Kayo Digital

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a manager at an executive search firm. We specialize in helping companies hire senior roles across their C-suite, senior management, and development leadership teams. My role involves leading the development of strategies and digital campaigns, outreach, and support from SEO and website development points of view.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Kayo Digital?

Our company is in its early stage, and the market is quite saturated with big players that control the bulk of the marketplace. We wanted to look at smarter and cost-effective ways to take some market share and put ourselves out there. We partnered with Kayo Digital to look at different avenues for developing keyword research to find more manageable search terms that the bigger players weren’t targeting.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Kayo Digital helps us with SEO. They’ve done a lot of keyword research and have supported the development of the website in terms of domain authority, page authority, and helping with backlinks across different publications. 

Our SEO strategy consists of targeting some of the more prominent search terms while also looking for other SEO avenues to branch off while still being relevant. The team has helped us find high-volume search terms that are more easily accessible or hard to rank for. Then, they advise us on the content we can put together for those keywords to optimize our website and suit those searches. 

Initially, we did a draft of the website copy, and the Kayo Digital team did a recap of how we could improve it from an SEO point of view. Then, we had some back-and-forth discussion on what we were trying to get across and what was right in optimizing the content. Since then, they’ve reviewed any copy we’ve put out; I send copy to them, and they optimize it. They also build backlinks in industry publications wherever they can. 

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked directly with Harry (Digital Marketing Director) for the bulk of our engagement. Kayo Digital has gone through a growth period during the project, and now we have Dan (Account Manager) as our main point of contact. 

How did you come to work with Kayo Digital?

They were already our partner when I joined the company. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spend £400–£500 (approximately $500–$600 USD) monthly. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2020, and the engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Thanks to Kayo Digital’s efforts, we’ve seen a rise in backlinks over the last year, and our domain authority has also improved and is slowly climbing as we go. We’ve also seen a rise in our SEO search terms; we’re ranking higher most months on key terms we’re targetting. Moreover, the team has helped us rank in some search terms we hadn’t really thought about targeting that are now performing well. 

Currently, we’re keen to work more on inbound queries, which aren’t at the volume or caliber we’re after right now. However, that’s something the team is aware of and working on. 

How did Kayo Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

In terms of project management, our service-level agreement has clear response times that determine how long a task can take. Dan is very prepared and aware of our account, so he oversees the team’s monthly tasks, expectations, and what’s worked and hasn’t. That transparency has been really helpful. 

Communication-wise, they’re fantastic and responsive. At first, we had monthly check-ins with Harry. Now, we have a monthly Microsoft Teams meeting with Dan and a quarterly check-in with him and Harry. We also share emails back and forth. If we find any faults or issues with the website, they raise a ticket and pass it on to their developers. We’re notified when tickets are closed, so we know when each task is ticked off. 

Kayo Digital has provided an interactive SEO report in Google Data Studio. The team updates the report weekly so we can scan it and go in any time to look at the weekly statistics. In our monthly meeting, Dan showcases what’s going well, what’s improving, how we’re performing on social media and the website, and how many goals have been converted. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Kayo Digital’s ease of communication and openness stand out to us. We have a very relaxed relationship with Harry and Dan in terms of how we’re able to talk to them; we can be open and honest if we’re not happy with something or have a query about their work. The team is very transparent and fun to communicate with compared to other agencies I’ve worked with, which can feel quite transactional. Harry and Dan are very good at making the monthly check-ins an enjoyable experience. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could improve the goal conversions; we want to drive more inbound queries and improve the efforts on that side. The team has a very laid-back conversation style that comes from a longstanding friendship between our companies. However, perhaps this style isn’t right for every client, and they could fine-tune how open they are in some situations. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d recommend having clear goals and using Kayo Digital as a sounding board because they’re the experts at what they do. Use them to find out what’s best practice and what you should be doing to get what you want — let them make suggestions. 

We appreciate that there’s a lot of trial and error on their side; they test things to see what works and what doesn’t. There’s also an element of patience to their work because they know that results don’t come overnight. Therefore, you should give them a bit of a longer leash to do what they need to do overtime, and know it’ll probably be 6–12 before you see results. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing partner at a law firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Kayo Digital?

We hired them to redo our website and to help us with the SEO side of things.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Kayo Digital has designed and developed our website. Currently, they continue to provide development work for the site. As for SEO, we’ve worked closely with them on keyword research. They also help us with marketing services. 

What is the team composition?

Harry (Digital Marketing Director) was our first point of contact. Now, we’re working with Dan (Account Manager), Justin (Production Director), and the head of design. 

How did you come to work with Kayo Digital?

We found them through a referral by a friend who had used them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent £30,000–£40,000 (approximately $36,000–$49,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them around September 2020, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since working with Kayo Digital, our search engine rankings have increased, and we see lots of new work coming through. The team is really approachable, and no request is too much trouble for them, which is nice.

How did Kayo Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

We have regular monthly meetings over Zoom to review what they've done. Our communication also happens through email. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Kayo Digital's main strength is their honesty. Before working with them, we had our website redone by another company, and the cost increased throughout the project while they weren't making changes. In the end, we weren't satisfied with the overall result of that engagement. Now, Kayo Digital responds very quickly and provides good service. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they're absolutely fine as they are. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to engage with Kayo Digital and tell them how you think things are going because they're really responsive.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Digital Communications Manager for the company, a provider trust in Kent.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Kayo Digital, and what were your goals?

Website development and hosting. An agency that had the technical expertise in development to help us improve our websites.

SOLUTION

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

Their technical expertise were the deciding factor.

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

We look to Kayo for their expertise in development, so deliver a project brief and are always open to their ideas and solutions to help us deliver the best way forward.

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

I mainly work with Justin and liaise with him.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

A lot of our projects are bespoke developments, one example is a new news section where users can easily browse and filter all our news posts, this gives users the options to easily find relevant posts.

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

This is one area I'd suggest improving. I'm not aware of a proper project management process. Although having a project manager I think, I haven't heard from them apart from an initial conversation.

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

Their technical expertise in always delivering and helping us with bespoke developments for our websites is outstanding!

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

The only thing I'd suggest is improving communication with project management. I'm not sure if they're working on something or it's in hand and when it's likely to be done.