Ignite Visibility

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our company is a private, elective plastic surgery practice with an on-site surgical facility. We have one plastic surgeon and one anesthesiologist who are the owners of the practice.

I am the anesthesiologist, the practice administrator and VP. I am responsible for all of our marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Ignite Visibility (IV) for comprehensive digital marketing including SEO, earned media, content,, social media marketing, link building, on-site and off-site optimization, blog creation/content, Adwords on Google and Bing and email marketing.

Are business is established and has enjoyed a consistent level of success in a very competitive vertical and market space. However, we are in a very large metropolitan area with increasing competition and a lot of residential turnover requiring a strong digital presence to maintain our position and foster growth.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals were two fold. First, to find a single solution and work with an ethical company who would do our online presence no-harm but would also have the intellectual capacity and credible workforce to produce measurable improvements in a reasonable time frame.

We wanted a company who was transparent and accountable for our budget/spend and who allowed us access, control and ownership of the work product. Second, we wanted a full-court press approach. We are looking at being in our business full time for the next 10-15 years and these should be the most financially productive years.

Additionally, we need to increase the value of our business such that we have an asset with transferable value, to offer a buyer or associate as we transition from the day-to-day ownership of our business.

Given our time line, we needed a company who is on the cutting edge of digital marketing and not only knows what should be done but knows how to do it and has the man power and know-how to execute a master plan.

We needed a company who could make a big impact in a relatively short time period without harming our online presence. Our "short" time period is 1-2 years to realize significant changes in our online presence and ROI for online marketing.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Research. Interviews. We have been thru at least 9 different SEO/digital marketing firms over the past 14 years.

The problems we encountered were:

• firms who knew what to do but didn't know how to do it and/or didn't have the man power to execute what needed to be done.
• firms who didn't know what they didn't know and caused our site harm by participating in practices that achieved short term results at the expense of hurting our long term on line presence.
• firms who excelled at marketing themselves but had no genuine interest or ability in marketing their clients--their only goal was to sign up monthly subscribers locked in to contracts
• firms who tried to hold clients hostage with fear tactics by withholding ownership or access to the website, analytics, adwords history or the site itself
• firms who provided boiler plate, cookie-cutter web platforms that did no harm, were reasonable in price but were not capable of competing in a competitve market or vertical.

I did a lot of research on line, used sites like Clutch and depended on their reviews and read comments from owners like myself, spent time talking with and reviewing proposals from potential digital marketing firms.

Ignite stood out from the others by a long mile--they actually listened to what I needed, did a ton of real, meaningful research into my site, addressed the problems specific to our website and market in the digital space and produced a master plan with options to address what we wanted to achieve.

They spent a lot of time going thru the proposal and gave me options of how to get where I wanted to go with sensitivity to my budget. However, I really appreciated that they were honest about what was needed to achieve what I wanted with a timeframe and realistic budgets associated together.

They didn't sell me to a number they thought they could get me "signed up for"--they told me what I wanted to know and let me make the decision regarding the budget, time frame and scope of work I was comfortable pursuing.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Ignite provides comprehensive digital marketing with the exception of video asset creation/promotion.  They create and optimize new content for our website, they created a blog and provide ongoing content for the blog, they provide analysis and updates on an ongoing basis for on and off site optimization of our website in order to keep the site up to date with Google's best practices. 

They utilize A/B testing and CRO analysis to make updates and changes to the site with particular attention to the mobile user experience. They create meaningful content in order to garner high quality, high value links to our site. 

They also create and optimize digital PR in the form of guest blog posts, infographics and press releases.  Additionally, they seek out key influencers as part of digital PR. 

They also provide service for the creation, optimization and managment of paid media campaigns on Google, Bing and Facebook.  They create content and manage our social media on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. 

They provide creation and management of ongoing email campaigns to foster new leads and maintain relationships with our current client base.

What was the team composition?

I have a head/team manager SEO poc, a content team poc, an email poc, paid adwords poc, social media poc and at times an out source contant brought in when we need to address development or site issues.

We meet weekly in addition to communicating via email and Basecamp. I find them to be very responsive and the most organized, professional company in this space I have ever worked with.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our organic traffic has increased 100% over what it was in the prior 6 months.  Additionally, our conversion rate and quality of new leads has greatly improved.  This has translated to a 62% increase in qualified new leads attributable to Ignite's management of our digital marketing. 

The increase in traffic and leads has directly impacted our profit in a positive manner.  We have experienced the most profitable 3rd and 4th quarter in 15 years and the first quarter of 2020 has already exceeded our best first quarter ever by 18%. 

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We have been working together for a few months and anyone who transitions to a new company understands that the transition is just like moving into a new office or house.

It is a process that requires good communication, a plan and involves clean up as well as handling some bumps in the road and managing unexpected hiccoughs. I have found the transition to be the best I have ever experienced.

In the past I have signed on to work with a company that I selected after much due diligence and excitement only to begin to have buyer's remorse, misgivings and disappointments from the beginning of the transition.

This was NOT the case with Ignite. Instead, the transition process has affirmed my decision and I have been relieved and delighted not only at the process but it is only time when I have moved to work with a new company for digital marketing that my SEO/digital marketing has actually shown siginificant improvement in rankings and ROI within the first 90 days rather than showing a loss of traffic or rankings or ROI.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The people. Highly focused, organized, capable and professinal. Ignite Visibility has a master plan and big picture that drives the daily details of work. They plan, measure, adjust and communicate.

They do what they say they are going to do and they have developed a strategic approach to digitial marketing based on the cutting edge of the digital marketing space and what they know is both ethical and will produce results.

The don't approach the process by trial and error but rather equipped with a plan based on current, best and proven practices that are employed strategically, measured and adjusted for maximum benefit. They never rest. Always with an eye toward improvement.

The digital marketing world is a living, constantly involving space and your digital footprint through your website, mobile site, social media, email and paid ads is never "finished".

There are always improvements to be made and they are always aware of that and planning for the next phase. Assuring that their clients results will be sustained and grow because they don't rest on their laurels.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Currently, they partner with some others for development and site creation. It would be great if they added that in house as their approach and culture paired with that element would be a great addition to their direct services.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of operations for Doozycards.com. We’re a family-owned, online business. We supply ecards and related services like birthday and holiday reminders. We make our own animations, and function like and animation studio, though that’s not our primary purpose. We make greeting cards with 30–60 second animations with music and voiceovers and whatnot. Then people sign up for our services and send those. With an annual fee, users have access to 2,0000 animations they can use for birthdays and holidays.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Ignite Visibility?

We did PPC in-house and had some success, but our owner and CEO was the one responsible for that. As business heated up, he needed to pass it off to someone

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

When we hired them for SEO, we got what we needed, but they also consulted on our site design and conversions, which helped us design to increase conversion rate. In 2013, when Google launched Penguin, that’s when backlinking became very blackhat and we were hit very hard. Our old SEO consultants created about 13,000 spurious backlinks, and Ignite Visibility had to clean those all out.

Once our SEO was in good shape, we decided to reallocate our budget and focus on email marketing with them.

When we hired them for their SEO and email marketing services, they also provided advice. They’re a holistic consulting firm. If they notice something is affecting the conversion rate, they’ll mention it, work with us on it, and give their best advice.

They created an SEO strategy beyond backlinking. The new strategy includes long-tail keywords, and they advised us through a complete website redesign. We redesigned our site aesthetically and logistically to increase conversions.

What is the team composition?

As they grew, they added more people to our team.

How did you come to work with Ignite Visibility?

Originally, we started working with Eythor (Head of Paid Media, Ignite Visibility) before he was working with Ignite Visibility. It’s such a nitty-gritty, detailed process, so we felt confident passing it off to Eythor. We were also working with them for PPC, but then he joined Ignite Visibility, so they work on both.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in 2012, and they’ve been hands-on since then.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The site is much better, and we’re keeping the same principles that they outlined for us.

They were fastidious. They did a lot of work for a long time, eventually, they pulled our butts out of the fire and got us back on track. They got us back into the search rankings. We’re extremely happy. They put in extra hours throughout the day around the holidays because that’s so important for our business. So, they seem to care about our business and want us to do well.

How did Ignite Visibility perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed pretty well. I meet with the email marketing consultation manager every week. We use Basecamp to manage the program. They work with us and customize what they do to fit what works best for us. They’re good at drawing in other people for advice on different topics, especially if what we’re doing might impact our PPC, for example.

They communicate easily and freely. We feel confident communicating to both our SEO and PPC leads at any time. Their interdepartmental communications are seamless.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The level of detailed knowledge that their consultants have. They’ve offered excellent advice that went beyond our expectations.

They’re also very flexible and stand out compared to other development companies we worked with. They recognize what our needs are, but also offer additional insight. They’ve cared about how well we do since day one. Our email marketing lead always goes the extra mile to capture those conversions.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Like any business, there are a few things they may have dropped the ball on. It may have been relying on algorithms rather than being more hands-on. But overall, we’ve had fantastic consultants.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Know the consultant and put them through their paces. This way, you’ll know that the consultant that has been chosen for your business is the right fit and they’re listening to their needs.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Tiempo Development’s a software outsourcing company that operates according to a near-shore model. We have four development centers in Mexico with over 400 engineers. Our clients engage us to reduce development costs but also leverage the collaboration and communication offered by our team that develops in the same time zone.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Ignite Visibility?

We needed help with our SEO efforts.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We outsource our SEO initiatives to Ignite Visibility. Their team focuses their efforts on organic traffic following a list of terms that are important to our business. They optimize specific pages for those keywords and secure backlinks for us.

What is the team composition?

I work with Luz (Project Manager, Ignite Visibility).

How did you come to work with Ignite Visibility?

I found Ignite Visibility on Clutch.

How much have you invested with them?

We set the contract for $65,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We contacted Ignite Visibility in April 2019 but didn’t start the project until a couple of months later because we were in the middle of a website build. Our relationship’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re still ramping up but our organic traffic’s up over 600% from the year prior, which is positive.

How did Ignite Visibility perform from a project management standpoint?

Ignite Visibility's responsive and willing to change direction at a moment’s notice. Their team implements feedback to the best of their ability. They’re more geared towards B2C companies, so the technical nature of our services can be a challenge. If their copy isn’t at an acceptable level, they’ll work on it without an issue. Their team’s willing to put in the time and effort necessary to make sure a task’s done right.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve experienced nothing but complete professionalism from Ignite Visibility. Their team delivers on the services that we agreed to in our contract. I’ve worked with a lot of SEO companies in the past that weren’t trustworthy. These service providers weren’t accessible, secured low-quality backlinks, and engaged in deceptive practices.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It’s a challenge for them to employ strategies that are more suited for the B2B space. The only improvement that their team could make is to hire individuals that are more fluent in B2B marketing. When you create something for a B2B buyer, it needs to be thoroughly researched. It needs to be written at a higher-level because B2B buyers are knowledgeable. It would be helpful to have someone that’s more versed in B2B marketing and takes the time to interview subject matter experts.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

When you engage any SEO or PPC company, engage a company with domain experience. This will reduce their learning curve on your product. Look at their case studies and ask about their past clients to see if they’ve had success working with an organization like yours.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

iBUYPOWER is a Systems Integrator that builds custom and prebuilt gaming computers by assembling parts & components from top industry brands.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

iBUYPOWER needed granular SEO advice and implementation as we transitioned our website. Ignite's services, lead by Khalil and his team, helped us diagnose several issues regarding the back-end web development, ultimately boosting our SEO, while going above and beyond to transfer knowledge share to ensure our long-term success.

What were your goals for this project?

To diagnose fundamental SEO issues, while ensuring effective knowledge share. To increase and sustain our top ranking pages and keywords. To coordinate reach-out/PR campaigns for industry-related editorials.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Our Web Development team had been speaking with Ignite for some time. When I was brought onto the Marketing team August 2019, the responsibility of the project was handed over to me for execution.

Describe the project in detail.

Khalil coordinated weekly calls and daily incremental improvements right from the beginning. His organization and patience with our workflow capabilities was essential to incremental growth of our SEO rankings.

What was the team composition?

Khalil lead a team that included: Digital PR Coordinator SEO Assistant Premium Content Creators

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Significant growth in primary keyword/landing page needs, as well as backlink audits, toxic URL redirects. However, the greatest value has been the knowledge share, as Khalil thoroughly demonstrated the proverb "Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he eats for a lifetime."

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Highly efficient and effective.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We've been impressed by the talent and specialization of the consultants.

Are there any areas for improvement?

N/A

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Extraordinary Conceptions is an International Surrogacy and Egg Donations Agency. We match egg donors and/or surrogates with Intended Parents from all over the world and run the cycles from start to finish. My name is Erica Renkke - I am the Marketing Director for EC.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We have been working with Ignite for almost 4 years on our SEO, Google and paid media, blogs, press releases, landing pages, infographics, outreach and more.

What were your goals for this project?

To gain more exposure in the US and Canada in order to be number one in our field.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

An EC employee took a class at UCSD and got to know the teacher who happened to work for Ignite.

Describe the project in detail.

It's not just one project. It has been an ongoing growth of opportunities for our agency to grow.

What was the team composition?

We have a whole team from Ignite including the Account Manager, SEO specialists, social media, blog writers, etc Anytime our needs change, we are accommodated with a new team member who has the knowledge and experience we need.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our clientele base has grown exponentially each year, along with being in a number one position in our industry.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Communication through email and Basecamp is very effective. Weekly and biweekly meetings are very helpful.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They have always been able to meet our needs in a very unique business. There has been a huge learning curve for our team from Ignite and they have always accepted the challenge.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We always want to continue to grow and are now looking to do so in the UK and EU. So we will be looking to Ignite for their expertise on this new venture.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the founder of a healthcare training company in Orange County California. I'm responsible for the growth and overall direction of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Ignite Visibility to take care of our digital marketing and SEO.

What were your goals for this project?

To bring in more customers, secure ourselves as a thought leader in the industry, and ensure our content was available to people looking for life saving training.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I have known John (Co-Founder, Ignite Visibility) since very early on in his SEO career. His knowledge and drive was apparent from the start and we were a great fit because both of our company values were in line.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Ignite Visibility manages all of our digital strategy, PPC, and also assists with social media.

What was the team composition?

I've worked closely with many different members of their team over the years. Eric (Account Manager, Ignite Visibility) is currently the pointman on our account and he has been fantastic. Since the beginning we've been able to experience a wide variety of their team members and each has had a unique perspective on digital marketing which has helped our business grow.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since the beginning, Ignite Visibility has come through on all of their deliverables. Our sales have increased along with our brand awareness. They are a huge asset to our team.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow has been simple and we manage the process through a Basecamp account and weekly calls.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

John Lincoln and his team provide a great service with integrity. Their company values are strong and we continue to work with them every year.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, they've continued to impress us.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I was the Associate Director of SEO for an online marketplace business. I was responsible for the strategic direction and execution of our SEO program and partnered with internal stakeholders to ensure that new projects were carried out with SEO best practices in mind.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Ignite Visibility provided SEO consulting services - including monthly metrics reports for our US-based website. Additionally, Ignite Visibility supported the growth of new international domains by providing on-page requirements, SEO-friendly content and link outreach and procurement services.

What were your goals for this project?

For our US-based website, our goals were to improve rankings and traffic for our marketplace pages. Specifically for our international initiatives, our goal was to increase search engine rankings and traffic for target keywords. This was achieved by improving the domain authority of new ccTLDs, and introducing optimized content across our marketplace pages.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Our relationship with Ignite Visibility goes back more than a decade. However, our decision to renew with Ignite Visibility was made due to their accommodation on budget and their flexibility in updating our agreement to focus on services that best fit our needs - such as link outreach and content development. As Ignite Visibility has grown, John has remained involved in our contract and has continued to provide valuable input that cannot be easily replaced.

Describe the project in detail.

Over the course of the project, we worked with Ignite Visibility on multiple initiatives to help improve our rankings and traffic. Specifically, they helped us revise and add new optimized content to our most valuable marketplace pages. They conducted link outreach by identifying relevant, high-authority blogs and websites to link back to our global sites. They also provided ongoing consultation related to site maintenance and various migrations.

What was the team composition?

Our direct line of communication was through a project manager, but we also remained in close contact with the owner. He always goes above and beyond to keep up-to-date with our business and provide input when needed. We also worked with a content editor, a copywriter and a linking specialist on an as-needed basis.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Following targeted link campaigns for our international domains, we saw exponential growth - with one of our sites seeing YoY traffic growth of over 1000% later in the engagement. As a result, we were able to displace established brands in growth markets and expand our global presence. Ignite Visibility also helped us resolve a manual action penalty related to UGC spam, which had been in-effect for more than a year.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The team has been great to work with. They are flexible with scheduling and sensitive to tight deadlines on urgent deliverables. Typically, we met weekly to check-in on various projects. We also used Google Docs, where we could see real-time updates for content and link-related projects. SEO reports were also shared on a monthly basis.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The most impressive aspect has been John’s involvement in our account. Having his historical knowledge of the site, his point of view and his passion for our business have been indispensable. While Ignite Visibility went through high growth over the course of our relationship, John always made himself available, and even came out to meet with us on-site.

Are there any areas for improvement?

As with many external partners, transparency into the team’s process and proactive approach could stand to be improved. While we used Basecamp and Google Docs to track our projects, these were not always updated in real time. Status updates were otherwise provided during weekly calls.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a co-owner and co-founder of The Wildland Trekking Company. We lead guided hiking, backpacking, and adventure vacations around the world. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Ignite Visibility?

We hired Ignite Visibility as our Google Ads management consulting firm. We were looking to reduce our ad spend and increase its return.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Ignite Visibility manages our Google Ads account. They revamped the campaign to offer a more customized level of management. We’ve expanded our engagement, and the team also now does social media advertising for us (primarily through Facebook). 

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with three people, including a project manager, an account manager, and a person dedicated to our social media advertising campaigns.

How did you come to work with Ignite Visibility?

We had another Google Ads manager that we were working with, but the results they produced declined quickly afterward. We looked around for another management company to do an audit of our account. Ignite Visibility had excellent reviews and seemed to be a reputable company. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $25,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2019, and the collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our cost per click (CPC) and bounce rates have gone down, while our total visits and engagement have grown significantly. We’ve seen 2–3 times more paid traffic as well. As a result, our conversion rate has increased.

How did Ignite Visibility perform from a project management standpoint?

Ignite Visibility does an excellent job managing our campaigns. We use Basecamp for most of our communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Our Ignite Visibility rep only has nine other accounts. With such a narrow focus, their team can provide highly customized service. We’ve seen the difference in quality with Ignite Visibility compared to our previous vendor, with whom our rep managed 120 accounts.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Ignite Visibility has only done an average job in resolving some tracking issues we’ve had. They also charge more for those services, and I wish it were covered by our regular fee.

Any advice for potential customers?

A client-vendor partnership is a two-way street. The service you get is often based on the quality of information and the level of involvement you provide as a client. Ignite Visibility is a good company, and I don't think customers have to do anything out of the ordinary to get a good result. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior manager of digital and demand generation for Quip, a customer service messaging technology software. We enable different channels for businesses to communicate with their customers, such as text, web chat, AI, and bots.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Ignite Visibility?

We needed an SEO and paid management partner who could grow our business as quickly as possible. We wanted them to do our lead gen and manage our online presence.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Ignite Visibility did a keyword analysis and reviewed our campaign structure. They identify knowledge articles we should procure and help with backend strategies and guest posting. Before them, we’d worked with another firm, so Nick (Paid Media Specialist, Ignite Visibility) evaluated that existing structure and eased us out of it and into a better plan.

What is the team composition?

We have one main account manager and one specialist each for SEO and paid management.

How did you come to work with Ignite Visibility?

We’d worked with two previous vendors, but neither accomplished what we were paying them for. So, our team began reviewing other companies, having phone calls and discovery sessions with a few different agencies. We narrowed it down to three and eventually chose Ignite Visibility.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent a total of $78,000. We spend $5,700 a month on SEO and about $1,500 on paid management.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2019, and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

SEO has been a bit slow to get going, but that’s mostly because of our internal team. For paid, our conversion rates have gone from 7.5% to more than 10%, which makes a big difference. Impression share has also increased from 33% to over 60%.

How did Ignite Visibility perform from a project management standpoint?

We have weekly meetings where they provide an outline and summarize what we talked about, focusing on long- and short-term goals. I talk with Nick multiple times a day, and we also use Basecamp to track project progress.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Nick has been a critical component of our success; he’s dedicated to our project success and is always available. The team provides a clear roadmap for what they want to accomplish and how they plan to do it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’d like to hear more about their other customers’ successes to better see how Ignite Visibility is on the leading edge of their field.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Be honest about what you need and clearly outline roles and responsibilities.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing partner at PinPoint Legal Marketing. We do lead generation for consumer personal injury attorneys. Our website is a resource for people who have been injured and are trying to decide what to do. We provide information, and if people want to discuss their situation with an attorney and get a free consultation, they fill out a form. We then reroute that information to one of our networks of attorneys.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Ignite Visibility?

We needed help with SEO and PPC campaigns for our legal marketing firm.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They help us with both the paid and organic search, strategy, and implementation for our lead generation site to get us more leads to sell to the lawyers.

We originally contracted them for our organic SEO efforts, which included content strategy, competitive analysis, and all of the technical market analysis to implement a plan to get more visibility. Once they proved themselves, we also contracted them to handle our paid search. They continue to help us with both.

With SEO, they helped us with keyword research. They also helped with the architecture of the website as we were redesigning it. We had a couple of technical issues where the site was hacked, and they have helped me work through that. They also helped to make introductions to other contractors who help me with website design and services of that nature. Additionally, they work with my API which intakes the leads that we sell to the lawyers to make sure they are valid. We have different fields on the form that need to post to our API and then get sent out to the client. They also worked on our landing page development, constant split testing, and optimization. They also worked with our AdWords campaign, passing data between our API and AdWords account.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with a variety of people. I interact most with Tim (Digital Strategist, Ignite Visibility) and Eric (Senior Paid Media Manager, Ignite Visibility). They are great. They’ve been patient with me through rough times when we had a losing campaign. They persisted and have done quite well. I also work with their director of digital strategy, who was my first project manager and is still involved. 

How did you come to work with Ignite Visibility?

We did a lot of research and read a lot of reviews. We favored hiring someone local to us for more face-to-face familiarity and relationship building. We narrowed it down to three agencies. Ignite Visibility appeared on a couple of national review lists for best SEO agencies. The fact that they were on these lists and that they were local made me inquire further. Ignite Visibility was helpful and willing to work with me on an incentive-based compensation model and a discount on their standard monthly quote. With SEO, you are looking at a long ramp-up time, especially in a competitive industry like ours, so I wanted someone who was going to be in it with me for the long haul. It took about a year before we were breaking even on my monthly spend, even after the discount.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent between $100,000–$250,000. The monthly fee has been subtly increasing. SEO was around $5,000 per month, which is our base rate, and last month we paid them about $8,000. The paid advertising was in the $2,000–$3,000 range, which has grown steadily every month that our ad spend has gone up, and they receive a percentage of that. It is now in the $6,000–$7,000 range.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in September 2017, and it’s an ongoing relationship.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our significant metrics are sellable leads and ad spend versus profit. When we started with Ignite Visibility, we were generating 0% of our leads in-house. As of March of 2019, we were at about 40%, which is a notable increase. Last month, we generated almost 1,000 leads internally.

How did Ignite Visibility perform from a project management standpoint?

They are good. We had weekly calls scheduled for a long time that recently went down to bi-weekly calls. They use Basecamp, but I don’t use it very much. They are there when I need them.

I only have good things to say about them. They are responsive and patient. Sometimes the ball gets dropped, but they are good about owning up to it and keeping me in the loop.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciate their accountability. I never had good experiences with agencies before working with Ignite Visibility. They were the only agency that got me through rough periods, like when the site had been hacked, and I was bleeding money. It was tough in the beginning, but they were incredibly patient and talked me down off of ledges a few times. They helped me avoid impulsive reactions and see the worst in things. They were accountable and patient. They said it was tough at the moment but encouraged me to stick with it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I am probably being unrealistic and pushing everyone around me way too hard, but sometimes I feel I move faster than they do. I want to keep going faster and faster, but they only have so many resources that they allocate per client. Sometimes, I find careless little mistakes, which can be a bit frustrating. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give it some time because no one knows what the right answer is from the beginning. If you take some time and run some testing and do some elimination, you can usually get there. My mistake in working with other agencies was when we tried a few things and lost some money, I called it quits and ran away upset. Be patient and let people work.