The Challenge

In efforts to reestablish the brand after divesting its SSL Encryption Service and moving headquarters from California to Northern Virginia in 2010, Verisign wanted to improve its ROI for SEO, paid search and digital advertising. The decision was made to move search marketing in-house and appoint a dedicated SEM manager.

The Director of Marketing asked that budgets be properly allocated, campaigns set up and optimized as well as ROI projected for paid search. Additionally, an SEO audit, external link audit, competitive analysis and tailored SEO strategy were requested.

The Solution

• All irrelevant, broad match and high-cost/low-conversion phrases were removed from campaings. Keywords were replaced with those that were discovered using a 30-point scoring method which focused on the factors of relevance, search volume and competition.
• Using web optimization software and the AdWords Keyword Planning Tool, headlines, body text, CTA and URL were A/B split tested.
• Negative keywords were placed in all campaigns at the ad group level.
• Daily spending was adjusted in line with an increased budget, ads were set to rotate and the delivery method was changed from standard to accelerated.
• Ad scheduling was adjusted to run at optimal times of the day that would produce the highest number of clicks at the lowest CPC.
• Landing pages were split tested, focusing on CTA (blue vs. green button, white vs. grey button text color), copy (text vs. text w/video) headline (shock and awe vs. question driven headlines).
• Collaborated with social media team to develop best practices and recommendations.
• Made title tag, heading, body copy, meta description and anchor text changes to Verisign product pages.

Results

• My SEO strategy increased web traffic by 169.23% from 08/2011 -12/2011.
• Verisign ranked on page 1 of Google SERPs for 54% of its target keywords.
• Google AdWords quality scores increased drastically.
• Average conversion rate rose 275%.
• 10,000 additional impressions and 300 additional clicks resulted each week.
• Average CTR showed a 311.57% increase.
• Ad spend was reduced by 54% while conversions increased by 42.20%.
• Enterprise-level product suite was named as a result of my keyword research brief.

The Challenge

The World Bank has long been focused on Public Private Partnerships and had a portion of their site dedicated to this aspect of their organization. The PPP section was unpopular and felt dated. It was decided to migrate the data (located in a sub folder at the time) to a subdomain, update the site and generate traffic to the newly created subdomain through organic search.

The Solution

• Performed keyword research which targeted high priority phrases for which The World Bank wished to rank.
• Performed an analysis which identified The World Bank’s online competition that would allow the organization to achieve top rankings for target keywords.
• Provided site architecture, title tag, heading and meta description revisions.
• Created a redirect map for all pages being migrated.
• Developed a content strategy for creating new pages, articles and earning quality backlinks.

Results

• Developers were able to migrate pages with minor losses in authority and without major SEO issues.

The Client

Tuesday Morning is a leading closeout retailer of upscale, decorative home accessories, housewares and famous-maker gifts in the United States. Tuesday Morning has over 800 retail stores nationwide.

The Challenge

As a nationwide closeout retailer of upscale goods primarily targeting individuals 50+ years of age, Tuesday Morning wanted to broaden their current audience past their existing demographic and reach younger consumers. I was tasked with generating buzz about the brand, improving social interaction, increasing follower counts and growing their email subscribers.

The Solution

• Developed monthly social media calendar with content aimed at Tuesday Morning’s tech savvy consumers.
• Sparked online conversations and interactions which were then taken over by their community of loyal fans.
• Promoted their Facebook profile using regular contests and monthly update themes.
• Used multi-variate and A/B split testing to measure and improve email marketing response rates.

Results

• Tuesday morning reached their first 20,000 fans on Facebook.
• Increased their social media following 290% over the previous time period.
• Tuesday Morning’s fan growth rate was 12.8% compared to 2.9% for their closest competitor.

The Client

Palm Beach Tan is an indoor tanning franchise that has been providing the ultimate tanning experience, both UV and sunless, to those who believe that a healthy-looking tan is an essential part of a positive self-image. Palm Beach Tan has been the nationally recognized market leader in the indoor tanning market for over 20 years.

The Challenge

As the premier indoor UV and sunless tanning salon in the nation with hundreds of locations nationwide, Palm Beach Tan had a significant email subscriber database. My challenge was to help Palm Beach Tan improve the email response rate of their existing customers.

The Solution

• Improve their email sending IP address rating.
• Implement FCC CAN SPAM and email marketing best practices.
• Scrub inactive subscribers from the email marketing database.

Results

• Improved email deliverability to over 98%.
• Reduced email bounces by 15%.
• Improved email open rates by 12.85%.
• Improved email Click Through Rate (CTR) by 19.6%.

The Client

Silver Mine Subs is a Colorado based sandwich shop franchise, founded in Ft. Collins in 1996. For years, Silver Mine Subs has supplied the West/Mountain region with hot and cold submarine sandwiches, wraps, salads, sides, soups, and chili. Their closest competitors are Jimmy John’s, Potbelly and Firehouse Subs. They now have dozens of stores throughout the United States with most shops located on college campuses.

The Challenge

Looking to more closely target their primary customer base, Silver Mine Subs needed to transition some of its marketing efforts from offline advertising to digital advertising. Silver Mine Subs wanted to grow their social media following. Additionally, they wanted to capture the contact information of site visitors and improve foot traffic.

The Solution

• Developed and managed their social media marketing strategy, which included:
  • Creating a social media calendar for improving interaction.
  • Updating social media accounts with wall messages and tweets.
  • Developing monthly Facebook contests to grow fans.
• Geo-targeted lead capture pages were developed and deployed.

Results

• Increased Facebook Fans 87%.
• Increased email subscriber sign up rate by 153%.
• Generated 11,000 customers through group/social buying sites like Groupon and Living Social.

The Client

CareFocus Companion Services, a division of Maxim Healthcare, is a semi-national, non-medical care provider. As a trusted elder care provider with multiple locations, CareFocus Companion Services has improved the health and quality of life of patients for over 20 years.

The Challenge

As a growing provider of non-medical related services, CareFocus Companion wanted to extend their reach beyond the main site and target customers in local markets. Their main goal was to gain greater web and community exposure thus generating leads for their local offices.

The Solution

• Run an SEO analysis and present findings to the management team.
• Perform a competitive analysis and market specific keyword research.
• Develop and deploy localized landing pages for each branch.
• Build high-quality, relevant backlinks.

Results

• Hundreds of new backlinks were created for local office pages.
• Branch pages rank in search engine results for multiple keywords.
• Local office pages are now present on authoritative, industry-relevant sites which has improved search engine visibility.

The Client

KidSnips was founded in 1997 by two mothers equally frustrated by the lack of kid-friendly hair salons. Today, with several locations serving the greater Chicagoland area, KidSnips provides a fun hair-cutting experience for the entire family with TV’s, video games, toys, car-shaped chairs and fun.

The Challenge

In efforts to reach a broader audience and better track the effectiveness of their advertising efforts, KidSnips wanted to transition some of their traditional marketing to online marketing. Their goal was to build an effective online presence and generate additional business through social media, online ads and SEO.

The Solution

Given that it was their first foray into digital marketing, it was important that the strategy used be easily tracked and deliver results. Additionally, the strategy needed to focus on their local market and be targeted towards their key demographic.

• Negotiated favorable terms with display advertisement networks.
• Honed in on key demographic and local markets through network ad targeting.
• Created, set up and managed local directory profiles (ex: Yelp, Google Local, Parents Connect).
• Created, set up and managed social media accounts (Twitter, FourSquare).
• Set up and managed deals on sites like Groupon and Family Finds.

Results

• Display ad CTR improved 150%.
• Generated 400 new customers from ads.
• Created additional social media followers through Twitter.
• Generated 271 salon check-ins on Foursquare and countless redeemed coupons.
• Attracted 3,517 new customers through daily deal sites.