Lighthouse Power Business

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president and CEO of the Evergreen Chamber of Commerce. Our mission is to grow our local economy by building business relationships promoting the community and representing local concerns with our county government.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SEO Forensic Marketing?

We’ve been doing a lot of work on our website and we’ve been adding blogs and driving engagement through activity on Facebook, including live videos. I asked SEO Forensic Marketing to conduct an audit of our site to see if this activity was driving traffic to our site. We need web traffic in order to drive business to the members of our chamber.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

After our web host changed, I became worried about issues. We found out that the traffic was not as high as I expected. In fact, there were thousands of errors and warnings. Unbeknownst to me, things were not working properly. SEO Forensic Marketing then worked with us to figure out what was broken. They determined that some of the issues were on our side, and some were due to our web host.

They helped us correct the errors. They’ve fixed broken backlinks, 404 errors, and 303 errors. They also improved page loading speeds and advised us on things we could do on our end. A lot of it was very technical and I’m a marketing person who isn’t great with that, so they were the perfect partner to help us fix things.

We held a brainstorming session and Jerry (Managing Director, SEO Forensic Marketing) helped us to determine the best way to optimize all the things the chamber was already doing using the tools that we had in place. He's very big on data and making decisions based on data and technical analysis. He was constantly keeping us on track with new strategies to make sure we could see what was happening. Thanks to Jerry, we knew what to be looking for and which other organizations we should measure ourselves against to make sure that we were as successful as we possibly could be.

Jerry also helped us come up with a strategy for Facebook videos, where we did a series of live videos lasting less than one minute each. We did three to five of these videos a week.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Jerry, who is the only interface that we had with them. I know he has a team of people doing a variety of things, but I don't know what all those things are. He's making sure that they’re meeting our needs.

Jerry listened to what we wanted. Once we figured out what was broken, he worked with us as well as our web hosts to figure out what could they fix on their own because of the server conversion. He pointed out some glitches that they didn’t even know existed. They asked for his full report, which is almost 200 pages.

How did you come to work with SEO Forensic Marketing?

They’re a member of our chamber of commerce, and we try really hard to work with our members when we can. We actually started our business relationship more than a year ago when we upgraded our website because it wasn't secure. Our web host did all the upgrading, and then we brought Jerry in because he said he was happy to run a report. He found a bunch of errors and helped us get those fixed.

That’s why when I found issues this year, I went to Jerry. I did send an RFP to the other members of the chamber that work on websites, but it was a no-brainer because of Jerry’s skills. I’m thrilled we chose him.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $10,000­–$25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2018 and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our web traffic has increased by 25% in three weeks. Our Facebook engagements and page views went up over 300%, along with improvements in other Facebook metrics. We now offer better service to our members.

How did SEO Forensic Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is excellent. Jerry holds brainstorming sessions which help us prioritize the things we really want to do.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They not only pull reports but analyze them and make suggestions on how to fix things. They’re extremely professional and always want to work on things right away. I would recommend them in a heartbeat. I've worked with other organizations who have told me I needed help with my data tracking, and then they just emailed me the report.

Jerry peels back the onion to determine why things are happening and he identifies steps to improve the results. He constantly wants to improve and he’s not interested in cruising along. He's excited by the positive growth of numbers based on improvements that we make on the technical side.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You’ll get the most out of working with SEO Forensic Marketing by sitting down and making sure you communicate your end goal. They have your best intentions in mind with their technical analysis. Jerry isn’t just going to show you—he’s going to teach you.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Owner of ERVick Consulting Group, LLC. I provide strategic planning and leadership development services to my clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire SEO Forensic Marketing (SEOFM)?

We have utilized SEO Forensic Marketing on many occasions. Typically with B@C type businesses that determine "Digital Marketing" to be a key strategy or high level tactical initiative.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted our B2C clients to grow their online business exposure and results.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I know Jerry Nichols personally and I am his business strategy Coach. I have the utmost regard and respect for Jerry and what he does and how he does it. He's brilliant and trustworthy.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

This varied by client, but primarily focused on expanding the awareness of the clients' products/services to their target markets.

What was the team composition?

Initially Jerry was a Sole Operator. His business has been so well received and successful that he now has multiple people and offices serving his clients.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

With the right strategic plan in place, Jerry helped one mutual client to triple their sales and more than triple profit in 4 months' time. This result is typical of the performance Jerry delivers.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Jerry and I stay in touch throughout each project and he provides specific results updates with all mutual clients.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They bring positive energy and approach each project as a new challenge. Jerry has an exceptional educational and business career resume. He makes rather complex issues understandable to his clients. He is pure joy to work with.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Jerry/SEO has so much activity and potential that periodic strategic focus and prioritization are critical to long term success.