Sure Oak

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Lead UX Designer for a large renewable energy company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We were merging three old websites into one new website as part of a rebranding effort. We hired Sure Oak to help us optimize all the new website content and to help us manage the migration so we didn't lose our existing search positioning.

SOLUTION

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

We were referred to Sure Oak by our previous agency, which they had recently acquired. Their professionalism and detailed proposal for our project, along with the strong recommendation from the owner of the previous agency, helped us decide to move forward with their services.

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

We began with a few deep-dive meetings to help them understand our business and our target market, which is a little bit unique from other industries. Sure Oak performed audits on all three of our existing websites to make sure that all content was accounted for, and created an in-depth migration map for us. As we determined what content would be carried over and what new content needed to be created, Sure Oak performed the keyword research for every page to help us optimize all the new web pages before launch. They also helped us with organizing all of our redirects after migration and performed a post-launch audit to help us clean up our pages and improve our page rankings.

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

We primarily worked with the Director of SEO Strategy and the Senior SEO Strategist.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had a truly seamless brand launch, thanks in large part to the Sure Oak team. They were with us every step of the way to make sure our content was optimized, that our redirects were in place, and that nothing got left behind. We have only had the new site live for about a month but are already seeing excellent traffic - much higher than I would have anticipated for a site migration or new website, and I have no doubt that it's because of Sure Oak's guidance.

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

Sure Oak is very organized and very communicative. Every call we had was followed by an email with relevant action items, and their team was very timely on all deliverables. I didn't see any detail slip through the cracks with them! Any bottlenecks that did occur were on our side, not theirs. The team is incredibly knowledgeable, and they are professional but also fun and personable. I enjoyed all of our meetings with the Sure Oak team.

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

Their expertise in SEO and specifically in backlink strategy makes them a stand-out in their industry. They had a solid strategy for every component of our brand launch and were able to articulate both the strategy and the reasons for the strategy to our team. I was so impressed by how well their work to prep for our migration played out during the actual launch, and with what we've seen already in post-launch traffic.

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

Unfortunately due to our company's internal requirements, we had to shift to an existing vendor for ongoing SEO so we didn't give Sure Oak the opportunity to run with our long-term strategy or to get creative. When we worked with them, we were 100% focused on site migration and brand launch, and they did an exemplary job with that! I don't have any areas for improvement in our experience with them, and I am sure they would have continued to impress us over the long term as well.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are an open innovation platform that allows you to innovate faster by detecting and contacting the best experts or the most relevant companies. I am in charge of digital marketing

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We wanted to increase our domain authority in order to be more competitive in seo. We found several solutions that didn't suit us enough. SureOak allowed us to have real quality links to sites that are interesting for us.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to increase our AD and thus bring more seo traffic to our site

SOLUTION

How did you select Sure Oak?

We first looked for a solution in our country (France) but none clearly answered our problem. We then searched for an English-speaking company on Google and came across Sure Oak. We set up a meeting so that they fully understand our issues and objectives. After a period of reflection and comparison with other offers we decided to work with them.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

We first had an interview so that they could get to know our expectations and we could get to know their skills. Once the need was well established, SureOak offered us to do a test at a reduced price over 1 month.

At the end of this period we continued with one of their classic formulas. We had access to a detailed report that they agreed to provide us every week. Our exchanges went well with the whole team and they were always reactive and attentive to our requests.

What was the team composition?

Our first contact was with the Growth director. We then had a project manager who followed us closely. We also met other members of the team through a kickoff.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have not been able to carry out our project for a very long time so we have not been able to perceive any significant improvement in our domain authority. On the other hand the links provided were always related to our domain and lexical field.

The domain authority of the acquired links was always above ours. We had also asked to acquire links on a certain type of site related to our field of activity and our request was respected.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The project manager was always listening to us and explained things well. They answered all our questions and accepted some of our requests (such as having a weekly report). They were very responsive to our emails.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I didn't think they could make us gain so many links with such high domain authorities and on sites we were interested in, but they seemed very difficult to acquire if we would have had to do this campaign on our own. They were able to help us achieve things we couldn't on our own. 

Are there any areas for improvement?

We would have liked to see our domain authority increase even if our had to be conducted over a short period of time.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the general manager of a car dealership. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sure Oak?

They were our link building partner.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had a new website for a special finance department that we created for a very narrow niche. They were responsible for providing link building services for that site.

What is the team composition?

I work directly with an account representative.  

How did you come to work with Sure Oak?

I found them online searching for link building agencies. Reaching out to those with impressive websites, we decided to interview several of the providers through a proposal process. They seemed like the best fit for the work and were professional. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $10,000–$20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since February 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They delivered the link quantity and quality that we agreed on at the start of the project. Our industry is pretty unique, without tons of potential sites that could link to u. However, they landed good-quality leads with relevant resources. That allowed us to show up higher in organic rankings. 

How did Sure Oak perform from a project management standpoint?

They respond right away to my questions and concerns. Their reports are also structured well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’ve handled the account well in terms of quality and quantity of links.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

They follow through on promises and met our objectives, so I can’t think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give clear expectations upfront to get the most out of working with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Dietary supplements eCommerce website since 1992.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

First of all, it was only about a general SEO audit of our website, but it's ended to work together for more than a year now! Adding link building and on-page optimization every month. We are looking to build a strong organic ranking.

SOLUTION

How did you select Sure Oak and what were the deciding factors?

It was about their founder reputation on Semrush! They always provide a professional service in a timely manner.

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

The goal is to build a strong and long term reputation for my eCommerce website.

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

I am currently with one account manager who is the same person from the beginning and two specialists. One in content writing and the other one in SEO. They all did a really good job.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I am very satisfied with their service. I would say it is maybe a little bit expensive, but the quality has a price I guess!

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

We are mainly communicating through emails and I feel it efficient regarding our projects.

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

The service in general is very satisfying.

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

I would say regarding our recurring projects through the months, maybe to be more flexible on outside project tasks. It gives a VIP felling to the client.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the general manager of this company and responsible for the websites which we run.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Sure Oak to do a review on our backlinks and after that build new backlinks for our websites.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal for this project was to maintain a healthy backlink profile whilst adding new backlinks for our websites.

SOLUTION

How did you select Sure Oak?

After doing quite some research and checking online reviews for several companies I saw that Sure Oak was the company with the best reviews and decided to contact them along with 2 other companies. In the end after having a first contact through a personal call I definitely had the best feeling with Sure Oak.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

We hired Sure Oak to do a review on our backlinks and after that build new backlinks for our websites.

What was the team composition?

I've had contact with several employees and all were very nice and helpfull.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

At this moment we're still working with Sure Oak and they send me monthly reports which are detailed. I also can explain exactly what I'd like them to do different and they are always open to guide me the right way.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very effective. Reaction time on my emails is short and in case I'd like to have a personal call then they can also always schedule this on short notice.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The very personal approach towards their customer impressed us.

Are there any areas for improvement?

If I would have to find a point to describe here then I'd hope they could make things a bit cheaper. But that's just nitpicking.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Simply Senior Living is an online referral provider that helps seniors and their families connect to the best senior living communities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

As a new website, we were looking to grow our organic search traffic and domain authority.

SOLUTION

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

We chose Sure Oak due to their experience with other clients in our industry and due to their comprehensive analysis of our site's SEO.

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

Sure Oak created an initial report that detailed the current status of our SEO, then scheduled monthly calls and requirements for completion of the campaign. These objectives were based around site architecture, content, on-page/off-page SEO, and link building.

Each month, Sure Oak would provide Content Briefs that described keywords to hit on specific pages on the site, which aspects of on-page or off-page SEO to improve, and other suggestions on how to improve the site. They also provided an update on traffic data over time, where they had obtained backlinks, and what the goals were for the next month.

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

3 SEO specialists, 1 project manager, and 1 sales associate worked with us.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Traffic to our site is more consistent than prior to working with Sure Oak.

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

Sure Oak is a remote first company that utilizes largely the Google Docs ecosystem and Google Meet. Most of the deadlines are based around monthly phone calls on Google Meet.

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

Sure Oak was very professional and committed to the project. They have a strong knowledge of link building and basic site architecture.

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

The cost of services can be expensive, depending on your company's budget.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Pro Tool Reviews started in 2008 and writes about construction industry power tools, hand tools, and accessories. We provide reviews, editorials, and news. I am the owner and editor-in-chief.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Having written more than 5,000 high-quality articles and reviews, we realized we needed a better sense of direction for our editorial team. We provide a lot of content, but that content didn't target proper keywords and lacked prioritization. We also had some technical website issues that held us back from achieving the best possible SEO for our content.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals involved increasing traffic to our existing content, gaining insight into proper directions to maximize our core areas of expertise, and maximizing the efforts of our editorial team as a whole.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We did an extensive online search for domestic SEO companies with excellent results and who worked with companies of similar size and reputation (or better) as Pro Tool Reviews.

Describe the project in detail.

Sure Oak works with us to focus our SEO efforts so we can optimize our editorial team on better keywords and topics. It also works to suggest modifications to existing articles.

What was the team composition?

We worked closely with a small group of team members who specialize in our exact project needs. Eventually, the team honed down into a point person who we work with to generate the recommended SEO directions and modifications for the site. This is desirable because it presents a more specialized client experience with someone who we feel truly understands what we do, how we do it, and the goals we want to achieve.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In three months, our traffic has grown roughly 125% and our team has dialed in specific directions for optimizing and creating more optimized content that matches our target user-base. We have achieved dozens of targeted high-value search terms that have gone from double-digit results to top 3—including many top 1 positions...and we feel we've just gotten started.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Communication and accessibility continue to be excellent and includes weekly emails and monthly video calls.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Our results show that Sure Oak delivers on its goals. They are professional, and we've been very pleased with the results.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None that we've experienced.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of Throughline Group, a media and presentation training firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sure Oak?

We are in a competitive industry with a lot of companies that offer presentation training. Our company has something different to offer than many of our competitors. Our goal was to be more visible in organic search for search terms related to media or presentation training. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Sure Oak did keyword research, on- and off-page optimization, and backlink work. Additionally, the team gave us feedback that went into business strategy beyond the narrow sleeve of SEO.

What is the team composition?

We work with 4–5 teammates in total, but a core 2–3. 

How did you come to work with Sure Oak?

I did an exhaustive online search and found their brand presence to be smart. The way they talked about their own company was similar to how we talk about ours. I interviewed a few different companies, and even in those initial conversations, Sure Oak stood out as different and sharp in their approach. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spend about $4,000 per month which comes up to around $50,000 per year.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement began in May 2019 and it’s ongoing. We do a monthly retainer and there’s no specific end date in sight.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There have been definite improvements in where we rank for some of the more important keywords for our business. Every month, Sure Oak assesses our keyword rankings and how that compares in terms of traffic and conversions, as well as overall Google ratings and positions. 

We haven’t achieved everything that we have our eyes set on, but in many ways, we’re on our way there. We can definitely see an upward trend in terms of our visibility and rankings. We’re also starting to see results in terms of our site visits and impressions.

How did Sure Oak perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is one of their greatest strengths. We have a monthly call which is preceded by a detailed report, allowing us to review it and come to the call with informed questions. Given the moment we’re in with the pandemic, the team has been incredibly flexible, shifting the scope of work to meet the business strategy for us. 

This specifically means focusing more on remote or virtual trainings as opposed to in-person trainings. That wasn’t part of the original scope of work, but they didn’t hesitate to make a change to it because it was obvious that that’s what needed to happen in order for us to be okay during this time. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very responsive. When we email them with questions, we usually hear back from them within 24 hours. They’re also accountable, showing us the areas where they have and haven’t had success through their monthly reports. 

I find that transparency really helpful. It also suggests that, rather than trying to make themselves look good, they really are focused on being business partners. If there are areas where they aren’t achieving success, we’re able to work together to come up with a strategy. I really appreciate that partnership. Increasingly, I see them as a partner, not a vendor.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing I can think of. We’ve been very happy with their work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Think about what’s most important to you and come to the conversation with very specific objectives that you’re hoping to achieve or methods of work that are important to you. Each company should figure out what their bullseye is and Sure Oak will be responsive. However, they can’t be responsive to objectives that aren’t clearly articulated.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Inbound Marketing Manager for Hearst Bay Area, Northern California's largest news media and services group.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

As a publisher in the B2B space, Hearst Bay Area is focused on creating and distributing high-quality marketing-related content. However, we were not seeing a ton of inbound links to our articles, despite the effort we put in to create each blog post. We decided to hire Sure Oak to help us generate some high-quality backlinks to some of our articles.

What were your goals for this project?

At our budget, the goal was to have 5 new backlinks generated to the articles of our choosing each month, which would hopefully improve our overall website rankings, domain authority, and search performance.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I had met the CEO at a conference a couple of years prior to joining Hearst Bay Area and when the need for good SEO services arose, I knew who to contact.

Describe the project in detail.

After our initial strategy call, we settled on a budget and a timeframe, and after getting some initial information about our biggest competitors and the industry landscape, we agreed upon which articles they would target for their backlink outreach campaigns. We also discussed a number of different tactics like guest posting and varying the anchor texts to make sure we were hitting the project from all potential angles.

What was the team composition?

When we initially started, I was working with an account manager and a strategist. The roles did shift slightly over time, but my main interactions were with my account manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Sure Oak delivered on their promises every month by generating 5 (and sometimes more) links back to the content in question. At the same time, we were ramping up production into a bunch of different target verticals, so the work they did in conjunction with our efforts helped to push our website traffic well above what it had been at the start of our project. It is hard to say exactly which piece of the puzzle contributed the most to the overall success of the website, but I am certain that the backlinks they generated for us had an impact on our overall growth.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We communicated once per month about which article to focus on for that time frame, and once every 3 months to do a more in-depth touch base. We mostly communicated via email and sometimes over a zoom call.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Sure Oak are very knowledgeable about white-hat SEO best practices and as a remote agency, they have good communication and were able to deliver exactly what they said they would.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I am pleased with the work they performed and I will likely hire them again in the future when I have a larger budget for SEO services. The only feedback I have would be for them to provide more in-depth reporting on the impacts of their work. I would have been able to potentially scale my investment if they could have shown me more concrete evidence of the improvements for each article they worked on, which backlinks were proving the most valuable, and what it might look like if I, for instance, had decided to double my investment in backlinks for that specific article.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our company is a fintech offering online personal finance tools as well as educational content on personal finance topics.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We launched a content-driven organic search strategy in the spring of 2019, and enlisted Sure Oak's help late in the year to assist with this effort, particularly in the area of linkbuilding.

What were your goals for this project?

Our domain authority has always been fairly low, and we've never had much success in linkbuilding - most of our existing backlinks were organic or the result of partnerships, publicity, etc. The goal for this project was to start to build a stronger backlink profile, while targeting key pages we would like to get on page 1 for high-converting keywords.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We compared several vendors and consultants for this project. Among them, Sure Oak rose above the rest due to their methodical approach, strong team, and demonstrated success in linkbuilding.

Describe the project in detail.

The project began with an in-depth SEO audit, which they call the "Game Plan." This audit was far more thorough than similar audits we have done with other firms. It also included keyword research and a backlink audit with comparison to several of our competitors. From there, we decided to optimize 5 key pages on the site, and primarily target those pages in linkbuilding (in addition to the homepage and other relevant pages).

What was the team composition?

After initial conversations with the founder and sales head, we were assigned an account manager who has been our point person throughout the process. During the game plan process, we worked with a senior SEO and junior SEO, and during the ongoing portion of our relationship we've been working with a small team which includes SEO and linkbuilding specialists.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It's gone very well so far. We've seen our targeted pages climb up the rankings, and some of them are edging onto page one for key search terms. The linkbuilding has been very consistent and steady...they are very good at it.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Communication is very good and everyone is great to work with. The account manager is quick to respond by email, and when we've had more technical questions, the relevant experts have given us thorough responses in a very timely fashion.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I'm just extremely impressed with how well they deliver on the linkbuilding front. Some consultants we talked with wouldn't guarantee results, saying that linkbuilding is difficult and can have sporadic success...Sure Oak sets a target number of links, and they get it done. They also won't charge you for links they don't earn (if that were to happen).

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not yet.