Digitalhound Ltd

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Technical Director of Get Car Hire Travel Group, a selection of online travel websites and portals aimed at both travel consumers and business travellers.

For what projects/services did your company hire Digitalhound Ltd?

We are looking to rebrand our brand image, awareness and perception through a complete overhaul of our exiting website. We took the decision to employ SEO at the start of the design phase to help better our current search engine performance and rankings, increase site visitor traffic and improve our conversion rates.

What were your goals for this project?

1. Completely revamp and rebrand our existing website.
2. Employ SEO to improve our current search rankings, increase site visitor numbers and sales conversions.

How did you select Digitalhound Ltd?

After carefully assessing the market and shortlisting 5 possible agencies, we chose Digitalhound because:

1. They have considerable experience in our market space
2. They have the expertise and knowledge to bring our ideas to fulfilment and deliver on agreed KPI's
3. I was fully aware of their track history of working with other businesses within this sector.
4. They quickly understood what we are all about and are extremely proactive with advice, recommendations and actions taken.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Digitalhound are contracted to provide web design and development of existing website. Develop the SEO strategy and implement a trial campaign targeting a selection of specific keywords. This initial test campaign was to run concurrently with the web development phase to include rank monitoring and bi-monthly reporting.

The test campaign results were impressive and as a result Digitalhound were given the green light to implement further SEO campaigns which are currently ongoing.

What was the team composition?

I work with 3 members of the team. Our initial contact was with Darryl the MD and thereafter with our designated Senior Project handler, a content creation specialist and a web developer. I also have regular updates from the SEO team through a Senior Account Director and his assistant as we are concurrently running a specific SEO campaign in the background.

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

We are extremely happy with the progress to date. The new website although not live yet, has more than met with our expectations in both design and functionality and is due to launch very soon. Digitalhound's SEO team have also been working on improving our search rankings & visitor traffic numbers and things are progressing far better than we had first envisaged.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We are in the process of moving hosts and the workflow has been somewhat affected by this. However, this is an internal issue and does not relate to our dealings with Digitalhound, who have been extremely patient and understanding helpful throughout this process.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Having worked with quite a few other agencies, what comes across straightaway is their depth of knowledge, passion and integrity in being completely transparent with every actionable step taken.

I have come to rely on and trust their advice and recommendations on a number of instances during the course of this project. The helpfulness, attention to detail, and dedication of their team is second to none in my opinion.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Sadly, it is us that has held them back due to this pandemic and internal shuffling of technology and personnel. We are absolutely delighted with what's being delivered so far and we consider this as being a long term partnership with them.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner and founder of Golfer Giveaways Ltd

For what projects/services did your company hire Digitalhound Ltd, and what were your goals?

Digitalhound were hired to design and develop a brand eCommerce style website for Golfer Giveaways with full functionality to transact online including a live data capture facility and subsequently to drive brand awareness and growth through SEO and digital marketing.

How did you select Digitalhound Ltd and what were the deciding factors?

I conducted an extensive search online for Web developers who could bring my vision of the brand to life, easily communicate any technical stuff without using hard to understand jargon and who would then help me to build on that by marketing my brand website online.

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

After an initial meeting to discuss the goals and objectives, their team went away and drew up a series of wireframes and mockups to reflect the look and feel agreed in our discussions. They then proceeded to develop a WordPress website with I believe a bespoke PHP program to enable an integrated data capture facility.

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

A Senior Project Manager was in charge of the whole process together with 1 WordPress developer and 2 others which included a web designer and a copywriter.

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

Since the launch, we have seen an acceleration in the number of signups and tickets being sold on our website. In the first few weeks alone there were over 350 new signings and the trend looks very much likely to continue to climb, as their SEO and marketing campaigns start to kick in as the latest analytical reports show.

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

We had daily updates from their Project Manager who was in close contact with the rest of the team. The communication was really superb, any problems however small were dealt with promptly and efficiently with fuss. Contact was maintained via telephone, Zoom, email and Messenger.

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

Clear communication, attention to detail, prompt responses, great work ethics and their overall technical abilities.

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

Once the site was launched, we wanted to add extra pages, change bits of information, add images and further functionality to the lead capture forms. All that we asked for was delivered promptly to our full satisfaction.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re an online travel agency that covers all aspects of travel planning across the world.

What challenge were you trying to address with Digitalhound Ltd?

We’ve partnered with them for many things, but they were primarily tasked with revamping our website to align with our brand.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had been working with another web design company, who created landing pages that weren’t converting or working how we wanted them to. So, we brought their team onto the project the improve the stickiness and engagement with those landing pages. It was important for us to improve rankings to be able to convert leads. 

In addition to the landing page modifications, they made many suggestions for improving our website and digital marketing presence overall. They examined our site’s code and deleted many unnecessary pages to clean up the interface. We’re now in the process of moving to WordPress, but they did most of the work in Dreamweaver.

What is the team composition?

The team size depends on our needs, but we’ve worked with about nine team members. We tend to centralize our communication through three team leads, who act as a point of contact for us. 

How did you come to work with Digitalhound Ltd?

We’d tried using other agencies for web design along the way, but not many of them could deliver what we needed. I knew the owner of their company through a mutual contact. We came across them while they were working with one of our competitors. Our team was impressed with their work and knowledge of the industry. They had experience working with various types of companies, so we hired them.  

How much have you invested with them?

In total, we’ve spent about $130,000–$140,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since around March 2016.

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

They effectively leveraged our existing database to identify audience groups and tailor our marketing materials to cater to our existing demographics of interest. They’re responsible for earning us more conversions and subscribers. We review their work holistically on an annual basis. During our engagement, we’ve grown 60%–90% year-over-year.  

How did Digitalhound Ltd perform from a project management standpoint?

They track and report on our desired KPIs, so we’re always aware of what they’ve achieved every month. The reports they provide showcase all key details. We have face-to-face meetings as needed to communicate effectively between our teams. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’ve done a wonderful job supporting us in a very competitive industry. I never have to worry about what they’re doing because we have a strong relationship. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’re great advisors when it comes to achieving our goals. We want to move quickly, and they’re great at keeping us aware of all of the opportunities and limitations that exist. They’re doing exactly what they should be doing. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a private meeting with them early on and speak clearly on your goals. They will be available to you whenever needed to help achieve goals. The level of support they offer is unmatched.