Higher Images

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a co-owner of a full-service property and casualty insurance broker.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Higher Images?

We needed help with our marketing efforts.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Higher Images first designed and developed our website from scratch. The team now manages our SEO and PPC efforts. They create all the content for our campaigns.

What is the team composition?

We work with 3–4 people. 

How did you come to work with Higher Images?

A few of my friends recommended Higher Images.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in January 2017, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Higher Images has done a great job. Their work is very high in quality.

How did Higher Images perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is good.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The Higher Images team is exceptional.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing they could’ve done better.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a regional pest control company serving the St. Louis area. We are third-generation family-owned. We serve both commercial and residential customers. I am the president of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Higher Images, and what were your goals?

We originally started with higher images for website redesign and both on and off page search engine optimization. The project evolved to also include paper click advertising as well. The challenge we face is a competitive market place in a significantly larger local competitor with substantially higher budget for advertising.

This is further complicated by the fact that they made very few mistakes. Our goal was to improve our rankings primarily organically but also to more effectively spend our paper click budget.

SOLUTION

How did you select Higher Images and what were the deciding factors?

I previously worked with Alex at higher images and trusted his expertise and advice in all things web related. I had worked with several other SEO and PPC companies In the past and generally have been dissatisfied after strong initial results.

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

Project began with a redesign of our entire website not only changing the type style layout and function and also the backend database is in construction. How are images and thorough planning and laid out step-by-step what needed to be accomplished both by myself and them in order to complete the project ahead of schedule. But should’ve probably taken close to six months was completed in just under three.

Following the success of launch of the new website we retained her images for both on and off page search engine optimization to be done on a monthly basis along with constant creation, page updates, and article writing. The project further evolved to include paper click when I became dissatisfied with our previous provider. I images delivered better results with a lower cost/management fee.

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

My primary point of contact was Alex he coordinated with several other members of their team. I believe there was five or six people working at any given time on the different projects but I appreciate the fact that all communication, concerns, and questions went through a single point of contact.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We saw significant gains not only in organic rankings but also in key measurable‘s such as form submissions, phone calls, and new leads. Year-over-year for each year that we were with higher images we saw increases in traffic, new visitors, and time spent on site.

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

They use a single point of contact which made the process I feel simpler and easier and that it was not my responsibility to chase down individual people for individual tasks but instead could voice concerns questions or thoughts to my single contact.

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

Other companies have commented about the quality of our site compared to the amount of money that we spent on its construction. I’ll hire images in some measurable‘s is a smaller firm their work far exceeded expectations and provided true value for both us and our customers.

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

Not really, I was very happy with their work, the results, and all interactions with the company.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a women’s empowerment and business coach, but I’m also a TV host, speaker and author.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Higher Images?

I hired their team to help me put together my website for my personal brands and coaching business.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We worked with them on various stages of the project, from concept to branding to pages to development. I’d built my own website in the past, so I spent some time pulling together graphics and images but they were sufficient in doing it for me. The site is hosted on WordPress. 

What is the team composition?

I worked with project managers and their in-house developers. I also worked with Linda (Owner). Overall, I interacted with 3–4 people at a time. 

How did you come to work with Higher Images?

I’d worked with Linda in the past on a different project and had spoken at the same conference, so we started working together that way. When I wanted to develop this website, I thought she’d be the best fit.

How much have you invested with them?

I believe we worked together from December 2018–February 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’re an awesome team. The website is really nice and I think people enjoy using it. I’ve developed my own sites in the past, so it was really a joy to work with Higher Images. They got all of the pages up and it all looked great. The site functions well and I was pleased with the outcome. I’d definitely refer them to other people. 

How did Higher Images perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very great at communicating. They used Basecamp and were able to communicate with me and my team very well. I was happy to use that platform and it helped keep everything moving. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their level of customer service made them stand out, which was really important. They’d worked with a lot of people in the area, so clearly, they have a strong track record and it showed through the campaigns and sites they’d done. It bodes well to choose someone who’s been in the industry and has a strong sense of legitimacy like they did. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything. It’s been a while since we worked together, but I was really pleased. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be really clear about what you want. Try to communicate it as effectively and efficiently as possible. A lot of times, with websites, you have a vision and you need to be able to relay it so they can give you the end result. I’d suggest even providing examples so they have something to work from and go into it with an open mind. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the executive director at Veterans Place of Washington Blvd. We exist to help combat veteran homelessness in southwestern Pennsylvania. We do that through many programs, including street outreach and supportive services, onsite services, transitional housing, community employment services, opioid programs, and things like that.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Higher Images?

We wanted to increase our brand’s visibility to increase our annual fundraising through a comprehensive social media and digital marketing strategy.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started with brand visibility, which included developing our logo, color concept, website, social media, and monthly newsletters. We had to ensure we were sending one message across all mediums. Then, we needed to strategize to get that brand out into the community.

The first step was through a digital campaign using SEO and social media. We wanted to reach the audience that would be willing to donate and assist veterans in need. The final part will be increasing our awareness and expanding our reach across other communities.

We use Facebook and other platforms. We also coordinate email blasts and paid advertising strategies with them.

What is the team composition?

We’re working with their engineers, marketing team, design team, and SEO team. We work closely with Linda Jo (VP of Corporate Communications & PR) and Bryan (President) on creative ideas and strategies.

How did you come to work with Higher Images?

A friend recommended them. We sat down with them to discuss their price point and other factors. Through that conversation, we got a feel for their professionalism and involvement. We started off small with the website, and the relationship grew organically.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $30,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in April 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve seen an increase in time spent on our pages and click rates. We’ve also seen an increase in our donations – a 20–30% increase in online giving. Word of mouth has also been positive.

How did Higher Images perform from a project management standpoint?

From a project management standpoint, they’ve been phenomenal. Their team has never missed a deadline.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We really like that they are “all hands on deck.” It doesn’t matter what; they’ll give clients what they need.

Their personal interest is excellent. They take a unique approach with each customer to get to the core of what they want. We did vision boards and had multiple meetings. They answered the call, no matter what we threw at them.

Even at times, they’ve let us know if something wasn’t a good idea. I like that they tell us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not really. Any issues have been on our end. They’ve been thorough in their approach.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Just be transparent and direct in what you want. They’ll give it to you.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner and technician at a locksmithing company. My wife helps me with office work, but it’s pretty much a one-man-show at the moment.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Higher Images?

Lots of companies have had a hard time since winter 2019 because of changes with Google. We opened in 2016, and we made a Google listing immediately. We got suspended around three years later, in 2019, and we got no details about why that was. When we contacted Google before the pandemic, there was actually someone there to answer the phone, but they just told us that there was some violation with our listing. 

In short, we needed help from someone who could communicate with Google and help us get our listing live again.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Higher Images put me in touch with Alex (Digital Marketing Strategist & SEO Lead), and we got the Maps listing back live in about two weeks.

He did an audit of my website, and we had a couple of Zoom meetings to discuss what fixes were needed. I gave him the login credentials for the backend, and he did the work that was needed.

Higher Images didn’t develop our website, but they’re working on its SEO.

What is the team composition?

Alex is my campaign manager and the person I deal with day-to-day. I’ve also worked with Bryan (President and CEO) and Linda (VP of Corporate Communications and PR).

How did you come to work with Higher Images?

I was looking for a local company in Pittsburgh, because I’d had experiences with nationwide companies, and it never worked for me. My brother-in-law had a business venture with Bryan, and he highly recommended Higher Images. 

I scheduled an appointment and went to their office to see what they did and how they did it. They were 15 minutes away from my office, and I like working with people that I can meet face to face.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost of this project has been around $2,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I contacted them around May 2020, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Alex was the only campaign manager I worked with that was actually able to contact Google. He’s a Google partner, so he was able to immediately contact them and get details on the guidelines that led to our blacklisting.

I’ve had to let three of my technicians go since we lost our listing in 2019, so the company is much smaller now. We’re looking to rehire a couple of technicians now, and we’ll create a PPC campaign after that.

How did Higher Images perform from a project management standpoint?

I can contact Alex by email, text, or phone whenever I need something, and he’s the one I rely on for everything except billing. We have calls once a month to go over my reports. I can just tell him what I want to do, and he’ll notify me when it’s done. This is a relief for me, given that I’m in charge of answering the phone and doing work on the road. Alex is always there for me, even when he’s super busy.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I can reach them whenever I need to. With other companies, I’d usually have to email them beforehand to set up a time to talk. My business is pretty fluid, so I can’t wait a month to have a conversation with the campaign manager.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing so far.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Get Alex as your campaign manager.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president and owner of Cranston Material Handling Equipment. We sell industrial material handling equipment to manufacturing companies, which allows them to create more space in their facilities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Higher Images?

We were not generating leads from our website. The website had been around for many years. I had tried a web development company for a year prior to working with Higher Images, but they were unable to generate the leads I needed. Higher Images then took over the management and SEO of the website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The majority of the work was structural—keyword research, SEO optimization. Alex (SEO Specialist, Higher Images) worked with me on finding keywords. Our keywords are rather generic, which is difficult, but he went in and made sure that we were optimized. They also asked me to create a blog with content applicable to our industry and supplied a writer to produce content for that blog.

We’ve also worked on a geofencing marketing project that offers location-based advertisements for customers in western Pennsylvania. From a design perspective, there wasn’t quite as much work done.

What is the team composition?

Alex was our main point of contact.

How did you come to work with Higher Images?

I had previously worked with someone at Higher Images at a different business organization. We’d had a company before, but they didn’t work out.

How much have you invested with them?

In total, we’ve spent $25,000 over the last 18 months.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in April 2018. It’s still an ongoing relationship.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In a six-to-eight-month period, we went from not being ranked to almost always being on the first page for many searches. We see about five solid leads and 30 phone calls per month as a result of their work. We’re able to turn those leads into sales. The geofencing project has led to thousands of impressions per month.

How did Higher Images perform from a project management standpoint?

I enjoyed working with Morgan and Alex. They performed very well. Most of the communication went through Basecamp. Through our discussions, they developed an initial scope of work with the website during the redesign. We talked through the changes I wanted and they were able to implement them. They hit their deadlines and are very flexible with scheduling.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I like that Alex, my main point of contact, has been working with me since Day One. He’s gotten to know our business and has a good sense of what I’m looking for. At the end of the day, he brings consistency to each new thing we do together.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They have a service call Visitor ID that automatically sends me an email whenever someone new visits our website. The email lists the name of the company and potential contact information for the company. There are so many new visitors to our website each day I set up a special mailbox in our system to receive the emails. Because the Visitor ID emails have the same suffice as other correspondence from Higher Images, the correspondence from Higher Images's team members gets lost sometimes in the flurry of emails telling us that new companies are visiting our website. It would be helpful if the Visitor ID emails had a different suffice.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You have to provide someone who is tasked with providing content and information to Higher Images. Ideally, that person should be highly knowledgeable about your business. That person can move the process along more quickly. There was often a bottleneck where they’re waiting on me for that information.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and president of a tourism agency. We promote a county on the East Coast of the U.S. as a destination for travel.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Higher Images?

We brought on Higher Images to manage our online marketing program, which is a critical part of how we promote the county.  

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Higher Images provides SEO to increase our organic presence. They also oversee digital PR, PPC, display ads, and our blog. The team manages Web Tracker and Google Ads Remarketing.

They also rebuilt our website; my staff and board provided input, and they redesigned and redeveloped the site from scratch.

What is the team composition?

We work with Higher Images’s entire team, including Alex (SEO Specialist, Higher Images) on SEO, Dave (Director of SEM, Higher Images) on PPC, Craig (CTO, Higher Images) on any website-related work, and Theresa (Project Coordinator, Higher Images) and Morgan (Content Strategist, Higher Images) on the blog and PR.

How did you come to work with Higher Images?

We put out an RFP to three companies, and we chose Higher Images’s proposal.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $150,000. On a monthly basis, we pay $1,000 for SEO, $500 for blogs and PR (which was reduced from $1,000), and $1,000 for the management of PPC, Google Ads Remarketing, and other online components. We also generally budget about $4,000 for website updates.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our work together began in July 2016, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since engaging Higher Images, we’ve seen an increase in conversions. In particular, more customers have been filling out our coupon book.

How did Higher Images perform from a project management standpoint?

We know the whole team, and they go out of their way to accommodate us. As with any agency, they have a lot of clients that they need to prioritize; nonetheless, they’ve been very responsive to our needs and time expectations.

We have monthly meetings, during which we discuss the progress of our SEO and PPC campaigns and consider ways to improve them. They use Basecamp, which my team sometimes has trouble accessing. We also communicate via email and direct contact.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re responsive, and that’s important in the tourism industry, because we need to be able to make changes quickly. They brought us into their office to train us on the website so that we could make changes in-house. We even have the owners’s cell phone numbers, and we can call if we have an issue.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could improve their website development and design services. We’ve heard from people we’ve referred to Higher Images that website work is their slowest area.

Any advice for potential customers?

Stay in touch, communicate, and know what’s going on.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of Garage Door Supply House. We sell our products online across the country. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Higher Images?

Our manufacturer gave us the opportunity to build a website, but I have no expertise in that process. The site needed to enable users to customize products and build the final garage door on the website, and it had to match our manufacturer’s criteria.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

To start, I gave Higher Images examples of sites that I like, but they had a lot of creative freedom around everything. They helped create the look and feel, brand, logo, tagline, etc. for the website. Their team was also responsible for building interactive features for users to create and customize their orders. 

For the marketing efforts, Higher Images runs SEO campaigns to get people on our site naturally. They also manage the paid advertising efforts on Google Ads, Google Shopping, Facebook Ads, and social media posts. Along with those, they work to retarget our ads to improve traffic. 

What is the team composition?

For the website, 3–4 people worked with us, including a designer, developer, project manager, and sales rep. There are also about 3–4 teammates supporting the marketing efforts. My main point of contact is always Dan (VP, Higher Images), but there are different teammates for individual tasks that I can rely on.

How did you come to work with Higher Images?

I’ve known them from being around the Pittsburgh area for a long time and I’d spoken to them in the past about other projects. They came really highly recommended from referral groups, but I received quotes from a few companies and actually began the project with a different team. They ended up biting off more than they could chew, so I moved on from them and chose Higher Images because I wanted someone local that I could trust. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $15,000 on the website. For everything else, not including our ad budgets, we’ve spent between $20,000–$25,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in June 2017 and the site launched July 2018. Our engagement is still ongoing for the marketing campaigns. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

When we first started, it was a slow but steady increase. Over time, we’ve noticed not only a great improvement in traffic but also in our overall sales. We’ve reached the point where we’ve got a consistent amount of sales coming in, which is exceptional for us. 

How did Higher Images perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been great. We use Basecamp to manage the work, which has been very smooth. We’re able to communicate back and forth quickly and keep everything in one place for both projects. Our teams also communicate in person and through the phone, but we use Basecamp for day-to-day tasks. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to customize everything we needed and adhere to our very specific guidelines is great. When they were creating the site, we were able to come to them with certain needs and they could figure it out, even if our ideas changed the next day. They’ve got great, creative people working there and they made a fully functioning website for us. 

The overall most impressive thing about them is their ability to target the right people, bring them to our website, and sell our products. They were able to get customers to pull out their wallets and spend money on our site, which is great for us. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Although no one is perfect, I truly have no complaints about our engagement—everything has been really smooth. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open and honest from the beginning about what you want and what your expectations are. If you bring everything to the table, they’ll develop an understanding of your needs. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the vice president of a kitchen and bath design and remodel firm. We do work, from interior design and mapping to installation, and I manage the day-to-day business operations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Higher Images?

We were unhappy with the company that had been taking care of our website and SEO needs. In particular, we wanted to drive traffic and attract the right kind of clientele to our website. We have so many happy customers but the majority of people would rather write us a letter than leave an online review. Higher Images helped us to get those same happy customers to leave online reviews for us by making it easier for them to do so.  

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Higher Images has helped us in so many different avenues. They rebuilt our website from scratch. Initially, we’d asked them to improve it—but they suggested that if we started over, we’d be better off in the long run. And, they were 100% right. They also run our social media marketing through Facebook and all other platforms.

They’ll continue to take care of our SEO: targeting both organic search results and PPC advertising. They’ve been able to narrow down keywords that will effectively drive traffic to our pages. While they may not fully understand the specific operations of a kitchen and bath business, they truly know how to bring customers to one.

What is the team composition?

In the beginning, there was a team of 10 people working with us. They put their entire team on the project, so we could really tell that they cared about our success. Now that our website is up and running, I have one main point of contact.

How did you come to work with Higher Images?

When we decided we were unhappy with our previous web and SEO partner, we were referred to a list of four providers. After meeting with the owners of Higher Images, we knew they’d be the right for us. They’re the right kind of people. Bryan (President & CEO, Higher Images) and his entire team were extremely attentive to what we wanted to be doing.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $50,000, although it’ll fluctuate depending on how much we spend on PPC advertising.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our conversation started in October 2018, and we have an ongoing relationship. The website was live by December, and it was really amazing how quickly they executed that deliverable.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They were able to deliver a great-looking website in an amazingly quick turnaround. With their content strategy and SEO efforts, we’re now more visible on web searches.

They provide us with monthly reports. They’re able to track our performance, and they let us know of what we should be focusing or spending money on. Higher Images tells us what’s working and what’s not, which has been an incredibly valuable part of our partnership.

How did Higher Images perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been fantastic—they’ve hit every timeline we’ve had so far. They set realistic expectations and won’t promise things they can’t deliver on. They continue to make any adjustments on the fly.

The communication is constant. I can always get a hold of my main contact, who even gave me his cell number so I could reach him at any time. If I email him about an issue, he’ll give me a call back on the same day. He’s been amazing at following up with us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I can’t stress enough how they actually care about the success of our business. They’re not the type of company that’s just trying to sell you something. They don’t want you to spend any more with them that what’s necessary. They build a relationship with you and look out for your business’s best interest.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We don’t have any constructive criticism, because we’re extremely happy with our engagement with them. They’ve exceeded all of our expectations.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You definitely get the personal touch. Their input is absolutely worth it, so definitely take their advice. There are so many creative people on their staff who can steer you in the right direction, so don’t go into the engagement with a fixed attitude.