Taktical Digital

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Positec Tool Corp owns multiple tool brands in the battery powered and electric tool industry, selling to both B2B and B2C. As the marketing analyst, I report the performance of our operations.  

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Taktical?

We hired Taktical to help increase our B2C SEO value with website improvements.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to generate more organic traffic to the website through robust, original, and related content that would add buyer confidence to our products and expertise.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We surveyed multiple companies offering both content and technical SEO enhancements, but ultimately chose Taktical for their comprehensive and constant performance monitoring. 

Describe the project in detail.

Takital has enhanced our product and detail pages by optimizing our content. After conducting a technical audit, they now manage a link-building campaign and produce weekly SEO block content and educational blog posts that are rich in useful information. 

What was the team composition?

I enjoy having just two primary contacts, one each for content and technical SEO efforts. There are other team members involved, but I rarely communicate with them directly.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Even when all other acquisition channels are trending negatively, our organic SEO continues to improve, from traffic and conversion rates to revenue and transactions.

How did the Taktical perform from a project management standpoint?

I appreciate their use of Google Docs to organize information and assign tasks. They do not hesitate to send reminders if a task is missed, and the bi-weekly calls are helpful for discussing project status and performance metrics in detail. They are exceptionally communicative and will cooperate with the in-house development team as needed for clarification on tasks. 

What impresses you about the Taktical?

Professional and eager to help, Taktical genuinely wants their clients to succeed. They work continuously to grow and improve our business. 

Are there any areas for improvement?

Working with them for nearly a year has been a pleasant experience.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the director of marketing at 15Five, a continuous performance management software company that provides tools and practices to help companies adopt more agile HR processes.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Taktical Digital?

While we had already been producing a significant amount of content, we needed a partner that could help us distribute and promote it to improve our organic search rankings.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Taktical provides digital marketing services, including link building and content creation. They initially came up with our SEO strategy and collaborated with our team to identify keywords to target. They then identified writers, bloggers, and publications that would be interested in our content and pitched articles to a series of relevant media outlets. They also advise on all of our organic efforts, performing website audits and tracking our analytics in the process. 

What is the team composition?

We have an Account Manager that we interact with on a weekly basis.

How did you come to work with Taktical Digital?

We liked that they were transparent about their approach and pricing; they weren't overpriced and they provided a clear scope of work.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend about $36,000–$40,000 annually.

What is the status of this engagement?

We signed a contract with them in August 2017, and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Taktical has helped increase our organic leads twofold since we started working with them. Our top five ranking keywords are performing four times as well, and organic traffic is up year over year by more than 26%.

They've done a phenomenal job overall in finding the right publications to pitch and publish our content in. They've also been able to line up some top-tier media outlets for us, including recognition in the Economist, Entrepreneur, and Forbes.

How did Taktical Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

They're great; they're organized, communicative, and independently driven to get everything done in a timely manner. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

In addition to delivering great results, their level of knowledge and expertise in their field sets them apart. They're not mere yes-men; they provide feedback to us to help ensure we continue to make the best choices for our company.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The onboarding process wasn't as smooth as it could've been, but we were able to work that out pretty quickly.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a content team up and running before engaging with an agency. Our relationship with Taktical worked so well, because we'd already had a few years of experience in producing content under out belt. Make sure someone within the company has capacity to oversee, review, and make edits to content as needed.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the head of businesses development at Blue Label Labs, an app design, development, and marketing agency. Based in New York and Seattle, we have a team of 40 people, including designers and developers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Taktical?

We wanted to increase our marketing capacity and drive organic growth, using SEO, link building, and enhancements to our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Taktical audited our website and provided SEO, keyword, and link building services. They rebuilt the home page and some additional pages as needed to improve performance.

What is the team composition?

We worked with about four people, including a relationship manager, someone working on content marketing, and someone performing the site audit.

How did you come to work with Taktical?

One of their former employees suggested we get in touch with Taktical. We found that they were not only competitively priced and local, but also had experience in our exact industry. While many vendors could provide SEO services, their team seemed to know our line of work the best. We also talked with previous clients of theirs who provided glowing reviews.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent $7,000–$8,000 thus far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2018 and expect to continue the collaboration for at least a year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It's only been two months, but we've already seen an uptick in performance of certain keywords, which is helping improve our Google search rankings. There's been demonstrable improvement in the keywords we care about.

How did Taktical perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team is in constant communication with us through email, utilizing Google Drive as a collaborative tool to keep our materials organized. They've developed a checklist for our developers to help them continually improve the website. We're quite impressed with their level of organization.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I'm most impressed with the organization of their output. Their team makes it easy to engage with them without having to stumble through an array of documents or communications methods—everything's in one place.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They may have thought that our team is more knowledgeable on SEO than we actually are. It would be helpful to have more of a deep dive into the basics during the first couple of meetings for other clients.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

TagPop is an online retailer.

What is your position?

I am the founder and CEO of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Taktical?

I needed help increasing my sales.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

Taktical helped skyrocket my sales. I thought that I was doing everything right, but they proved the contrary. Taktical has been managing my Facebook and Google advertising, as well as retargeting ads through AdRoll. Taktical worked on my SEO and email marketing, eventually training one of our in-house people for email-related tasks. Taktical also provided influencer-outreach services.

How did you come to work with Taktical?

I met Taktical's team through a friend who knew one of their owners. I was reluctant to use a provider, but I knew that I needed professional help.

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

This is confidential.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Taktical in July or August 2016. We have an ongoing relationship.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Taktical has been fantastic to work with; they've increased our sales tremendously. I am very pleased to continue working with them. Taktical is motivated to see us grow.

We started working with Taktical during our second month of activity, with sales around $15,000. Taktical has gotten us to well over $100,000 per month in revenue.

How did Taktical perform from a project management standpoint?

Taktical is excellent across the board. I know that the team is busy, so as long as our sales are coming in, I don't bother them a lot. When I do, they definitely respond well.

What distinguishes Taktical from other providers?

Facebook ads have been something which Taktical took to a whole new level for us.

Is there anything Taktical could have improved or done differently?

If our sales decline, I'm sure that I'll be singing a different tune, but so far I really can't complain. Taktical has really helped us.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Fueled is a mobile app design and development agency. I work on the business development team routing new leads.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Taktical?

We wanted a really strong SEO campaign. We wanted traffic to increase, as well as our leads. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Taktical has been helping us from the start to build the strongest brand and online presence possible. They provide us with weekly check-ins and track everything on our site, from YouTube visits to CPC to bounce rate and things like that. They're making sure people using our site are staying on it and converting into actual leads. They're tracking those over weeks and over years, so we're able to see some trends weekly, quarterly, and even yearly.

They maintain and track our social accounts as well as push content into publishers' hands for link-backs. That way, we can have more SEO wins, links acquired, and eventually online mentions. They track where our leads are coming from so they're able to better market to those who might actually convert. Once we do get a lead, we can say it was our Clutch profile or whatever that drove them to use us. They are constantly working on our AdWords as well as partnered campaigns and advertising campaigns. I'm sure there are tons of other things but that's just scratching the surface.

How did you come to work with Taktical?

I'm not sure of the original arrangement, but I believe we've been working with them for nearly 4 years.

How much have you invested with Taktical?

I don't have that information.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve collaborated for around 4 years with the founder, Ilan, but have worked with Taktical specifically for around 2.5 years.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Taktical has quadrupled our revenue in 12 months, which is really astounding. They are able to drive fueled.com to the top of people's searches on Google for over 200 key terms. They're constantly updating those with things as simple as "app developer." As of last week, they were working on adding us to the iMessage sticker pack. No one was [rating] for that so they're working on that. They've raised traffic by nearly 900% and the number of inbound leads has grown 5-fold. I'm sure that there are more specifics but that's the high level. Plus, everything I mentioned has been tracked for years, giving us the benefit of a history and context behind it.

How did Taktical perform from a project management standpoint?

We work in the same co-working space, so they are neighbors. It's convenient because when we need them we can just go poke them! We're here in the office, as I mentioned, so it makes it easier and perhaps also more casual, which can be a negative.

What did you find most impressive about Taktical?

I appreciate how open and receptive they are to updating their process. Recently, we were working with 2 different marketing teams. To keep things organized, we figured it would be better to compile information monthly. I just reached out to Ilan and said, “We'd like this. What's your input on how we can better organize it? Can you start giving a snapshot of your work to us every month?” He was quick to say, “Absolutely! Here's my input.” They are very flexible and ready to amend how they work to suit the needs of the company they're working for. I work personally with Ilan on a lot of projects. He's receptive to ideas and change. Most importantly, he knows what his strengths and weaknesses are. He's very clear so that level of transparency is quite comforting.

Are there any areas Taktical could improve?

Nothing off the top of my head. I think they're really positive.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

Wolf & Badger is an online marketplace for independent designer brands, based out of London in the United Kingdom. We work with 700 individual brands and have two London stores as well as operating at wolfandbadger.com

What is your role at the company?

I am the CEO and co-founder of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address Taktical?

We wanted to improve organic traffic by implementing on-site and off-site SEO [search engine optimization] strategies to grow online sales.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

Taktical was responsible for auditing our previous SEO performance and work to plan and execute a more effective SEO campaign. They have been working to improve organic traffic through on-site technical improvements and ongoing link building work.

How did you come to work with Taktical?

We looked at a few agencies, but Taktical came highly recommended, and we liked their approach.

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

We pay them a few thousand dollars monthly.

What is the status of the engagement?

It is ongoing work. We started working with them in early 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We've gotten great results from Taktical's work. It has improved our online traffic by more than 100 percent.

How did Taktical perform?

We are very pleased with their work.

What distinguishes Taktical from other providers?

Taktical has a very personable team with a hands-on approach and good, regular contact that is often lacking in larger agencies.

In hindsight, are there areas in which they could improve or things you might do differently?

No.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

Our company is a platform for buying and selling art. We cater to art collectors, art galleries, and institutions. We build a platform for galleries to list their entire feature set of artwork, as well as for auction houses to run online only auctions. We also have a content business, where we are working with very large brands, but we also are becoming the world's largest publisher of art news.

What is your position?

I'm the Director of Performance Marketing. Any type of marketing activity that we need to measure, and that includes a lot of product work, as well as organic and paid efforts, buying media, earned media, and shared media.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Taktical?

We were looking to improve our organic search results. We weren't quite sure what the strategy should be, but ultimately the strategy was to rank as high as possible for artists' searches, under the assumption that collectors on the Business-to-Customer [B2C] side and galleries on the Business-to-Business [B2B] side primarily search for artists' names or variations of artists' names. That was the biggest win for us in terms of what we should rank for.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

Taktical provided various different services for us. That was just the impetus for the relationship but they've also done other things for us. They laid out a plan for a bunch of onsite system expansion authorizations for engineering teams. They did it by urgency and impact. Then took their engineers to implement best practices to get our general website to a much better state.

They also worked with us to build an outreach team, primarily for link building. We worked together to create a strategy to really optimize that process. Although we primarily did organic with them, we also did some Pay-per-Click. They gave us agency support for some large campaigns that we were running. For example, for large auction campaigns that involved a high spend over a short period of time, they helped us set everything up on the various platforms, recommended creative strategy and utilized the implementation for us, so they saved us a bunch of time there.

Back to the organic side, they also came up with various reports and proposals for the next big thing that we should focus on, and steps on how to implement this.

We have weekly search engine optimization [SEO] meetings that they have attended every time. They also provided support for our weekly SEO email that goes out to the wider team. They supported us in gathering all the statistics. Of course, they answered questions that we had and kept us abreast of industry changes and algorithm updates and such.

How did you come to work with Taktical?

I believe it was through word of mouth. Someone who had worked with them previously had a relationship with some people who were among the founders of our company. This person is a very well-known and respected digital marketer, so his opinion was really important. He introduced us.

Ultimately, we decided to go with Taktical because we felt they offered what we needed, which is the accommodation of just working really closely. We wanted a relationship where, by not being too big of a company, they just care about their individual clients, so they put a lot of time and effort into cultivating the relationship. And they have the expertise. It's a very small, agile agency.

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

The cost of the project is confidential.

What is the status of this engagement?

It’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

I think the biggest result would be on the organic side. During our time with them, we more than doubled, probably tripled our organic traffic. One other thing I'll say is that we tracked 20,000 keywords, and we're on page one for 10,000 of our most important keywords. We're in the top five for about 7,000 of those, which is where the click rate goes up a lot.

How did Taktical perform from a project management standpoint?

They're always pretty accessible, which is one good thing. I can personally text Ilan Alexander when I need to. They're also fairly responsive on email. They're also on our snap channels, so we've added them to a couple of those, and they're very readily available, so we get responses quickly. With outsourcers, when you're waiting to get a set of data back, a lot of times it depends on the speed of the actual workers, which are abroad and are not necessarily in one place. Overall, I'd say we'd hit our deadlines and they were usually pretty proactive about coming to an agreement about when we're expecting advice. They like to have a realistic estimate and they like clarity, which I appreciated.

What distinguishes Taktical from other providers?

Taktical's personal approach sets them apart. It feels like they put us first and that they care about our business. They've also been involved with us since we were quite small, and the company itself is much, much bigger than it was when they started working with us. They have made us feel really supported.

Is there anything Taktical could have improved or done differently?

I can't think of anything major at all. Obviously, all agencies are going to have multiple clients, but I didn't ever really feel like they were putting anyone else above us, so that's good. As they grow, they should just continue to focus on the relationships they create, which I think they did a good job with us. Just be wary of that as they scale their operations. That's not an improvement for them, it's just advice.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director of E-Commerce of a beauty & cosmetics company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Sell beauty products

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Taktical Digital to accomplish?

• Improve SEO performance

SOLUTION

How did you find Taktical Digital?

Referral

Why did you select Taktical Digital over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Taktical Digital were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Identifying onsite and offsite SEO challenges, improving performance and brand awareness.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Significant improvement in organic search performance and keyword rankings

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

They were very easy to work with and responsive

What was your primary form of communication with Taktical Digital?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Knowledge

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

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Marketing VP of a financial services company.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Financial Services

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Taktical Digital to accomplish?

• SEO

SOLUTION

How did you find Taktical Digital?

Online Search

Why did you select Taktical Digital over others?

Company values aligned

How many teammates from Taktical Digital were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

SEO

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Still ongoing.

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

Mostly on time. Have been very responsive.

What was your primary form of communication with Taktical Digital?

Virtual Meeting

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

I'm impressed by their expertise and knowledge share.

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

none

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Marketing Manager of a footwear company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Footwear online & wholesale

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Taktical Digital to accomplish?

• Increase brand awareness
• launch rebrand
• Optimize KPI

SOLUTION

How did you find Taktical Digital?

• Online Search
• Other

Why did you select Taktical Digital over others?

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

How many teammates from Taktical Digital were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Taktical handles all meta & goodle paid advertising for our North America Market.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

ROAS & revenue.

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

Yes, they are very responsive and always attentive.

What was your primary form of communication with Taktical Digital?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Taktical Digital is very flexible and adapts to any requested changes.

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

Very specifically we are trying to improve our Google ad performance, would like to see some positive changes there.