Herdl

Please describe your company and your position there.

We're a leading fishing tackle retailer with a focus on carp fishing tackle, bait and accessories. We have a large physical store in the Midlands and an ecommerce site. I'm the Managing Director.

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

We hired Herdl for SEO services to boost our online sales. Our original goal was to increase our online sales by 30% in year one.

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We shortlisted and spoke to a number of agencies who ranked on page one of Google for "SEO Agency". In our minds, this pre-qualified their SEO abilities. We chose Herdl because they were very easy to talk to and listened keenly when we described our business, our industry and the aims and ambitions we have for the company. This was reflected in the questions they asked and the case studies they shared. in their proposal they demonstrated a really solid understanding of our business and marketplace, and outlined in plain English how their SEO strategy would align with our goals.

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

There was a research phase at the beginning followed by a presentation of their findings, recommendations and refined SEO strategy. Following this was the setup stage and then ongoing work. Each month we receive a detailed report with insights and a written summary of the work carried out, and work planned for the next month. We also have a live dashboard with key metrics. Every quarter we have a meeting to review progress.

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

During the past 2 years we've worked with 4 members of the Herdl team. The Client Services Manager is my first line of contact but I've also spoken directly to the Digital Director, SEO Specialist and Managing Director. All of the team are in senior positions and extremely knowledgeable but also really patient and ensure I understand exactly what work is being done and the benefits it delivers (sparing me the tech jargon which I greatly appreciate!)

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

Since working with Herdl we're now ranking for many keyphrases on page one of Google but more importantly, we've seen the conversions from this work result in a dramatic year-on-year increase in turnover of 115%, far exceeding our original goal!

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

The Client Services Manager is very proactive and keeps me in the loop with regular calls and emails. I also like it that they don't limit their input to strictly SEO and provide suggestions for how we can increase conversions too. They understand that the ultimate goal is not rankings but revenues.

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

What I like best about Herdl is that even though all the team are obviously very experienced and at the top of their game. They never try to bamboozle me with jargon and buzzwords. They communicate their subject knowledge in a way that's easy for anyone to understand. There's not many agencies you can say that about.

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

They're occasionally late with the monthly reports but as these are hand-written (not automated), I don't mind waiting from time to time as they usually have some good insight plus I have the live dashboard if I want to check rankings etc