Covario Makes Inc. 500 List of Nation's Fastest-Growing Private Companies for Second Year in a Row

NEW YORK, Aug. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Inc. Magazine today announced that Covario, Inc., one of the nation's largest independent search engine marketing firms, is ranked 420 in its annual ranking of the nation's 500 fastest-growing private companies.  This is the second year in row that the San Diego-based software and marketing services firm has been included among the Inc. 500, making it one of only 147 companies on this year's roster to be listed twice.

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Now in its 29th year, the Inc. 500 ranks the combined three-year growth rate of privately-held companies with a minimum of $80,000 in sales in 2006 and $2 million in 2009.  For Covario, its growth rate during the period of 2006 through 2009 was an impressive 704.7 percent.  

As a company grows, it becomes increasingly difficult to sustain such high growth rates, making it more of a challenge to be on the Inc. 500 list multiple years in a row.  Last year, Covario made the list at No. 233 with an even more impressive growth rate of 917.7 percent.

To qualify, companies must have been generating revenue by the first week of 2006, so they can show four full calendar years of sales. Additionally, they have to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit and independent — not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies — as of Dec. 31, 2009. The minimum revenue required for 2006 was $100,000; the minimum for 2009 was $1 million.

The Inc. 500 offers a comprehensive look into a key driver of growth and jobs in the economy — America's entrepreneurial landscape. Today's market leaders like Microsoft, Zappos, Intuit, GoDaddy, Under Armour, Jamba Juice, American Apparel and Oracle can all be counted among the list's prestigious alumni.

Covario exemplifies that entrepreneur spirit. The company was founded in 2005 by CEO Russ Mann, who was recently selected as an "Entrepreneur of the Year" in the San Diego region in the annual Ernst & Young competition, and Dema Zlotin, vice president of strategy development.

"Making the exclusive Inc. 500 one time twice in a two-year period is a proud achievement, especially when you consider the depths of last year's recession and just how difficult it is to repeat on the list once a company reaches a certain size," Mann said. "It's a testament to not only to our innovative software solutions and our fast-growing agency services, but particularly to Covario's dedicated staff who are producing results for our global marketing clients that are valued highly."

The 2010 Inc. 500 was unveiled in the September issue of Inc. Magazine and on Inc.com, where the complete list can be found, along with company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region and other criteria.

About Covario™

Covario, Inc. is among the nation's largest independent SEM (search engine marketing) and SEO (search engine optimization) solutions providers, offering both software and agency services for paid and organic search management. Covario is adept at providing large global organizations with robust solutions for paid search advertising, organic search (SEO), social media and display advertising.  Covario enables complex and distributed organizations to control their brand integrity; ensure budget transparency; and deliver quantifiable results across business units, distribution channels and languages.  Headquartered in San Diego, the company's growing customer base includes some of the world's best known brands in technology, retail, ecommerce, financial services, consumer electronics, media, entertainment, publishing and consumer packaged goods.  More information about Covario is available by calling 858.397.1500 or online at http://www.covario.com.

SOURCE Covario, Inc.