WebFX

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the chief integrator of Xylem Design. We're a manufacturer of pedestals, displays, and other furniture for tradeshows and events. We have an online store, but about three quarters of our sales are generated over the phone.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WebpageFX?

All of our leads come through PPC and SEO. We needed help with our SEO and we didn't have enough people in-house to handle that, so we were looking to outsource a company.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They've done a lot of work around the long-form content for blogs and put more copy onto our website pages with a keyword-related focus. In addition, they added more organization to the website, bolstered the page flow, and improved our product descriptions. They also put a few backlinks on other reputable websites.

What is the team composition?

We mostly work with our account manager, who has a team underneath him. We’ve also worked with their director for business development, who was part of the sales process.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent between $10,000–$20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2018 and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There was a subtle increase in traffic. They told us it'd be at least four months before we would see any changes in traffic and we've now reached that four-month mark. For us, a conversion is anytime someone makes an online purchase, calls us through our website, or fills out a quote inquiry online. They've created a custom report through Google Data Studios that allows us to track that.

How did they perform from a project management standpoint?

They're very organized and execute everything on time. We use Basecamp to stay up-to-date with the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They make themselves available whenever we need them. Besides, they’re very responsive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I wish they paid more attention to our branding (that said, our brand could be improved and that would be an add-on service for them). For example, we have a couple of economy pedestals, and WebpageFX suggested that one of our product pages should be for economy pedestals (that would allow us to capture the traffic). While there are some people who are searching for cheap pedestals, I wanted to find a way to capture the organic traffic without creating a page just for cheap pedestals.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear about your needs and the scope of their services before the project begins. A lot of companies that use SEO vendors don't fully grasp what SEO is.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the director of operations at Cliffside Industries. We are a decorative cabinet hardware distributer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WebpageFX?

We basically needed to improve the SEO of our website. We had a pretty old side build on an outdated CMS and need to increase our web traffic in order to grow our sales.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started with an all-organic SEO campaign before expanding into PPC and earned media link building. We eventually decided to build a new website to replace our outdated one. We built the site ourselves, but WebpageFX definitely had influence.

Their main focus now is content building. This includes short and long form content building, from small 300 or 400 word pieces to blog posts and specialty pages that can be 3,000 words. They have also done videos and video promotion for us, as well as all types of traditional paid marketing.

What is the team composition?

We have had a personal agent and main point of contact for our entire partnership with WebpageFX.

How much have you invested with them?

We have them on a retainer that comes out to around $4,000 a month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have been working with them since January 2013.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In the two months after we launched with them our B2C sales went up by 500% and from 2012–2013 we grew 60% in overall web sales. Since then we have not had the same kind of growth after Google changed some of their marketing procedures, but our revenue did go up last year and we are on track to grow again this year.

Overall, they have been able to do everything we've ever asked them, and if they're not able to do it in-house they have a place they can outsource it to. They have always been able to do development work when we need it and they have great copywriters. Working with them has been a great experience.

How did WebpageFX perform on a project management standpoint?

They use Basecamp and their own software for all project management. It is very easy to communicate with them, and they are always responsive to requests.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I would have to say the personal service. We're a small business and have worked with WebpageFX since they were a small company at a tech incubator. Now they're humongous, but they still offer us the same level of personalized service that they offered six years ago when we started working with them. I've had the same point of contact ever since I started there and communication is always forthcoming. It's not always been a perfect relationship, but I think it's always been a productive one.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Sometimes I wish they'd give us more information than they do, but in most cases communication is top notch. Additionally, we have found that our sales have recently grown stagnate and we would like to see more overall growth. This is not because WebpageFX isn’t doing their job; we just would like to see more sustained increases.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Find somebody to work with and give them a chance to show you what they can do, because WebpageFX definitely did.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a marketing manager at Euraupair. We bring young women from all over the world to the United States to provide childcare to American families.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WebpageFX?

We were trying to recruit more host families, so we were looking for a company to help us expand our social media presence and assist with digital marketing.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They develop content for our website and our social media accounts and provide SEO services. In addition, they create backlinks, promote us via blogs, and handle Google Analytics.

What is the team composition?

We have one main point of contact but she has a team of writers who also work on our project.

How did you come to work with them?

The relationship started before I joined the company.

How much have you invested with them?

We pay them a few thousand per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with them in February 2017 and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've seen an increase in leads and host family applications coming through our website and social media. We also get more phone calls and people submit applications by phone.

How did they perform from a project management standpoint?

They do an excellent job. They're always trying to understand our needs and bring a lot of ideas to the table. We’ve used Google Docs and Google Data Studio for project management.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're always available and willing to guide us through the process.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They're very productive. I'd definitely recommend them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We specialize in local construction distribution. We’ve been in business for 17 years and online for about five or six. As the e-commerce manager, I do all our frontend development and some of our marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WebpageFX?

We ignored our SEO efforts for too long. We wanted a team to offset the work we do in-house.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We talk about promotion ideas for new assets or products. They take our ideas, make suggestions, then take the work away to develop it. Once we approve their work, they implement it. They develop a lot of our SEO tracking and a suite of other FX tools, including lead capture and marketing.

They did an audit of our site, including a backlink competitor analysis. They highlighted items we should add and fixed a lot of issues with our SEO. After that initial phase, they built content and boosted our offsite links. In mid-November, we added PPC and Google AdWords to their workload and just recently started remarketing on Facebook. We’re also considering email campaigns.

What is the team composition?

We have one point of contact who coordinates the rest of the team.

How did you come to work with WebpageFX?

We found them through a Google search. We compared multiple companies and ultimately decided to use them. Their salesperson was amazing. He was very personable and gave a great presentation.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around May 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They send me regular reports. We’re tracking SEO metrics separately for our current B2B customers and our new B2C and B2B customers. I need to spend more time with the reports to have a clearer impression of those numbers, but we have seen definite gains. Our domain authority has increased from 20 to 28.

How did WebpageFX perform from a project management standpoint?

I like that we can approach one contact for all of our needs. We’re happy with their services and their organization. The biggest positives are their efficiency and their willingness to bounce ideas back and forth.

One drawback is their project management software. They’re still on an early version of Basecamp that doesn’t work as well as the new iteration. We also share a lot of information via Google Docs.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They save us a lot of time and are easy to work with. I usually get a reply within 24 hours and they implement changes quickly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They should upgrade to the newest version of Basecamp. We may ask them if they can shorten their timelines, but we know that quality work takes time.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you’re looking for a team to provide a complete solution, they’re a good choice. I’ve worked with three or four teams for PPC and SEO. WebpageFX is the best by far.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the Sales Director for Sharpsville Container. We manufacture stainless steel, carbon steel, and higher alloy tanks, vessels, heat exchangers, and custom capital fabricated equipment. We have around 50 employees.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WebpageFX?

Our main goal was to improve our inbound marketing through SEO.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Mainly they’ve been doing inbound marketing and SEO by developing keyword lists. They’ve also done some copywriting for us. They’ll give us questionnaires to understand our customers’ personas and they have full access to our website. They’ve also put up some brochures on our website which is a nice thing to do, as we’re a smaller organization. We thought about having them do PPC, but we’re trying to move away from that.

What is the team composition?

We work with one internet marketing specialist.

How did you come to work with WebpageFX?

We did some web research and they were the first ones that showed up. We really liked their website, and we were impressed by our initial contact with them, even though we did interview other companies. They really understood our business, and related their background and experience to our needs; they were able to speak our language.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $17,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since April 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Of the over 1700 web visits we had in March, 552 came from organic searches. Our keyword rankings have also increased. Additionally, when we ask customers how they found us, they will say we were the first result to pop up.

How did WebpageFX perform from a project management standpoint?

They do have a project management tool, but using it just isn’t my style. We go back and forth via email a few times a week, and we have a phone call once a month. They’ll also send me a project snapshot via Excel that shows our timeline and how many credits we have available.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m happy that we rank number one for certain keywords in Google, and when people are searching for the unique items we manufacture. Our point of contact has also been really good at understanding our needs and our goals for each quarter.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be nice if they could have somebody actually come out and sit down and spend a week or so in the field, getting to know our business. That would have really sped things up in the beginning. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you know what your goals are. Really sit down and have a strategy mapped out ahead of time. If you’re on a fast track like we were, they’ll help you do that, but you should have your plan clearly defined. Also, make sure that the rest of your sales and marketing team is on board with that strategy, and that you have their buy-in.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am an application developer for a boat manufacturer. We sell a relatively low volume of a high-quality product. We make boats from 24-45 feet.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WebpageFX?

We were looking for a partner to improve our SEO.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve paired with internet marketing companies with in the past, primarily to create our public-facing website, but were no longer partnered with our previous company. We wanted a company to resume that work.

Our site was developed in WordPress. The company that created it didn’t necessarily focus on SEO. They built a good-looking, functional site that didn’t make us visible to search engines. We were very upfront in telling WebpageFX that SEO was one of our main focuses. It’s important to focus on SEO to make our company more visible.

One of the first things they focused on was a keyword list, which primarily contained types and lengths of boats. Their internet marketing specialist strategically changed some of the title and description tags on our individual boat pages, and updated our page content, to get our site to rank higher for those keywords.

What is the team composition?

We work with four or five people from their team. We mainly worked with our primary point of contact, who is very responsive. We also work with another internet marketer and some of their developers. If we have a technical need, we reach out to the developers.

How did you come to work with WebpageFX?

I did a little research to find a decent company that could fulfill our needs, and WebpageFX came highly recommended.

How much have you invested in them?

We have spent around $10,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in November 2017 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have been very happy with them across the board. Their keywords very drastically affected common searches for our customers. We had been showing up on the fourth or fifth page on Google, and we are now in the top ten list on the first page.

Our website domain authority was holding our SEO strategy back. They provided a report on our historical domain authority. Our domain authority in April 2017 was 34, and it was 41 in March of 2018. That’s a pretty substantial increase. It is still not incredible, but we wouldn’t expect that. Their ability to give us that metric is huge. It definitely shows that their work is paying off.

How did WebpageFX perform from a project management standpoint?

Their time management is very good. They use Basecamp, which my whole team has access to, allowing us to collaborate and see when they expect tasks to be accomplished. They’re outstanding at keeping us in the loop and giving us the status of various projects.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The internet marketing company we had worked with in the past did a very good job on our site, but their communication and reporting dropped off. We like to get those periodically to track the health, status, and activity of the site. WebpageFX excels at communication and reporting. All the key metrics are readily available, either monthly or quarterly.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s helpful to have a broad idea of what you want to accomplish before you research SEO companies. Do a little homework on SEO before you shop around for a company to tell you exactly what you need. While they are very knowledgeable about SEO, no one knows your business like you. As a new customer, it is very valuable to know what is important ahead of time.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the store and warehouse manager for EXL Garage Doors, a company that specializes in garage door maintenance and installation.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WebpageFX?

We knew that establishing an online presence would be essential when we started this business, so we used WebpageFX to build our website and assist with our digital marketing efforts.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed a WordPress site that lists all of our services and contact information for potential customers. Customers are also able to make inquiries about our prices and schedule appointments through the website. When issues arise, we send their team an email and they resolve the problem almost immediately.

Since completing the website, they continue to support our online growth by creating digital ad campaigns through Google AdWords. At the end of each month, they send us a detailed report of the site’s analytics and visitor demographics to ensure that we are receiving an appropriate amount of traffic and targeting the correct audience.

What is the team composition?

We have one main point of contact who oversees project management, but several people are working behind the scenes to monitor the site.

What is the status of this engagement?

We commissioned the project shortly after starting our business in April 2017, and we continue to use their services for site maintenance, analytics, and marketing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How did WebpageFX perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team is fast-paced, so there were never any issues with complying with deadlines. They sent our team status updates via email on a regular basis, which helped us stay informed on the timeline without getting involved in the technical aspects of the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

WebpageFX has a solution for any problem that comes their way. Their team was exceptional at listening to our needs and turning them into a topnotch website.

Are there any areas they could improve?

A better method of preparation could have prevented the few technical issues that they experienced during the early stages of the project. Fortunately, they were able to resolve those issues quickly.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They are very accommodating, so do not hesitate to voice your concerns.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the director of digital marketing at Leading Authorities, Inc., a company with three lines of business including a speaker's bureau, video production, and live event production.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WebpageFX?

We needed help with SEO. We were unhappy with the results of our previous vendor and had recently redesigned and launched our website, which had experienced a significant decrease in traffic.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

WebpageFX's earned media team has been working on link building for us and keyword research auditing. They helped identify where we were underperforming and have been continuing to help us with strategy, technical issues, and recommendations. They've also provided some copy, including specifically designed SEO pages and blog content.

What is the team composition?

We work with a dedicated representative. More knowledgeable than a typical project manager, she's able to answer technical and project-specific questions whenever we have any.

How did you come to work with WebpageFX?

I found WebpageFX online, possibly through Clutch.

How much have you invested with them?

We contracted them for $90,000 for the year, which includes services for two of our websites.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working with them since around September 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

This January was our best web lead generation month in the past five years. Compared to where we were a year prior, they've helped us significantly improve web performance overall.

How did WebpageFX perform from a project management standpoint?

Our representative does a great job of keeping us updated and reminding us what they need from our team. In addition to communicating through Basecamp and utilizing Google Docs, they use some great internal reporting tools of their own. They're able to track which leads come from organic search on our website as well as other insights about user behavior and our competitors.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciate how versatile our representative is—she really knows what she's talking about and is able to provide answers right away. She's also very friendly and spends time developing a strong relationship with us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

While their SEO copy is great, there's room for improvement on the copy they provide for blogs. Some of the content was too generic, so we ended up focusing more on having WebpageFX provide link building and other services instead.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

No. I highly recommend them. I think they're the best vendor I could've selected.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m on the marketing team at an international payments platform that sends payments around the world in the education, healthcare, and business space. I’m in charge of digital marketing, paid advertising, and content creation.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WebpageFX?

The company was looking for help with paid search.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They were originally brought on for paid search. The engagement expanded to include display and LinkedIn sponsored content. They also performed an SEO audit. They continue to run our entire AdWords account. They’ve put proposals together for digital marketing for events. They also send us search marketing industry updates.

What is the team composition?

While multiple members of their team work on our campaigns, I have a single point of contact.

How did you come to work with WebpageFX?

WebpageFX had already signed on when I started at the company. I believe they found them through an online search.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $10,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

They signed a contract around February 2017 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our legal compliance team asked to limit information about exact results, but they've been a good agency to work with. They're organized. They're willing to go a step further and help us figure out how to structure our marketing department. We really like them.

How did WebpageFX perform from a project management standpoint?

They perform well against project timelines and the goals that we’ve set. We use their tool, WebpageFX Basecamp, for all project communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very responsive and always willing to be available. We've had some urgent situations. They're always quick to hop on a call, do a screen share, or whatever it takes to figure out a solution.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we're pretty content.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They perform really well with large e-commerce brands. That’s their bread and butter.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the founder of Exit Strategy Games. We're an escape room, so we lock people in a themed room for an hour and they solve puzzles to escape.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WebpageFX?

Our customers find us and book our services online, but we have a lot of competition in the area. We wanted to be on the first page of Google searches, so we were looking for a company to help us with organic SEO and online ads.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They restructured our website and added a lot of content. They've also installed analytics and are constantly tracking the performance of our ads. If something is not working, they change it. In addition, they’ve been helping us improve our SEO rankings.

What is the team composition?

I primarily work with my project manager, but there are also some people behind the scenes.

How did you come to work with them?

I found them through an online search. I liked the fact that they were honest with me about the time it'd take to get on the first page of Google searches. I was worried about having to work with multiple people, but they assured me that I'd only have to deal with one person who would be in charge of the project. Besides, they had good reviews, so I decided to give them a chance.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent between $10,000–$20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in March 2017 and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re on the first page of Google searches and our sales have been on the rise over the past five months. I saw a bigger increase in bookings in some months, while in other months it was more stagnant, which could be because we have more and more competitors in the area. When our sales go down, WebpageFX tweaks the strategy and the sales go back up. Without them, we would be really struggling.

How did they perform from a project management standpoint?

They're very responsive. They're on the other side of the US, so we primarily communicate via email and phone.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Our project manager was exceptionally supportive and gave me helpful feedback. He’s always there for me, so I feel I'm not going through this alone.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. I've been very happy with them. Everyone wants to pay less, but it's been worth every dollar.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They know what they're doing, so you can trust them to work on several campaigns at the same time. I started with SEO and waited a couple of months before signing my second contract, and that is my biggest regret.