Website Redesign & SEO Strategy
- Search Engine Optimization
- $10,000 to $49,999
- May 2017 - Ongoing
- Quality
- 5.0
- Schedule
- 5.0
- Cost
- 4.5
- Willing to Refer
- 5.0
"The new site provides a more professional introduction to our company.”
- Other industries
- Chicago, Illinois
- 1-10 Employees
- Phone Interview
- Verified
Straight North executed a direct mailing to engage a difficult target demographic. After this initial campaign, they refocused efforts on a website overhaul and SEO keyword research.
The website targets a specific demographic using technical terminology and topical content. Straight North tailored the project to size and need, rather than offering a needlessly expensive and customized solution. Increased traffic should yield sales leads within the calendar year.
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
BACKGROUND
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the CFO of The Tooth Factory, a dental laboratory that produces crowns, bridges, dentures and other related products for dentists as the end consumer. My larger, boutique private equity firm, Pareto & Company, is located in Chicago. We’ve been an investor in The Tooth Factory for almost three years.
OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE
What challenge were you trying to address with Straight North?
Since dentists are frequently occupied by patient appointments, it proved difficult to schedule phone calls or in-person meetings. To reach this demographic, we contracted Straight North to create a direct mailing.
When this project generated only minor traction, we refocused our efforts on revamping our website and creating a stronger online presence. Despite limited expertise, I’d personally compiled our existing site using off-the-shelf products. With just 4-5 pages of basic content, it needed a complete overhaul. Like most comparably sized labs, our site lacked SEO and functioned akin to a business card.
SOLUTION
What was the scope of their involvement?
Shortly after investing in The Tooth Factory, we commissioned a direct mail piece. Straight North designed and disseminated a flyer to reintroduce our company. A promotion for five crowns at $50 each offered dentists a significantly lower price point than our competitors. We hoped a physical flyer, lingering on their desks, would have a greater impact than a missed phone call.
Ultimately, this proved ineffective, and we commenced a website overhaul. Equipped with extensive company materials including logos, they started the backend redesign. Two months of prep work and research segued into content generation. Their photographer took new product and personnel photos onsite. The redesign’s first draft necessitated nominal measures: furnishing technical terminology, improving the flow of copy, and experimenting with different images. As medical professionals, our target audience necessitated a different strategy than direct consumers.
The site went live in September. Unveiling our SEO push, the team continuously review keyword efficacy to improve organic rankings. Current work involves building out a calendar for a blogging strategy.
What is the team dynamic?
Our project lead, Natalie Berberet, represented the development and copywriting teams. She scheduled timeframes for photography and conference calls, notably a live walkthrough of the site. Since completing her role in the site launch, she’s offered continued availability as a secondary support. She coordinated the handoff to our current SEO lead, Caitlyn Muchel, who provides a comparable level of service.
How did you come to work with Straight North?
The CEO has known me for 15 years, and my partner at Pareto & Company for 30. Comfortable and familiar with the firm’s work, we reengaged after investing in The Tooth Factory. Our initial website redesign consultation delimited project needs and defined marketplace climate. Keyword and search volume data validated the cost of pursing this specific niche.
How much have you invested with them?
We’ve invested $10,000 so far, including our $5,000 upfront fee and two $2,000 monthly payments for ongoing SEO work. We selected their streamlined “Go North” option. It’s neither an off-the-shelf product nor a complete, customized website (a $10-$50,000 proposition). For a lab our size, this is a large, but not insurmountable expense. Solidifying good quality leads, like monthly dentist users, should generate recurring revenue that pays for the cost within a year.
What is the status of this engagement?
We've had two engagements. Two years ago, we requested a direct mailing, and our ongoing website redesign started in May 2017.
RESULTS & FEEDBACK
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
The new site provides a more professional introduction to our company. Significantly more user friendly, it enables dentists to easily locate topical information. Raw Google Analytics-type data indicates more visitors to the site.
Although this traffic has yet to directly generate leads, this pace reasonably corresponds to the volume of required preparation. As an inherently slow process, the minor traction thus far validates pursuing this under-served avenue. Few competitors are taking similar measures, and bolstering our online presence will produce more sales in the long run.
How did Straight North perform from a project management standpoint?
Our project lead kept in constant communication. Providing ongoing material to review, like sample copy, helped consistently capture our desired tone. Consistently responsive to requests, she contributes metrics to support the SEO team’s keyword research. We've held what we term "campaign calls" biweekly.
As a lab of only five employees, they significantly outpaced us. Our capacity to respond accordingly sometimes prolonged facets of development. In light of these limitations, they offered timeline flexibility. Friendly reminders about deadlines held us accountable, and they communicated repercussions on the launch date.
What did you find most impressive about them?
Tailoring the service offerings and the product itself to individual customers preempts wasted money on overly-customized solutions. Very early on, they calibrated the appropriate service offerings for our current needs. We have a functional website with a fitting level of SEO work, without overpaying.
Are there any areas they could improve?
To clarify the time horizon, we probably could have had a better conversation upfront. We didn't fully comprehend the length of time between site launch to lead generation. A number of calls with Caitlin have clarified that lead traffic will reasonably increase before the end of the calendar year.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Identify your company’s needs as they correspond to your size and budget. As a small lab, we easily could have spent twice the money needlessly on an entirely proprietary site with another firm.
RATINGS
-
Quality
5.0Service & Deliverables
-
Schedule
5.0On time / deadlines
-
Cost
4.5Value / within estimates
"The cost of our website was well-calibrated to our size and needs. Despite our frustration about lead generation, the monthly SEO work is a necessary expense that’s inherently time consuming."
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Willing to Refer
5.0NPS