Hive19

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of digital marketing at Search Seven, a search marketing agency that offers services such as SEO and PPC. My role is to manage the team, manage relations with clients and partners, and look after our marketing strategy.

What challenge were you trying to address with Hive19?

We were looking for a link-building partner because we didn’t have those services internally. Hive19 came in as our support network.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Hive19 offers our clients link building, content writing, and blogging services. They audit the client’s accounts and look at what keywords they want to be found for on Google. Some clients like Hive19 to provide keyword suggestions, while others already have their keywords selected. From there, the team finds or writes articles related to the keywords to help the client get authority in their area, focusing on off-site PR. Currently, Hive19 is helping us with four clients.

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact is Hive19’s owner, and we occasionally deal with two more members of their team. 

How did you come to work with Hive19?

Gavin (MD of Search Seven) and Aaron (MD of Hive19) were introduced to one another a few months after Aaron started Hive, and have worked closely together ever since.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend around £5,000 (approximately $6,000 USD) a month with Hive19.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around March 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

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

Hive19’s performance is really good. We see good growth, particularly in our client’s domain authority score and Ahrefs ranking. Search engine rankings, conversions, and the number of sites linking back to clients’ sites have all improved — we’ve seen great success all around. Our clients are really happy, and I would recommend Hive19.

How did Hive19 perform from a project management standpoint?

They always meet deadlines, and they’re great at communicating and getting back to us with reporting. I don’t have to email them to ask them what’s happening; Hive19 has a system called HiveBot set up through Slack that notifies us whenever a new link is published, which saves us both time. 

We have open communication through email and Slack, and it’s easy to get a hold of them. Sometimes we meet face-to-face, which is great because they come to our client meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m most impressed with Hive19’s open and honest communication. We don’t feel like a client with them; they treat us like friends and talk to us quite openly. Link building is quite a technical subject, and when they tell us what’s going on, they explain things in a way that makes sense to us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think there’s anything they need to improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Work with Hive19! Although they’re a bit more expensive than other link-building providers, you pay for what you get with them. Their links are genuine and not spammy like others, so they’re worth our investment.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a digital marketing agency focused on paid search, paid social, and organic advertising. We also do creative app installation campaigns.

What challenge were you trying to address with Hive19?

We were struggling to provide a good level of service to our clients, so we needed someone who could provide consultancy.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Hive19 provides information, feedback, and opinion on various marketing and SEO strategies. To do this, they conduct audits and reviews on our current procedures. Additionally, they guide us on what’s achievable and realistic within specific timeframes. 

Aside from that, the Hive19 team also works directly on our site to improve its performance. We also bring them along to work with us on some of our projects for higher-spending clients. They mainly provide link building services, focusing on sites that are hard to get links on.

What is the team composition?

There are three people assigned to the project.

How did you come to work with Hive19?

I worked with them when I was working for a different company. I already knew we could trust Hive19, so we hired them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in April 2021, and it’s ongoing.

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

Thanks to the team’s efforts, one of our clients achieved their best month in terms of website statistics. Our website is also doing a lot better. Additionally, they’ve provided helpful feedback that has helped us reassess our methods. As a result, Hive19 has allowed us to offer better services to our clients.

How did Hive19 perform from a project management standpoint?

Hive19 is very easy to work with. They use spreadsheets to share their progress, and these allow us to provide the statistics our clients need. Additionally, they provide us with guide questions to answer, which is very convenient. After we answer it, they essentially have a client brief and know exactly what we want in one go. It’s been pretty frictionless in terms of communication and project management.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very knowledgeable. Hive19 really understands the nuances of their job, so they’re able to achieve impressive results. Additionally, they know what’s achievable and what’s not, and the team sets reasonable expectations and charge accordingly. Overall, it’s been a seamless experience. They’re always approachable and available, and we’ve built a friendly relationship.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could offer cheaper services, but overall, we have nothing critical to say about the Hive19 team.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Ask a lot of questions — the team knows what they’re talking about, so if you’re unsure of something, ask them.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am an SEO consultant helping SMEs and brands with in-depth audits of their websites.

For what projects/services did your company hire Hive19, and what were your goals?

I hired Hive19 to assist with the content and ouutreach work for my clients, following audits I had completed for them. The main goal to build the authority of my clients' websites.

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

I used to work with Aaron at a previous company I worked for. I knew his professionalism and capabilities were right for my clients.

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

Aaron put together detailed content and outreach proposals for my clients and delivered successful campaigns; generating very high-quality backlinks and traffic for the sites that I work on.

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

I worked closely with Aaron Thomas, the managing director.

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

Aaron has delivered fantastic results for my clients. A law firm client has doubled their traffic in the last year and is now receiving three times as many leads compared to the same period in 2020.

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

Aaron and his team always keep me up to speed with what is going on and deliver projects on time and within budget.

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

They have developed a highly innovative system for sourcing, ranking and assessing suitable sites to outreach their clients to. This means I can get my clients covered on sites that are most relevant to the audience they are trying to reach.

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

None that I can think of. I highly recommend Hive19 for building the authority of your site and increasing traffic to it.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Online loan comparison credit broker. I am the owner.

For what projects/services did your company hire Hive19, and what were your goals?

We hired Hive19 for link-building services. The goal was to build a number of extremely high-quality and relevant backlinks.

How did you select Hive19 and what were the deciding factors?

We interviewed three specialist link building companies, and the deciding factors were: (1) Demonstrable experience building high-quality backlinks to similar websites to ours. (2) They came highly recommended by a colleague in the industry.

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

The scope was to build 20 extremely high-quality and relevant backlinks from - authoritative websites (that are real businesses) - websites with high numbers of visitors. - high-quality pages on the sites that will also drive traffic to our site. This was achieved.

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

One person, the owner.

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

Prior to the links being built, our website had dropped onto page 2 for our primary keywords, but since building the links, our site is back onto page one again - great result.

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

Regular monthly email and phone call updates, supported by a spreadsheet summarising all work done, and the status of links still to go live.

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

I am impressed by their excellent communication and excellent links which have made a real difference.

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

No