WebFX

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the sales manager for Lane Enterprises, an industrial powder coating business. Most of our work is in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast but we service the whole country.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Webpage FX?

When I joined the company about 11 years ago, the website looked as if it hadn’t been touched in years and the logo wasn't even up to date. A few years later I got a new boss and he agreed that it was time to invest in improving the site.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We initially thought about just doing upgrades on the existing framework. However, once we got into the project we decided to redesign the whole site. Webpage put together a timeline, gave us assignments, and set project deadlines.

At each step they proposed various options and allowed us to pick what we wanted. We decided not to have an e-commerce site because we didn't think our customers would use it. It’s a fairly simple informational site with a picture gallery and a button to request a quote.

Webpage continues to provide ongoing maintenance and tweaks. They let us know that the highest ranked entry page for the site is about maintenance and how to repair powder coating. As a result we’re creating a graphic to show how to fix damages in the field.

What is the team composition?

We have an account manager and 2–3 developers worked on the project. We've had probably six account managers in the time we’ve worked together

How did you come to work with Webpage FX?

We asked our corporate office who built their site—which was a different company—and they suggested we contact Webpage. They were a new company at the time and their office was a 5-minute drive from ours. We immediately felt really comfortable with them and have continued working together ever since.

How much have you invested with them?

I honestly don’t know—the bills come to my boss and I never talk money with the developers or our account manager. As far as I'm concerned, I need the website to do my job so I don’t really care what it cost.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together about eight years ago. The site was done in six months but we’ve continued to use them on a regular basis.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Right after the site launched, we landed a huge job coating parts for a solar carport. The fabricator and architect found our site because we were the top hit on Google when they searched “powder coating in the Northeast” and “large parts.” That project encouraged us to go after the growing solar market. Webpage added information about the solar carport project to the site, and solar has been a big focus of our sales for the last 6–7 years.

The site is one of the most important features in my sales toolbox. Because I don't often get out to West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, etc., the site provides all of the information that clients need.

How did Webpage FX perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re always available to talk with us and quick to respond if we have questions. We’re doing a few small tweaks right now and I've talked to our account manager already four times this week. In terms of general maintenance, we meet with our account manager at least three times a year.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Because our team is pretty technically challenged, we rely on them a lot. If they see something that they think would work, they bring it to us for discussion. Unlike other service providers, I feel like Webpage wants our business and is happy to work with us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think the biggest challenge has been they’re used to working with businesses that sell a product and we're selling a service. It's a completely different sale process and takes a lot longer. Every now and then they’ll bring us ideas that are more geared to a product-driven company than a service-driven company.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the director of operations of Rider Musser Development, a small organization in central Pennsylvania. Our upcoming project involves developing 115 acres into commercial and residential land.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WebpageFX?

Our website and mobile app was out of date and not user friendly; we wanted a cleaner, more exciting redesign. Our logos and other branding materials needed a refresh as well.

Outside of the norm, we did not want to promote our website. At the current land development stage of our project, we're not yet ready to promote any new apartment buildings. We just needed an informational, clean website for folks to reference from our talks at townships.

We knew going into it that we were going to be spending a decent amount of money compared to what we invested on our original site, because we needed it to look phenomenal.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

WebpageFX did a complete overhaul of our previous website, adding an interactive map that allows you to hover over areas and discover where buildings will be developed. They also added a lot of stock images to balance out the text-heavy interface. Their team assisted with an e-blast newsletter as the project progressed.

What is the team composition?

Initially, we worked with the same person I had met at a training session. We now work with a different project lead who's been my go-to.

How did you come to work with WebpageFX?

A representative from WebpageFX was hosting a free training session on creating websites that I attended. I was impressed that they took the time to provide that service for free to other realtors, and I found it to be very helpful and extensive. Through some additional research, I found their website work to be fantastic.

We also felt inclined to support former students of the local Messiah College who worked at WebpageFX.

How much have you invested with them?

We've invested under $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2017 and we're still collaborating.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We're pleased with what we've received in return, given the amount of money that we spent on the product. The ability to upload videos to the website has been a great tool for informing the public quickly and efficiently. That saves us a lot of time on the phone. As the project picks up, we see the website as a great resource to share with locals.

Although they've provided analytics, that's not something we're concerned with at this stage.

How did WebpageFX perform from a project management standpoint?

They tend to move at a faster pace than we do. I am floored by how quickly they get things done. They're proactive in ensuring that we get all of our contracted deliverables.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team has been phenomenal to work with. They're responsive and provide valuable feedback. They've suggested ideas that we never would have come up with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I had some difficulty explaining that our focus was not on promoting the website. As we were reassigned different project leads, I had to spend some time explaining that to their team. Overall, however, the final product definitely trumped that minor annoyance.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and owner of The Whiz Cells, which is a re-commerce website for recycling and re-selling old cell phones and tablets.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WebpageFX?

I needed SEO expertise so our site could move its way up through the ranking on Google’s organic search engine.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They optimized the site by using meta tag descriptions, creating blog content and doing link building. They were especially integral in coming up with blog topics that would boost our site visitor count.

What is the team composition?

I interact primarily with Kate-Lynn [Internet Market Specialist, WebpageFX].

How did you come to work with WebpageFX?

I began by researching what SEO is, as well as which firms specialize in it. I read reviews and online forums to gather information, and noted that WebpageFX was well-received throughout, so I decided to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve invested about $36,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with each other in 2015, and I continue to keep them on monthly retainer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Before working with WebpageFX, we were getting between 800 to 1,000 visitors on our site monthly. Currently, we just eclipsed 30,000 visitors in December 2017. Our goal to get more visitors and conversions on the site has been accomplished at this point.

How did WebpageFX perform from a project management standpoint?

Communication is great. We have regular phone calls with Kate-Lynn to go over Google Analytics. Based on that, we’ll come up with a variety of marketing strategies and blog content ideas for a particular time-frame. Aside from that, I’m able to get in touch with her or anyone else on their team when needed either via email or WebpageFX’s communication system.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication is particularly good. If anything comes up or I want to share an idea with Kate-Lynn, I’m always able to get in touch with her.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’m not well-versed in SEO, so it’d be nice to get more clarity on how various SEO-related tactics have an impact on the performance of my site. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a goal in mind, but be willing to trust WebpageFX’s insight. They are experts in their field, so they have great input that can help get you where you want to be.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a partner/owner of a law firm that handles employment, personal injury, tax, and corporate law.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WebpageFX?

We were looking for them to help us market the firm through the website and SEO.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They took over our firm's website. We had a site that was up and running. They started with what we had and redesigned, reduced, and reformatted it. They’re constantly updating the site to keep it relevant and current.

They do SEO for us including backlinks. They manage our blog, sometimes writing content or reviewing what we develop.

What is the team composition?

We usually interact with one project manager.

How did you come to work with WebpageFX?

We had found them online and worked with them on an unrelated project probably 10 years ago. They were local to us at the time and a relatively small business. We kept in touch with them over the years until they had pitched for us to invite them take over our law firm’s website.

How much have you invested with them?

We have a monthly retainer. The amount is confidential.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started this work with them probably 3-4 years ago. It’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The internet is our primary source of advertising. Since they've taken over the site, we've been very pleased with the flow of prospects coming through. The results are empirical – we’re getting inquiries through our website and we’re getting phone calls. That’s what we’re looking for.

How did WebpageFX perform from a project management standpoint?

Our project manager has been very responsive. We’re local to them so they come into our office and review things at least once a month or every other month. They provide us with reports every month or so through a proprietary project management system.

We've always been pleased with how they've run things and how they've communicated with us. It’s visible in the ultimate product and results.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their attentiveness. The company we were with for years before them was more of a national company, at least for us. It was a lot less personal. Since we moved over to WebpageFX, I feel like we're really getting paid attention to.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not off the top of my head.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Not really.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Business Consumer Alliance is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote business self regulation by resolving consumer and business-related disputes through complaint handling. We then use that information, along with other relevant information such as customer reviews to forecast the reliability of a business. We also offer a variety of benefits and services to small business owners to help them be successful in their business endeavors. I'm the president/CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WebpageFX?

We were rebranding our organization – for decades we operated as one of the chapters of the Better Business Bureau, but in 2013 we became independent and expanded the services we provided to consumers and businesses. We wanted to get the word out about our mission and the services we offer to the public, so we started looking for a company with marketing expertise to help us with our marketing campaigns, particularly Google Pay Per Click campaigns.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We mainly use them for PPC [Pay Per Click] campaigns. We needed a campaign that would focus on the searches of those consumers who intend to file a complaint. WebpageFX did an initial keyword research and suggested some creative ways to infer that someone is doing that type of search. They also help us keep our costs down.

What is the team composition?

We work with a marketing manager, who is in charge of our account.

How did you come to work with them?

We were working with another local marketing firm, but we weren't pleased with their services. I started looking for a new company online and saw their ad, which led me to their website. I called them and explained exactly what we needed – we wanted to get a specific campaign that would give us return on investment for our advertising dollars. WebpageFX gave me confidence in their abilities to manage Pay Per Click campaigns, especially the type of campaign we wanted to run. Also, the strategy they came up with met our expectations.

How much have you invested with them?

We pay them $400 a month for the marketing campaign they're running for us and we spend about $3,000–$4,000 monthly on advertising, which includes our advertising dollars and is in line with our budget. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in 2014 and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

August was our highest conversion month to date in the history of our campaign. We had over 3,600 conversions from our paid ad, which was a 42% increase compared to the previous quarter. At the same time, our average cost per click dropped about 25%. They use their bidding strategies, keeping an eye on what is trending and what can get us clicks and conversions.

Their service fee is nominal for what we get in return and is much less than we paid the other marketing firm we worked with. We're happy with the results.

How did they perform from a project management standpoint?

If there's a problem, they proactively react to it. After our first marketing manager (who understood our mission as a nonprofit and our objectives very well) transitioned to a different company, they assigned us a new marketing manager. That person wasn't as knowledgeable and we noticed we were overspending and not getting enough conversions. We expressed our concerns to them and they immediately assigned us a senior marketing manager, who understood our needs and got the campaign back on track.

We use Basecamp, which we like – it gives us a better understanding of our goals for each meeting and an easy way to keep track of past meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They keep me in the loop on our current campaigns, being mindful of any other campaigns that may come our way. As they make suggestions and come up with creative marketing ideas, they are not pushy with their marketing strategies. It's always good to have another set of eyes on your business's goal, so I appreciate them for that and the PPC campaign management.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give them a chance and express both your short-term and long-term goals. Be open about your budget as far as marketing goes. They will make sure you accomplish your goals, staying within your budget.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Oceasoft manufactures and sells connected monitoring solutions for monitoring physical parameters like temperature, humidity, CO2, etc. Our solutions are for use in for industries like food, pharmacies, dentistry, laboratories, and hospitals, including transport and emergencies. I’m the digital marketing manager. I’m responsible for the visibility of the company on our website, our search engine optimization, advertising, and marketing, and also inbound marketing and digital content marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WebPageFX?

We launched our U.S. subsidiary two years ago. We suffer from lack of visibility in the U.S. There’s a lot of competition and our SEO was poor. We tried to improve it with a partner here in France, but it didn’t work. They had satisfying results on the French part, but they couldn’t get the same results with English. We decided to look for a partner in the U.S. with skills in SEO.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started with the initial audit. It was a competitive study. Then, we started working on the website optimization. They performed a complete SEO setup including writing our meta description and meta files, working on the pictures, and making sure that once the new website was online, our redirections were okay. They work on the content, writing new pages, proposing new topics for our blog, netlinking, and doing quality-based, white hat link building. The website has been completely revamped. We have a lot more content than before.

What is the team composition?

I am in contact with a project manager.

How did you come to work with WebPageFX?

We looked for a specialized agency. I contacted the top 5–10 best-ranking SEO agencies. WebPageFX was one of the first that answered my request. Their proposal fit what I expected. After reading a few reviews and engaging with WebPageFX a few times, I decided to work with them. The conversation I had with their representative gave me confidence in their skills and expertise. I liked their flexible approach to my proposal and how they accommodated my budget.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent less than $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August 2017 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They did a complete job of revamping the website. They put in a lot of work in research, writing, and SEO to develop new, high-quality new content. I’m very satisfied with the way it works. The new site has only been online for six weeks, but we already see a boost in the statistics for the number of page views and time spent on the website. Time spent increased by almost one minute more on average with the previous visitor length at 2 ½ minutes and the new visits at 3 ½ minutes. The SEO is progressing already as well. I can see the first improvements coming and they are encouraging.

How did WebPageFX perform from a project management standpoint?

I only have contact with the project manager. She takes care of everything, working with their copywriters and technical team, and answering all my questions. I appreciate that she proposes a lot of new ideas.

The first report was very clear and intuitive. I asked for a few more details about specific data that I want to monitor on a monthly basis so my project manager will make sure that I have that on the next one. She understands that it’s important for me to receive the reports before the fifth day of every month because we have an internal meeting around that time which demonstrates their flexibility.

All exchanges, files, conversations, and tasks are through Basecamp. I have clear visibility on everything that happens and everything that will happen in the future.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I really appreciate their communication and flexibility.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. It’s been a long time since I’ve been so satisfied with a provider. I would definitely recommend them and do the exact same work with them over again.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t hesitate to work with them. They do what they say they will do. They listen to the customer. They understand what we want and they adapt themselves.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Joe Eskridge: We’re both partners of HSC Wealth Advisors. We help our clients navigate through the process of selecting financial products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WebpageFX?

JE: We had a standard prototype Internet website, but we didn’t have metrics or any way to track client contact or conversion rates. We also had no way to tell how clients were finding us or how they were distributed. We were also very new to SEO

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

JE: They helped us write and edit the content for our website, which really helped us present ourselves well. They also executed everything they promised in regards to SEO and driving traffic to our website. In my opinion, they achieved more that what was in the original scope.  

We wanted to make the website accessible via mobile as opposed to just desktop, which has made a big difference. A website’s presentation is vital to leaving a positive impression on customers and eventually closing sales. We found that clients who read what is on our website are pre-qualified. They are almost already engaged with our process by the time they talk to us, and this was without speaking to one of our representatives. It’s pretty amazing.

We write the content for our blog, but they edit it. They also deliver beyond our expectations in this area because not everyone has expressed a desire to help us in this way. It’s been a very collaborative way for them to work with us.

What is the team composition?

JE: It’s a very collaborative approach which started with staff interviews. We then selected team leads from our end through which we now funnel information to WebpageFX.

How did you come to work with WebpageFX?

Justin Victor: One of our employees went to work with them, so we knew about them from the very beginning.

How much have you invested in them?

JV: We’ve spent between $10,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

JV: We began working with them in July 2014, and the relationship is ongoing as they continue to provide us with support.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

JV: WebpageFX initially tracked 100 industry keywords and put our rankings next to them, and they now prepare a monthly report that shows our updated rankings. We’re able to see how our website moves up whenever anyone types in one of the keywords.

Once they did their internal work, we saw a significant increase. Website traffic has gone up by 20%–30%, and the contact submissions have significantly increased. Everyone is pleased with the website.

JE: We’ve been able to convert website leads which have paid for our investment with WebpageFX. The website looks clean and fresh.

How did WebpageFX perform from a project management standpoint?

JV: It is one of their strengths. They do a monthly check-in, and we have a dedicated project manager. It’s been really good, and we’ve learned a lot from them in that area.

JE: They’ve done a great job of communicating where we are in the process and what they hope to achieve. If they make a recommendation that isn’t something we’re comfortable with, then they will explain it in a more persuasive way. After a while, we’ve learned to trust them and their good judgment.

What did you find most impressive about them?

JV: The most impressive thing has been the bottom line numbers to me. We weren’t getting leads, and then we started getting them all of a sudden.

JE: I do feel like it’s a partnership. I really appreciate that they take the time to understand our business and help us convert a lot of the language to help those outside our industry understand our jargon and terms of art more easily. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

JE: No. That is the challenge with someone as good as them. They are constantly asking us for feedback via online and verbal surveys. They will be successful if they continue to be so diligent about collecting feedback.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

JE: They are the experts when it comes to SEO, so be sure you listen to what they have to say.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the marketing specialist for a company that manages real estate properties in Central Pennsylvania. I oversee online, print, and social media advertising for the corporate brand, as well as for each individual apartment complex we manage.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WebpageFX?

I was the first marketing person at our company, so I was completely overwhelmed by the amount of updating I had to do relating to our website and SEO. I was in need of more capacity and looking for a vendor who could act as an extension of my role.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

At first, WebpageFX handled our SEO, did some copywriting for our web pages, and provided some simple back links. They also checked our backend items (i.e., site maps and coding). They went through our website, compiled a list of issues, and helped fix them.

Now, we're at the point where they also provide infographics and write blogs for us. More importantly, they're my go-to whenever issues pop up or I have any questions.

What is the team composition?

I work mostly with an account representative, which is fantastic. He streamlines the communication process and is very communicative when it comes to discussing my needs. He has real conversations with me about SEO rather than the typical sales pitch you'd get from other SEO companies.

How did you come to work with WebpageFX?

I found WebpageFX through a simple Google search for SEO providers in the Harrisburg area. Since their name popped up first, I figured that meant they were the best at SEO locally. Since our business is so localized, it was important to us to work with a vendor who knew the area well.

How much have you invested with them?

One contract we have runs about $1,500 a month. However, we have multiple contracts with them that range in price.

Our cost structure is pretty simple. When we first started off, the fees were higher since a lot more research needed to be done upfront. The press fee went down after about 4 months and is now consistently the same every month. The money is allocated into their system of points, in which each task accounts for a certain amount of points. For example, copywriting might account for 2 points, whereas an infographic might cost us 5 points.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've probably worked with them for about 1.5 years. Our contract started around October, 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

A few of our property websites have increased dramatically in Google search rankings. Where we used to show up on the 10th page, we're now showing up on the first or second page. Our traffic to our property sites has increased by 23% in 2017 alone.

How did WebpageFX perform from a project management standpoint?

I love the way they're organized. The team ensures that I'm in the loop on everything throughout each project. They use their own custom built project management tool that allows us to communicate through instant messages, follow a calendar, send pictures and attachments, and comment on certain tasks.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication impresses me the most. I love that i can go to them with random questions and they'll respond thoughtfully and provide additional feedback.

Their copywriting for the website has also been fantastic. It's the best I've seen from a vendor.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't have a single complaint about them. I really like the system they use and the representative we work with.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Go to them with your questions. WebpageFX can provide so much more than just their listed services. You can ask them questions about improving reviews, getting certain codes on websites, and improving management of your Google Analytics.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m head of video business development at NextThought Studios, which is a video production agency and subsidiary of the NextThought parent company. We focus on sales and production, primarily for educational content.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WebpageFX?

Although we’ve operated under NextThought for a while, we didn’t have a standalone digital presence or marketing strategy. We wanted to optimize our Google rankings and increase organic traffic while enhancing our domain quality and authority.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We work with them and a local agency, but use their team for higher-level strategy and execution. They did market research on keywords and used the results to implement a digital strategy. The team identified educational and corporate content opportunities from the keywords, which they used to help us to rank higher for those services.

They had an overall tactical procedure to produce a holistic SEO strategy that included 20 unique terms. We also targeted certain keywords to appear in the top search results. Other SEO work has included: onsite and offsite optimization, domain link building, content development, writing, and a competitor analysis.

Last fall marked one year into the engagement, at which point we pivoted to a more executional content-oriented strategy. They now provide us earned media assets that we decide how to spend on various SEO services. We’ve also tailored marketing to fit our dynamic needs and goals.

What is the team composition?

We’ve used the same account representative for each project. We plan to stay with her throughout the engagement.

How did you come to work with WebpageFX?

We conducted an exhaustive online search for SEO companies and invited the five finalists to present pitches. Not only was their pricing fair, but they also offered a thorough digital marketing strategy in addition to robust SEO services. Furthermore, their status as an American company was added value because account representatives would be highly accessible.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $18,000 – $19,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Work started October 2016 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They have a good structure in place and are very efficient at tailoring their offerings to our needs. At first, we were appearing hundreds of pages down in Google, but now we rank in the top 20 search results. Since video production is not a horrendously competitive industry, they were able to leverage competitive terms and our geographical position to deliver these results. They were not only confident in their potential, but also delivered on those promises.

How did WebpageFX perform from a project management standpoint?

They take care of their clients, putting in extra effort to win business over and over again. They’ll go above and beyond.

Our digital account representative has been fantastic. She’s done a really good job to understand our industry and what sets us apart from the competition. She’s also very responsive over text and email; she’ll let us know whenever she’s out of the office and supply alternative contacts for that period. Overall, we find her transparent and unafraid of challenges.

We use Basecamp, which is extremely valuable for tracking progress and staying on deadline. The tool is also useful for planning future projects and maintaining transparency between the teams.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very transparent. The team shares the same pricing page, which they also make public. As a result, there’s no cost discrepancy in dealing with a manager, employee, or representative.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We tried to give them more business because we were happy with their service. As a result, another separate account representative took on a content development project. This team said they were proficient in Craft CMS and HubSpot. However, we got into a position where they couldn’t deliver on their promised frontend expertise. We also didn’t know what we wanted, which didn’t help the situation. While customer service was consistent with the main project, work quality appeared more dependent on project management.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Do not treat engagement as a fully-outsourced project. Invest time and be flexible to maximize productivity. The information we supplied them increasingly enhanced their SEO work. They’re not mind-readers, so the client’s added effort will increase the ROI.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the president of a small business whose primary product is a web-based cloud service.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WebpageFX?

As a cloud-based tool, it is a necessity for us to be able to sell our product and services online. At the time, we had a certain amount of pay-per-click (PPC) through Google AdWords, but we needed to do more organic search engine optimization (SEO).

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

At the outset of our engagement, WebpageFX assigned our account to Catelin [Internet Marketing Specialist, WebpageFX]. We wanted her to take a look at our product, get a thorough understanding of it and our business, and then start looking at keywords related to our product. Her goal was to ensure that when people searched for those keywords through Google, our company would have a high ranking. Alongside that work, she took a look at our website and gave us instructions on what to clean up or adjust in order to make it easier for the search engines to pick up the keywords.

Together, Catie and I did a full assessment of our keywords, planned content updates to take advantage of specific keywords and keep our website fresh, and conducted a thorough analysis of the entire website to see what changes she recommended. Under her direction, we finally followed through on what had been a long-term line item for me and started building a blog for our site. Catie helped to clarify the best approaches to blogging for a business. We also discussed at length how to use social media to our advantage, including identifying which sites and tools to use, and at what frequency to implement those posts. In general, Catie became my consultant on anything to do with the internet.

During the course of this work, WebpageFX also produced a certain amount of content for us, like webpages and some long form content. We engaged them to help us build appropriate links and figure out how to get linkbacks from high-domain-authority websites. Any individual project that Catie led for us involves coming up with the content, editing it, approving it, and updating it on the website at a predetermined time. It is complicated and time consuming, but she handles all of that for us.

What is the team composition?

Although I have interacted with both their sales specialist and Catie’s boss at varying times throughout the engagement, the latter of whom provided me with some social media strategies, I have primarily collaborated with Catie. Sometimes she needs to go back to her internal team to get answers for me, but usually we work together directly.

How did you come to work with WebpageFX?

I conducted research to source the right partner to achieve our PPC goals, and through that process I went through four or five different businesses. Some of them solicited me for our contract, some of them I found locally, and a couple of them were national companies. Within that research, I stumbled upon WebpageFX.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we have spent close to $100,000 annually with WebpageFX, and we pay using a monthly fee structure that usually increases every year.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in 2012, and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Within the first year of working with Catie, our business took off. We had somewhere between 40-50 percent growth in those early days, and we are now approaching 5,000 customers. Certain keywords that we identified during the aforementioned work essentially belonged to our website on search engines for a couple of years, which was essential to our success. Last year, we grew at 23 percent, which is still great for a more established company. We get somewhere in the range of 35,000-50,000 visitors a month on our site. I attribute a lot of that overall growth to our engagement with WebpageFX.

How did WebpageFX perform from a project management standpoint?

WebpageFX uses Basecamp internally for their project management, although Catie and I primarily email each other on a regular basis. Through Basecamp, Catie sends us monthly updates with a series of metrics to demonstrate the results and analysis of our SEO work. She provides excellent project management, and has always been there when I have needed her.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I would single out Catie. She is an outstanding support person who is responsive, intelligent, and simply nice to work with. Additionally, everybody who works at WebpageFX is of an age that generally makes them both professionally hungry and overall tech savvy. They are also largely very positive, meaning that when we ask them questions, they respond with possibilities rather than negatives.

Are there any areas they could improve?

WebpageFX’s price structure is limiting and often quite expensive. Certain parts of it at this point are so pricey that we have had to consider taking our business regarding linkbacks specifically to another contractor who can find a cheaper means for that tracking and analytics. I do not want to go elsewhere, however, because I have so enjoyed our working relationship to this point. I would like them to take a look at our needs and build a custom price structure so that there are more options for us, perhaps on a bulk basis or something similar.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

SEO overall is not intuitive, and you need to make sure you hire someone who can help you understand all aspects of it in a way that is not overwhelming. It requires a level of communication and comprehension that not all places have, but WebpageFX does.