SEO Inc.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a partner at a landscaping company. We do artificial turf for collegiate sports fields, commercial residential playgrounds, and other areas.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SEO Inc.?

We wanted a full-site optimization and keyword marketing to increase traffic. We also needed content creation and social media management.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We hired them to do a page-by-page optimization. The written scope called for about five fully-optimized pages each month. SEO Inc. also needed to write and distribute blog posts among other various content as part of a linking program, which included related third-party web posts. The scope further included social media management and development for about five new webpages.

What is the team dynamic?

We usually had one primary point of contact throughout the project. The owner was our first primary contact, but he delegated that role to his son, a senior SEO analyst, in the project’s first month. The senior SEO analyst may have had another resource directly assisting him.

How did you come to work with SEO Inc.?

We considered about five top-tier SEO agencies. SEO Inc. had high rankings on Clutch and met the variety of factors we considered. They had won several industry awards and previously partnered with other turf manufacturing companies. We met part of the team at their offices to evaluate them in person; they made a great first impression.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with SEO Inc. in November 2017, but later fired them in February 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How did the relationship with SEO Inc. evolve?

They apologized for early missteps in the first month, but the problems only compounded in the second month. The senior SEO analyst’s first deliverables only included a handful of optimized – supposedly – webpages. SEO Inc. never requested social media access in the first two months, which we offered for them to execute the scope’s management requirements. In addition, they didn’t produce the requested blog posts or articles.

Despite these omissions, we continued to pay SEO Inc. We received another batch of pages, but still no content and no backlinking. I then called the owner’s cell, who was reluctant to address my immediate concerns. When we spoke later that day, the owner assured me he would oversee blog posts and get the project back on track. He was very persuasive and we wanted to believe they would follow best practices going forward. Despite our misgivings, we wrote a check for month three.

What problem arose and how did they attempt to resolve them?

We received about four blog posts to approve during the first month. However, they were unreadable and lacked coherent sentences; I suspected a non-native English speaker authored them. I contacted the owner and he agreed the quality was unacceptable. We then received one blog post that was marginally acceptable. I was hesitant, but approved it because we urgently needed content.

During this time, the senior SEO analyst didn’t achieve links, added pages, or reoptimized pages. As a result, the owner delegated our project to another team member. That team member apologized and promised to redo everything. However, she didn’t follow through on those promises. At that point, I requested a refund from the owner. He used the poorly constructed blog posts to refuse the refund, claiming they had delivered all work prompts. SEO Inc. did do social media management near the end, but missed nearly four months’ worth of work. In all, they didn’t generate any new links or added pages.

Describe the impact this engagement has had on your business.

We were at fault for not scrutinizing the written contract’s fine print. We overlooked the numerous “outs” SEO Inc. put in place because we only focused on the outlined scope. Consequently, we were out $30,000 and fell behind the competition.

I revisited the quotes and projected ROIs the other five companies provided during our search. Based on their estimates for traffic and overall performance, we fell considerably short. I then hired a freelancer to supplement the work SEO Inc. wasn’t completing. He wrote six blog posts that we published and linked. He also did social media management and Google AdWords. Near the end of the project, the SEO Inc. owner pulled a Google Analytics report and tried to claim credit for all results, including the freelancer’s achievements. However, were able to tie the freelancer’s efforts to the improved traffic results. Due to their poor performance, we entered our business’s biggest season in a worse position than we should have been.

How was project management handled?

We used email and GoToMeeting.

What advice do you have for clients with similar needs to yours?

I wouldn’t recommend them for anything.

Company Responses

This comment was provided by Garry Grant, CEO at SEO Inc, on May 10, 2018

We are extremely sorry that you feel that you did not have a completely satisfactory experience at SEO Inc. SEO Inc. has extensive experience dealing with artificial grass companies, and we have been successful throughout the years within that industry. During the discovery process, we were adamant to make sure this client understood that ranking for artificial grass keywords is very difficult, especially because this website was brand-new. We explained that success would take a minimum of 12-months to accomplish, as we have done this several times and were able to achieve 1st page rankings for 2 similar companies. Many of the SEO objectives were delivered early, with 40/60 optimized pages being delivered before month 3, and more than half of the 12-month contracted deliverables were delivered at that time. In addition, while managing this campaign for a very short time, we increased overall traffic by 558.72% which includes the organic traffic increase of 747.95% from 246 visitors to 2,086, which is an amazing achievement. We were greatly disappointed with your perception of problems you had with our company, as we did our best to rectify your concerns regarding the content, and we did our best to solve your very specific issues, and even offered a free month. We wish you the best of luck.

BACKGROUND

Describe your company and what you do there.

We're a nationwide manufacturer and wholesale supplier. I’m the president/managing member. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SEO Inc?

Our products are a complex sale, so a product specialist needs to work with individuals on a project basis. Our lead generation would then be an inbound lead, so our sales are doing all outbound sales. Lead generation is our primary focus, and online presence is the secondary focus, followed by relationship management (e.g. online reviews, etc.). 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We've been doing business for quite some time now. They handle a lot of different varieties of projects for me, whether Gary [CEO of SEO Inc] or I have an idea of a new way to start doing some SEO techniques. We also did organic SEO, pay-per-click, and reputation management with the reviews, along with social media. The design, build, and architecture of our website is part of my brainchild, and we handle that internally.

How did you come to work with SEO Inc?

I've known Gary for 15 years. It started when I was interested in the industry as a whole, and his agency was one of the top companies. I've been aware of Gary for a long time and became friends with him.

How much have you invested with SEO Inc?

I've paid Gary anything from upwards of $5,000–$6,000 to under a month, depending on what we’re doing and the time in which we're doing it. We have a paid budget that is larger than that. We're spending quite a bit of money on a monthly basis for advertising online.

What is the status of this engagement?

They have been working with our company for the past 4 or 5 years [starting in 2012 or 2013]. We still work with them. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve had tremendous results from our overall online presence to rankings, especially in trying to deal with the way search engines are changing and the way information is displayed on page 1 on various SERPS [search engine result pages] these days. We've always had what I would call a fluid strategy in order to maintain that online presence, as well as keeping strong keyword rankings and overall sessions and engagement as priorities—not to mention our primary focus, conversions.

Our website typically converts about 5%. According to the laws of mass marketing, you’re always striving to get 2%–3%, so I would say that our website is converting nicely.

How did SEO Inc perform from a project management standpoint?

As far as the team goes, they're able to immerse themselves quickly into the company's product or service in order to deliver the best results. I know that a lot of people who seek out SEO services aren't very knowledgeable in what it is. SEO Inc does a good job of helping people step-by-step through that process versus clients like myself who read SEO blogs on a daily basis.

I know what SEO is, and I help create products and strategies with his management team and with Gary on his own. Hopefully, I also trigger some of his brain because he is really the genius behind a lot of the different types of strategies. SEO Inc is able to work in a lot of different capacities, whether it's collaborative or them telling you how to do it.

What did you find most impressive about SEO Inc?

I think they’re great at what they do. In their industry specifically, it's always fluid and constantly changing. Google specifically is making it more challenging for agencies to do well in organic searches. You're always having to change. You're always having to focus and refocus on ideas for local to national types of online strategies, and I think they do that well.

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

The responsibility falls on the client. You really need to understand their business and your customer and be able to educate Gary's staff so they can bring in the right client. If you're not sure who your client or customer is or how they're interested in your product or service, then you're going to attack the wrong market segment and miss the boat. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a dentist and the owner of a dental office.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SEO Inc.?

I needed to establish an online presence for my dental practice. We have a good reputation, but we weren’t coming up high on searches. I had already worked with other SEO [search engine optimization] companies, but I wasn’t seeing results.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I meet with them weekly, and we go over pages and keywords. I come up with a topic, they write a draft, and then we edit it together. My target market is the local San Diego area.

How did you come to work with SEO Inc.?

We had gone through a series of SEO providers in the past without much success. The owner of SEO Inc., Gary, is one of my patients. I started talking to him about my frustrations with the prior providers, and he showed me what he has done. It looked good, so I decided to hire his company.

How much have you invested with SEO Inc.?

We pay about $4,000 a month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October of 2015, and the 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 do see higher rankings. We used to be on page ten on some things. Now we’re on page one for certain keywords.

How did SEO Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

We try to meet every week, and when we don’t, it’s mostly my fault. They go over the reports and show me where things have gone up or down. They’re available whenever I have a question.

What did you find most impressive about SEO Inc.?

The main thing is the results. They’ve actually improved things, which didn’t happen with the other companies. Also, the weekly correspondence is nice.

Are there any areas SEO Inc. could improve?

I wish they didn’t charge so much. All SEO companies want a contract upfront before they prove they can get results. I’d like it if they could guarantee the results and then get rewarded for it.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a dentist office that provides general, cosmetic, and implant dentistry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SEO Inc.?

I needed to increase my web page load times as well as improve my natural search appearance. I had worked with other firms in the past, but not specifically for search engine optimization. The company that built my website was supposed to be doing my SEO. After two or three months, I thought something wasn’t right, so I called SEO Inc.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They came in and cleaned up what the other company had done in link building that was not good Google standard practice. We worked together to come up with the most useful keywords. Our target market is mostly local, but some of my pages are national. I’m not trying to go for national clientele, but I have people from all over the country that call me. They may be doing research for one of their friends or family who is in town, and they ended up choosing me.

We just recently optimized my smile page. I found a slideshow plug-in that would work, and John understood the design process and helped me redesign my photo gallery page. That wasn’t necessarily in the contract, but they were willing to help.

How did you come to work with SEO Inc.?

I went through the web and searched for an SEO expert. SEO Inc. was on the fifth page and their page attracted me. I spoke with the owner, Gary. He was down-to-earth, and I felt comfortable talking with him. We met with John, who is my main contact with them, and we talked about my site. I saw I was going to be working with someone very professional and would be able to legitimately build my website’s SEO strength. They followed through with what they said they were going to do.

How much have you invested with SEO Inc.?

I’ve spent between $10,000 and $50,000 with them over the course of our relationship.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with them in May 2016, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Before I was working with them, I used some of my own tools to keep track of analytics. My natural traffic has quadrupled in the time I’ve been working with SEO Inc. My click to call has gone up four or five times. Some of the increase could be attributed to the maturing of the new website we did last year, but I would attribute a lot of the success to the work that SEO Inc. has done.

How did SEO Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

I can call John any time and he answers. I think in the past year, I’ve only left a voice mail once. There were times I asked how they did something—because I didn’t want them to be the only ones that knew how to do it—and they showed me how to do it. We communicate by email two to three times a week.

What did you find most impressive about SEO Inc.?

They’re very professional and easy to talk to. They do good work with good results. Anytime I’ve hired other companies, they talk big but I just wanted them to prove themselves. SEO Inc. offered me a way to get out of the relationship if I wasn’t happy, but I didn’t need to take that.

Are there any areas SEO Inc. could improve?

I don’t have any complaints. With SEO, you always want to be number one, but I don’t think that’s realistic to ask for. I would say any SEO company needs to work to get their clients to the top of the page.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are an online cigar store.

What is your position?

I am the senior sales analyst for the company. I am in charge of much of the marketing and of our direct customer contact channels. I crunch numbers, figuring out where sales need to go, and where they are going. This includes analytics information and, specifically for this project, our organic SEO [search engine optimization].

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with SEO Inc.?

We wanted to increase our organic traffic.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

SEO Inc.'s focus for us has been to increase our traffic, driving new customers to our site. We don't focus on returning customers as much, given that they already know about us, but rather try to gain as many new people as possible through SEO Inc. To specify, we strive to find worthwhile clients, not just people who will visit the site a few times and never come back. Because of the nature of our business, we don't use pay per click. SEO Inc. provides strictly organic SEO services.

How did you come to work with SEO Inc.?

We started working with SEO Inc. in early 2003, when we were a much smaller company. We've been working with them for 10 years. As the company expanded, we started getting an in-house SEO team, which we found didn't work very well for us. We then moved to another company who promised us everything we could ever want, but ended up hurting us more than they helped. We experienced a steady decline in the course of a couple of years. We eventually reconnected with SEO Inc.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The exact figure is confidential. SEO spend is a good chunk of our total marketing budget, although it isn't the largest part of it. SEO Inc. is one of the larger third-party contracts that we maintain.

What is the status of this engagement?

In May 2015, we reconnected with SEO Inc. and continued to work with them ever since. They've done great things for us. SEO Inc. made us aware of the changes that would be made, and we saw noticeable changes in traffic within half of the six to seven months originally estimated. SEO Inc. was way ahead of the promises made to us.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We've gone through keyword lists that we've provided to SEO Inc. based on the large vendors and brands that are featured on our site. We wanted to supply a top 20 list, which turned into a top 40 and then a top 300 keyword list. SEO Inc. goes through each one, digging deep into the copy from our pages and makes the necessary changes. They also look at the code from our site and make changes there. This is done even twice a day at some points. Precise records of what SEO Inc. has sent us and what we're going to do in the future are kept.

Whenever we have a question, they take our phone calls. We've never had a problem with contacting SEO Inc. They go above and beyond and give us more than what we ask for. Many times, this may include things that are not SEO-related.

They have many developers in-house, as well as a couple of social media experts, who help us with Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest, and a few other social platforms. We're getting insight into how we can turn these customers into conversions as well.

How did SEO Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

From the day of signing our contract, SEO Inc. put together a team and put us in contact with them. We had a great kickoff meeting during which we came to know everybody and saw how they worked. From there, each individual was delegated a specific task by SEO Inc. within very reasonable time.

They got in touch with us within days and implemented changes code elements, copy, and so on. We were given regular keyword updates and were kept in touch with regard to all other SEO-related items.

Once a month, we will sit down with their team, going through a large dashboard that includes all of our SEO traffic, our sessions, top visited pages, the amount of new users, revenue increases, average order values, bounce rates, and so on. They've shown us that the traffic we receive consists of real customers, not just people who disappear right away.

What distinguishes SEO Inc. from other providers?

They're not a typical robot client company. We've dealt with many vendors, and one of the things that distinguish SEO Inc. from others is the fact that they don't simply read answers out of a book. Instead of telling us what the rest of the world is telling us, SEO Inc. is digging out an actual clientele base. Before choosing SEO Inc., we interviewed a handful of other agencies, for more or less money than what we pay here. SEO Inc. stood out, and we could tell off the bat that they knew what they were doing. They had great ideas for us, learned our industry, and didn't assume that we'd be the same as any other business. We don't have the same clientele as the typical e-commerce retail company.

Is there anything SEO Inc. could have improved or done differently?

From my point of view, SEO Inc. has always been above and beyond expectations, especially compared to other past companies, who were either falling behind or weren't on the same page with us. Even though it's been a long time since then, I remember that the original relationship we've had with them was the same. The second venture we've had has definitely been more profitable, and we've grown as a company. We can now provide more in-house marketing services ourselves in terms of code changes and copy. This had a good bit to do with the good relationship we've had with SEO Inc.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of Peninsula Capital

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Foundation repair and plumbing services

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire SEO Inc. to accomplish?

• SEO
• PPC

SOLUTION

How did you find SEO Inc.?

• Online Search
• Referral

Why did you select SEO Inc. over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from SEO Inc. were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

They carefully reviewed existing websites to identify areas that needed improvement, such as design, functionality, and user experience. Additionally, they analyzed past PPC marketing campaigns to determine their effectiveness and suggested better strategies for reaching the target audience. Once the recommendations were made, they implemented the necessary changes to enhance website performance and optimize PPC campaigns for better results. They also monitored and updated these changes regularly to ensure continuous improvement. By making data-driven decisions and refining strategies over time, they helped increase engagement, improve conversions, and maximize overall marketing success.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Reduced waste on PPC marketing
• Improved performance on PPC marketing

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

They were highly suited up.  The project planning is collaborative, and future plans are well outlined and documented.  Whenever we had a query, they responded accurately and quickly.

What was your primary form of communication with SEO Inc.?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They operate well as a team and communicate effectively with one another.  There was no doubt in any of the calls regarding what was said or promised.

Are there any areas for improvement or something SEO Inc. could have done differently?

Their attention to detail and follow-up are impeccable.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the General Manager of Snowy Pines

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We breed and train the best Labradors and Golden Retrievers in the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire SEO Inc. to accomplish?

• PPC

SOLUTION

How did you find SEO Inc.?

• Online Search
• Clutch Site

Why did you select SEO Inc. over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit

How many teammates from SEO Inc. were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

PPC provided us with a better perspective on some parts of our business.  We were aiming for a significant boost in traffic to our Service dog and Golden Retriever pages.  The goal was to accomplish this while keeping the budget reasonable and generating a decent ROI.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

SEO Inc has continued to generate high-quality leads while reducing costs.  They have been critical to the ongoing expansion of key aspects of our business model.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

They supply everything on time and respond to our demands as they emerge.  The personal touch and partnership are highly prized at Snowy Pines.  SEO Inc has blended in smoothly with our team and genuinely understood the objectives we needed to achieve.  They also followed through on a fantastic plan to make it happen. 

What was your primary form of communication with SEO Inc.?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The thing I like best about the SEO Inc team is that they are always searching for ways to improve the services they provide to us.   This goal is consistent with how we work as a team/business.

Are there any areas for improvement or something SEO Inc. could have done differently?

Following up on the last question, I believe they are already looking into continuous improvement.   This attitude is great for our organization.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CMO of Freedom Motors

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We design, manufacture and sell handicap accessible vehicles. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire SEO Inc. to accomplish?

• Increase traffic
• Increase lead
• seo and ppc

SOLUTION

How did you find SEO Inc.?

Referral

Why did you select SEO Inc. over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Referred to me

How many teammates from SEO Inc. were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

SEO Inc did a great job helping us. First, they looked at our website and our current online marketing to see what needed fixing. For SEO, they made our website faster, fixed technical issues, and created helpful blog posts and landing pages that matched what our customers were searching for. They also found the best keywords to target so we could show up higher in search results.

For PPC, they reorganized our ads to focus on the most important keywords and wrote better ad copy to attract the right customers. They also set up tracking so we could see how well the ads were doing. One of the best things they did was create special landing pages for each of our vehicle models, which helped us get more sales. They also sent us monthly reports to show how everything was going and what we could do next.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The results were amazing. After a few months, we saw a big increase in people visiting our website from search engines. Our ads also started working better, costing less and bringing in more customers. Most importantly, we got more inquiries and sold more vehicles because of the work SEO Inc did.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Their project management was really good. They set clear deadlines and always kept us updated. We had weekly meetings with our account manager, who was always ready to help with any questions or changes we needed. They were very quick to respond and always had good ideas to improve our campaigns.

What was your primary form of communication with SEO Inc.?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

What we liked most about SEO Inc was how well they understood our business. They didn’t just use the same strategies for everyone—they took the time to learn about our vehicles and our customers

Are there any areas for improvement or something SEO Inc. could have done differently?

Nill

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of ForeSee Medical

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

ForeSee Medical is a specialized software platform for accurate risk adjustment. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire SEO Inc. to accomplish?

• Search Engine Optimization
• Drive traffic

SOLUTION

How did you find SEO Inc.?

• Referral
• Clutch Site

Why did you select SEO Inc. over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from SEO Inc. were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

SEO Inc demonstrated an exceptional understanding of our unique market positioning from our very first consultation. Their proposed scope of work was comprehensive and meticulously tailored to our specific needs in the healthcare technology sector. Key deliverables included:

• A full technical website audit that identified critical optimization opportunities
• Development of a targeted keyword strategy focusing on complex medical technology search terms
• Content creation that highlighted our proprietary natural language processing capabilities
• Strategic link-building within healthcare technology and medical administration networks
• Comprehensive competitive analysis of similar healthcare software platforms

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The results were transformative for our digital strategy. Our website visibility expanded dramatically, with significant increases in organic search rankings for critical keywords related to risk adjustment software and AI-driven medical technologies. We observed a substantial growth in qualified lead generation, with decision-makers from large healthcare networks expressing direct interest in our platform.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

SEO Inc's project management was nothing short of exceptional. Their team consistently delivered milestones ahead of schedule, maintaining clear and transparent communication throughout our engagement. Every deliverable was not just completed on time, but exceeded our expectations in depth and strategic insight.

What was your primary form of communication with SEO Inc.?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

What truly set SEO Inc apart was their deep dive into our technological ecosystem. Unlike generic marketing approaches, they invested time in understanding our AI algorithms, clinical processing methodologies, and the specific pain points of healthcare providers. Their content strategies reflected a nuanced understanding that went far beyond surface-level SEO tactics.

Are there any areas for improvement or something SEO Inc. could have done differently?

No, the team at SEO Inc treated our project as a partnership rather than a transactional service. They became an extension of our marketing team, offering strategic recommendations that extended well beyond traditional SEO practices. Their ability to translate complex medical technology concepts into compelling digital narratives was remarkable.