Top Draw

Please describe your organization.

We are an optometry clinic.

What is your position?

I am the owner of the clinic and an optometrist.

What business challenge were you trying to address with Top Draw?

We wanted to grow our patient base. We moved to a better location a year ago, and in doing so, we also brought on a second doctor.

We had used a number of SEO companies in the past, which proved ineffective. We spent a lot of money without seeing significant results.

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

Top Draw is doing pay per click and organic SEO work for us.

How did you come to work with Top Draw?

I don’t remember how I found Top Draw initially. They seemed professional and able to do everything they promised during our first meeting. I felt that our goals were aligned and ultimately decided to work with them.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The annual budget for their work is between $10-50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working together for six months. The work is ongoing. As soon as SEO work is stopped, a period of regression will follow. We need to work on the website continuously to grow the business and patient base.

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

I'm very satisfied with Top Draw. We've gone through many other companies for the same work, and were always disappointed.

Our new patients have increased by 30%, leading to an increase in total revenue for 2015.

How did Top Draw perform from a project management standpoint?

Top Draw offers much more professional work in terms of blog posts and similar things. I'm spending a lot less time reviewing their content. With previous SEO companies, they sent their writing work offshore. The quality of writing and content was poor, so I spent too much time editing.

What distinguishes Top Draw from other providers?

Most of the negative experiences we've had in the past stemmed from companies outsourcing their services.

Is there anything Top Draw could have improved or done differently?

No, I'm satisfied with their way of doing things.

Please describe your organization.

We're a specialized construction company in Alberta, Canada. We've been in business for 26 years.

What is your position?

I am the owner and president.

What business challenge were you trying to address with Top Draw?

We wanted to build a website focusing on SEO [search engine optimization].

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

They were contracted initially to build our site. The work evolved into SEO propagation, AdWords, and maintenance work, for which Top Draw is retained on a monthly basis.

We've made many changes to the site during the three years in which we've worked with Top Draw, with another redesign being in the works.

Our AdWords campaign is seasonal, being put on hold in the wintertime. The SEO work is continuous.

How did you come to work with Top Draw?

I've had experience with several web developers and SEO companies along the company's lifespan.

I knew Ken Jurina [president and CEO of Top Draw] on a social level through an entrepreneurship group that we're members of. Before hiring them, I researched two other companies and made a careful decision on who would be the best fit. Top Draw was not even close to being the cheapest company available, but they had a team that brought all the different components of design and implementation together.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The cost is about $60,000 per year for the SEO and PPC [pay-per-click] portions. My web redesign project was about $35,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working with them for three years with no plans to stop.

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Doing any industry-related search will bring us in the top three results on Google, which is important as 60 percent of our business comes through digital means. We need leads to come through our digital assets to grow the business.

How did Top Draw perform from a project management standpoint?

They continually get better with reporting and client service. Top Draw has improved their reporting documentation every year. I can always get answers to my questions immediately. Also, they are strong about meeting deadlines during web development sprints.

What distinguishes Top Draw from other providers?

In our monthly meetings, I usually sit down with their team leader and two other Top Draw members, each specializing in a different area. This is what I appreciate about them. There isn't just one person working on my account, but a whole team, each having an area of expertise.

If I have any issue, it will be dealt with within 24 hours. They're quick to respond and correct copy issues. They will always advise me on what direction to take, but are also quick to retract if I don't agree with them. Top Draw is tuned in to their client.

Is there anything Top Draw could have improved or done differently?

As a business owner, I want to see where my money is going. On this type of service, you won't see a house being built or any tangible product. Top Draw offers more behind-the-scenes work.

That being said, their reporting mechanism took some time to evolve to a form that would let me see what was being done throughout the month. They've now made reporting so detailed that I can evaluate their work almost on a daily basis for active demand or my keyword status. Monthly, we get a comprehensive report, which we discuss in our meeting. Any reporting issues they may have had, they've solved. It's been great working with them in the last year.