Coalition Technologies

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the business development manager of A-List Builders. I’m in charge of marketing, sales, and managing our online presence. We’re a full-service construction company and general contractor. We also work with designers and architects. Primarily, we focus on single-family homes and belong to one of the hottest markets for home remodeling.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Coalition Technologies?

We had an existing website and hired them to redesign and develop a new one. Initially, we hired freelancers to develop our platform, but nothing was getting done so Coalition Technologies took over.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Coalition Technologies built and launched our website using WordPress. As the final step, I need to go in and upload photos and content. Their team also provides SEO services. They conduct link building as well as write our blogs and articles in efforts to increase our site traffic.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with about five people on their team. However, my main points of contact are Ryan (Marketing Digital Producer Team Lead, Coalition Technologies) and Meagan (Digital Producer Trainee, Coalition Technologies).

How did you come to work with Coalition Technologies?

My company started working with them before I came. We initially hired them for SEO services. However, it didn’t make sense to perform SEO efforts for our old website. So, we pulled Coalition Technologies back from performing SEO efforts, and switched over to web development.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested between $25,000–50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?
The partnership began in October 2018 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The website is live and it looks amazing. Ben (Owner, A-List Builders) is very picky and Coalition Technologies delivered on every detail as far as layout and aesthetics go. SEO efforts are just kicking off as well, so we’ll see how things are in a couple of weeks. We’ll test it soon by conducting searches.

I’d like to highlight that Tess (Copy Strategist, Coalition Technologies) is amazing. The content she writes for our blog is fantastic. Coalition Technologies is one of my favorite companies we’ve worked with, as far as B2B goes. Their team works hand-in-hand with ours. They’re great at pushing content out and getting our face out there. We’re just at the beginning, but it’s exciting to see what our results will be.

How did Coalition Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Basecamp as our project management tool. I found that I like this platform better than the one my company internally uses. Coalition Technologies is very responsive and helpful. If we request a change, it’s usually completed by the next day. Their team implements same-day responses and has a hands-on approach to collaboration. There’s never a lapse in communication, and that’s very vital.

I’m not very knowledgeable about web development, but their team speaks to me in ways that I can easily understand. This was the case when they taught me how to upload photos using WordPress. They explain and answer all of my questions.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re on top of everything. Ryan is fantastic at being the lead project manager. I can’t compliment him enough. They hit all the targets in terms of achieving our requested designs and functionalities. Overall, I’m very happy with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing I can think of. They’ve helped us so much and have never dropped the ball. I would speak very openly and constructively if I had complaints, but I don’t.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d advise them to know what their goals are. If you’re going to hire them, make sure your website is finished and ready. If it’s not, consider hiring them to finish it.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of a company that supplies materials to the arts and crafts industries.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Coalition Technologies?

In the ever-evolving world of web technology, I needed help to develop a stratetgy for my company to remain relevant. After investigating several options, I went with Coalition Technologies.

What were your goals for this project?

I wanted a cohesive plan for the two websites we use to communicate to customers.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

After investigating several options, I went with Coalition Technologies.

Describe the project in detail.

Coalition Technologies and I meet every other week and maintain communication through Basecamp. They immediately identified several areas for improvement and provided a plan of attack.

What was the team composition?

I was assigned two account managers and other people were added onto the team as necessary to complete specific tasks.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Coalition Technologies has definitely improved our organic search results. We have seen double-digit improvements!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

I have always been able to get in touch with Coalition Technologies team members when needed. For emergency purposes, I even have email and phone numbers of key team members should that need arise.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was impressed with how well they immersed myself in my company details. Starting with the kick off call, they asked good questions which told me they weren't looking for short-term gains but wanted to make sure and reach my company goals.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Being able to perform so many tasks means having to involve more people. It can sometimes take a little longer to get things done or get an update on a project waiting on group members.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

At Green Gone we sell detox kits and associated products. I am the director of marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Coalition Technologies?

We hired Coalition for help with our SEO and after a couple months we also hired them for help with our PPC.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to improve our websites traffic and also get our Google and Bing adwords back up and running.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I researched many SEO companies. I narrowed it down to a few and had a call with each of them. Coalition stood out the most and we felt like they were exactly what we were looking for.

Describe the project in detail.

Our SEO was taken over by Coalition and they began reworking our website. They added new copy improved, our loadtime, and various other fixes across our website to improve our SEO.

Next they worked on our PPC, we got back onto Google adwords and Google shopping. Coalition continues to improve our website and adwords every month.

What was the team composition?

We have a couple digital producers we talk to monthly. There are also copy strategist and others who work on our site but we normally are not in contact with.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We started ranking much higher in our keywords after 2-3 months. Our website speed, design, and layout has all improved. They have saved us a lot of time since we did not have to do any of that website improvements ourself.

PPC has been good so far, we have seen an noticeable increase in sales and we look forward to seeing it continue to increase this year.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We use basecamp to communicate, that has been really effective and easy to use for everyone.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The results have been really good and everyone on the team is also great to work with. They are knowledgeable and explain everything they are doing.

They recommend and help with various other issues and have been really helpful when asking questions.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I wish they provided an audit of how our money was spent hourly. Just to know what exactly we are paying for every month

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of strategic directions and special projects at Katydid.com.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Coalition Technologies?

We asked Coalition Technologies to help us out with our SEO. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Coalition Technologies does a variety of SEO services for us. They wrote and rewrote content on both our websites—the wholesale side and the direct-to-consumer side—including more than 15 blogs. They’ve researched keywords, made recommendations, and added widgets. We only do organic search, but PPC is on our roadmap. 

What is the team composition?

There are three point-people on our project, but we have access to their 20-person team if needed.

How did you come to work with Coalition Technologies?

We used to work with an SEO firm backed in 2011, but when Google’s Penguin and Panda updates came up, we saw disastrous results. Several sources referred Coalition Technologies to us. They had done a couple of websites, two of which belonged to competitors of ours. We had actually seen them move up in organic search rankings on Google and Bing. 

Those two reasons are why I called Charles (Digital Strategist, Coalition Technologies) 4–5 months ago. The negotiation and quote process took no longer than a week, and the actual project kicked off 2–3 weeks later.

How much have you invested with them?

The first few months, we spent about $6,000–$7,000 per month. Now we pay about $3,000–$4,000 monthly.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2019, and the project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We track how many keywords we can place on the first page of organic search results. To date, we have 4–5 keywords on the first page for our retail side and 7–12 on the wholesale side. For 4–5 months work, we’re pleased with that.

How did Coalition Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

They do extremely well. Every month, we receive a report with the most important SEO metrics we needed to know. We also have an hour-long call every two weeks. That’s followed by a report that summarizes what we talked about, including their recommendations for us and a to-do list for both sides. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Coalition Technologies has really good people who know their stuff. I haven’t been disappointed yet in their performance. There’s not an issue I haven’t seen them overcome yet. Finding a third-party vendor that you can work with is really special. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we have a great relationship. I can ask for things and let them know what I think. When I asked them to include a few more things in their report for us, they did that. There’s not much I would change about them. 

Any advice for potential customers?

Before you engage with any SEO vendor, think about what you’re trying to get out of the relationship. Have your questions and budget prepared. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are an Online Fitness Brand that sells through our website and has been for the past 10 years.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Coalition Technologies?

We hired Coalition for SEO services.

What were your goals for this project?

Increase keyword ranking and increase organic traffic to our online store.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We were recommended to them via a business associate and their client list was impressive. We engaged with them via email, hopped on a couple calls and was impressed with their scope of work and analysis.

Describe the project in detail.

We started with an onboarding call - roughly 4 hours of time with the full team 8+ members, going through the company, founder story, products, goals, content, branding and preferences for the project. They then outlined their notes and started a Project in Basecamp with a list of actionable items to accomplish over the time. We submitted documents, resources to them and granted them access to all the relevant SEO specific resources and our online store. Over the course of 10 months they went in and changed a lot of back end stuff, file names, coding, links and attempted to change the copy on our product pages, home page and make tweaks to make our ecommerce store more efficient. They talked about producing blog post and other content for the website, that never happened.

What was the team composition?

We had two account managers and they had a team below them that completed the majority of the work. We only communicated with the project managers.Weekly or semi weekly calls, constant communication in basecamp (supposed to.)

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We received ZERO results from them in 10 months time. No increase in keyword ranking and no increase in Organic traffic.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

If was not effective, the account managers would not always respond in a timely manner, we would constantly have to repeat ourselves, our brand standards to them and the mistakes would often happen 2 to 3 times before they stopped. It was very inefficient and there was zero accountability for deliverables on their side - including with timelines. Commonly on calls our account managers would say something would be done by a certain date only to come and pass with no communication from them.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Nothing, they were a complete disaster to work with.

Are there any areas for improvement?

• All of their employees work remote. We were assigned two Account managers: Candi and Larry. Candi was hired there 3 months prior, Larry had been there a while. Candi seemed interested in really getting the job done but lacked experience and it was obvious. Larry missed many of our calls, commonly we were told he was on vacation, spending time with his kids, sick. He really milked the whole working from home thing and the results showed. They told us they had email marketing experience and could take care of this for us, of course for an additional fee.

• First email went out to our 20,000+ subscribers in MailChimp who had not been emailed in months and months - as one email batch, with the WRONG COMPANY NAME. Immediately we lost many subscribers, tons of the emails went to spam and we were completely embarrassed in a heartbeat. No apology was made to us by our account managers or the owner of the company, Jordan. They gave us excuses as to why this happened even though it was completely their job and in the scope of their responsibilities. We gave them a chance to make it right and when we asked them if we could switch from MailChimp to Klaviyo (Shopify no longer supported Mailchimp) they assured us they had experience and could do it.

• Almost a month later the migration to Klaviyo had not been done and our account managers were telling us they were receiving training from Klaviyo to help...so they had ZERO experience with Klaviyo. We stopped letting them manage Email Marketing.

• They implemented a popup on our website to gather emails. Two weeks later that popup was gathering HALF the amount of emails as our previous. We had to bring this up to them to get them to revert back. They were not even tracking the results....

• They made changes to our home page that included copy on what our brand was about and our story and posted it live without asking our permission... • Their copywriters re-wrote our product pages and published them without our permission. The copy they used for our Law Enforcement themed products referenced burying people 6 feet under... The copywriter's they had on staff made grammatical mistakes and typos throughout all the descriptions. Used words that we would never use as a brand and continued to do so for MULTIPLE ROUNDS even after we got on the phone, submitted changes and gave them examples of our language.

• When we asked for new copywriters a month in and they brought in copywriters who were just as bad and it appeared they did not speak english. They were calling our products the names of products we did not sell...When we asked them if these copywriters has english backgrounds and degrees, they assured us yes - everyone we showed the copy to begged to disagree.

• Somehow duplicate products were posted on our website for sale as FREE and orders were placed. 3 months went by and we finally went in and rewrote the copy for our product pages ourselves (8 hours+ of work) and their copywriters went in and replaced our edits before posting them again....

• A duplicate collection of our products was posted on our website and in our Facebook store for a week until we brought it up and had it removed.

• When we looked into our Shopify site to see who was accessing and doing the work on behalf of Coalition we found logins from Pakistan and India. They were outsourcing the work we were paying them for and this explained all the constant mistakes on the website and miscommunications. We told them this was unacceptable and misleading as we had hired them to stay away from that practice and our account manager said "We have employees all over the globe."

• Sometimes weeks would go by and nothing would be posted in the basecamp project, where we would communicate progress being made. Including a lack of response to our threads, input and questions. Even though we were directly tagging our account managers.

• During calls with our account managers they could not tell us numbers behind the metrics we use to measure SEO: Organic Traffic and Ranking. They would alway say they can have someone get us a report. Who works and manages an account without knowing the performance at the moment??

• They constantly justified their hours of work by saying they were doing backend work we saw no proof of, had no effect on our website's performance, sales or SEO. This was a result of us asking for a report of their hours...They basically came up with busy bee work to justify their monthly fees.

• At the 7 months mark we contacted and spoke with the owner directly about all the problems. The account managers who were mismanaging the account, the repetitive issues with copy, changes to the website and poor communication all around. They assured us they would step in personally and get it on track. That all the work done to that point would have a cumulative effect once they finished a couple more things.

• At 10 months we had spent roughly $30,000 with them and had ZERO results. No increase in ranking or organic traffic.

Company Responses

The vendor responded on December 3, 2019.

Much of the claims made in this review are false. 

Coalition went above and beyond attempting to help this business succeed, despite a combative point of contact, who threatened us with negative reviews to attempt to get thousands of dollars of work for free. When we refused, voila. 

The client experienced ranking improvements on a number of keywords throughout our SEO campaign. From the start of the campaign, SEMRush showed a 40% increase in the number of ranking terms (from 199 ranking keywords at the start of the campaign to 330 by its end). We also successfully increased the number of links and pages in Google’s index. Due to the client’s own belligerence and combativeness, further results and growth were hampered. 

Coalition is upfront that we use a global team of full-time specialists from the moment you first get on a call with us. The inflammatory and discriminatory statements made throughout the campaign by this client were reflective of a closed-minded and combative approach to working with us, which will always hamper results for any clients. 

Copy team members are entirely based in the United States and have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree. Adapting product copy to reflect brand tones is a challenge, especially when the branding is ambiguous and inconsistently maintained by a client. 

The email mistake alleged was a result of the client themselves. They’d used the ‘incorrect’ email as their default and signed off on our first email send using it. 

Contact us for more insight.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a conglomerate of numerous health brands. I'm the vice president of e-commerce, and I represent those brands in digital and ecommerce aspects across all our retail partners and digitally owned properties.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Coalition Technologies?

We wanted to bring a website for a specific brand up to the newest and best standards. Our old site was behind the times for both usability and speed.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provided the most current software, and they updated our UX. They leveraged existing creative assets to build the new site from scratch. We provided them with some websites that we liked, and they made suggestions for the UX. They created some wireframes for our approval, then we moved forward with development.

They used Shopify to build the site, and they made sure it was mobile responsive and user-friendly. The proper navigation is there, and they ensured key products were highlighted.

What is the team composition?

At most, we worked with a team of six. We had one main point of contact who remained constant throughout the entire engagement.

How did you come to work with Coalition Technologies?

I am a member of an e-commerce advisory group. Coalition's CEO participated in a conference call for the group, and his company came highly recommended. I interviewed several companies, but I felt that Coalition would be the best fit for us. They were affordable and highly experienced, and they offered other useful services that could help take us to the next level after the site was completed.

How much have you invested with them?

In total, we spent about $27,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2019, and the website launched at the end of October 2019. The engagement is currently paused, but we may use them again in 2020 after our budget is set.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Our internal team raves about the new site. We're at the top of the line, and we're very proud of the results. We have great comments from customers and distributors who use the website, and everyone thinks Coalition did a great job. Products are easily searchable, and it's very easy for users to find answers to common questions.

How did Coalition Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

Our account manager was very responsive, and she always got back to us immediately. Coalition used Basecamp to track milestones, and they made themselves accountable for every task. They were communicative, and we always knew where we stood within the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their work is extremely high-quality. They never take shortcuts, and they were extremely thorough and detail-oriented at every step. We felt very comfortable with them, and we knew we were in good hands.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Everything went so well, and I don't have any constructive criticism for them. Every issue was fixed to our satisfaction, and they often went above and beyond to deliver solutions quickly.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Stay engaged with the project. Whenever questions come up, answer them in a quick manner. They will take your information and act on it immediately. Be prepared to keep up with them; they're very good at what they do.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our company has invented a couple unique ancillary products within the cannabis space. I'm the inventor and CEO, I worked directly with Coalition as the point of contact.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Coalition Technologies?

To help improve our site's rankings, aesthetics, SEO, quality, etc. To put it simply... everything.

What were your goals for this project?

To increase our revenue, rankings, and make the leap from a start up quality looking site to a professional one.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I interviewed 6-8 different SEO firms all around the country and selected Coalition because they had 100s of case studies showing time and time again that they get the results you want. Most other companies show you 3-5 tops.. like if you try something 100+ times you're probably gonna get it right a few times. Consistency is key!

Describe the project in detail.

The onboarding went incredibly smoothly, we had monthly meetings to discuss priorities, what was accomplished, and what was going to be worked on. It was easy to get a hold of people when necessary and our site has come such a long way it's amazing.

What was the team composition?

The team had two main points of contact that I would do monthly calls with, and then several people working along side them in the background for copy, links, outreach, design, etc. I spoke with the same people throughout my campaign which is a testament to the positive workplace they have. Everyone was incredibly skilled at what they did and it showed in their work.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Not going into any details BUT I will say I'm really happy with the results I got, I've recommended them to other companies, and will be back for all future SEO and web work.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Great. I would get responses back the same day, and any issues were addressed immediately and professionally. I definitely had a couple time sensitive help requests that they went above and beyond for and delivered perfectly.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They consistently were above to improve our website every month we worked with them. A lot of SEO companies are going to say whatever they can to get you to sign and commit to them, they were never pushy and simply let their work speak for themselves. Everyone was incredibly knowledgable, prompt, professional yet personal, and a pleasure to work with. I honestly don't have any bad things to say.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, keep doing what you're doing Coalition! 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

VPN security Group is online support service for Virtual Private Network Services. We are the foundation for helping our customers find a quality online security service for home and business. As the founder and Director of the company the mission is to make sure that are of our customers find a product that fits their needs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Coalition Technologies?

VPN Security Group is in the business of testing and reviewing multiple VPN platforms. We have years of experiencing working with multiple providers and know that our systems are tried and true. We wanted to make sure that our information is available to as many users around the world. After looking around for a reputable company to help improve our online presence we found that Coalition Technologies could meet our needs to help grow our business.

What were your goals for this project?

The main goal of our project with Coalition Technologies was to analyze our website and make sure that we have optimized every aspect of each online page. The focus was to make sure that we are taking advantage of every detail that will help grow our online presence as our business and products evolve.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

After looking at multiple sources and doing our research, we found that Coalition Technologies has the experience and expertise to meet our needs. Coalition Technologies was a good fit for a business model and when we finally reached out to the team we knew we had found what we were looking for. The team was very responsive and knowledgeable and were able to answer all of our questions to help improve on our platform.

Describe the project in detail.

Coalition Technologies took on the project to analyze our website and make sure that we were taking advantage of all the tools to help improve our online presence and maximize return. The project included and in depth report that have helped us target the areas where we can make improvement and build a strong foundation for a business model that will grow with us. We have found all the information very useful and know we have the experts that will stand behind their service.

What was the team composition?

We were assigned a dedicated project manager and given the opportunity on several occasions to speak directly with the team doing the work. Our project manager was always there ready and willing to help and answer any questions or concerns we had throughout the process.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

So far we have found the work of Coalition Technologies very useful and right on track. We are still in the process of implementing all the work they provided for us, but have found that every thing they have done is right on track. We are certain that once we have completed the implementation that we will see our online presence grow and improve our conversion rate to at least double in the next few months.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Coalition Technologies has so much experience working with small, large and midsize companies that they were able to fine tune their process to meet our needs. The team was very effective in making sure that we knew what was happening along the way. They stayed in constant communication to make sure that our needs and demands were met.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The proof is in the work. The company provided a full detailed report that was clear and concise. Every single aspect of our domain was gone through with out hesitation. They know what they are doing and we are sure that as our company grows so will our need for their expertise.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We are completely pleased with the service. Communication, reporting, follow up and implementation are with out a doubt first rate. Thank you.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the co-owner of an online accessory boutique, finding the most fashionable accessories such as earrings, necklaces, bracelets, rings, and more and offering them all at fashionable prices. I’m responsible for all web development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Coalition Technologies?

We wanted an outside party to review the current status of our website with regard to SEO strengths, weaknesses, and areas for opportunity.

What were your goals for this project?

Our primary goal was to find the gaps and areas that we had not quite built out and developed in order to improve our organic search traffic. From there, we wanted to create action plans to improve.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They were recommended by our website platform as a premier vendor.

Describe the project in detail.

They took about a week to deep dive into the details of our website, along with Google Analytics and our site structure. From there, they produced a document for us recapping everything they found throughout their review. Each finding reported a current state, as well as actionable items to help improve.

What was the team composition?

We worked with two different team members.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any statistics or metrics that speak to the quality of their work and impact of the engagement?

There aren't many metrics to report on at this time, as we are just beginning the work to address our opportunities, but they clearly told us whether our site was sufficient for each item they reviewed.

How did the Coalition Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

Our communication was clear. Expectations were set and agreed upon and the delivery matched what was expected. The team members were both very prompt, professional, and detailed in their communication.

What impresses you about the Coalition Technologies?

Their clarity, willingness to work based on our individual needs, and promptness in communication all stood out.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, we’re very satisfied.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing manager for a specialty film and glasses manufacturer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Coalition Technologies?

We had a major event coming up and needed to ensure that our SEO was top-notch. We first engaged Coalition Technologies to provide SEO services. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Coalition Technologies implemented an SEO strategy that revolves around making structural changes to the website. The team first optimized our listings and copy. They separated and segmented our products, removed repetitive entries, and added keywords. The team also took care of details in our backend.

The team also created a blog and has split responsibility with us to write posts. They can create structure and leave the writing to us, or we’ll provide information to their team, and they’ll write the copy with our edits and guidance. We work together to choose topics.

Coalition Technologies now works to improve our backlinking. We’ve hired their developer services as a separate package to work on our site. A developer stays on retainer to answer questions and fix site glitches. Their team also manage and optimize our Google Shopping listings. We receive detailed reports about revenue and recommendations for methods and budgets. 

What is the team composition?

We work with 2–3 people on SEO, but there are probably 5–6 people working behind the scenes. We also have a developer on retainer. Both teams know what the other is working on at all times.

How did you come to work with Coalition Technologies?

We were looking for an SEO firm based in the same area as us. We found Coalition Technologies online after reading their positive Google reviews. In our first call, the team seemed to know exactly what we needed and was willing to meet us in person. The face-to-face meeting sealed the deal— Coalition Technologies had thoroughly researched our company and came very well-prepared.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $50,000–$200,000 in total on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2016, and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Our Google Shopping alone earns a very high return percentage. We receive reports every two weeks where Coalition Technologies lets us know if our listings have jumped from the second page to the first page of search results. The team provides detailed information and works hard to solve any issues that may come up. We’re looking into a significant rebrand project now with Coalition Technologies. We appreciate their experience with our site and their willingness to cooperate with other vendors.

How did Coalition Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

We have three main points of contact, and they all stay on top of both the SEO and development work. I’m often slower to reply and produce work than Coalition Technologies, so they remind me to fix issues or deliver things when needed. But if you give their team a schedule and a task, they will see it through.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their customer service management is the main reason we’ve stayed with Coalition Technologies. I’m never nervous to reach out to their team and ask a question. Even if I need an answer within an hour, they’ll get back to me right away. We always have someone to contact at any time. Coalition Technologies also has gotten to know our company well. They don’t get defensive if we criticize their work, which I appreciate.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They have sometimes changed copywriters for us without letting us know in advance. I tend to be sensitive to changes in our copy, so I appreciate a heads-up about any resource changes going forward.

Any advice for potential customers?

Know your goals in advance so Coalition Technologies can guide you and give you accurate recommendations. Also, expect to be fully involved in reviewing their work and going over tasks with their team daily. Coalition Technologies will help you manage your time, but your involvement in their work is the key to a successful partnership.