Perfect Search Media

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO and founder of a coding academy, which teaches people to code so that they can find jobs in tech.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Perfect Search Media?

As a young startup, we were looking to market our business and build our brand. We had worked with another provider prior to Perfect Search Media but we were not pleased with their performance.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We engaged Perfect Search Media for help with SEM [search engine marketing] and SEO [search engine optimization] for the site.

As a school which teaches people to code, we have a number of developers on staff; they guard our website closely, being very protective of it. In the beginning, when Perfect Search started to recommend changes to our metatags, descriptions, and all best practices associated with SEO, our team was initially reluctant to adopt them. However, after a series of calls and meetings between my tech team and the Perfect Search SEO team, we became comfortable with their approach and methods. They were able to understand the needs of our team and navigate them. This is no small feat, especially when it came to our developers and how protective they were of the site. It was ultimately a much-needed correction to the site, which helped drive the business.

The keyword management was a collaborative process. We know our business better than anyone else, and we will know what keywords our potential audience is searching for. Perfect Search Media brought their expertise with the different Google analytical tools and market understanding. In the past, I found that digital marketing companies rarely take the advice of the client on what the best keyword is, and I have been burned not only here but also during my roles at other companies, spending ridiculous amounts of money on keywords which were only tangentially relevant or not at all to the business at hand. Just because someone is searching for “JavaScript”, for example, doesn’t mean that they want to learn the language.

We can spend an inordinate amount of money generating leads from clicks which aren’t going to convert. The collaborative process between Perfect Search Media’s expertise and our own knowledge of the business allowed us to create a targeted keyword list which kept our CPL [cost per lead] and CPA [cost per acquisition] down.

How did you come to work with Perfect Search Media?

We found them through my third employee in the company. I was expressing displeasure with our current search program, and my employee mentioned a new company which was starting up, which she knew from a friend of a friend. I told her to get them in here. Ajay [CEO & Founder, Perfect Search Media] came to visit me personally at our offices in New York, we had a great conversation about his philosophy and approach to SEM and SEO, and I appreciated how he was able to communicate complex strategies in a very simplistic way.

Soon after that, I got to know the young engineers and digital marketing strategists working at Perfect Search Media. I was very impressed with the level of talent there and decided to hire them as a trial in order to have them help us build our business. Perfect Search Media quickly became one of our most valuable partners and took over our entire marketing strategy.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Perfect Search Media in June or July of 2014. I sold the business in January of 2016. The company that bought it had a preexisting relationship with another marketing firm. We stopped the collaboration with Perfect Search in August 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Perfect Search Media was able to get us to the first page for all of our most relevant keywords in the targeted markets. They were able to drive a 25% decrease in CPL in a quick amount of time.

They were one of our key partners in growing the business from zero to the point of acquisition. I couldn’t have done it without Perfect Search Media, and to this day, I still recommend their company when anyone asks me for and SEM or SEO referral.

How did Perfect Search Media perform from a project management standpoint?

They have a good, young team which works its tail off. My team enjoyed working with Perfect Search Media. Ajay and I communicated over phone and text message. It always annoys me when people don’t give out their phone numbers and restrict communication to emails. I had his phone number from day one, and it was known that I could call him at any time of day, any day of the week if I had an issue. He would pick up, and also stop by when he was in New York. I sent text messages if I needed something done quickly. I appreciated having this open channel of communication, from CEO to CEO.

What did you find most impressive about Perfect Search Media?

They have very smart people working on things like SEO and keyword searches. The approach is more scientific than pure marketing. Perfect Search also has awesome customer service.

Are there any areas Perfect Search Media could improve?

No. It’s easy to be critical of a marketing agency, especially a digital one. I would have liked to have seen lower CPLs and CPAs, and overall higher rankings, but I would say this about any agency. You can never be 100% satisfied with a marketing agency, otherwise, you’re not doing your job as the CEO of a company. I was always pushing Perfect Search Media, and it was rare for me to tell them they were doing a great job. They always responded to the challenge.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Dylan’s Candy Bar is a specialty retail and e-commerce company. I’m president and COO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Perfect Search Media?

We wanted to expand our e-commerce business particularly as it pertains to paid search and AdWords. We had used another firm but they weren’t doing a good job.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They did a thorough assessment of where we were, free of charge, and came back to us with suggestions of what needs to change to accelerate our performance and our e-commerce revenue. They’ve made recommendations of where we should be investing for branded versus non-branded products and more. They’ve also taken over our entire account on PPC [pay-per-click] and SEO [search engine optimization]. As part of the initial assessment, they also recommended that we make certain changes to our website including certain landing pages for parts of the business we were trying to grow.

How did you come to work with Perfect Search Media?

I met the founder of Perfect Search Media through a common contact. We found the team to be very collaborative and really current in what’s happening in e-commerce. We felt like they were really engaged in the business and wanted to help. That’s why we chose them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in October 2016, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They helped us identify all the gaps in the website as well as more effective ways to use our money. I asked them the amount of revenue they could project from paid advertising and SEO, and they did a good job of giving us logic behind their estimate. We do that over the year; we measure our total revenue growth both from an SEO and paid ads perspective. That’s definitely moving in the right direction.

We’re not focused as much on PPC; the focus now is to build a bigger pipeline so that we have a bigger full year. We have a seasonal business, so a lot of the work is on investments now. More than 50% of our business happens at the end of the year, so we need to make sure we’re set up for that.

How did Perfect Search Media perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very client service focused. We have weekly calls with them and they come very prepared to every conversation. They send the documents in advance and there’s always an agenda for the meetings. The team has been very approachable when we have questions or feedback. We communicate mostly by phone and email, and I have met them in person as well.

What did you find most impressive about Perfect Search Media?

They really invest in helping you meet your goals and it feels like they’re working as an extension of your own team. I have found that other firms are not as involved. Perfect Search Media provides a custom approach, is excited to work on our project, and is invested in our success.

Are there any areas Perfect Search Media could improve?

No.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Gage Diamonds, a jewelry store with an e-commerce platform. We sell engagement rings, wedding bands, and other jewelry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Perfect Search Media?

We hired Perfect Search to drive more traffic to our website and get a higher conversion rate. We wanted to build a marketing campaign using Google AdWords and specifically targeting our niche. We knew who our customers would be; we just didn't know how to get to them. We used another service before with little success.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our goal was to tap more into the engagement ring market. We went to Perfect Search to take what we started with the other service and make it better, or scrap it and start an entirely new campaign. The project started with a small budget and slowly grew as we started to see success. Perfect Search built a profile that gives us conversion and the sales we need while staying within the budget that we set.

Through collaboration and Perfect Search’s suggestions and test trials, we were able to get to a conversion rate that we needed for our business to be successful. The campaign included keywords, negative keywords, and different searches that would drive the right demographic to our website. Perfect Search also made recommendations on how to modify our landing pages and calls to action.

How did you come to work with Perfect Search Media?

R.J., the founder of Perfect Search, was referred to me from an investment banker I’d used for advisory services. He had seen them have some success with other companies he’d worked with. I didn't vet any other companies before hiring Perfect Search, and I thought we had good synergy after meeting with them. They gave me an out clause: if I was ever unhappy with their work, I could give them notice and cancel services. It was less risky than getting into a long-term contract.

​​​​​​How much have you invested with Perfect Search Media?

I would say we’ve spent about $36,000 with Perfect Search.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them around May 2016, and our collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve been using Perfect Search for a year now, and we’re super happy with them. From a return standpoint, we’ve seen conversions on specific campaigns as high as 2%. In the jewelry and engagement ring space, that’s actually very good. We’ve steadily been getting 2- or 3-to-1 on sales vs. cost, so it’s been successful.

​​​​​​How did Perfect Search Media perform from a project management standpoint?

Perfect Search assigned a project manager to our account. We have biweekly conference calls to go over what’s working and what’s not working, then adjust as needed. They’ll beta test those campaigns on small budgets and if they’re successful, we continue and keep them and add to them. If they’re unsuccessful, we’ll scrap them. We’re continually testing out new products and marketing campaigns. We’re using ideas that we suggest and also ones they suggest. R.J., the founder, has visited the location just to follow up and see how we’re doing.

​​​​​​What did you find most impressive about Perfect Search Media?

They’re a boutique agency and a smaller operation, so you get fast responses and personal service whenever you call or email them. When you make suggestions, they act upon them relatively quickly.

Are there any areas Perfect Search Media could improve?

The only thing I can think of is that since they do such high-quality work now, they could expand their offerings to provide additional advertising services.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief executive of a company that provides consumer legal services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Perfect Search Media?

We wanted to expand our market reach. We had been working with another agency but thought we’d be able to get more out of a new relationship.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped us with pay-per-click and paid social media management.

How did you come to work with Perfect Search Media?

A friend was working with Perfect Search and referred me to them. We talked to other companies as well.

How much have you invested with Perfect Search Media?

We paid $120,000 for their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in April 2015, and the work was completed in April 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They were able to increase traffic at a lower cost.

How did Perfect Search Media perform from a project management standpoint?

They were good. We used emails and weekly status calls to communicate. I had one main point of contact, and there were others I worked with as needed. They were very responsive.

What did you find most impressive about Perfect Search Media?

They’re nimble and creative. They take advantage of the smaller size of their agency, which strips out a lot of the bureaucracy. They try to come up with new and different things to test online.

Are there any areas Perfect Search Media could improve?

No.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Packback works on quantifying student curiosity and critical thinking skills. We work in the higher education space to create an online question and answer learning community that students use with their professors in order to have more engaging learning experiences and to allow students to have more real-world discussions. I’m a co-founder. I lead a lot of our product marketing and growth efforts.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Perfect Search Media?

At the time we hired Perfect Search Media, we helped students save money on books. We were looking to expand our reach and audience, and to grow our e-commerce efforts with more affordable textbook options for students. We engaged with Perfect Search to grow a paid search marketing strategy along with AdWords. We had experience in this before so we were very involved on the strategy side. However, for execution, implementation, and enhancing the strategy, Perfect Search helped us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The biggest thing they did that set them apart was that they had constructed an infrastructure and a set of analytics that we are going to test. They also made a testing plan. Then, they strategically devised how we would deploy our budget around that. We identified through the testing plan strategies that would work to fit our growth objectives, and then strategically deployed capital against those strategies in order to start driving revenue to the business.

How did you come to work with Perfect Search Media?

We were introduced to their founder. The fact that they really preached that they wanted to be an extension of our team attracted us to them. They have a small team and the talent is quite strong. Everyone on the team is really well-trained. We actually were able to interview the individual team members that would be working on our account. It was the equivalent of us hiring key players internally.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them a year and a half ago, and we still engage them as needed for other projects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They created an advertising AdWords strategy that ultimately generated positive financial results. It didn’t start off that way, but we were able to decrease the cost per acquisition by over 70%. That was a big success for us. It was an iterative approach to decrease the cost per acquisition over time. We had a good set of analytics that could prove that too. As opposed to just looking at metrics like cost per click or number of impressions, we were able to tie it back the bottom line.

How did Perfect Search Media perform from a project management standpoint?

They act like an extension of our team. They met our expectations. We communicated through Skype, Drive, email, phone, and in person. We were in communication with one or two resources. They were responsive.

What did you find most impressive about Perfect Search Media?

They are flexible and they act as an extension of the team. Their commitment to proving success via analytics and the bottom line was important to us.

Are there any areas Perfect Search Media could improve?

Perfect Search Media is a small team that tried to operate as an extension of our own. The advantage of which is that they gain intimate knowledge of our business, and the disadvantage of which they don't have other 'dedicated' specialists to farm out specific work to. In our case, copywriting was something our team did collectively on their own and there was no formal 'copywriter,' which required more work on our part to accomplish the copywriting phase and establish a good testing plan. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

JangoMail is an email marketing platform. I was the founder of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Perfect Search Media?

We needed help managing our Google AdWords campaign to gain more traffic to the website and have more users signup for our software.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Perfect Search Media's work entailed taking over the management of our AdWords account. They restructured and optimized it as to provide a higher clickthrough rate and a lower cost per click. Perfect Search Media increased our spent, but that was worth it, given the even greater increase in clicks and signups.

How did you come to work with Perfect Search Media?

I was introduced to Perfect Search Media by a mutual friend who knew Ajay Pattany, their CEO. We developed a friendship, and I eventually hired him to manage our AdWords.

How much have you invested with Perfect Search Media?

I would estimate that we spent between $2,000 and $3,000 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Perfect Search Media in February 2011. The collaboration was completed in February 2013.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

This goes back to what I mentioned earlier, about our higher clickthrough rate and lower cost per click. I always measured Perfect Search Media's quality of work by their ability to bring us more traffic for fewer dollars per visitor. This certainly happened.

How did Perfect Search Media perform from a project management standpoint?

Ajay Pattany was our actual project manager, and he had people under him doing the implementation and oversight of our AdWords account. I could reach out to him for any questions, but also to the person doing the implementation. I always felt like our communication was good. Perfect Search Media was responsive and always seemed very knowledgeable.

We communicated via email, and, since I happened to live close to Perfect Search Media, we had in-office meetings.

What did you find most impressive about Perfect Search Media?

I never really used any other AdWords management agencies before and haven't since that time either, so it would be hard to compare Perfect Search Media with others. I've always been happy with their services, but couldn't benchmark them.

When I was first talking with Ajay, before engaging with Perfect Search Media, he told me that he felt like the world's foremost expert in managing AdWords. I found that to be a bold statement, but, when we signed on with Perfect Search Media, I felt that they delivered.

Are there any areas Perfect Search Media could improve?

Anytime we hire a provider for any service; I want to stay educated with what they're doing and why it's working. Perfect Search Media's strategy was good, but I would like to have been kept in the loop about why certain changes were being made.