Perfect Search Media

BACKGROUND

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

• Optimize and increase our website content
• Increase our brand footprint through paid ads

SOLUTION

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a leading provider of identity protection services. I oversee channel and performance marketing for the company - driving growth through employee benefits and direct channels.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Perfect Search Media, and what were your goals?

Perfect Search was hired to dramatically shift our paid search strategy to drive our cost per acquisition down and ultimately acquire more users through our direct channel.

SOLUTION

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

Perfect Search was recommended to us through a trusted referral. We chose to work with them after being impressed by their knowledge and expertise in SEM, along with their proven track record of success.

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

Perfect Search took over our SEM strategy immediately - driving overall strategic spend/keyword recommendations, restructuring our account and bid strategies, and optimizing our spend to maximize performance. We eventually expanded our work to add Facebook and Google Display tactics as well. There was very little "discovery" phase for Perfect Search as we brought them in midstream on a program that aimed to meet a target revenue goal. They were able to build the plane while flying it throughout our engagement.

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

We work with 2-3 three members of the Perfect Search team - a strategy director and two managers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Perfect Search's work has been very impressive. They reduced our cost per acquisition by at least 50% and brought investment strategies that helped us optimize spend to reach our revenue target goals. On an ongoing basis, they have continually optimized our program on a week-over-week basis to bring acquisition costs down steadily.

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

Perfect Search's turnaround time is amazing. They turn insights and information over to us at a moment's notice. This is on top of bringing insightful weekly reports to us and delivering broader looks on a monthly and quarterly basis.

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

Perfect Search are the domain experts. They know everything about the search space there is to know. Their knowledge far surpassed any other firm we have worked with and has been an absolute asset to our firm.

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

Nothing to improve - they're great!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a cocktail mix-manufacturing company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Perfect Search Media?

We needed help optimizing our SEO.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, they did a full assessment of our systems and products. Then, they went through our website and the way that we arrive through our online presence. Once they got started, the team submitted monthly reviews with full metrics on performance increases and decreases. The team also provides backlinking, and they collaborate with our social marketing team to ensure our marketing is as effective as possible. 

What is the team composition?

We work with Erik (SEO & Content Analyst).

How did you come to work with Perfect Search Media?

I met their founder through a business owner’s mentorship group.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $25,000–$28,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2019, and our work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The team is super attentive. The team doesn’t try to sugarcoat missed opportunities, and they’re able to detail why certain numbers have gone up or down. We tailor our responses based on the metrics we need to optimize or change.

How did Perfect Search Media perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re great at scheduling our monthly follow-ups on Zoom. Each meeting is comprehensive and detailed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

In the past, I’ve had to chase providers down to make sure that they’re doing what they promised. I don’t do this for a living, so I don’t know which questions to ask. Perfect Search Media uses metrics to show us what’s working and what’s not.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’re doing a great job.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to develop and build your relationship with your account manager. Make sure there’s a point person that you can always reach. When incidents occur, they’ll know the context and why you’re asking certain questions.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a corporate editor at a sustainability company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Perfect Search Media, and what were your goals?

Multiple, though I focus on working with them in terms of content creation, copywriting, and SEO. The overarching goals are to increase traffic and conversions.

SOLUTION

How did you select Perfect Search Media and what were the deciding factors?

They were the agency in place before my arrival at the company.

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

Content creation for blog posts, resources, white papers... copywriting website pages to improve them, and SEO fixes across our website.

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

I work with 2-3 people on their team, but in all I believe our company works with 6-7.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In terms of content creation, they were quick to understand the style I was looking for and to produce pieces that (aside from some light editing) were essentially what I would have produced myself. I appreciate this, as it's what I asked for from them on day one.

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

Extremely proactive, and from memory they have never missed a deadline.

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

How proactive they are. They don't sit back trying to run out the clock each month. They're always working on something for us!

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

None that I can think of.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the content marketing coordinator for a government contractor that directly works with suppliers to connect our end-user customers with industry-leading products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Perfect Search Media?

There wasn’t a great overall knowledge of our company in its unique industry. We wanted to drive better awareness and traffic to our live events.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Perfect Search Media primarily manages our SEO and PPC efforts. They manage the entire SEO process all the way down to metadata optimization. Their team also creates biweekly keyword reports, optimizes on-page content, and works on link-building. They dove deep into our SEO initiatives to place us in front of the right people at the right time.

They also developed full PPC campaigns for several platforms that we hadn’t previously used including Google, Bing, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Their team set up all of the audience targeting for those campaigns too. We provided them with our brand book, so they also write all of the copy for our PPC ads.

What is the team composition?

We work with about 10 people from Perfect Search Media. They have different teams that work on all of the different deliverables. We also work with a project lead.

How did you come to work with Perfect Search Media?

Our director of marketing previously worked with Perfect Search Media. He had a great experience with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Perfect Search Media in October 2019, and our partnership’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We enjoy working with them. Their team created a full roadmap campaign from start to finish. We continue to add to that roadmap. We always have an ongoing project with them.

We're blown away by their performance. Their SEO efforts increased website traffic by at least 150%. We also brought in an additional 750 registrants to our last in-person event, which was earlier in the year. We typically had about two dozen people there, so that was big.

How did Perfect Search Media perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team laid out their plan from the beginning, which allows us to know what’s coming up. We have a biweekly call when they run through projects’ statuses. Their communication’s open unlike my experiences with other agencies.

They’re on top of all their projects, thinking about everything before we us. We’ve been impressed by their project management.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team always thinks five steps ahead. When we have a new challenge, they think through how to get the results that we want from start to finish. Their team has proven that that thought process makes a difference in the long-term.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t have anything negative to say.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Know your company and its goals. Perfect Search Media’s great about coming up with solutions.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

IRIS empowers health care organizations to perform retinal screenings on diabetic patients who would otherwise require a referral to an ophthalmologist. I currently manage the marketing department within IRIS.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Perfect Search Media?

We hired Perfect Search to assist us with our SEO strategy and content creation. We are a small company and relatively inexperienced with marketing.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed to increase our SEO presence and get into a routine of posting 1 new blog per week. No one within our company had existing knowledge of SEO best practices so we needed to work with a company like Perfect Search to build a strategy and learn best practices.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Perfect Search was recommended to us by our re-marketing partner, Kyle Berry.

Describe the project in detail.

Perfect Search led the planning and strategy for us. We meet for an hour bi-weekly but receive deliverables from the folks on our account (Erik, Stephanie, Alison) every Friday. The deliverables include authored content, copy edits, metadata optimizations, blog topic suggestions, and keywords, among others.

When we meet on Fridays, the Perfect Search team leads the call and delivers an agenda prior to the call to ensure time is used effectively. They are extremely knowledgable and great teachers when conversation topics include something I am unfamiliar with.

What was the team composition?

The first person we met with was Rob Nimmer, who is the Vice President of Growth at Perfect Search. Once we agreed on the scope of the work with Rob, we were assigned the team we meet with weekly: Erik Helm (Analyst, SEO, and Content), Alison Ogunmokun (Manager, SEO Copywriting & Strategy), and Stephanie Castillo (Senior Manager, SEO & Content).

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We just published the first PSM optimized blog last Tuesday (7/14) and we have seen significantly higher viewership of that piece than others published in the past that lacked PSM's edits/review. Once we have published a few more, it'll be easier to see the positive impact their work is having on our website traffic and content viewership.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow is extremely effective. The PSM team is reliable and are always available outside of our bi-weekly meetings to assist with questions.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Each team member I have encountered so far has been an expert in their specialty. They are all incredibly knowledgeable and great teachers. They truly have their client's best interests in mind with every recommendation and are incredibly thorough with their work.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I don't have any suggestions for improvement at this time. They are truly a terrific asset to our organization.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a director of a technology company that’s based in the sustainability and recycling industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Perfect Search Media?

We’re an upstart company in our industry and had significant digital footprint challenges against the incumbents. We had a unique challenge in that our principal competitor has the best possible name in the market.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Perfect Search Media helps run digital marketing programs that include display ads, paid search, paid social, and other channels. Their team manages marketing campaigns that drive leads to our website for prospective customers to sign up.

The other piece of their work is all around SEO. They map out keywords and target audiences. Their team researches keywords for paid search campaigns and for seeding into our content to improve our organic search rankings. They also changed the way we use our blog content and changed our lead forms for when users visit our site.

What is the team composition?

We work with about 6–7 people from Perfect Search Media including a project manager.

How did you come to work with Perfect Search Media?

The relationship's inception was before my arrival at the company.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2018 and our work’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their team’s incredibly dedicated. Perfect Search Media thinks deeply about our audiences and develops campaigns that reach those different audiences. Their team has helped us grow.

They go to great lengths to understand the nuances of our business, which is complicated in that we have four main audiences. Each audience is served by a different part of our business. It’s a complex landscape in terms of the peculiarities of each audience, the messaging for each audience, and the channels through which they’re consuming content.  

How did Perfect Search Media perform from a project management standpoint?

We have a weekly meeting when their team gives us updates on performance. They’re exceptional and consistent with their reports. Their team works with us closely.

One of their strengths is translating our nebulous requests into what we actually need. We can be vague with what we’re trying to accomplish because we’re not always sure how to get there. They do a great job of getting us from our initial ask to the end product.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I can’t overstate the importance of their effort in understanding their customers.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Our team is small so there are lots of projects we’d like to do if we had the bandwidth and budget for them. They give great suggestions, but we often don’t have the internal ability to execute on those suggestions.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be as open as you can be with them about your goals. You never have to be concerned about their technical skills or ability to execute. But they can only be as successful as you enable them to be.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the program manager of membership and marketing strategies for a nonprofit professional association. Under the umbrella of my responsibilities falls PPC initiatives.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Perfect Search Media?

We worked with another company but reached a point where we needed a fresh perspective. We wanted a company to dig into what we were already doing with fresh eyes to see where we could make tweaks to level up.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Perfect Search Media evaluated our keywords and overhauled all of our campaigns. They restructured our campaigns and keyword strategy. Their team also rebuilt how we reach our audience on different platforms. They reevaluated certain portions of our audience and looked into how our messages fit with particular audiences.

Perfect Search Media also looked into our paid social media efforts. They looked at how we used social to see where we could maximize our efforts. Their team also assessed if we needed to pull back on certain efforts.

What is the team composition?

On their side, we work with approximately four people regularly including a main point of contact.

How did you come to work with Perfect Search Media?

I used Clutch as a resource to find our new partner agency. The site broke down what companies brought to the table in a way that other resources didn’t. It really allowed us to zero in on companies that would address our concerns. For example, we’re an association, so our needs are dramatically different from other companies. Perfect Search Media had already worked with associations and nonprofits. That was a big motivator in our decision. It was also their heavy work in keyword issues. They were able to bring to the table what we were looking for.

What is the status of this engagement?

Perfect Search Media started working with us in January 2020 and our partnership’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve seen a 12% increase in our year over year purchases and a 51% in our website year over year conversion rate. Our experience with them has been fantastic. They put a lot of effort into looking at our needs. Their team structured a campaign that was truly effective at getting what we were trying to achieve.

They took on a program that was created by someone else. Their team didn’t get to create it from the ground up even though they did rebuild some of our campaigns. They’ve been deferential to our expertise. Their team works with us on how to best approach our audiences.

How did Perfect Search Media perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate via email and through bi-weekly check-ins that are typically held via Google Hangouts. Perfect Search Media was receptive to the format that worked best for us because we have a lot of people on these calls. We also tweak as we go and they’re good at incorporating our requests.

Their team’s been on top of their communication. We speak frequently and they’re responsive when I need a report. If I need anything under the sun, it happens efficiently. Their team’s also available to discuss particular findings.

With everything that’s happened with Covid-19, it’s impressive that their team’s been able to turn on a dime. I don’t feel that the attention paid to us has suffered at all. I don’t ever worry about being able to get in touch with someone from Perfect Search Media, which has been absolutely fantastic and necessary right now.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their collaborative style and accessibility set them apart. I don’t worry about whether or not I’ll receive a response the same day. We don’t find out that our main point of contact is out of the office through an automatic email. We know ahead of time and have a temporary primary contact.

Their clear and concise communication is my favorite part of working with them. They’ve adapted to challenges quickly and make sure that we’re with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t have anything to provide.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Know what you want to achieve. Ask them about it directly. Ask them to provide you with examples of how they’ve worked with companies in the past. They were wonderful about providing real examples of how they worked with other companies. Their team will make sure that they can do what you want.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the digital strategist at TCS Education System. We operate a partnership between five nonprofit universities across the U.S. In my role, I handle our internal SEO and our digital strategy for capturing prospective students for our universities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Perfect Search?

At the time of this project, our team was small, so we needed to outsource some of our digital marketing needs. We were looking for an agency to provide digital strategy and SEO services to improve our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Perfect Search advises us on what we should be focusing on from an SEO perspective. So far, they’ve optimized the text on various pages of our website, and they continue to conduct industry research, determining the topics we should include in our web content and blog posts and then writing them. The Perfect Search team has also done a bit of design work that involved creating mockups and landing pages for our sites.

What is the team composition?

Their team is composed of four people: Justin (Director of SEO & Content), Stephanie (SEO & Content Analyst), Kayla (Senior Manager, Copywriting and Content Strategy), and Anna (Senior Designer). Justin and Stephanie have worked closely with us in terms of writing blog and web content.

How did you come to work with Perfect Search?

By the time I came onboard, Perfect Search was already in place as one of our partners. A few other people in my office had worked with them previously and knew of the quality of their work. They were confident in the team’s ability to deliver, and chose them for that reason.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent between $25,000 –$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in 2016 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The Perfect Search team’s insight has helped us increase our organic search rankings and attract a larger volume of high-quality prospective students. We’ve also been able to publish more blog posts and boost audience engagement.

One of our campuses, in particular, was struggling with their organic search rankings. Soon after implementing Perfect Search’s strategies, we experienced a drastic improvement in the rankings of multiple keywords.

How did Perfect Search perform from a project management standpoint?

The Perfect Search team has been very communicative, giving us the impression that we are a valued client. They are very organized and detailed in creating project roadmaps. They also provide high-quality reporting and analytics for each of our accounts.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I am impressed by their responsiveness and insight, which has allowed us to plan our SEO and content strategies very far in advance. Working with Perfect Search has made my job less stressful because they are able to catch things I may not typically see.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I am not sure that there is anything that they could change or improve right now. I have been very satisfied with our relationship so far.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of an online retailer that sells arts and crafts supplies directly to consumers in over 100 countries.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Perfect Search Media?

We’ve worked with a number of digital marketing agencies but were unhappy with the results, so we reached out to Perfect Search Media.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We hired them to assist with our paid marketing deployment, specifically AdWords and Google Shopping campaigns. They optimized our existing strategies and helped us scale our spend in Google, Bing, and Facebook.

We were under a major recategorization effort, so they worked with us closely to restructure our campaigns. They provide frequent updates and take a hands-on approach to bid optimization, manually adjusting bids based on performance.

What is the team composition?

We have two account managers, one for PPC and one for SEO, though additional team members take part in our weekly phone calls.

How did you come to work with Perfect Search Media?

We’re both based in Chicago. I’ve known their management team for years, but we were always engaged with other agencies. Still, they stayed in touch and seemed to understand our goals. Unsatisfied with our previous agency, I decided to finally give Perfect Search a chance.

In my experience, most marketing agencies do a good job during the onboarding process. They introduce you to senior personnel, but then pass your project to a less experienced associate. Perfect Search assured me this wouldn’t be the case with their company, and knowing them for years, I knew they had an experienced team.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend around $10,000 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2017 and our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've seen improvements in cost per acquisition, return on investment, and sessions, including organic reach.

Digital marketing results are tough to measure and it’s difficult to scale the spend based on payback analysis. But Perfect Search’s team clearly puts in the effort and we’re comfortable with their output.

How did Perfect Search Media perform from a project management standpoint?

We generally communicate through phone and email and they're extremely responsive, typically getting back to me within the day. I’m consistently impressed by our weekly phone calls. They clearly articulate their strategies so I understand what steps are being taken.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re a results-driven business and Perfect Search continues to meet our expectations. We continue to work with them because they’re successful and give us the right amount of attention, which is all I can really ask for.

In the past, we continued to pass them over because their business wasn’t as flashy or attention-grabbing as their competitors. Ultimately, of course, those are hollow gimmicks, and I wish we’d worked with Perfect Search sooner.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing comes to mind.