Ignite Visibility

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the president and CEO of a residential home services business located just north of San Diego, California. We provide heating, air conditioning, plumbing, and drain services to homeowners in San Diego County and the southern portion of Riverside County.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Ignite Visibility?

We purchased the company in March 2016 from an owner who had neglected the business for several years. The company's online presence had become outdated and ineffective, so we engaged Ignite Visibility to revive our SEO efforts.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to improve our website’s organic performance in order to generate high quality, incremental leads for better business growth. 

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We interviewed several agencies that were ranked highly for SEO performance, but were very impressed with all of our interactions with the Ignite Visibility team.

Describe the project in detail.

After completing a detailed questionnaire about our business and project goals, we began participating in weekly conference calls with the team via Basecamp to review project direction, action item and deliverable status, and performance results. 

What was the team composition?

Ignite Visibility assigned us a team consisting of a project team lead, a technical expert, and a social media expert. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Though early in the process, we have seen a significant increase in our page one organic rankings, to which our organic leads have also proportionally increased.

How did the Ignite Visibility perform from a project management standpoint?

The team's commitments were completed according to their proposed schedule.  They were also very flexible and accommodating to other items that we introduced throughout the process.

What impresses you about the Ignite Visibility?

Ignite Visibility has been the perfect partner for us to reinvigorate our SEO campaign. We have been extremely impressed with their professionalism, expertise, level of communication, and project planning as they navigate the process of upgrading our outdated website. They are world-class experts in their field and their level of customer service is truly remarkable.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There are none that I have seen. They are well deserving of the outstanding reputation that attracted us to them in the first place.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a company that sells hair care products like extensions and wigs through various e-commerce websites.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Ignite Visibility?

Our websites weren’t performing close to our standards. We got some sales through Instagram and Facebook, but none from Google searches. I needed a marketing firm to provide SEO.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I designed our French-Canadian website with a developer over a short time frame. The first thing Ignite did towards the SEO effort was analyze the technical aspect of the platform. They found a lot of errors in the site’s code, so they restructured how the URLs work. This included renaming certain URLs and adding products to specific categories. These technical revisions helped improve the site’s overall performance. To further increase our Google ranking, they send weekly keyword lists that are integrated into the website’s content. They have a French-speaking team member who writes two blog posts for us every 2–3 months.

With the success of the SEO project, we recently hired Ignite to also manage our social media marketing. They gave us a calendar that outlines when to post different materials like pictures, videos, quotes, and reminds us to engage with our followers. We now use hashtags on every post and added our social media links and icons to the website. Ignite also added the Facebook pixel to the site so visitors will then see our Facebook ads. From there, we can track conversions to see how much sales were generated and make adjustments whenever needed.

We work with Ignite on a similar project for one of our different websites. It uses the same business model, but the domain is different to target English-Canadian markets. Both projects function on an ongoing contract.

What is the team composition?

A project manager and their assistant are my primary points of contact. They occasionally involve other specialists from their team to provide specific expertise when necessary.

How did you come to work with Ignite Visibility?

I previously worked with another SEO agency, but the traffic their services provided was inconsistent and didn’t increase sales. I used Clutch to search for a company in the United States or Canada with excellent reviews. Ignite seemed like the best option.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve spent $70,000–$75,000 in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2017 and then engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The process was slow at first, but we began to see measurable results after 3–4 months. The website’s bounce rate is down significantly and continues to trend in that direction. Through Google Analytics, we’ve seen sales from searches and social media reliably increase each month. Ignite did an amazing job, even with the French website.

How did Ignite Visibility perform from a project management standpoint?

I routinely call the project manager and their assistant once a week but have to ability to do so whenever necessary. We primarily use Basecamp for communications and updates. They installed Google Analytics and Google Webmaster on our websites so we can easily track marketing information.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re really transparent and have no problem with honesty. They told me upfront that SEO takes a long time to generate results and would require a several month commitment. I appreciated that forthrightness because other companies said I’d be at the top of Google, but would neglect to mention the time-investment required. Additionally, Ignite never makes up solutions. If I ask them a question, they investigate to find the correct answer.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could be more affordable. Their cost is quite high and not what I’m used to paying for marketing. It would be great if they had prices listed on their website and an alternative pricing plan for new businesses. Also, some of the French keywords they provided didn’t make sense for my industry. Nevertheless, they did an amazing job, even on the French website.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Ignite’s services are likely too expensive for startup companies. The results are great, but their premium price necessitates an existing customer base and stable revenue streams.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the Director of Marketing for Shine Retrofits. We re-sell LED lighting products online.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Ignite Visibility?

We needed SEO, CRO, and social media help.

What were your goals for this project?

First, we wanted to increase visibility and traffic to our website. Second, we wanted to increase our conversion rate.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor? 

I worked with Ignite at a previous employer and was impressed with their work.

Describe the project in detail.

They perform SEO research and analysis, CRO audits, digital PR, and social media promotion and management. They also create content for our site and our blog.

What was the team composition?

We have a project manager and work with two social media staff members.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The proportion of keywords we rank on the first two pages of Google for has risen 88%.

How did the Ignite Visibility perform from a project management standpoint?

I have a weekly meeting with the project manager and her team, and we use Basecamp to manage the project.

What impresses you about the Ignite Visibility?

Their quality of work is top notch. Chrystal, the project manager, goes above and beyond in delivering results. The communication is great and Ignite is very proactive.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I don’t have any areas for improvement as I’m very happy. I’ll be a long-term customer.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company specializes retail sales in the hair care industry. As the company president, I oversee all of the company's operations. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Ignite Visibility?

Being in a competitive industry, we faced great difficulty increasing our organic traffic and overall digital marketing strategy. The competitors in our industry are all knowledgeable in marketing and therefore it was hard for us to compete in this environment. We had tried different solutions with no sustainable positive results.

When I was working with another SEO agency previously, I didn’t see a sufficient return on investment. I was receiving a lot more traffic, but nobody was buying. When I hired Ignite, my main concern was if the organic traffic would convert.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The first thing Ignite Visibility did was analyze our entire marketing strategy such as social media, organic traffic, etc. They also surprised me a little bit because, for the first time, someone was recommending enhancements to my website both in design and in technical aspects. For instance, they pinpointed some technical difficulties I had on my website. They told me exactly what to do. Secondly, they did something called conversion optimization on the website itself where we changed a few images and added some quality guarantees and 'returns accepted' language.

In our case, the results came very quickly after that. In a matter of two months, we already had a big increase in organic traffic. The project manager responsible for our project would constantly keep an eye on the competitors. He would come up with ideas, strategies, and even product suggestion. By following their instructions to the letter, we were able to considerably increase our sales. The ROI is excellent.

I hired them for SEO initially, but they started helping us with a bit of everything. One thing that they focused on a lot in addition to SEO was social media. We were using Instagram and Facebook. They asked us to also use Twitter. When I told them I’d never had traffic from Twitter, they told me to use it anyway because it will help our overall SEO strategy and it also adds some credibility if somebody looks at our Twitter. The second thing they did was help me run advertising on Facebook with a sales funnel where we have a posting strategy. We began targeting people on Facebook using their emails.

How did you come to work with Ignite Visibility?

I used to work with a different SEO agency. The agency was horrible, but they had good reviews. Somebody told me if I go on Clutch, I’ll see a bunch of companies and the reviews are verified, which I understand now since I submitted a review online but you scheduled a phone interview to gather info instead of publishing the online review. I found Ignite on Clutch.

We discovered Ignite Visibility because of the numerous positive reviews the company received. In addition, they also had an impressive portfolio of customers.

As I was looking at them on Clutch and their website, they kept mentioning that they are focused on return on investment. That focused on ROI interested us and was confirmed to us in phone calls. Therefore, we decided to hire them.

How much have you invested with them?

We have spent $20,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2017. We’re still doing SEO services. Next month, I am going to do a second project with them to sell on Amazon.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were doing approximately $2,000-$3,000 a month in sales before I hired Ignite. After two or three months, we’re making $10,000-$12,000 in sales. One of Ignite's strategies was to look at what people were searching for in Google Trends and compare with my competitors and then suggest products for me to sell. For instance, my website sells hair care products. They told me ponytail extensions would be a good selling product that I didn't have on my site at the time. So I ordered ponytail extensions from my supplier and listed them on my website and it has been working well. They evaluated and improved our product mix.

How did Ignite Visibility perform from a project management standpoint?

Everything with Ignite is really excellent. This is why I really took the time to give a review. So far, they have been wonderful. The contract says I have one phone call with them every two weeks, but really anytime I could ask them to call and they’ll call. I can send emails and they’ll answer. Communication is their asset.

They told me about a few tools they are using on our project so that I can use it with them, too. One is Google Analytics, which I was already using, but they configured my analytics so that it can track conversions. The second was a product from SEMrush. This is where they track organic traffic, keywords, and performance. I use that tool with them so I can see the progress.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I would say it’s the technical aspects of my website. My website had a lot of issues apparently. I didn’t see that from my end, but they showed me a report that was generated by Google. I had 300,000 URLs being indexed with duplicate pages. It was out of hand, but I didn’t notice that because my website works perfectly fine from my end. They were able to find out a lot of technical issues that Google can see, but that I cannot see. We were able to fix that and that helped a lot.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Anytime I have feedback, they address it. My reaction initially may have been that the price is too high. Paying $3,000 per month for a marketing agency is high. However, I used to hire people from India for a lot less, but there were no results. They have nothing to improve currently.

Do you have any advice for someone who was thinking of working with them?

I wish I had known how long it would take before I would have the results. When I hired them, I initially planned to retain them for three months only. I didn't have a lot of results after just three months. They told me that SEO could take one to two years. I wish I had known in advance that I would have to commit a year or two before seeing positive SEO results.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We're a drug detoxification center. I’m the consulting director.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Ignite Visibility?

We had worked with multiple highly-rated agencies that handle SEO. The solution with most SEO companies is to pour in more money and your results will get better, but that’s not actually true. You pour in more money and they give you more links off the same domains they control. It used to work, but sometime early this year, it stopped working. I’m not an SEO expert, so I needed to hire someone. We always go with Google certified partners. We don’t want any gray areas. We want service that conforms with best practices and is effective. We kept switching SEO companies until we ended up with Ignite.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Every SEO company will give you their pitch deck where they tell you the keywords and where you want to get to. Every company we approached did that. They give you the keywords and try to move them up a few notches. Ignite presented an entire top-down strategy and articulated what would be necessary to implement it. We are not using Ignite for PPC or email marketing, but they have helped with social media marketing, which has been effective.

How did you come to work with Ignite Visibility?

They were recommended by a friend who works at a search engine and has familiarity with SEO, algorithms, etc. We read reviews online including those on Clutch. I do marketing so I can tell how some people get to the top of the list on some of these listing sites, but I did find Clutch helpful. The final metric was to get attention to the site with certain keywords. When I searched best SEO companies, several companies showed up on page one of those results, and Ignite is one of them. The simple hypothesis was, if they can get themselves on page one for a highly competitive keyword, then the odds are that they could do that for us. I looked at the three companies that showed up on page one, and Ignite won due to the time and effort they put into telling us what they’re going to do for us. Their analysis was far more thorough than the other two competitors we were considering. They felt like a good fit, and they seemed like an agency that would do good work on our behalf.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $60,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in February 2017, and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Ignite was remarkably thorough and went beyond looking at our specific niche within the industry to look at the bigger picture. They gave recommendations based on that. We measure Ignite’s success by the keyword positions that we’re interested in and also the number of calls that are generated. In our case, that seems to be directly tied to how many hits our website is getting. During the period of time we’ve been with them, we haven’t rebooted our website or significantly changed any of the content. We are now getting in front of a lot more people and the phones ring more often. What they’re doing has been effective. We’ve watched many competitors get wiped out over the last six weeks because Google keeps changing their algorithms. But our site keeps going upwards, so I have to conclude that whatever Ignite is doing, it’s working.

How did Ignite Visibility perform from a project management standpoint?

We have a project manager who’s always available. They have met or exceeded all deadlines. They are in constant communication. I talk to the entire team every week. I can ask about anything that’s not even related to SEO, and the project manager will send it out to the writers and we get feedback on it. They provide infinite free feedback on any question you have in addition to the services they’re performing on our behalf. We’ve been very happy.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any specific complaints about any aspect of their services. They’re remarkably thorough. Content creation is very complex and nuanced. It’s very difficult to expect writers to get it right away. It takes a few iterations to get there, but I don’t have any complaints.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Within the last 6 months, we have successfully launched and sold 3 companies while using Ignite Visibility as our digital SEO [search engine optimization] partner. Those projects consisted of an air ambulance service, an urgent care franchise, and a Colorado local print shop.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Ignite Visibility?

Each project had its own digital challenges. The air ambulance company’s goal was to provide the functionality of requesting a quote or to call the company from the website. The urgent care company’s goal was to bring visits to its multiple clinics, and the print shop’s goal was to bring visitors to the shop and have them use its services.

Ignite Visibility had the expertise and ability to execute each goal with a high conversion rate. Those that know SEO know that it takes time to build and convert. I've worked with several different companies and Ignite Visibility has had the fastest, most effective results.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Ignite Visibility was successful in acquiring effective backlinks, driving targeted organic visitors to our site and making suggestions to the website that would affect the actions of each visitor, thus growing our conversions.

How did you come to work with Ignite Visibility?

I found them through a targeted Google search. They kept coming up on our searches so I figured that they were good at their craft.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In a short period of time, they produced 14 high google rankings and 5 on Bing. They were responsible for 70 backlinks and 11 referring domains.

What did you find most impressive about Ignite Visibility?

They handled our accounts every day which is unusual for most SEO management services. I was always in the loop on their efforts, and their team was flexible with our team's suggestions and goals.

Are there any areas Ignite Visibility could improve?

I have no complaints with Ignite Visibility and their services.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Ignite Visibility?

I don't have other suggestions for potential customers but I would just say they are an honest company.

BACKGROUND

I’m the marketing coordinator of Lars Remodeling & Design, which is a design-build residential remodeling company in San Diego, California. I work closely with Ignite Visibility to monitor leads and develop and grow our online presence to attract more customers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

We needed more qualified leads per our job constraints. We target affluent clientele, primarily in the North County region of San Diego, including women of ages 35–65 and over with $900,000 in household value.

We wanted to attract these high-end consumers to increase lead count and the quality/quantity of jobs.

SOLUTION

Our advertising agency representative was the one who researched and found Ignite Visibility based off of reviews. She set up a formal meeting with the account manager there, and after a few discussions, we chose to sign an agreement with them.

Ignite Visibility currently develops more leads through online research, search engine optimization, pay-per-click advertising, blogging, and social media.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

The lead count has increased with Ignite Visibility's involvement. We measure the return on investment by the number of qualified leads that set appointments for a complimentary design consultation — which is the first step in our remodeling process — and the number of qualified leads that convert to a contract sale.

They did a great job and stuck to the timeline and budget. Their team is very communicative. However, they should look into competitors more as an improvement to make sure we monitor what works for other local firms as well.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a healthcare company with over 40,000 employees. My role is in consumer marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Ignite Visibility?

We needed to support new and established locations in a transactional environment by using paid search to drive efficient volume. The actual objective is to drive new patients to our urgent care centers using paid keywords to capture customers when they are choosing their location.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Ignite Visibility was a legacy agency from purchase. We worked with them for about nine months on PPC as we transitioned our SEM management to our established corporate partner. We chose to keep them on board until we determined how best to promote the centers and integrate them into our broader system work, which took about nine months when we decided to move the business to our established AOR.

They also contracted with us for SEO services to oversee the rebranding of the purchased website and eventual transfer to another domain as well as Social media services in the last few months

What is the status of this engagement?

They were actively managing our PPC from November 2016 until May 2017. They assisted with rolling out new location campaigns and developing new metrics to measure the impact of PPC on our clinic foot traffic.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They provide great SEM work resulting in a consistent week-over-week volume growth. They maintained an efficient and affordable cost per conversion.

What did you find most impressive about Ignite Visibility?

The SEM team brings a rich, deep knowledge of paid keyword search resulting in measurable, positive results.

BACKGROUND

We are building a national fertility services practice with locations in Houston, Dallas, and soon Atlanta. We make families! I am the CIO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

While we were pleased with the website that was created by our previous digital marketing firm, the results from our paid and SEO campaigns for social and search were underwhelming.

SOLUTION

We needed a firm with more expertise and a focus on managing and growing our online presence. We reviewed several different “Best Digital PR firm” lists published by reputable reviewers. Ignite Visibility kept consistently coming up, and so we made the choice to include them in our search. After interviewing several firms, we selected Ignite. 

We needed a firm that could get us improved performance on our ad spend. After analyzing available data on our accounts, Ignite was confident that not only could they improve our performance, but they could do so at half the expense!

They have helped build a few infographics that we are using in our social efforts, and we are about to launch an interactive quiz. They have also assisted with website maintenance. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

We are starting to see some encouraging results. Our sales cycle with new conversions is quite long, and we have only been with Ignite Visibility for a little over six months, but we are certainly seeing an increase in the initial conversions that Ignite helps to drive. 

Ignite stepped in as our digital marketing and PR firm in October of 2016. Since they began managing our account, we have seen a 500% increase in new users and a 400% increase in organic sessions on our sites. We have been extremely pleased with the results, and working with the Ignite team has been great!

I have been very happy with everything. If I am really nit-picking, I had to ask for my reports to be split in a certain manner twice before it happened, but that was a minor issue. I wouldn’t even consider it a complaint. I am sure there are a number of firms that are capable of providing similar services since it is a very competitive vertical. However, we have been very pleased with the work they have done, and their service has been wonderful. It has been a great experience with Ignite.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Clutch is a B2B ratings and reviews platform that connects buyers and sellers in the IT sector. We conduct in-depth interviews with clients of companies in the design, development, marketing and technology industries and publish those reviews to help buyers make more informed decisions. We also publish research on trends and best practices across the tech space. I am the research manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Ignite Visibility?

We were looking to speak with a couple of international SEO [search engine optimization] experts to get some high-level advice on our global campaign to grow our traffic and traction in other countries. We were trying to figure out if we could translate our content to target a group of 10–15 countries.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I reached out to John, the CEO of Ignite Visibility, to see if I could get a few tips. He was happy to talk to us by phone. It was pretty informal but very educational. They’ve done a lot of work in Latin America, which is our main focus, so we learned that pages need to be translated in the language of the specific company, including their slang, in order to be successful. Otherwise, the site won’t be popular there. We didn’t know that before, so that information was really helpful.

How did you come to work with Ignite Visibility?

I did a little bit of research and figured out that a couple of companies on our site are experts in international SEO. Ignite Visibility was one of those and they market international SEO heavily on their website.

How much have you invested with Ignite Visibility?

The call was just 30 minutes and they provided some information by email, so it was a pro bono project. They were happy to help us out because they know that if we grow, it helps all the companies on our platform to grow as well. They were generous with their time and information.

What is the status of this engagement?

We contacted them in April 2017. This was a one-time relationship but they are open to doing more consulting with us. I wouldn’t be surprised if we go to them again in the next year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They were the second experts that we spoke to. We didn’t get the most positive answer that we were looking for, but John backed up what we had already learned which was that we need to translate our content to Spanish and other languages in order to be successful in other countries where the native language isn’t English. He walked us through what the expense would be and the time it would take. They’ve done it a lot for other clients and they used other client examples to show us that it’s a huge investment of time and money. The information was helpful because it guided us to dial back what we were doing on the global side and led us to try to do something smaller before we fully dive into translation and localization.

How did Ignite Visibility perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very responsive by email and responded within hours. They set up a call within a week, which was convenient for us. We got access to their CEO.

What did you find most impressive about Ignite Visibility?

John’s knowledge and how open he was impressive. He was able to give us a lot of facts that were backed up by real world projects that he’s doing now or worked on in the past. We could see why he’s on the speaking circuit and teaching college courses. He clearly knows the SEO industry.

Are there any areas Ignite Visibility could improve?

I can’t think of anything. They gave us great advice at no cost in a quick manner. I have no complaints.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Ignite Visibility?

Pick their brain and be open about your goals early on because they have a lot of expertise. You should trust them to guide your strategy rather than tell them what you think is going to work. They know better than you and a lot of it is not intuitive.