Greenlane Marketing

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for an awning company that’s a division of the larger textile manufacturer from Philadephia. We’ve been operating here for 146 years since 1874. I joined two years ago as a marketing manager, and I run the marketing for all the divisions of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Greenlane Search Marketing, LLC?

We had been working with another SEO consultant for five years before I signed on.  I was the first internal marketing professional that they had hired. Since the relationship didn’t appear to be working very well for us with our previous SEO consultant, we mutually parted ways. As a result, I looked for a new SEO company that could grow our traffic instead of just continuing things at a flat level.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They did on- and off-site SEO. The team also performed keyword research and managed our Google Ads and PPC efforts. Furthermore, they did technical audits which we passed along to our developers who made the changes. 

What is the team composition?

Sebastian (Senior SEO Account Manager) is our main point of contact. 

How did you come to work with Greenlane Search Marketing, LLC?

I found them because they were one of the only local SEO firms on the most recommended vendors list. I looked into them as well as a couple of other firms. It was a fairly hard decision because another firm seemed like they would be a good fit too. 

However, we ended up with Greelane because they were a bit less corporate. Our previous SEO vendor was a very corporate and high-end agency, so I decided to go in a different direction.

How much have you invested with them?

Before the pandemic, we’ve been spending $8,500 per month, $7,000 for SEO, and $1,500 for SEO. In April 2020, we dropped down our budget to $1,500 per month for PPC.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began collaborating in November 2018, and we’re still working with them, although in a reduced capacity.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I was mainly looking at traffic growth. We were specifically looking at SEO and how much traffic we were bringing in and we grew quite a bit in 2019, which was the first time in several years that we had grown. To be clear, in 2017 and 2018 our growth was flat, and then in 2019, we grew 25% year-over-year (YoY). 

How did Greenlane Search Marketing, LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve used Slack quite a bit and Google Drive to organize weekly reports that they write for us. We also have weekly calls. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s a relatively small company and it seems like they have a really good rapport with the company. They also have an office environment that lends itself to everyone. We appreciate that they’re very helpful.

Sebastian is the most knowledgeable person in terms of identifying people who can answer our questions. He will talk to them and come back with answers, so there’s a lot of collaboration.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

They are improving on this, but they can definitely get better at demonstrating results. At first, their reporting was fairly rudimentary. I do think we’re getting good value from the work we’re doing with them, but they can do a better job of highlighting it and showing the value they’re providing. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re a very friendly agency. They know their stuff. I would recommend them. I’ve been happy working with them and I haven’t been looking to jump ship to other providers. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I head up content for a media and publishing company that leverages our audiences to help sponsors sell product D2C.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Greenlane Search Marketing, LLC, and what were your goals?

We were growing a new publishing site from scratch while marketing our content on behalf of multiple sponsor/advertisers.

SOLUTION

How did you select Greenlane Search Marketing, LLC and what were the deciding factors?

I have hired Greenlane on similar projects at past companies, over and over again for the last 10 years and always been impressed by the results. Some examples:

• They helped my team implement a fix of an undetected tech issue which led to 30% MOM growth right off the bat (this represented around 2 million additional visits per month);
• They ideated a topic center that brought a new audience to our sponsor's pages;
• They partnered with my team on navigation changes that led to a more targeted audience and better conversion.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and campaigns.

This project included a full site platform tech audit, hands-on QA of our new site, initial strategy work on the information architecture of the site and pages, consulting on international content strategy set-up, and content topic research for launch. Some mix of these elements is now done on an ongoing basis.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Partner, Account Director, Content Strategist Technologist, Analytics Expert.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

With Greenlane's help our site went from 0 to 150,000 unique visits per month in under a year...and growing.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

I have always found their team to be WAY above average in this area. I honestly treat them like an extension of my own team. We move very quickly and are always throwing new challenges and ideas at them and they love it!

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

They don't stop at doing the work request, the proactively look at ways we can do better, not just on organic traffic, but in or business on the whole. I love that they take the time to understand everything about how we operate.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

I'm working with them on streamlining the way different channels within my company access our account director. Everyone wants to use them, and I find myself needing more visibility into how my own company requests their time when I'm not copied directly.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the digital marketing manager at BLANCO North America. We design kitchen water place solutions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Greenlane Search Marketing, LLC, and what were your goals?

We wanted SEO and PPC campaigns for 24/7 visibility.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

This was the agency I inherited upon starting the position at BLANCO.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and campaigns.

Topic cluster blog model, blog ideation and creation, and integrated PPC campaign management.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

They assigned an account manager, PPC specialist, SEO specialist and blog writer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Organic and Paid Search brought in 80% of all path to purchase conversions, making them the top acquisition channels. We achieved conversion KPI expectations and several priority keyword ranking increases.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

They were great at managing expectations, maintaining transparent communication and organized agendas.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their PPC specialist was a subject matter expert and was great to work with.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

More transparency behind hours being used. Very flexible when scope of work changes, etc.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I was the revenue director and we were rebuilding our marketing function. Bill had personally advised our company on best SEO practices for years and when we were missing key roles in our team, always offered us great solutions. We started working with them to run our PPC campaigns. They set us up and managed things very well. They are always available for questions and make sure to send detailed reports and agendas every time we had a meeting. They really work to support your team. They feel like your team more than an outside agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Greenlane Search Marketing, LLC, and what were your goals?

SEO reviews and audits as well as managing our paid ad campaigns. Goals were to make sure we were launching technically sound new websites and optimize our paid ads.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Bill and his team were a referral. We selected them based on the work they did for a partner company.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and campaigns.

They conducted a discovery phase both for our SEO audits and PPC campaigns, and then swiftly provided an action plan with suggested budgets, and got to work.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

3: Bill on SEO consulting, Head of PPC and another team member for paid ads.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Cost effective way to manage key components of a marketing team. Organic traffic grew once we launched our new website and we were optimizing paid campaigns more than ever.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Weekly meetings, email communication. Always available when you need them. Clear reporting and project plans.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

It's unique that they invest in getting to know you, your team, and your business so they can do their best work. They feel like additional resources rather than consultants.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Nothing I can think of to date.