Search Berg

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the owner of Zojila, a product development company that designs and manufactures kitchen and houseware products.

What challenge were you trying to address with Search Berg?

We needed to update and tweak several elements of our website. We were using version 2 of OpenCart at the time and wanted to migrate to version 3 as well.

What was the scope of their involvement?

I initially talked to Austin (Senior Manager). We had several conversations and email exchanges where I sent him a clear list of the things I needed to have done. He got back to me with an estimate and suggested that we migrate from version 2 of OpenCart to version 3, which was fine with me.

The minute I decided to hire them, Austin told me that a project lead would get in touch with me. I was no longer able to talk to Austin after that, as I believe his role is just to talk to customers, bring them in, and hand them off to the people with the right expertise. They were supposed to do the updates in about one week, but even 10 weeks later, they hadn’t done or delivered anything. I had already paid them in advance, but they pretty much stopped contacting me after that initial interaction. 

What is the team composition?

I interfaced with Austin, but he disappeared completely after making promises and giving us confidence that the project could be done. Somebody else contacted me after our initial meetings.

How did you come to work with Search Berg?

I googled and talked to several companies, including Search Berg. They had a large portfolio of websites that they had developed and designed, but I was skeptical of the fact that they had done 30,000 projects, which is what they stated in their email. Even when they gave me a list of their completed websites, there was no way for me to prove that it was their team that actually designed it.

My initial interactions with Austin were very good, though. He was attentive and seemed reasonably knowledgeable about the project. Despite my initial impressions, he gave me a lot of confidence in their company. I also liked that they were based in New York — or at least, gave me an address that was in New York — because then I wouldn’t need to hire an unknown overseas company. 

They provided me with three references or past customers of theirs, but I did not talk to any of them.

How much have you invested with them?

The total estimate was $1,500. I gave them $500 upfront to start the work. 

What is the status of this engagement?

I first engaged them in March 2020. I terminated our partnership after 10 weeks when I realized they weren’t doing anything despite asking me for more time. They gave me all kinds of excuses, even stating that the project would be more complicated than they thought. To me, it was a simple matter of updating things on a website, and it shouldn’t have taken that long.

As I had an ongoing contract with them, I had to hire a lawyer to send them a termination notice and get my money back. They stopped communicating with me and did not respond to anything, so I went ahead and hired another company to do the work.

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

They never made any attempt to address my concerns or engage with me in any way. I came to the conclusion that they were farming out the work to someone else in another country after I noticed that the date was not in the US format. When I asked them about it, they simply told me that it would be taken care of. Again, it was to no end. That was the kind of stuff that I had been dealing with. They would just say that they were working on it, but in reality, they weren’t doing anything.

How did Search Berg perform from a project management standpoint?

My interactions with Austin were fine, but the communication with the people that were supposed to do the work broke down after some time. All of our correspondence was done via email. They confirmed that my order was received and being processed and sent me log-in information, but there was no progress being reported. 

They were not able to meet the deadline at all. They gave me an estimate of not more than one week. When they didn’t deliver within that time, I didn’t think much of it as I was perfectly fine with having the work last for up to 2–3 weeks if needed. However, more weeks passed and nothing was getting done. I had given them access to my website, and I saw on the administrative side that they had not gone in once even during the time they told me they were working on it. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

There was absolutely nothing impressive about the engagement. They took my money, did zero work, and stopped communicating with me.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’m convinced that they are not a real company, though there is no way for me to prove it. They have an address in the World Trade Center in New York, which is pretty impressive as it is one of the most prominent places in this country, but I heard that they were based out of Pakistan. I also think that they outsource the work to somebody else as they have no one in their company that can do what they promise they would do. It was all very dubious, and their strategy was to keep telling me that work was being done so they could keep my money. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Though Search Berg has some positive reviews, I would tell anyone that wants to work with them to document everything. Do some investigation, verify the location of their headquarters, and look into the nature of their company.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am an author. My company is Joseph Woodward Stories LLC and I publish my books on kdp.Amazon.com. I've been writing for five years and have six books published. Although my reviews have been stellar, I couldn't get more than 25-30 books sold.

I tried Amazon's PPC Advertising program and didn't get many impressions let alone clicks. I saw an ad Searchberg ran and it made sense to me. Upon calling them, I got to speak with Mason V., consummate closer...I can say that because I've been closing all my life.

He had a great attitude and presented his case in a most understanding fashion. He made me feel intelligent and respected, so it wasn't hard for me to keep asking questions. So I became a client of Searchberg's because he challenged me to make a change.

My wife had researched Searchberg, of course, and she kept seeing comments on Jake F....how his clients graded his effectiveness and handling of their accounts. How he stayed with their project and answered every question, was easy to communicate with, and most of all how he produced results.

Well, he did all of that for me also. I got thousands of impressions real quick and several hundred clicks in no time. We are on a surge like I've never seen. My book ranking went right up the chart to number twenty-seven in my genre. So, If I sound happy...I'm elated.

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

I hired Searchberg to improve my book's rankings, to make my SEO powerful, to brand my name so it was easily recognizable in literary circles. My goals are to be a number one best seller on Amazon..from there , The New York Times...so far:)

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

I saw their ad, it made sense to me and I called right away. When I called I was handled professionally. Their personality as a company, was to make me successful. I felt challenged to do better.

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

Searchberg puts everything in writing. They communicate with good clear motives and back it up with a time schedule..when and where we should be on that schedule. They educated me on SEO and Branding. I received weekly reports on progress, lists of keywords and phrases.

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

Initially I worked with Mason V. in sales until I understood the scope of what I was beginning. Then he handed me off to Jake F., Senior Consultant, with a professional introduction and that he would always be available if I had any questions. Aaron T. at a Senior Level, made himself available at the completion of the project.

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

The PPC weekly report, week one ..136 clicks, 73 K impressions week three..582 clicks, 226,769 impressions Awesome!

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

Searchberg has a dashboard feature where it's easy to know what your next step is. It's a great feature that keeps both sides on track. communication is mostly by email but I do a Zoom call with Jake F. almost every week. Their management style is definitely "hands on."

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

Their effort, attitude, enthusiasm, professionalism, and success-oriented approach are commendable.

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

No. They've got it down. My advice would be, "just keep doing what you're doing.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am self-employed. The rapid growth of my hometown has created a need for unique information that I hope to provide.

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

I came up with a lot of good content for my website project and did the best I could with a service that provides templates. But I did not know SEO, let alone how to monetize the site. I had good ideas but not the knowhow or the time to implement them.

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

Searchberg was one of many companies that contacted me to help me build a website. Many of them just offered to perform a one-time SEO service for a low price. But I knew I needed more help than that. Searchberg seemed to be offering just what I needed. Online reviews were a big deciding factor in going w/them. Their salesman was also good and understood what I needed.

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

Their team repackaged the content I already had on the website to make it more appealing (and did a great job!). They are also adding content, blogs, meta phrases, and helpful descriptions to aid the viewer and SEO.

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

Only 2 so far. The salesman and the Project Manager, Jake Fernandez. Jake is a great go-to person for whatever I need.

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

While it's early in the project (~ 2 months in), my SEO rankings are already improving. They are far from where they need to be so a full evaluation will take time. My Project Manager, Jake Fernandez, is giving me reason to expect good results. I have developed a lot of confidence in him.

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

Their PM stays on top of things. They frequently send things to review and has to prod me to do my part sometimes. In other words, he is staying ahead of me. Very proactive and responsive. We communicate over email exclusively and that has worked well with my busy schedule. One of his team members did some work that subpar, but he was quick to make changes to make me happy. I don't mind mistakes as we all make them. Knowing that someone will listen is the most important part.

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

Jake has a passion for pleasing the customer.

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

Some of the work is being farmed out overseas. A portion of the writing was done by people who apparently did not have a full grasp of how English is used in America. But after I complained that changed for the better. I still review everything in detail but I could see reaching a point where that becomes less important if the work continues to improve.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the IT manager for a street rodding association.  

What challenge were you trying to address with Search Berg?

We needed help with web development.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Search Berg created a new promotional WordPress website. They took information from our old website, added contact pages, and made it more user-friendly, overall. They also added more pictures about what we’re about.

What is the team composition?

I worked with two people from their team, including a salesperson.  

How did you come to work with Search Berg?

I was looking for an inexpensive company based in New York.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in February 2021, and we wrapped up in April 2021. It took about eight weeks in total.

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

We’ve heard a lot of compliments on the new site from members. It’s been very well received.

How did Search Berg perform from a project management standpoint?

The communication was great. They don’t work weekends, and sometimes there was some back and forth over emails. Overall, it was good.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Once they understood exactly what I wanted, the process went by very quickly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, once we were aligned at what we needed, everything was good.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have an idea of what you want to be written down.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of a disinfecting services company in Texas. As a small business owner, I run all aspects of the business including operations, finance, and marketing.

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

I hired SearchBerg to develop an organic SEO presence for my company, starting from ground zero. I needed a company that I could trust to manage my website, content, blogging, social media presence, and recently I've hired them to kick off a marketing campaign to promote my business online.

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

I researched several companies before deciding on SearchBerg. From my very first conversation with them, they seemed honest, experienced and very accessible. Their pricing is fair and they are very value oriented. I felt like they truly cared about the success of my company.

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

SEO Services - step by step website configuration, keywords selection, weekly progress reports and Google stats, organic keyword search ability. PPC Ad campaign - keyword selection, budget amount, keyword research.

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

Dedicated Sales and Operations contact, plus a team of technical experts.

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

20 keywords moved from being > 200 in Google search listing to less than 100 and under 10 in many cases.

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

All components of the project are clearly communicated in writing from day 1. A progress report is emailed weekly, milestone achievements are emailed separately, and verbal communication and support is very responsive. SearchBerg employees are professional, friendly and helpful.

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

I like the responsiveness to my questions. Since the work is done remotely, it is nice to feel like I have the support I need.

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

None

Please describe your company and your position there.

Carolina Gunstocks is a company that reproduces the stock of the gun. It's all handmade wood product that is sculpted and made to fit any gun that is in need of replacing (stocks are the wood part of the gun). We are here to spread the word about Carolina Gunstocks and help as many people as we can with their stock needs.

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

We hired Search Berg for our SEO. Help our website and create content as well that will help to bring web traffic to Carolina Gunstocks. Our goal is to be on the first page when searching for Gunstocks. We want to be the go to for Gunstock sales and Search Berg we think are the people to help us with our goal.

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

We search companies who could help provide SEO, Search Berg was one of them. I was able to speak to someone who gave prices, gave a run down of what they could provide and the reviews also backed up what they said they could do.

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

Our main objectives is SEO and making sure hits to our website are more frequent and that we come up when people search for gunstocks. So far they gone into the website platform and set SEO information accordingly. We sent specific words that needed to be associated with the website and therefore our website come up when people search. So far the work they are doing is making this happen. We are still working on strategies as time goes on to improve and make our website better.

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

I first spoke with Ryan Fernandes, who I think is a Leader, but he was the initial person I spoke with and then he got me in touch with my project manager. My Project Manger is Jake Fernandez, who has been absolutely amazing. He has explained every step we are taking and why. He goes into detail about our progress and the next steps to take to better improve our website and overall our exposure. We are very happy with our progress and a lot has to do with Jake!

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

Since starting we are ranking higher in SEO with the keywords given to our project manager to implement into our platform.

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

They have been very consistent with advising and showing us graphics as to where we stand and how we are ranking. Everything is very detailed and if we have any questions they are quick to answer. I think the turnaround time for communicating is great. Haven't had an issue.

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

I've been impressed with how easy SEO and other things involving the back ends of the internet come so easily to this company. They have made things easier for us, allowing us to concentrate on growing our business in other ways.

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

I've not come across anything so far for improvement.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the sole proprietor and founder of an e-commerce website that specializes in selling celebrity themed apparel and home decor as well as boutique items. I had been undertaking the extremely difficult challenge of trying to do this website alone with no experience in eCommerce.

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

I felt that my website lacked a lot of structure, I really didn't know where I was going with it and it was completely beginning to overwhelm me. For a long time, I had been trying to find either an affordable agency or a knowledgeable freelancer to give me some guidance in the right direction. It's extremely hard to find the right people who actually get a sense of your style and what you are about and I was so lucky I had found Searchberg online.

I normally avoid chatboxes because I fear asking stupid questions, but Matt who greeted me in the chatbox was super nice and somehow was easily figure out what I was trying to do and how I needed to get there and that was a great feeling.

My goals were to eventually sell my inventory of course but before I could get there I needed to be able to find customers, convey to them what my site was all about and convince them why they should buy from me. That sounds easy but it isn't always but Searchberg really put me on track and fast. And it was great getting feedback, and advice and having experience people help you out who care about your website.

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

I had been googling for hours and days trying to find help. I knew I had to start doing something with SEO and as I had said previously I instantly felt a great rapport when talking to Matt and I was a little hesitant at first about the money being on a tight budget but every dollar has been more than worth it and there are very reasonably priced compared to other places.

I really like how they take a genuine interest in your project, I didn't get that fake we just want your money vibe from Searchberg.

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

Searchberg began by finding me some much-needed keywords for my website. I don't think I had one but they did a great personalized analysis for me and got it going right away. Then they did an audit of my site which was very thorough. They know what they are talking about and stuff I liked to ignore and thought wasn't that important turned out to be quite crucial.

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

I worked with Matt who I think is the sales manager and Jake who is my project manager. From what I understand he has a team that helps as well.

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

My site went from homemade and amateur to looking like an e-commerce store I would definitely want to shop from myself. It was a complete transformation. I have been very satisfied and extremely excited about the work that has been done for me so far. They really get to know what your company is about and I have loved the stuff that Jake has written for me.

He really writes well, gives the subject some real flavor, and finally, my website has some real depth, and is fun and interesting. I am completely thrilled by his work and couldn't have been happier with my decision to choose Searchberg. 

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

They email you three or four times to submit work that they have done for you for your approval. They are really fast, faster than I am which is a good thing. And they have delivered everything they promised they have promised.

Jake was the manager on my project and he is really awesome. Extremely pleasant, very talented in how he puts stuff together, he wrote some really professional SEO blogs for my site and designed a gorgeous landing page.

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

We feel valued as a customer and we appreciate that they go the extra mile to make sure we are happy. They produce ultra-professional work that you are proud to put on your website, Jake my project manager is very easy to talk to and work with and this is the first agency I have worked with and really did not know what to expect. 

What I have expected truly superseded my expectations and after all the money I have wasted on the freelancers of a certain website my only regret is that I did not find these guys earlier. They seem to love what they do and I can see they get true satisfaction from doing a good job for their clients.

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

Nope. I am a happy camper.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the owner of a flower shop called Flowers & Gifts Galore.

What challenge were you trying to address with Search Berg?

I needed help with SEO.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Search Berg talked me into doing a website with them even though I already had another website which they were doing the SEO for. I paid $700, but I don’t have a website yet because it is not done. 

They promised me that they would do the web hosting as well as the main website as part of the $700 and that I would also own the website. The team said it would be done in November 2019, but it is still not completed. 

Search Berg then changed their mind and said that I had to pay for the web hosting, and, to my recollection, they said I had to pay for the maintenance as well which is not what they said initially. 

The $130 per month that I was paying for SEO was okay in the beginning, but I decided to cancel it before the March billing. They told me it was canceled but they charged me for March. I called them and they told me they would refund me for March, but they never did. 

Additionally, they charged me again for April. I got upset and told them I would call a lawyer. In May, I told my credit card company to work on it and they finally got the money back for me. If I hadn’t called my credit card company, it would have never happened. 

What is the team composition?

I initially spoke to Julian (Account Manager) and he was actually good. He helped me. They then changed my account manager, and that is when things got messed up. 

Regarding the website, they have been transferring me from one teammate to another. At first, there was a teammate who was building the website initially, and he was good. But then they kept changing resources, and it still isn’t done.

How did you come to work with Search Berg?

I did a Google search and they came up as number one. I didn’t read the reviews so I messed up with that. On their website, they displayed reviews from people saying they were good.

How much have you invested in them?

I spent around $2,260.

What is the status of this engagement?

I began working with them in April 2019 and canceled with them in March 2020.

Describe the impact this engagement has had on your business.

When it came to SEO with Julian, I saw some results after three months. However with the other account manager, no one found me, and no one was calling. I don’t know what happened or if they were really doing what Julian had done in the past when I was getting those calls initially. 

I decided to just get out of the engagement because I was wasting $130 every month. Search Berg kept charging me even though I had canceled.

How was project management handled?

The account manager wasn’t the one who was handling the project at that point. After my credit card company got my money back, the manager called me because I had left a bad review on Google and Yelp. He wanted to work things out with me when it came to the website. 

He asked me what I wanted on it and that was at the end of March, but I still haven’t seen the website. I sent them a message asking where my website is and there has been no response. The team mostly communicated with me through email and phone. 

I just wanted the same website I currently have but they said I would own it and wouldn’t have to pay $60 per month as I do with the current one I have. I even gave them my login information to my current website. 

They had that information for five or six months, and then I told them to cut it off. I have three domains and I had even given them the domain number and password to that as well, but they didn’t deliver anything. 

I had to change everything. I own those domains and I changed everything because they had access to that information. 

Is there anything that the vendor did well or that you would consider a strength?

Julian was good. He was the one who talked me into doing the website, but then everything changed when they gave me another account manager. Julian helped me when I wasn’t showing up on Google at all. Within three months, he was able to get me there.

In what specific areas can they improve?

They were not a good partner. The manager told me they would deliver a website. It’s been two months and I still haven’t received anything.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of Ark Locksmith Inc. and we offer full locksmith and security solutions.

What challenge were you trying to address with Search Berg?

We needed to grow the company with SEO, PPC, social media, and website development. We had tried similar work with other companies, but Search Berg was the first to produce results.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed my website from scratch, which includes a blog that they maintain with regular posts. They also update our social media, such as Facebook. Additionally, they’ve improved my Google rankings and account through SEO and PPC campaigns.

What is the team composition?

I worked directly with one person from Search Berg’s team.

How did you come to work with Search Berg?

I found them through online research and decided to pursue working with them because they seemed like a professional company.

How much have you invested with them?

We pay them $650 a month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in January 2017 and the work is ongoing.

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

We’re on the first page in Google results and appear first in search results from any of our keywords.

How did Search Berg perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very responsive. Any time I call or email with a question, they get back to me quickly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Many companies will make promises, charge a lot of money, and then not deliver, but that wasn’t the case with Search Berg. They are a professional and honest company that produces results. In my experience, that’s been tough to find.

Are there any areas they could improve?

In the past two months, my AdWords has dropped but Search Berg has tried to get in touch with Google—without response—to resolve the problem.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the owner of Austen and Parker. We're an affordable jewelry e-commerce website.

What challenge were you trying to address with Search Berg?

I was working with a freelancer, but I wasn't satisfied with the results. I started looking for a new company to help me with SEO and website redesign.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The reason I wasn't seeing much traffic or sales was because my website wasn't professionally done. SearchBerg evaluated my online store and made recommendations on how to improve the site. They also suggested I started a blog and social media accounts.

After that, they completely redesigned my website, making discounts and sales more visible on the site. They gave me suggestions on how to make the site professional and visually appealing to customers. We're also planning to make a video that will boost my sales.

How did you come to work with them?

I found them through an online search. I liked their approach and I felt a good vibe the first time we talked on the phone. They said I could get my money back if I didn't see the results. I'm starting my own business, so that factor was important to me.

How much have you invested with them?

I've spent between $2,000–$3,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with them in July 2018 and the relationship is ongoing.

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

I've been seeing a lot more traffic and Vanity Fair sent me an email saying they wanted to feature me.

How did they perform from a project management standpoint?

In the beginning, I had to deal with different members of their team, which was confusing. Things have improved after I requested that they assign one person to my project. We usually use email and phone to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're great at putting me at ease when I get anxious.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their writing could be a bit better. Some of the blog posts they sent me had grammatical errors and spelling mistakes.