Straight North

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the VP of marketing and digital strategy at Technical Solution Holdings. One of our portfolio companies is a leading provider of controlled environmental testing and certification services. They serve a variety of industries, including hospitals and healthcare, laboratories, pharmaceutical manufacturing, academic and animal research, and biotechnology.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Straight North?

We initially engaged Straight North to develop a new B2B lead generation website that would be integrated into Salesforce. This would optimize the leads and allow us to score accordingly in Salesforce Pardot. Now, we continue to use them for digital optimization, SEO/PPC, and lead generation support. 

What were your goals for this project? 

The goal of the project was to deliver a best-in-class B2B website that brought in new customer lead generation. We wanted to have the platform integrated into Salesforce along with a user-friendly portal where we could track key performance indicators (KPIs) and lead generation metrics. We also needed to deliver an ROI on lead generation and track the original traffic source. In the end, we wanted to be able to duplicate the structure and strategy of the final model for other companies within our holding company portfolio. 

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found Straight North through a recommendation and vetted them with our statement of work (SOW) deliverables and lead generation strategy. Our CEO, president, and I oversaw the selection process. 

Brian (Senior Account Executive, Straight North) was the pivotal reason we chose Straight North. We had a lot of back-and-forth with him, and he brought in their web design and SEO/PPC teams for additional dialogue and strategy review. Straight North’s key differentiation was their methodology, transparency, lead validation, and real-time reporting. 

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Our previous site was nonresponsive and had broken links. The load times were terrible, and the trust and citation flow metrics were not good. Straight North was responsible for building out our new B2B site, collaborating with our team to integrate it into Salesforce for lead generation.

Since then, we’ve expanded their role to include digital marketing services (e.g., SEO, SEM, PPC). The team supports us on keyword research, site map updates, internal links, backlinks, and content creation. They’ve also given us access to their proprietary analytics portal called GoNorth Reporting. It provides real-time reporting on KPIs and lead metrics on traffic and SEO/PPC along with form lead details and phone lead recordings.

What was the team composition?

The team structure has been consistent throughout the engagement. Ann (Senior Project Manager, Straight North) acts as our account manager for web design, and Courtney (Account Manager, Straight North) is our lead for SEO/PPC. Both work with our project manager who coordinates with our subject matter experts (SMEs), senior management, and digital team. For ongoing support, we rely on their digital director.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve been very satisfied with the success we’ve seen in just over five months. We continue to see month-over-month (MOM) traffic growth and double-digit new lead generation customer conversions.

As for the website, numerous customers have complimented on our efforts. The site’s hierarchy allows our customers to move through our pages at a comfortable cadence. In addition, they’ve recognized the new content on our services, and we’re seeing more success when upselling additional services to existing clients.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Our internal project manager works with their two account managers. During development, we had a very detailed timeline and expectations on deliverables.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We are in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, nanotech, and medical device industry space, so our services are very technical. Despite the complexity of our field, we’ve been impressed by Straight North’s patience and professionalism when creating content for such niche topics.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, I can’t think of anything. They did a great job and continue to do so for our PPC, SEO, digital optimization, and lead generation.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the marketing manager of a construction company specializing in residential home remodeling in the Chicago area.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Straight North?

We engaged Straight North to make design and development updates to our website and manage our PPC and SEO campaigns.

What were your goals for this project?

Through this engagement, we hoped to increase web traffic to an updated website. We wanted to present ourselves better to our targeted audiences.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We initially met with Straight North in 2013, but we decided then that they were not the best fit for our company. It wasn’t until several years later that we became unhappy with our current website and the company managing our SEO. At that time, I reached back out to Straight North to see if we could strike a deal.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

We’ve relied on Straight North to improve our website’s design and functionality. Further, they currently conduct keyword and backlink analysis as part of their ongoing management of our PPC and SEO campaigns. They also create search-friendly content for our website to drive additional traffic.

What was the team composition?

We initially met with a salesperson who presented Straight North’s services. Once we signed a contract, Straight North dedicated a project manager to our account along with a web designer, a content writer, and an SEO/PPC specialist.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

Our online traffic has increased by 30% since the launch of our new website. We’ve received compliments about the site’s design from our team and clients alike. We are currently working with Straight North on SEO strategies that will include targeting specific locations and utilizing our blog section.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Olivia (Associate Project Manager, Straight North) ran the website update project very well. It was helpful only to have one point of contact. She was responsive and personable. She held her team accountable and made sure they were making progress toward our goals. They met all of our deadlines and regularly followed up with us to gather feedback.  

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was impressed by their process. Straight North presented a thorough plan that mapped out all meetings and deliverables. They proved that they were prepared. We have a similar approach to projects with our clients, so to see that commonality was very reassuring.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I can’t pinpoint any areas that need improvement. So far we are extremely satisfied with our new website and Straight North’s performance with our other projects.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder and chief officer at Twelve21. Our two holding companies are an automotive consulting firm and a career advocacy and head-hunting agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Straight North?

We needed help with the relaunch and redevelopment of two websites. We wanted original and conspicuous designs that would appeal to a wide audience. We also needed a technically straightforward platform that our team could easily manage.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Straight North built a WordPress site for the automotive consulting firm. Currently, they are working on a site for the career advocacy and head-hunting agency. They are in the process of beta testing and finalizing our SEO and PPC plans.

What is the team composition?

Michael (Business Development Manager, Straight North) oversees sales and business development. Natalie (Project Manager, Straight North) has been our project manager for both websites. We have also worked with creative developers and graphic designers.

How did you come to work with Straight North?

We initially contracted Straight North for digital marketing services, then hired them to build a site for the automotive consulting firm. We reengaged them to build a site for the career advocacy and head-hunting agency.

How much have you invested with them?

We have spent over $10,000. We expect to exceed $20,000 by the end of this year. We agreed to a flat service fee and pay in monthly increments.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with Straight North in April 2018. They completed work on the automotive consulting firm site that fall, and they began developing the head-hunting agency’s site about a month later. Our work with Straight North is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Before hiring Straight North, our automotive consulting firm site did not register on any rankings. We were on the 98th page on Google. A month after Straight North launched the site, we jumped to the second page of almost every key web search. We have not put any additional money into SEO or PPC, yet our rankings continue to improve.

The head-hunting agency site has not launched yet, but customers regularly provide positive feedback on the automotive consulting firm site. They praise the clean and unique design. We have received many inquiries about who built the site.

How did Straight North perform from a project management standpoint?

Straight North is incredibly accommodating of our small, busy company. We have made significant progress because they instill deadlines and regularly follow up. They cater to our demanding schedule and needs. We communicate online and via conference calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The automotive consulting firm site’s initial metrics have exceeded our expectations. Straight North has done a fantastic job capturing my company’s vision. Once we provided a brief description of what we wanted, Straight North handled everything and performed very well on their own.

We are extremely pleased with the automotive consulting firm site and are looking forward to the head-hunting agency’s site launch.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I cannot think of anything.

Any advice for potential customers?

Provide as much vision and context to Straight North, and they will take care of the rest.  

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for a nationwide legal services company. In my role, I work with our outsourced SEO agencies to make sure that they’re getting our leads up and promoting our Google rankings.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Straight North?

When I joined my position, we didn’t have any digital marketing strategies in place to boost our Google visibility let alone any analytics. We were also buying firms across the US, so we needed a way to promote all of our locations. Straight North came onboard to establish our SEO/PPC efforts, track our marketing data, and improve our lead generation.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

During our preliminary meetings, we discussed our needs to give them a better sense of the situation. Straight North then outlined an SEO plan, showing us the trending keywords and how they related to our field. We refined that list to make sure that those keywords reflected our services and added new terms to target.

They also created a strategy to get our directory listings published, support our PPC campaigns, and improve our web content. Because content is king with Google rankings, it was imperative that we had strong pieces to bulk up our site. Their team wrote several articles, ensuring that the pieces were appropriate and included the right keywords.

To track our marketing efforts and cultivate qualified leads, they set up our Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts along with their own reporting tools. One tool allows them to record the first 30 seconds of a call to determine whether or not it was from a potential lead.

Currently, they continue to drive our digital marketing efforts, delivering a separate monthly report for our SEO and PPC campaigns. This allows us to compare our month-to-month results and better adjust our strategies. Additionally, as our organization buys up more firms, they’re proactive in getting the new firms situated on the main site, Google Maps, and searches.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with two account managers so far, including our current point of contact.

How did you come to work with Straight North?

A colleague recommended Straight North to me. After looking at multiple agencies, I decided to go with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend about $2,500 a month with another $1,000 dedicated to ad fees.

What is the status of this engagement?

Their work started in October 2016 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Everything is on an upward trend. In the last two years, we’ve seen a big increase in organic traffic. Stronger content and targeted keywords have spiked our Google visibility, and our lead quality has also improved. A few months ago, we reached a new high of 81 leads.

How did Straight North perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re quick to get back to my inquiries, and the turnaround time on projects is pretty good. If we need to add something to the website, they complete the task within a fair timeline. As for communication, we email a few times a week and hold monthly calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their account manager is exceptionally responsive and communicates well. She updates us on production status and passes on messages on our behalf. If she doesn’t know something, she checks with the relevant resource and gets back to us. It’s an open and transparent process.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were some website changes that could've been completed faster, but that might be unfair to say since I don’t know how complex it is on the development side.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you’re building a web page or implementing a change to the site, make sure that Straight North understands exactly what you want. That way, you won’t have to redo work due to an initial misunderstanding. Maintaining open lines of communication is also important to keep everyone on the same page.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a sales enablement technology company that creates software for an efficient sales environment. As the digital marketing director, I manage the website and oversee all of the online ad campaigns.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Straight North?

When I came onboard, our company didn’t have a real marketing team, so we had trouble shifting our focus to PPC marketing. We already had a Google AdWords account but had only used it for one-time campaigns. Although I tried my best to optimize the keywords, we simply didn’t have the frame of reference to know if our strategies were producing results. As such, we needed an agency that specialized in PPC to guide us in the right direction.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our VP of marketing believed that most of our leads were generated from trial downloads, so we decided to focus on demo-driven campaigns. Straight North reviewed the ad campaigns that we had already created and modifying our approach. It was a repetitive process of testing different strategies and learning which messaging, keywords, and landing pages generated qualified leads. We used Pardot in conjunction with Google Adwords to measure how many downloads converted into customers.

What is the team composition?

We interacted with their account executive during the contract process. For the project, we worked with the account manager and a PPC specialist.

How did you come to work with Straight North?

The first agency that we reached out to declined our offer because they had signed on with one of our competitors. We then started asking around for reputable PPC companies, and several people in our network gave Straight North a glowing recommendation. 

How much have you invested with them?

In the beginning, our monthly spend was between $16,000–$17,000. Near the end, the monthly cost increased to about $20,000 each month. Overall, their services only accounted for 15% of our media expense. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from March–August 2018. Although their services have helped us tremendously, we’ve decided to shift our focus to content-driven campaigns and produce the work in-house.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Before we hired them, our cost per conversion was at an astronomical rate of $1200. After they came in and modified our key messaging and digital ad strategies, our average cost per conversion dropped to $365. 

How did Straight North perform from a project management standpoint?

Straight North is one of the most transparent and responsive companies that I’ve had the pleasure to work with. We didn’t know what to expect when it came to setting deadlines, so we relied on them heavily for scheduling. They stayed true to the suggested timeline and kept us updated along the way with biweekly phone conferences. Their project manager was very responsive to our needs and always had an answer for our inquiries. It was also nice to have their PPC specialist present during the meetings; he gave feedback on all of our business ideas, even for matters outside of the scope.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their work was integral to our success, so I hold their optimizations in high regard. Straight North used their knowledge to transform how our team thought about PPC campaigns. They cleaned up our AdWords account and helped us focus on what was most important for our business.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They spent a significant amount of time conducting tests on material that they had already observed during the onboarding process. They should keep a record of their results so that they can refer to them and avoid redundant evaluations.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have an honest conversation with your team. Map out what you hope to accomplish and how much you’re willing to spend. When we reached out to Straight North, we didn’t have a solid plan. One of the biggest disservices we did to Straight North was changing directions halfway through the project. Had we gone into the project knowing that we should spend our efforts on content-driven campaigns, we would have seen great results instantly.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a general manager at Stateway Auto Transport. We ship cars across the U.S.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Straight North?

We initially wanted help with our SEO. We needed our company to show up in online searches and rank higher than our competitors.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

In terms of SEO, they've created some new campaigns for us and added more keywords. They also investigate and validate our inbound leads. In addition, we've asked Straight North to take over our PPC efforts. We’d been using a separate provider and decided it made more sense to have everything centralized. They've integrated us into a platform called Kenshoo, which automatically identifies the cheapest keywords at select times.

As the engagement progressed, we decided our old WordPress site needed updating. Straight North is doing the development work to completely revamp the site, which will launch next month (October 2018).

What is the team composition?

Hillary (account manager, Straight North) handles the SEO and PPC, and Ann (senior project manager, Straight North) is the lead on the website development.

How did you come to work with Straight North?

We’d been looking around, and a couple of local companies referred us to them.

How much have you invested with them?

We're currently spending around $6,000 dollars a month, which will go down substantially after we launch the new website. We pay them 11% of our ad spend.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our work together started in October 2017, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They've increased our domain superiority, and we're getting a lot more inbound leads. We're generating more leads per month than we ever have in the history of the business. Plus, our cost per conversion has gone down significantly. They've done a great job at getting our name out there and having our site show up before our competitors.

How did Straight North perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team is very good. Hillary and I have biweekly meetings to go through everything they're doing for SEO and any changes that they've made. Ann serves as my liaison for the website developers and writers. We have a set schedule to review anything they send us, as well as deadlines every few days to get them our feedback or approval. She’ll pass that along to the developers and make sure that the job gets done. If there's something wrong or I flag some issue, they’re on top of it and get it fixed right away.

Straight North has an excellent platform for reporting a full breakdown of project metrics. It shows organic and PPC leads. It covers what they're doing for SEO, too (e.g., backlinks, blog posts). Everything is completely accessible to me in real time. They also use Google Analytics, and we get monthly reports from AdWords.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their performance, especially when it comes to SEO, is excellent. One of the most helpful things that they do is lead validation. They have somebody listening in on all incoming phone calls to make sure that they're valid leads. That way, we don't spend time on leads that are shopping around or aren't serious about paying for our services.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It's hard to say what they could improve upon. I would like more information on the website development, even though it's much more technical than I'm probably able to understand. I suppose I could reach out and ask Ann those things. I haven't yet because they've always delivered everything they said they would within deadlines. Everything else is great, so I have zero complaints.

Any advice for potential customers?

Be totally honest about what you need. Don't be shy in asking for help. They have a very skilled team with lots of manpower. For example, I didn't even know that they had a PPC team at first. Once I found out, it seemed obvious that we would reap the benefits of using them for both SEO and PPC. Make sure to ask about all their services you may need.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the Technical Sales Engineer at Meyer Tool & Mfg. Inc., a specialized custom fabrication shop. We apply our expertise in engineering, welding, machining, and testing related to pressure vessels, vacuum chambers, and cryogenic systems to a diverse array of custom products and services to industrial and research based customers around the world. We have built up our fabrication core competencies and business processes around custom particle accelerator and high energy physics related products and we apply those skills on projects in need of some degree of engineering or fabrication related problem solving.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Straight North?

We wanted to grow our business by finding new sales leads and potential customers. We needed a partner to help increase our visibility within our industry.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Belonging to a very niche market, we gave Straight North a set of goals to increase our visibility within our industry. The team implemented a campaign that focused on generating new customer traffic and improving our rankings in Google searches. For a brief period, they also provided PPC services. The Straight North team tracks our progress using Google Analytics and forms reports based on that data. At our request, they promptly make any changes to the campaign.

What is the team composition?

We worked with an account manager who was supported by a behind-the-scenes team.

How did you come to work with Straight North?

The company was looking for a group of professionals to work on SEO campaigns. I wasn’t with the company when they made the decision to partner with Straight North.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2017 and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In the year that we’ve worked with Straight North, we’ve received more new customer orders than any of our previous years. Our website traffic has increased, our rankings have improved, and we have a stronger digital presence, which has definitely brought in a significant number of new clients.

How did Straight North perform from a project management standpoint?

We have a monthly teleconference to discuss the project and any updates or issues. Straight North is very friendly, yet they maintain a sense of professionalism in their work. Our partnership is very collaborative. We continuously send suggestions back and forth until we agree.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Overall, the entire experience has been positive. All of their work brings value to our business. I appreciate the way they handle the project and their high level of communication.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There are no areas for Straight North to improve because they are already so open to change. We consistently have discussions if we find that any element of the partnership needs to be tweaked.

Any advice for potential customers?

The technical terms involved in a project like this are pretty easy to pick up with a little bit of research. I recommend clients try to learn some of this language to get a better grasp of the type of services that Straight North is providing. This will result in a more efficient collaboration.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m a partner at Jacqueline G Rosen’s Nothin’ But Smiles Orthodontics.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Straight North?

Following an unsuccessful run with a different web agency that claimed to specialize in marketing for orthodontists, we were looking for a new partner to help us develop our brand, web presence, and improve our SEO strategies.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to improve Google rankings, attract more potential clients, and strengthen our digital presence. Also, as our practice grew, we wanted to be able to transition our brand to reflect our evolving company.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We thoroughly researched other companies in the industry and contacted some of their past clients. We received the most compelling recommendations for Straight North.

Describe the project in detail.

We started the engagement with a phone conference to see if their capabilities matched our needs. They led an in-person meeting where they described areas in which our company could benefit from their help. They discussed strategies for a website redesign, branding, digital marketing, and search ranking optimization. After securing our approval, they implemented these various outreach campaigns that aimed to improve visibility.

What was the team composition?

We work with a project manager, who is supported by a team of resources.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

As a result of Straight North’s efforts, we’ve experienced steady improvements in our website’s rankings. Internally, we feel more confident in the site’s new design and layout, which really highlights our new brand identity.

How did the Straight North perform from a project management standpoint?

We track the project and discuss updates during scheduled monthly meetings. In between, we send emails as needed to touch base and continue to plan our next steps. The Straight North team is always available. Having no experience in this field, we rely on them heavily to explain the technical details of their work. We ask a lot of questions, but they always willingly and patiently provide answers. They provide step-by-step guidance to help us reach our goals.

What impresses you about the Straight North?

I really appreciate their responsive communication skills.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Coyote Logistics is a UPS subsidiary. We’re a freight brokerage company or a third-party logistics broker as we’re also known in the industry. I’m the director of digital marketing, responsible for all digital lead generation initiatives: search, display advertising, and video.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Straight North?

As a fairly young company, we needed to transform our website into an inbound lead generation engine. One of the tools we leveraged from Straight North was their search expertise. We started off with an initial goal geared toward generating avenues and brand awareness. We’ve now transitioned toward optimizing how we spend our money.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We initially started by researching opportunities that could generate leads. Over time, they defined the most relevant keywords and ad groups for us. They not only provide inbound leads through form submissions or personal quotes, but they also convert those into revenue-generating customers. We’ve used Straight North primarily for paid search but also for the distribution of marketing content like brand advertising and display.

We use Google AdWords and analytics to get insights into our website audience. Also, being a part of UPS, we have a dedicated advisory group that Google provides us. The account manager from Google works closely with our internal team and with Straight North, and Straight North has its own reporting portal as well, which we use for high-level communications with our executive management.

What is the team composition?

We have a main point of contact who coordinates their team to provide what we need.

How did you come to work with Straight North?

When we first started, we were looking for a local agency that could partner with us tactically. Straight North made the cut out of all the agencies we shortlisted.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent roughly $30,000 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Straight North in June 2017 and the collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

One key metric we measure with these initiatives is the gross margin for the ROI across all paid channels. We’re generating four times what we spend on search and about two times on margin.

How did Straight North perform from a project management standpoint?

We have monthly strategy calls and weekly optimization meetings with Straight North. We have a weekly cadence for everything that needs to be done. We can also address anything that comes up in-between, like strategy discussions, planning new campaigns, implementing new tracking code, or creating new landing pages.

Our initial contact person went on maternity leave, but she was replaced by someone who is equally good. She’s responsive to what we need and flexible in working with us, especially if we have to turn something around quickly for a business meeting. She does a good job of harnessing their internal resources to put together whatever is required.

One of the things I love about Straight North is that they’re not hierarchical and it’s easy to communicate with them. They don’t have the overhead of a large agency.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Straight North was responsive during our journey from where we started to where we are today, and they’re honest and open about their limitations. We’ve had a few international expansions, which is a bit of a deficiency for Straight North, as they haven’t worked with other languages, especially European ones. I appreciate the fact that they’re open and honest about it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I would love to continue working with them for international regions as well. Straight North should develop competency in foreign languages like French, German, and U.K. English. That would exempt us from working with multiple agencies.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

It’s important to define expectations and communicate them with a regular cadence so that there won’t be unexpected surprises.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the COO of Grant Cooper, which is a retained search firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Straight North?

We recently rebranded our company and transferred our website to WordPress, and we wanted to optimize our new site. We contracted with Straight North to organize our SEO efforts and introduce us to paid advertising, as well.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We transferred all of our SEO practices from a different vendor over to Straight North and added PPC to our agreement. We relied on them to earn us higher ranks for different keywords. We have nine different areas of expertise, so Straight North researched which keywords tied to those areas.

Further, we were attracted to Straight North because of their ability to develop content, which our previous firm didn’t have the capacity for. Straight North created backlinks for our site, and they developed infographics and other content to better optimize our webpages. They also built out a section of our site for blog content, which they will contribute to for the next six months.

Another firm in our space utilizes paid advertising, and we realized we were being circumvented by their ads, which spurred our decision to explore that tactic, as well. Our paid campaign featured display ads and PPC ads.

What is the team composition?

Our account manager, Caitlin, has been our point of contact throughout the project. We love working with her.

How did you come to work with Straight North?

Our SEO firm prior to Straight North produced modest results, but we were uncomfortable with other aspects of their business. We wanted our partner to be more reliable and accountable. We conducted an online search and found Straight North. We were impressed with their website and reached out to them. They were one of four vendors we considered, and we felt they would be best for the job.

How much have you invested with them?

At one point, we were spending about $3,000 a month in management fees for the SEO and PCC campaigns. During that time, we paid between $3,000-$5,000 for the paid ads. We have since transferred our entire budget to the SEO campaign.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement began in May 2017 and is ongoing. The paid ads returned promising results, but when we analyzed all of our leads, we realized that the most fruitful leads and the leads that were the most important to us were generated by organic search. We currently work with Straight North only for SEO and content development.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have experienced record months for leads through our website because of Straight North’s involvement. We have already landed an organic client whose work has covered the amount spent with Straight North to date. Through seven months in 2018, we’ve seen 50 leads.

How did Straight North perform from a project management standpoint?

They earn very high marks in that regard. Caitlin, our project manager, is very responsive. I never have to follow up with her to determine where we stand, which I have not found to always be the case in this industry. They are very accountable and keep tasks moving forward so that I don’t have to micromanage. We have monthly meetings to review our reports, and we’re in communication throughout the month as necessary.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Based on my experience with other firms, project management is their strength. They are quite ambitious—they aim to outperform themselves every month. And they are versatile in that they have the ability to produce marketing pieces, and they have writers on staff to fulfill a number of tasks we may need. Not a lot of firms can offer that.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. They have been quick to problem-solve when something goes awry. For example, our Google Analytics metrics stopped tracking for a short time as a result of a Google problem. Straight North corrected it and took measures to implement a failsafe to prevent similar occurrences in the future.

Any advice for potential customers?

Each side should set expectations for the other side at the beginning of the engagement. Straight North is happy to have us be involved as much as we are, but not all firms are the same in that regard, nor do all companies in our position want to be hands-on. It’s important to set ground rules for both sides.