Sure Oak

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Marketing manager of Wendell Estate Honey

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We produce, package and retail ultra-premium, single-farm, soft-set raw honey

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Sure Oak to accomplish?

• Improve onsight SEO
• Improve Google search rankings for relevant keyword terms
• Improve sales and brand awareness

SOLUTION

How did you find Sure Oak?

Online Search

Why did you select Sure Oak over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fits our budget
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Sure Oak were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Wendell Estate Honey is a Canadian company virtually unknown in the USA. We contracted Sure Oak to assist with optimizing SEO with a specific focus on potential customers in the USA as we attempt to expand in the American market.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Increased rankings in keyword search terms, with many relevant keyword terms moving from Google search ranking of page 2 or beyond to Google page 1, some reaching the number 1 position on Google search rankings. 
• Increased search impressions and clicks. 
• Increased sales and new customers

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

After researching and speaking with multiple different marketing companies, we chose Sure Oak to guide our small company (Wendell Estate Honey) with SEO optimizations. Whenever we outsource work to a consultant, we seem to encounter several issues to varying degrees: 

• The consultant doesn’t understand/listen to our requirements, so the product delivered is different from the product requested/required.
• The consultant either lacks expertise or dedication and the product delivered is less than expected and/or requires multiple revisions with time-consuming supervision. 
• The consultant delivers the product but doesn’t reply to the “how” and “why” questions that would help us understand the product better: how and why it works and what to do when it doesn’t. 
• The consultant doesn’t reply promptly to questions or requests for modifications on the product. 

In the end I’m often left wondering how much effort the consultant put in and was our investment worth it. Or did we choose a sub-optimal consulting company? Our experience with Sure Oak was the complete opposite. We were fortunate to have Roy M. as our dedicated SEO Strategist. From the beginning, Roy listened to what we needed, and, importantly, understood what I was requesting and requiring.
Obviously extremely knowledgeable in all areas of SEO (and beyond), he tailored his SEO recommendations perfectly to our product, brand image and capabilities (Wendell Estate Honey is a boutique brand of premium honey – quite a rare niche). Roy always responded to my many questions promptly, thoroughly and in a way that I could understand. He was constantly accessible, responsive, and flexible, offering creative solutions to our company’s fairly unique issues. 
From our bi-weekly meetings and inter-meeting email communications, there was no doubt that, despite us being a small customer, Roy and the Sure Oak staff were working hard on our behalf to deliver excellence. Most importantly, we can see results. Our website has shot up the search rankings in many of our most important keyword search terms, moving from Google page 2 or 3 or beyond to the first page, with some keyword terms hitting number 1 on Google search rankings. 
it’s early yet as we just finished our contract with Sure Oak and have some more recommendations to implement, so I expect we will see even more improvement in SEO rankings in the coming weeks and months. The corresponding increase in sales has been significant and better than expected. 
In short, Sure Oak exceeded my expectations in every aspect and has been (by far) the most satisfying and measurably effective consulting company that I have had the pleasure to work with. I highly recommend Sure Oak's services.

What was your primary form of communication with Sure Oak?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

1. Listening to and understanding our requirements 
2. Offering creative solutions to our rather unique situation that were tailored perfectly for our product and brand image 
3. Accessibility and promptness of reply and action
4. Thoroughness and quality of recommendations/solutions 
5. A clear dedication to putting in admirable effort in providing even a small customer with superb service. 
6. Measureable results that exceeded expectations

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

Not a single thing.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Sr. Digital Marketing Manager of an information technology company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Our company provides cybersecurity expertise, solutions, and services that help organizations make better decisions and minimize risk.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Sure Oak to accomplish?

• Improved Search Engine Rankings: Achieve higher rankings for key business-related keywords to increase brand visibility.
• Content Optimization: Optimize website content to align with search engine algorithms and user intent for better discoverability.
• Enhanced Online Visibility: Increase the company's visibility on search engines to attract more organic traffic.

SOLUTION

How did you find Sure Oak?

Referral

Why did you select Sure Oak over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Referred to me
• Experience with like companies

How many teammates from Sure Oak were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

We engaged Sure Oak to improve our website's organic search rankings for relevant keywords, ultimately driving targeted traffic and increasing its online presence. The ongoing SEO campaign roadmap included on-site SEO strategy, off-site SEO strategy, and account management and reporting. 

During our work with Sure Oak, our requirements expanded to encompass their expertise guidancing us through the process of developing a user-centric website in addition to devising a comprehensive strategy for managing PPC brand campaigns.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

From November 2022 to Jan 2024: 

• Organic Search grew 35.4 % 
• Direct increased 13.3% 
• Referral grew 91.2% 
• Targeted keyword performance grew 44.7%

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

• Project Management Style: Sure Oak's project management was organized and efficient, ensuring that tasks were well-coordinated and milestones were met according to the established timelines. 
• Delivering on Time: Sure Oak consistently delivered items on time, demonstrating a commitment to meeting deadlines and ensuring timely project completion. 
• Responsiveness to Needs: Sure Oak were exceptionally responsive to our needs, addressing queries promptly and demonstrating a proactive approach to accommodating any adjustments or additional requirements throughout the ongoing project.

What was your primary form of communication with Sure Oak?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

What I found most impressive and unique about Sure Oak was their experience within the cybersecurity domain. Their knowledge and understanding of the industry were evident, especially in their ability to match us with a senior strategist who brought invaluable expertise to our project. 

This level of insight not only showcased their commitment to delivering tailored solutions but also highlighted their capacity to align our needs with a seasoned professional, ensuring a strategic and effective approach to our digital projects. As we continue to work with Sure Oak, they accommodation our company's ongoing growth and evolving needs, consistently providing innovative solutions to enhance our online presence.Sure Oak's brand voice is one of expertise, reliability, and adaptability. 

They showcase their extensive knowledge in the cybersecurity domain through their ability to match clients with a senior strategist who brings valuable experience to each project. This not only demonstrates their commitment to delivering tailored solutions but also highlights their capacity to align with the unique needs of each client. During our ongoing work with Sure Oak, their ability to accommodate our evolving requirements has made them a critical partner in our growth journey.

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

I believe that there's always room for improvement, but there's nothing that jumps out at me as something that I can point to. Sure Oak has proven to be a trustworthy partner...always delivering top-notch work and providing excellent customer service. These are key characteristics that are fundamental in having a genuine partner. 

They offer a unique combination of professionalism, expertise and approachability. And when it comes to choosing a digital marketing agency, it's not just about the results they can deliver, but also the experience of working with them. I can honestly say that I've enjoyed every interaction with Sure Oak and have full confidence in their abilities.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am an executive at a software company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We provide embedded analytics software to help app builders and Software-as-a-Service businesses add customer-facing reporting to their product in days, rather than months.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Sure Oak to accomplish?

• Increase organic traffic
• Increase domain authority
• Extension of our in-house team for SEO

SOLUTION

How did you find Sure Oak?

Online Search

Why did you select Sure Oak over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fits our budget
• Industry expertise

How many teammates from Sure Oak were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

• Linkbuilding: 6 quality backlinks per month 
• Technical SEO consultancy: recommendations for website migration project, technical website audit and suggestions for optimizations 
• On-page optimization: briefs to optimize existing content

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Increased organic traffic 
• Increased rankings on our most important keywords
• Higher domain authority thanks to backlinks 
• Great mitigation of big-impact events like website migration -> no negative impact notable

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

SureOak delivered the agreed deliverables timely. They always provided us with clear and structured responses, which are easy to understand even if you don't have a lot of experience with SEO. They are friendly and easy to communicate with, and go the extra mile when we had emergencies or last-minute urgent requests.

What was your primary form of communication with Sure Oak?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Structured and hands-on. They have a lot of SEO expertise, but their approach is zero fluff. They always give really hands-on recommendations that you can implement quickly, tailored to your in-house team's experience level. 

They listen to what you need, help you solve challenges and educate your internal team, rather than other consulting firms that sell you expensive, high-level marketing plans that still need a ton of work from your in-house team. They are really an extension to your marketing team.

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

Not really! We enjoyed the collaboration and stopped working with them because we now have the experience level we need in-house. I would recommend them to anyone looking for a reliable partner.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Creative Strategist of a premium packaging company.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Premium packaging design, manufacturing, and logistics.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Sure Oak to accomplish?

• Increase web traffic

SOLUTION

How did you find Sure Oak?

Online Search

Why did you select Sure Oak over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fits our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Sure Oak were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

We hired Sure Oak to improve our overall SEO so that we could rank higher in the packaging industry. Details include: SEO for our main site, content briefs to optimize current pages, content briefs for new pages, blog SEO, conversion rate.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

High SEO rankings for packaging related keywords, significant page speed improvement, more time spent per user on our website.

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

Sure Oak is always on time and thorough. It's very collaborative relationship. They understand what we're trying to accomplish, and always meet our needs that are very specific to the packaging design and manufacturing industry. Our main project manager frequently checks in regarding content briefs and site updates. He's always available to meet in addition to our regularly scheduled meetings.

What was your primary form of communication with Sure Oak?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Sure Oak adjusts the SEO plan according to our needs. Sometimes we're looking to change tactics, while other times, they anticipate challenges that will require us to adjust our approach. They're a dynamic agency that takes the guesswork out of SEO.

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

Overall, Sure Oak is a great SEO partner. When we needed more targeted results, they pivoted and improved their work.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Development Manager of EasyRinger

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We provide international voice and messaging services around the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Sure Oak to accomplish?

• Increase Conversions
• Suggest and Write Content

SOLUTION

How did you find Sure Oak?

Approached by SureOak

Why did you select Sure Oak over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Great timing

How many teammates from Sure Oak were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Our business had very basic goals: 

• Increase conversions
• Provide new content for SEO 
• Provide suggestions and ideas for SEO
• Be a close partner in the growth of our business.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We hired SureOak as a replacement of our old SEO company. Sales were stagnant, there were no new ideas, and communication was an effort. SureOak approached us at the right time and, realizing we didn't have anything to lose, switched SEO providers. 

The results started to pay off right away. SureOak values our partnership. They listen to our needs and adapt as needed. Our conversions started to take off not long after the new content was live. We're now in a strong growth period, much of it attributable to SureOak.

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

The SureOak team is very easy to work with.We have frequent communication over email and monthly virtual meetings. The communication is a welcomed improvement over our last SEO company. We behave like a single team who respects each other and marches toward a clear objective.

What was your primary form of communication with Sure Oak?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

SureOak is one of our favorite partners to work with. I only wish we would have used them sooner.

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

The SureOak team always listens to feedback.I can't think of any improvements that need to be made. They're professional, friendly, and reliable.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing director of Event Mobi, a management platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sure Oak?

We needed help with our SEO and organic growth tasks.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Sure Oak provided SEO technical support, advice, content optimization recommendations, linking strategies, and backlinking. Regarding tools, they used Google Data Studio to provide reports to us.

What is the team composition?

We worked with four members of their team, including Andrea (Director of SEO), Enrique (Account Manager), and Zack (Director of Link Building).

How did you come to work with Sure Oak?

One of our former SEO consultants referred them to us, and we chose Sure Oak for the project based on their technical expertise and existing client base.

How much money have you invested in this partnership?

We spent around $60,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from November 2021–November 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Thanks to their work, we improved our domain’s authority, achieved more high-quality backlinks, increased our ranking for our keywords and organic traffic, and set up a great reporting structure.

How did Sure Oak perform from a project management standpoint?

In terms of project management, they delivered on time, responded to our needs, and stayed within budget. Regarding tools and communication, we used emails and monthly check-in meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The quality and expertise of their knowledgeable team were their best attributes. Moreover, they were flexible and easy to work with because they adapted to our workflows.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I didn’t think they could improve anything — I was very satisfied with their services.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re a responsive and flexible team, so don’t hesitate to contact them if you need feedback or need them to change something.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO of an Ai/ML software consulting and development company focus on custom computer vision and natural language processing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Sure Oak?

We wanted to increase where we rank in google for a number of our articles to increase our inbound marketing leads. This is a process I was doing myself since the start of this company and wanted to move it out to someone with more marketing experience than I have. Sure Oak knows quite a bit about strategizing where to have backlinks placed to maximize google movement and I knew this was something I could take advantage of.

SOLUTION

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

Their expertise and the quality of clients they've worked with was the driving factor in choosing them.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

We started with a number of strategy sessions to fully understand what our business does and what type of websites are correlated with what we provide. The goal was to choose backlinking sites that aren’t just tech blogs but software services related sites that are truly relevant.

From there they provided quality backlinks to 4 of our blog posts each month. The links were always on time and they provided monthly updates. We were able to be very hands off and they delivered each month with the high quality links we were looking for.

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

They assigned a number of resources to us that included the director of link building.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We closed a number of deals through the increase in traffic to these specific blog posts. One of our posts went from unranked for the keyword to #3 gaining over 100 clicks per month to that article. Traffic to the site is up over 50% since we started.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Workflow was great. We wanted to be hands off to focus on the rest of the marketing operations and they did a great job of that while still keeping us updated.

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

The quality of their links is one of the best I've seen. The average DR was well above what they promised and it was exciting to see them come in every month.

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

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the marketing manager at a B2B garment printing company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Sure Oak, and what were your goals?

As we grew our company and had a SEO strategy, we needed high quality backlinks. We went with quality over quantity.

SOLUTION

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

We contacted a lot of backlink companies and after hearing their way of building links and their price point, we decided to go with them.

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

It started with an onboarding call, in which we discussed what we're looking to get out of this project and any specific keywords they should look for. After that, they did their research on the company website and its digital footprint and which keywords to target. They then delivered the agreed upon links every month with a report summarizing the link and its DA score.

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

There was a project manager and a SEO specialist who worked with us.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Depending on the keyword and page, we increased our ranking on SERP from either 1 or at least to the first page.

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

They've been great at communicating with us throughout the project. Any questions we had, they would answer as soon as possible. We communicated via email mostly but that was our call.

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

Their level of SEO knowledge and speed at work were impressive. They knew what they were talking about and can communicate that well.

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

Not much, we were extremely happy with their work.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior digital marketing specialist at SideChef, a recipes and grocery delivery app.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sure Oak?

We were stuck with our organic traffic growth. We did some SEO in-house, but we didn’t have people dedicated specifically to link building. Thus, we reached out to Sure Oak to take over this challenge for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Sure Oak has taken over our link-building efforts, generating backlinks to increase our organic traffic. First, we provided them with access to our Google Search Console so that they could assess our situation. Then, they came up with a proposal detailing specific areas in which they thought link building would help us generate more organic traffic. Their assessment was great because they chose the areas we also had in mind even though we didn’t share them with their team — we were on the same page.

What is the team composition?

So far, I’ve worked with three people from Sure Oak. Initially, I had a call with Dalley (Growth Consultant), who assigned our case to Ben (Client Success Manager). He and another person have been working on our account since then.

How did you come to work with Sure Oak?

I was searching for backlinking services through Search Engine Journal, a popular blog in the digital marketing community. They had a listicle about agencies that provided those services worth looking into, and Sure Oak was on that list.

We reached out to and interviewed five agencies, including them. Many of them offered link-building services as part of their SEO packages. However, Sure Oak was one of the only agencies flexible enough to provide us with link-building services only, which was what we needed.

How much have you invested with them?

We pay them $3,000 per month for their services, but we can either increase or reduce that amount after our six-month contract if we need more or fewer services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2022, and our engagement is ongoing. We signed a six-month contract, but we probably will renew our contract because they’ve over-delivered so far.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve seen a 60% increase in traffic on one of the pages that Sure Oak has helped us promote, as well as a 17% increase in traffic con another of the pages. When working on SEO, it generally takes time to see results, and it gets hard to demonstrate certain growth to our leadership quickly. However, we’re very happy with Sure Oak’s involvement because our growth has been very clear in the specific areas they’re working on after only two months. Thus, it has been easy to explain the benefits of this investment to my manager, which has helped us continue our collaboration with Sure Oak.

How did Sure Oak perform from a project management standpoint?

Our collaboration with Sure Oak has been very transparent. From the start, they explained very clearly how our partnership would work. We have biweekly calls, and they provide us with monthly reports. If we have any questions about the reporting, they give us the option to jump on a Zoom call. Additionally, they’re very helpful and willing in providing answers to questions outside of their scope, like SEO consultancy.

Additionally, Sure Oak is very flexible and accommodating regarding our time difference. Our company is physically located in Shanghai, but we also have offices in the US. However, I don’t have to have 1 a.m. calls, and they arrange them to be either during the early morning or in the afternoon. Usually, those calls are via Zoom or Google Meet.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Sure Oak’s understanding is impressive. While other companies provided us with successful case studies when we were looking for a partner, those case studies weren’t relevant to our niche, so we thought that it was difficult for them to understand our market. However, Sure Oak presented very clear case studies relevant to our business, and they didn’t even bother to present anything outside our niche. 

In addition to that, Sure Oak offers a very personalized and human experience. From our initial call, it has been very easy to work with them. They’re very accommodating in how they provide their services, making them a great fit for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

So far, I wouldn’t change anything about what Sure Oak does.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be straightforward, and don’t be afraid of telling them exactly what you want, whether it be a success metric or a specific budget that you’re limited to.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a distributor of toilet partitions. I’m the VP and part owner of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sure Oak?

We wanted help with SEO.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started off with Sure Oak reviewing our website content and making technical adjustments. We had keywords already established, but we went through those with their team just to confirm which ones were extremely important to the business.

They’ve helped change some of the content that was on the site and worked on creating backlinks. Also, they have a road map of what they do every month.

What is the team composition?

We have three main people working with us — a lead technician, a project manager, and a content specialist. We work with other people, but they just review some of the road map accomplishments every month.

How did you come to work with Sure Oak?

It was a referral from another reputable company.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve spent $76,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in September 2020, and our partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We look at the organic visits to our website and the calls-to-action that they completed. Not only did we see a rise in organic searches and visits, but those visitors also converted and went through the different channels that we wanted them to go to.

How did Sure Oak perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been great. They’re a small team, and it seems like they’ve been working with each other for quite some time. Some of the upper-level people are pretty well-experienced, so they have it together.

For project management, we just use shared Google documents. We communicate through email or phone calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They just seem to be more experienced about the technical aspect of SEO than other companies. At the beginning, they came out without sugarcoating it and told us what we needed to do to get higher rankings.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Sure Oak’s proposal is pretty well defined, but I would shop around and compare — maybe even talk to some other customers about their experience.