SEO Partnership for Industrial Manufacturer
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Search Engine Optimization
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Content development On site optimization Other SEO Technical SEO
- $50,000 to $199,999
- Jan. 2020 - Ongoing
- Quality
- 4.5
- Schedule
- 5.0
- Cost
- 4.5
- Willing to Refer
- 5.0
“The project management is well-communicated, organized, and transparent.”
- Manufacturing
- Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- 51-200 Employees
- Phone Interview
- Verified
WebFX oversaw an industrial manufacturer’s SEO strategy, including web development, content management, and research. They also handle Google Ads.
Organic traffic to the site has increased and the return on investment has increased. WebFX provided key insights into how to improve the conversion rate, then they implemented effective strategies. The team was organized and adhered to a strict timeline.
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
BACKGROUND
Introduce your business and what you do there.
Diamond Mowers is an industrial manufacturer of heavy-duty attachments for skid steers, tractors, and excavators. Our attachments are focused on vegetation management.
We’re completely manufactured in the USA, and are based out of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where we have two manufacturing facilities. We do business internationally, but the focus is in the US. We have dealerships in Canada, and we do some sales in Australia and South America as well.
I’m a digital marketing and content manager, and I work with anything related to online, including e-commerce, social media, lead generation, reporting, inbound marketing, and emailing.
OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE
What challenge were you trying to address with WebFX?
My company has been around for 20 years, and it was very small for the first 10. We’d never had much SEO work done, and we’d definitely never had an SEO partner. As we grew, that became an area where we really needed some assistance.
There are a lot of opportunities out there to grow our digital footprint, so we were looking for a legit SEO partner that works with SMBs like us.
SOLUTION
What was the scope of their involvement?
WebFX’s primary scope of work is to oversee our SEO strategy, including conversion rate optimization (CRO), web development and enhancement, and content management and research. They handle anything regarding our content and product pages.
We also brought them on for Google Ads PPC management. They’re overseeing and optimizing our account, with the goal of increasing our conversions and other key metrics. WebFX is helping us manage PPC search, display, and shopping, all on Google Ads.
There’s a number of areas we haven’t leveraged yet because we’ve only been working with them for eight months. We also plan to explore their other offerings, from video to digital whiteboards and infographics.
What is the team composition?
I’ve worked with different people from WebFX, but we have one main person handling the bulk of things.
How did you come to work with WebFX?
We’d had a partner for three years, but we needed someone that could provide more robust reporting and a higher level of customer service.
I did some research online and had discussions with a few companies. WebFX was a really good fit for us because they had experience working in manufacturing. At the same time, they had a wide breadth of clients in multiple industries, which was good for diversity.
They also seemed to be on the cutting edge of new strategies and technologies. Even before signing off with them, I was really impressed with their communication and organization. We were definitely looking for that in a partner because we were looking for a long-term collaboration, not a short-term one.
How much have you invested with them?
We work with them month by month, so the cost has fluctuated. We had some one-time expenses upfront, and then we pay them for SEO and PPC. We expect to spend around $75,000 this year.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working with WebFX in January 2020, and it’s ongoing.
RESULTS & FEEDBACK
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
The organic traffic to our site has increased and so have conversions in terms of PDF downloads, form fills, and phone calls. An increase in organic traffic generally indicates good SEO, and we’re seeing significant differences year-over-year.
We also look at attribution reporting for deals and opportunities and whether they’re open or closed. There’s attribution to organic traffic, so there’s ROI behind that as well.
PPC is more metrically-driven and, therefore, is more quantitative than qualitative. We're measuring impressions, clicks, and conversions.
Our company doesn’t do much in terms of e-commerce, so e-commerce is a bit limited. We’ve still done some shopping campaigns with them, and that had generated revenue.
They dig into the reports in order to get unique insights on ways to enhance our presence and improve results. Some strategies that they've outlines include custom audiences or strategically setting up campaigns. WebFX has done a great job.
How did WebFX perform from a project management standpoint?
They're exceptionally organized. Everything is laid out on a timeline with very detailed descriptions of what’s coming up. We have a calendar layout of what’s going on, and they have a proprietary system through which they keep track of project progress.
We were meeting every week in the beginning, and now we get together every 1–2 weeks. We have hour-long phone calls to talk about the projects we're working on, what's coming up, brainstorm, and hold general discussions.
Our main contact is an internet marketer and project manager, and she executes items associated with a lot of projects.
The project management is well-communicated, organized, and transparent. I’m able to look up things on my own, instead of having to wait for them.
What did you find most impressive about them?
Having worked with multiple PPC management firms in the past, the experience with WebFX is night and day in terms of reporting. They’re strategic and specific, and they come to us with ideas instead of waiting to be told what to do. Their ability to come forward with strategies and ideas has been huge.
Are there any areas they could improve?
It's common to hit bumps in the road since we haven't been working together very long; it takes time to learn our company and products, which are decently complex. We’ve seen the biggest learning curve with their copywriting team, getting them to understand some technicalities and our voice.
To WebFX’s credit, they’ve been super willing to learn and challenge themselves. We’ve had a couple of bumps in the road, but I wouldn’t call them major. They’re very receptive to critique, they regularly challenge themselves, and are willing to learn more about our company.
Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?
Getting started, the client definitely should make sure they have the time and internal resources to do the onboarding properly. That’s important because it’s when WebFX gets to know the client’s website and other online properties. They also learn about what the company does, who their clients are, and what their voice is like.
That’s a crucial stage in the first two months. If new clients have the time and resources to dedicate to the initial onboarding, it’ll help a lot down the road and create a stronger relationship.
WebFX is great at coming up with ideas and strategies, but the client should dedicate time and resources as well. That will help them come up with their own ideas and mesh all of those together.
RATINGS
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Quality
4.5Service & Deliverables
"We’ve had a couple of hiccups with copy, but the quality is pretty good."
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Schedule
5.0On time / deadlines
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Cost
4.5Value / within estimates
"Pricing is a hard thing to evaluate. Their estimates aren’t perfect, but they’re quite accurate."
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Willing to Refer
5.0NPS