Comrade Digital Marketing Agency

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We build racks and carts for the baking, meat processing, foodservice industry. I am the inside sales manager and I work with the marketing department to make sure that sales and marketing are on the same page.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Comrade Web Agency?

We hired Comrade to help us with increasing our meaningful web traffic.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to double our incoming leads and be sure they come from sources that we can do business with.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We received a referral from a friend in another company that used Comrade's services and were very happy with the result.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Comrade upgraded the framework of our website, tweaked our ads in a more effective way, increased SEO by adding blogs and adjusting product descriptions and adding product and process pictures, and they showed us that adding pricing would help our customers complete the transaction online.

What was the team composition?

We had a project manager, Margo, who has kept us on task and helped us move through the process quickly. Other members included web designers, print designers, Natalie - Marketing Director and Sasha - VP, and others in the background that we did not meet.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

Our leads have doubled and more. Website traffic has increased with all the changes that we have made. We don't get near as many leads for something that sounds like what we do but we don't (I know this sounds odd, but consider it).

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We were assigned a project manager and they asked who would be copied on every email so that the people that needed to be in the loop were in on every communication. It was very effective.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

There were never any questions that we had that the team from Comrade could not answer. They're always confident in their response to our questions and have good reasons for the suggestions that they make.

Are there any areas for improvement?

An in-person visit might be helpful.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a real estate website where users can see homes for sale.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Comrade Web Agency?

Comrade Web Agency helped us to capture the online market for people in the process of purchasing or selling a home. We wanted to get them into our funnel and work with our team of real estate agents.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We designed a brand-new website from scratch and acquired ongoing SEO support. They gave me advice on blog articles, keyword ranking, and traffic reorientation. Sophisticated website design was also provided. The website needed to be updated several times a day and have a great UX that had scheduling and question-answering functionalities.

The site was built in WordPress and used raw data from the MLS. We’ve got that data on the website, which is good for SEO. They did technical work and incorporated a large number of high-quality images, as each house as up to 30 photos. They knew all the necessary technology. At times, they were able to find a vendor who could solve problems they needed.

It was a collaborative process. They find topics on a national and local real estate level. They give me keywords and topics to write articles about, which I then send to them. Their team edits the content and optimizes the site with better tags.

What is the team composition?

We had four members of the team working with us.

How did you come to work with Comrade Web Agency?

I chose them based on their online reviews. They had very detailed reviews on Clutch. Another company I talked to also referred them to me. After speaking with them, they won me over. They worked hard to understand what I wanted to achieve.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $25,000 and $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in June 2019 and the project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Not many statistics in terms of click-through, but we’re getting visitors. The blog articles are getting traffic. The usability and design of the site are great; I love using it. They’ve been excellent and effective. They get things done without going over budget or timeline. Other companies I’ve worked with start websites and stumble, but Comrade Web Agency was great. They delivered.

How did Comrade Web Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

Working with them remotely is very, very easy. They used a project management tool that allowed me to see how the website was laid out while it was under construction. It was easy for me to tell them what I wanted to change. They’ve been very easy to work with and managed everything remotely through emails and phone calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They work very hard to listen to the customer and understand the expectations. That’s their strongest suit. They’re also good at communication and on top of things.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have anything for them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be prepared to do a lot of work remotely. If you don’t want to handle the project through phone calls and emails, it won’t be the best choice. They make it as easy as possible without meeting in person, but some business owners may not be ready to do that. You should also be ready to submit the content they need. You need to know what to say.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the co-owner and vice president of the international kitchen. We are a small, boutique company that specializes in food-themed tours around the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Comrade Web Agency?

We did a complete website redesign the year before with our digital marketing team that we’d worked with for 11 years. After that, our traffic tanked. We tried to fix the backslide in our traffic for months. Eventually, we decided to find another company. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, they pinpointed areas where we had been performing well before the site redesign. At that time, we were mainly focused on increasing our organic traffic. Later on, we started adding some PPC with them as well.

After tracking which pages were under-performing, they made whichever changes were necessary to recoup that traffic. This involved creating new pages and changing the way pages work on our website, such as creating static URLs. They also enhanced the content and page speed. They worked with backlinking and breadcrumbs. 

What is the team composition?

We usually work with 2–3 people, which includes a project manager and two technical people we speak with about certain tasks. A fourth person comes in periodically when we need to strategize form a birds-eye perspective. They also have a team of programmers that we’re periodically in communication with if there’s something very specific we need to talk with them about.

How did you come to work with Comrade Web Agency?

We had a personal recommendation to work with Comrade Web Agency. They felt their business had improved since hiring the team. 

Also, we liked what they said they could do for us. They seemed very confident they could quickly identify the places where we had been losing traffic and help bring it back. They came up with a lot of specific information about our website before we even hired them. They freely shared the problems they had identified and how they would fix them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested between $50,000 to $100,000 with the team.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with the team in April of 2019, and it's an ongoing partnership.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We do monthly reports, which have been easy to track. Also, our organic traffic year-over-year has increased significantly. Some months, the traffic increases by as high as 50%. Our return on investment has been high, along with the number of leads. 

How did Comrade Web Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re super on top of project management. They periodically give me homework that they have to nudge me on. They also make it clear what’s needed from me in order to complete a task, including giving me a deadline.

They communicate what they’re doing, why they’re doing it, and when they expect to have things completed. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The Coronavirus has impacted our entire industry globally. They were immediately in conversations with us about how they could help, including cutting back our monthly expenditures. They think outside of the box about how they can help us overcome obstacles.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we’ve been really happy.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You should ask lots of questions. We had several conference calls with them before we hired them. During that time, they were happy and willing to answer questions until we felt comfortable with the decision.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a managing partner of a small consulting company. We serve clients on a project basis—either through private coaching, team development or enterprise strategy.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Comrade Web Agency?

Our website was basically a business card to start with, and we wanted to make it a useful platform that could help generate leads. In our business, connecting with customers is dependent on understanding human challenges.

Our goal was to tell a story through our site and get more human connections through our content.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They designed the site’s layout and architecture. Then, they developed the platform using WordPress. To create the site’s design, we provided them with a brief and some of our marketing content. That way, they understood who our customers were. We wanted them to use our digital illustrations and creative assets. Rather than user stock photography, we sourced illustrative art that would evoke emotion and human connection.

We had an idea for a quiz, and they figured out how to build that from scratch rather than using a third-party application. They built a custom web app that asks about 15 multiple-choice questions. Users then receive a leadership style profile that is presented on a green overlay. Users then receive an email determining what kind of leader they are.

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact was Reed (Senior Account Executive, Comrade Web Agency) , who does most of their program management. Then, they had a local project manager that would connect us with their development team. Most of their developers are based overseas.

How did you come to work with Comrade Web Agency?

I sent RFQs to about ten different agencies. I selected Comrade Web Agency for two reasons:

They had the time. While other agencies weren’t able to support us at that time of year, Comrade Web Agency was ready to help us.

When we spoke with Reed, he did his best to demonstrate how he wanted to express our message in creative ways.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $15,000 on this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from the end of 2018–April 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’m proud of the work they did. It’s quite beautiful. We worked through all of our challenges. They were able to build the backend so it worked as I wanted. At the same time, the frontend UX is exactly what we hoped for. So, given that it functions, I think we did a good job.

How did Comrade Web Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

In general, they delivered what they said we would, but their project management was less than extraordinary. Depending on the number of projects they were working on, they’d be hands on, and then their level of attention to detail and focus would shift. As a result, I managed a little more than I would have liked.

I set up weekly phone calls to make sure we were staying on track. I would clear up any open questions we had then, too.

I created a shared Google site so the team could have access to all of our content. Then, for our feedback on the site, I had them create copy workbooks and the site layout. I then used slides to demonstrate where changes were needed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were unconstrained by templates or convention and had extraordinary amounts of creativity. They understood our concepts and figured out a way to make them happen. I really valued the development team’s creativity and flexibility.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could improve their project management. Although I didn’t have a problem with being involved, my partner didn’t want to focus on it.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Come prepared and know clearly what you want. They’ll help you figure out the design, but you should understand the architecture you’re looking for.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a real estate agent and the owner of a website that allows people to view properties for sale. It also teaches consumers about the process of buying and selling homes.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Comrade Web Agency?

I wanted to steer more online traffic and home purchase/sale opportunities to us and away from major real estate websites.  

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built a new WordPress website for me. It’s a comprehensive site, with testimonials, information about me and my team, as well as all the home for sale in my area. They also included a blog. That’s about it at this point, but they’re doing some ongoing service for me as well.

Originally, they came to me with a questionnaire. I completed that, and they start coming with colors. They had a wireframe model that I could log into and request things to be moved or changed. We went through a lot of rounds and built the site in pieces, page by page.  

What is the team composition?

We worked with Reed (Senior Account Executive, Comrade Web Agency) from an account perspective and Anna from a development perspective.  

How did you come to work with Comrade Web Agency?

I got annoyed at my previous web developer and put out an RFP to a dozen firms near Chicago. A couple got back to me, including Comrade. Another company we were looking at told us we didn’t have the budget for them, but they recommended we talk to Comrade. They said Comrade would be a good partner for our complex desires and budget.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $25,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together at the end of June 2019. We’re still partnering together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They were excellent, delivering what they said they would on time and on budget, which was my biggest concern. I’ve explored other web developers and marketers, and they fall short after promising the world. Comrade did what they said they would, and now I have a finished product that acts like I envisioned it would.

I’ve been sharing the site with colleagues and they say it looks fresh, memorable, and professional. They say it’s on the level of national company’s website, and I’m nowhere near that size.

How did Comrade Web Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very good. When I expressed concerns over a couple of stumbling blocks, stemming from how comprehensive the site had to be, they replied quickly. They sought a solution and described it to us directly. I wasn’t nervous about vastly missing the launch date at all.  

There’s been lots of communication back and forth over email, along with a check-in every week or two. If they need something, they emailed and I would drop whatever it was in Google drive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m not sure how to answer that because I’ve never used anyone else of their caliber. They took any problems by the horns and took ownership of them, however, which I appreciated.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I wonder if the stumbling blocks could have been avoided with more research upfront. They resolved the issue quickly, but I’m curious if we could have launched the site two, three, or four weeks earlier with more initial research.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Definitely have a conversation with them. They’re open to trying very hard to understand what you want to create and delivering that.

I would also say to keep an open mind. They’ve worked in many different fields doing digital marketing and web design. Let them talk you out of what you want sometimes because they know what will work for your goal. They’re very focused on your goal.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am an Account Manager at an advertising agency in San Diego, Ca. We are a small agency of 10 people who work on large scale projects. Being a small team we need to make sure we have a very solid bench of contractors who we can bring in to assist on projects out of our expertise.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Comrade Web Agency?

My company's previous web development partner was recently acquired by another agency, so we were looking for a new web development partner for a few months. One of our clients introduced us to Comrade Web Agency, who she uses for all of her development projects. We decided to try them out on a small website build for a government funded research laboratory.

What were your goals for this project?

Like most projects, we were working on an accelerated timeline with 5 weeks to design and develop a small WordPress site. The client had a Gala were they introduced the new site and invited attendees to provide their contact information via the new website.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

One of our clients introduced us to Comrade Web Agency because our longtime web dev partner was acquired by another agency. Comrade had a long history with our client so we felt completely comfortable testing them out on this project.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The project was a pretty standard web design project. My team at the agency worked on all the copy and design for two weeks. We handed over all necessary files, specs and requirements for the dev team to hit the ground running.

Ivan, our main POC, was in communication with me through the entire development process, keeping me informed of progress or asking me questions that came up from his team along the way. They handled all the front end and back end WordPress development and thoroughly tested and pushed the site live.

What was the team composition?

I only communicated with Ivan through the entire process, so I'm not sure of the size of the team that worked on this project. But it was nice having such a knowledgeable POC who clearly had a strong team behind him.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

Comrade Web Agency was able to hit our tight timeline to develop, test and launch the site in 3 weeks time for a Gala that our client was hosting. They had over 100 email sign ups that evening. Additionally, we've been contacted by multiple other organizations who attended the event who are now interested in a new website for their organization.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The Project Management was top notch. Ivan was in constant contact with me through the entire process and even checked in with me after the site was launched to make sure everything was a success.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I have to say i'm thoroughly impressed with how nearly pixel perfect their first round deliverable was. I've never given such minor feedback to a round one review. They definitely make my job much easier.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No real feedback on areas to improve. I was thoroughly impressed with Comrade Web Agency.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there. 

I'm the co-founder of BlueCrates located in Chicago. We offer on-demand storage services for people living in the city that lack closet space. We drop off blue crates and wardrobes and store them off-site. There's a digital catalog that allows customers to recall their items.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Comrade Web Agency? 

Our existing website wasn't robust enough for our needs. We needed a partner who could take our vision and produce exactly what we’re looking for. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Comrade Web Agency designed and developed a new website. They built an inventory management system, as well as scheduling capability for both the customer and our backend administration. I believe they use PHP. They also refreshed the look and feel of the website. We've recently employed them to help us with digital marketing now that the site is live.

What is the team composition? 

Kiryl (Software Architect, Comrade Web Agency) is our project manager. We worked with one developer during the redesign, and two people help us with digital marketing. 

How did you come to work with Comrade Web Agency? 

One of my friends recommended them to me. He knew we were looking for a vendor because we weren't happy with our previous provider. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve probably spent $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement? 

Work began in 2018 and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There's an improved ease of use on the new website for our customers. We used to field a lot of questions and have to intervene in the user experience process to let people know how to use the service. That’s tailed off significantly since we launched the new site. We've also noticed an uptick in business now that we started using their digital marketing. We’re absolutely seeing more people creating accounts and placing orders. 

How did Comrade Web Agency perform from a project management standpoint? 

Kiryl does a great job. We meet weekly to go over the project and to make sure that we’re staying on track. We'll text or email, and he's available whenever I need him. If I have an idea in my head, he's able to translate that into the zeros and ones of coding. He's really good at taking my vision and bringing it to a platform that functions in the real world.  

What did you find most impressive about them? 

Cash flow was a main consideration in our nascent stages of development. Comrade Web Agency was quite gracious about payments and keeping the budget palatable. The budget for this type of project can quickly get away from you. They did a good job of managing expectations and helping us along that path. 

Are there any areas they could improve? 

Not having a background in technology development, it's hard to reconcile what I think it would take to complete a project versus reality. The projects did sometimes run over but that’s likely because I didn’t understand what it actually takes to do the work.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers? 

Make sure you’re working with a good project manager. Sit down together and go over your vision and guidelines. Since this is a creative process, putting your vision on a storyboard will help them understand exactly what you're looking for. If you just say we need a website that does X, Y, and Z then you’re giving them the task of creating your vision. That's where things get expensive and timely. With anything, good planning leads to great execution.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of ZenSupplies Inc. We provide software that facilitates dental inventory management.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Comrade Web Agency?

Our homepage wasn’t generating enough traffic. We needed a company that could help us to rebrand our homepage and refine our overall message. We were looking reach 2,000-3,000 visitors per month and implement several calls to action as well. We could have done this internally, but Comrade saved us time by making changes quickly and guiding us through the process of improving our digital presence.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

After taking time to understand our target audience, Comrade completely redesigned our homepage and worked with us to adjust our messaging and reach a larger target audience. They also integrated Hubspot and various automation tools to simplify the user experience. At their suggestion, we went back to 15-20 former clients and gathered an extensive set of testimonials, which are now featured prominently on the site.

What is the team composition?

I was looking to work directly with a CEO for this project, so I asked Ivan (Co-Founder & CEO, Comrade Web Agency) to be present on the calls that I’m on. He has several project managers that interact with my team.

How did you come to work with Comrade Web Agency?

I’ve managed several businesses and Ivan has worked with me on all my sites. This project was on a larger scale than others, so we got quotes from several other companies to weigh our options. Most competitors were charging the same or more, and they didn’t make the same effort that Comrade did in understanding the specifics of our market.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested $10,000-$15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started planning the project with Comrade in December 2017, and the main project was completed on March 15th.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s too early to share specifics on monthly visitors, but I can say they’re increasing significantly. Our Google ranking has increased as well due to improvements on our blog and the addition of video content.

How did Comrade Web Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

They were able to deliver on most aspects of the project ahead of schedule, which I’ve never experienced with a project like this. They worked very efficiently and kept us updated on anything they needed from us. I would’ve preferred that they included us in their project management tools to keep everyone on the same page, but that’s my only note. Everything else was executed properly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were invested in what we were seeking to achieve, which was very important to us for this project. They always followed up with us and kept the project moving at a fast pace.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We ran into some issues around file sharing and keeping each other updated with spreadsheets, which could have been avoided by sharing Asana and Slack for project management and communication. The process went well overall, but parts of it could’ve been simplified by sharing these tools.

Advice for potential customers?

I would suggest that you ask to meet with the person that will be managing your project during the initial interview. Ask them questions about the project and make sure they understand what you want before starting development.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and founder of a marketplace for independent consultants, primarily in the IT industry. Our platform allows them to connect with project-based work. It automates the staffing process and makes it more efficient. The platform is accessible through direct login only.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Comrade Web Agency?

I did not have my own in-house team to develop the platform. 

Our marketplace is not a job board. Instead, a series of candidates in our consultant pool make themselves available on the platform. Based on client need, we match the consultant directly for a specific project. What we’re looking to do is find candidates that match 70% or more of the requirements for each project.

With other platforms, users post jobs and anybody can apply. In contrast, we only allow the most qualified candidate to receive messages. Our clients don’t look to bring in as many resumes as possible. Instead, they want to find the most compelling and accurate candidate to deliver the work. There are a couple of sites that do similar things relative to matching people. The most similar platform would be Hire.com.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I came to them with a set of functional business and technical requirements. We sat down and went through everything, from the process to the overall usability of the product. We worked on wireframes to show what the marketplace would look like and how it would function. We also designed how each profile and each buy would look for our users. Then, we worked together to design the platform, including the color scheme and button placements in the final product.

The platform is built with PHP on the Yii framework. Comrade was responsible for development and design. Ultimately, we use data to drive the matches. Comrade helped build the algorithm from a technical perspective. Comrade did come up with a marketing plan, but we haven’t had time to execute it yet.

I also use Comrade as my in-house development shop for another company where I’m acting as temporary CIO.

How did you come to work with Comrade Web Agency?

Initially, I chose a handful of vendors. I knew some of them, and others I found because of their good reputation online. I didn’t do an RFP [request for proposal] but went through a standard vetting process. Part of the process was to decide whether to hire an in-house team or outsource to a development agency. I met with each development team and outlined what I needed. I wanted to find the team that best understood my vision. It was important that they grasped what I was trying to do from a marketplace perspective.

I was comfortable with Comrade’s breadth of knowledge for frontend and backend development. They could also provide support on the marketing side. They had a holistic approach, which I found to be cost-effective. Using a team of developers and a team of designers provided a better product than if I just had 1 resource for each side. Comrade had the best price as well, although I wasn’t necessarily shopping by that criteria.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began development in November or December 2015. The platform went live in August 2016, but the project is ongoing. They continue to enhance the platform by adding features and functionality.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We now have hundreds of consultants signed up and dozens of clients. They all found us through word of mouth. The platform has ongoing placements, interviews, and matching. From a technology perspective, the success early on was exactly as we had hoped. I thought the quality of work is good.

How did Comrade Web Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

From my perspective, they’re very good at this, although I take on a lot of the project management. I work with their project manager, and I’m satisfied with the timeline and Comrade’s ability to stick to what we are trying to accomplish.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They ask me hard questions to make sure that I know what I’m doing before I spend any money. Comrade acts as a trusted advisor. They actively make sure that the solution is not only suited for 1 person. I don’t have a co-founder, so all the design and development ideas come from me.

I appreciate their ability to deliver work on time and within my budget. They never try to overcharge me, and there are few change requests, which is great. We have a great partnership, and I have even brought them other clients.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Early on, there were certain pieces of functionality that needed to be fixed, and we did that. They could’ve been fixed a little faster, but I think that we shared the blame for this situation. I didn’t push as hard as I should have because I didn’t have the bandwidth. In the end, the site is working as intended. I still use them today, and I wouldn’t do that if I thought there were any issues.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

In 2010, I cofounded a company that provides translation and data entry services. I worked as the director of operations. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Comrade Web Agency?

Comrade was the first company we hired to work on our online business image. We didn't know anything about marketing, and we didn't know anything about how to go online and make our website visible to other people, but we had a business plan so we knew it was a good time to start working with someone who could do that for us.

Comrade they did our web development (created our website), and they did our online promotion, SEO, and Google Ads. They did everything that was possible quickly and within a good budget. I think the website took about a month to create, even though we had agreed to a 5-week timeline. As soon as the website was live, we started working on SEO.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Comrade built us a basic website from scratch to show the online community who we are and what we do so clients can go online and get quotes from us. I’m not sure what was used to build the website. I think it was PHP. The main goal of the website was for us to accept orders.

The leads would go onto the website, place an order, and get a quote. In the translation business, you usually do a quote first, because there’s a big market. Once we saw the quotes, we started talking to the clients and providing them services. We were also hiring people to work for us through the website, so we also were accepting CVs from freelance translators and interpreters through the website.

We told Comrade that we wanted to be different from other businesses in our market, and we asked for their help. They asked us some questions and took it from there. The only thing we provided was the information about our company and what we wanted to do.

They rewrote that text to make it more attractive to visitors. At first, they showed us the initial design, we checked it out, we thought it was good, and we approved it. Then they sent us the text, which we also approved. We actually argued on the images, because it was hard to figure out what we wanted. Eventually, we came to a conclusion with that and figured out what images we wanted to use. That was pretty much it.

In terms of optimizing the site, that was a big issue when we started working with Comrade. They created pages for us, and we added a blog. The main thing was that they were creating and adding new articles every week about translation services, mistakes in translations, listicles, etc.

What I was seeing was that everything was organic. They showed me, “Here we have these words, and that will help us do this.” They were using the words in our company’s name as keywords in different articles. As far as I remember, the content was credible. They were doing a lot of SEO with our blog.

Comrade also put our company information out on different platforms, like Yellow Pages and other local resources, and they created profiles for us on different platforms. We got a few clients from those platforms too.

How did you come to work with Comrade Web Agency?

Comrade was a referral from a friend of mine who had worked previously on a project with them. He said they did a good job and were affordable. We had a limited budget because we were a small business. When you have a small budget, sometimes you have bad service, but my friend said Comrade could do everything for us and in a good way.

We called them to schedule a meeting, and they said we could stop by their office and talk, so we visited them. They explained everything. Actually, at that time, the person who was explaining everything was one of the owners of the company. He said, “I’m going to take the responsibility and create everything for you in a nice way.”

Their fees were not too high, so we decided to go with them because we were looking for the types of services they offered, but we couldn't afford the rates other companies were charging. I also liked that we spoke with the business owner and not some sales representative who doesn't care and just wants your email address. 

How much have you invested with Comrade Web Agency?

I think we about $7,000 for the website, which was a good price at the time. In terms of SEO services, I'm not sure of the total, but I remember we were paying $2,000 a month. So I think the total was around $35,000. We used them for more than a year, but I'm not sure for how long exactly.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Comrade at the end of 2010, and the project ended in early 2011.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

I think within two months we were the first search result for the keywords “business translations” in Chicago, and soon after that, we were the first search result for “legal documents translation” in Chicago. SEO and marketing was the best experience because we got a lot of leads and clients. At that time, the only way to track customers was through SEO, and I loved it. 

How did Comrade Web Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

Comrade performed very well from a project management perspective. They communicated with us very nicely. They were calling us all the time and showing us where they were in the project and what had been completed. It’s not like we paid them, and then three months later there was nothing to show for it.

We did a down payment with them on the website development, and then we paid the rest after the work was done, which was also a big deal. In addition to the emails and updates about the progress, the co-founder/co-owner also called me once every two weeks or so during the SEO work to ask me if I'm happy with the results we were getting and if we were getting clients or if Comrade needed to make changes.

I was happy we decided to work with Comrade because they did everything nicely. They were always following up with us; we didn't have to follow up with them. Every week they would say, “We’re at this step already.”

The website only took a couple of weeks, but we were working on SEO with them for more than a year, and during that year, they would send me a report every two weeks that detailed where they stood with the project and how our rankings were improving.

What did you find most impressive about Comrade Web Agency?

I can tell that the guys at Comrade know what they’re doing. They’re professionals. I think both of their founders majored in marketing and web development. They’re also friendly and have good project management skills, and after working with them on this project. I worked with them on a few other projects, and I referred them to other people because they’re reliable. 

Are there any areas Comrade Web Agency could improve?

I’m not sure if there is something they could improve now. During my experience with them, everything was smooth and good, and I loved it a lot. I think everything was OK. I’m not sure what experiences other people have, but for me, everything was nice.