is a Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) agency based in Vancouver, BC. We help Canadian professional services firms — law firms, accountants, financial advisors, healthcare practices — become visible and recommended in AI-generated search results.
Our Mission
Making Canadian Expertise Visible to AI
The way people find professional help is changing. When a business owner asks ChatGPT for a recommended employment lawyer in Vancouver, or a first-time buyer asks Perplexity which financial advisor to trust in Toronto, AI doesn't return ten blue links — it returns a name. Or it doesn't.
Citation North exists to ensure that Canadian professional services firms — firms with genuine expertise, satisfied clients, and established reputations — are the ones AI recommends. Not because AI is being manipulated, but because the right signals, structure, and content are in place for AI to understand and trust what these firms do.
Our mission is to build the bridge between human expertise and AI comprehension — transparently, measurably, and with a methodology that holds up to scrutiny.
Why GEO Matters
The Visibility Gap Is Real — and Growing
of consumers now use AI tools to research professional services before making contact — and that share is growing quarter over quarter.
AI search returns a list — not a results page. If your firm isn't cited in that answer, there is no secondary opportunity. You're simply absent.
Early movers in GEO build citation advantages that compound. The firm that acts today is 6–12 months ahead of competitors who wait.
Our Story
Built in Canada, Built for Canada
Citation North was founded in Vancouver, BC, after observing a consistent pattern: Canadian professional services firms with outstanding expertise and genuine client results were being systematically overlooked by AI platforms — not because they were unknown, but because their digital presence wasn't structured for AI comprehension.
Most GEO services in 2024–2025 were US or UK-based SEO agencies bolting AI optimisation onto existing offerings. None were built for the specific context of Canadian professional services: Law Society advertising regulations, PIPEDA data handling requirements, the nuances of provincial market dynamics, or the trust signals that matter to Canadian clients.
So we built Citation North — a GEO-native agency that starts with AI visibility, not as an add-on to traditional SEO, and applies a proprietary scoring methodology designed from the ground up for Canadian professional services firms.
The Team
The People Behind Citation North
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Tim Cole
Founder
Tim Cole founded Citation North after identifying a structural gap in the Canadian professional services market: outstanding firms with genuine expertise were invisible to AI platforms, not because they lacked credibility, but because their digital presence wasn't structured for AI comprehension.
With a background in digital strategy and a focus on Canadian professional services, Tim developed Citation North's proprietary GEO methodology — the V3 scoring algorithm, 4-tier query framework, and three-workstream implementation model — as a systematic, measurable approach to AI visibility.
Based in Vancouver, BC, Tim works directly with each Citation North client, ensuring that strategy, measurement, and execution are held to a consistent standard of rigour.
Citation North operates as a focused specialist agency. Growth is deliberate — we add capacity when we can maintain quality. Get in touch to discuss working together.
What We Stand For
Our Values
These aren't aspirational — they're the operating principles behind every client engagement, every score, and every recommendation we make.
Data-Driven Methodology
Every recommendation we make is grounded in direct LLM queries, scored citation data, and competitor benchmarks — not intuition or best guesses. If we can't measure it, we don't claim it.
Honest Measurement
We report scores as they are, not as clients wish them to be. Our AI Visibility Scores reflect actual AI behaviour across real queries — including the uncomfortable findings that motivate action.
Canadian Focus
We serve Canadian clients, in Canadian markets, with an understanding of Canadian regulation. Law Society rules, PIPEDA requirements, and provincial competitive dynamics aren't footnotes — they're built into our strategy.
Long-Term Partnerships
AI visibility compounds over time. We're structured for long-term partnerships, not quick-win projects — which is why our offer stack progresses from Snapshot to Sprint to Retainer to Authority Programme.
Canadian Trust
Built for Canadian Professional Services
Citation North is a Canadian-owned agency operating under Canadian law — with specific expertise in the regulatory and professional context that matters to our clients.
Canadian-Owned & Operated
Citation North is headquartered in Vancouver, BC. We are a Canadian business serving Canadian clients — not a US agency with a Canadian landing page.
PIPEDA-Compliant Data Handling
All client data — firm information, contact details, strategy documents — is handled in compliance with Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. No data shared with US third parties without explicit consent.
Provincial Advertising Regulation Expertise
We understand Law Society advertising rules across BC, Ontario, and Alberta — and design GEO strategies that build AI visibility without crossing regulatory lines that matter in Canadian professional services.
Markets We Serve
How We Work
Our Three-Workstream Methodology
Citation North's GEO methodology operates across three parallel workstreams — each addressing a distinct dimension of how AI platforms discover, understand, and recommend professional services firms.
Website Machine-Readability
We audit and restructure your website so AI models can confidently parse and understand your expertise. This includes Schema.org JSON-LD implementation (LocalBusiness, ProfessionalService, Person, FAQPage), heading hierarchy restructure, and llms.txt creation.
Workstream 1Authority Content Production
We create high-leverage content based on practitioner interviews — articles that attribute expertise to named professionals with credentials. AI models cite content that demonstrates genuine domain authority, not generic marketing copy.
Workstream 2Third-Party Entity Distribution
We build and maintain your firm's presence across directories, citation sources, and media placements that AI platforms use as trust signals — Canadian legal directories, professional associations, and credible industry publications.
Workstream 3Find Out If AI Is Recommending Your Firm
Your AI Visibility Snapshot reveals exactly how AI platforms currently see your firm — and delivers a prioritised roadmap for what to do about it. Delivered within 2 business days.
Results delivered within 2 business days · Canadian-owned agency