Thinking of investing in Media Proper’s Search Engine Optimization (SEO) services to give your organic traffic a boost? Take a look at the results we achieved last year for our clients, and then get in touch to find out how we can help you grow your business with our customized, comprehensive approach to SEO.
Our (Surprisingly Impressive) SEO Results for 2017
Looking at all of our clients from the period of December 2016 through December 2017, Media Proper created gains in organic search traffic volume of 260% year over year. “Organic search traffic,” of course, consists of visitors to a website referred from search engines who did not arrive by clicking on a paid ad.
The graph below depicts the organic traffic received by all of our clients’ websites from 12/16 through 12/17. Steady yet small increases through July 2017 over and above results seen in December 2016 are quite telling, as most of our clients’ busy seasons run from October through December; their traffic volumes would normally be falling rather than plateauing or increasing in the first two quarters of the year.
Both long-term and new clients happened to see the same increase in traffic volume—260%. Clients that were new to us in 2017 averaged higher month-over-month increases as compared to existing clients: 35% vs. 12.5%, respectively. Much of the difference is explained by the fact that many of our new clients’ existing sites lacked the use of basic SEO best practices, which are easy for us to institute and which promote quick gains initially. Several of these projects began with a complete website redesign, allowing us to build the ideal site from a search engine perspective.
While we always manage expectations with new clients, a complete redesign does allow us considerable control and will achieve the best possible outcome. SEO is a process, not an event, and while a site redesign will almost always generate strong initial gains, tactics must be constantly deployed and refined in order to see long-term benefit. Depending on the existing web presence, SEO often takes far more time to bear fruit.
The graphic below shows the average month-over-month traffic gains that we created for our new SEO clients in 2017:
Our existing clients also fared very well. With all of their SEO ducks in a row, as it were, gains are necessarily slower and steadier. Using content marketing and off-site optimization, growing traffic at an average 12.5% month-over-month increase is a very robust result for these clients.
Of course, the size of the client has an impact on website traffic, which can skew results. To account for this, we also analyzed our results by using a weighted average respective to the size of the client. This weighted average yielded a gain of 191% over the course of the year. To compensate for clients that were added during the year who did not have a full year of data to draw from, we calculated that our analysis represented an adjusted average of approximately 10.7 months of our SEO efforts. By extrapolating that data, we estimate that the 12-month run rate for site traffic improvement resulting from our services would be 214% for clients adjusted for size, and 292% for all clients, irrespective of size.
Above data was pulled from Google Analytics and does not include internal, paid, or spam traffic.
Boosting Local Search — Philadelphia SEO
When most people think of SEO, they think about ranking for keywords. But boosting local search results requires an approach that goes beyond your run-of-the-mill content marketing. Getting to the top of the “local pack,” or the handful of local businesses that appear in the search results above the traditionally placed organic results, requires a focus on citation building, generating reviews, and social media optimization. The local pack also features in the Google Maps app, so appearing in it is key.
In terms of Philadelphia Search Engine Optimization, we were right on the heels of our national results at an average increase of 240% year over year across both full-year and partial-year clients. Month-over-month traffic increases from December 2016 through December 2017 are shown in the chart below.
Some of these businesses are new clients for Media Proper, but none is a brand-new business—all of them already had customers and an online presence when starting with us. Had all of these clients been with us for a full year, traffic would have increased by far more than the (still impressive) 240% gains reported here.
To Put It in Perspective…
Comparing results across a broad spectrum of clients is not always like comparing apples to apples. Most business owners will tell you that all of the traffic in the world doesn’t mean anything unless it results in conversions. “Traffic” is a pretty broad term that encompasses first-time visitors who may never come back all the way through to those who become buyers. Still, traffic is measurable, it is meaningful, and anyone who visits you once can at some point be converted into a buyer—or at least we’ll give you the opportunity to try.
We’re sharing our data to give you some insight into what may be possible for your business, with the disclaimer that every client is different. While our tactics create verifiable results and we apply them consistently and to best effect, we don’t make specific promises — other than that we will apply cutting-edge, proven SEO techniques on your behalf.
So, while these exact results may not apply to every client who walks into our virtual door, they are meaningful. When you become our client, you will get another layer of information via detailed monthly reports.
How Do We Work?
At Media Proper, we take a long view. We deliberately focus on your future—not just on your present—so you can build towards your greatest potential. We see ourselves as a partner in growing your business rather than just a service provider.
While SEO and content marketing form the backbone of our offering, we also provide all of the supporting services that create a fertile ground for the most effective SEO to take root. As a boutique agency, we tailor a solution specifically to your business, so no two clients of ours receive exactly the same services.
When you sign on with Media Proper, we do a thorough review of all existing marketing strategies and tactics so that we can make the biggest impact. For new clients, we will consider all of the following:
- On-site Optimization – We can optimize your current site or a new one that we build for you.
- Content Optimization – As part of your on-site optimization, we’ll make sure that you’re using relevant keywords, formatting best practices, and that you’re set up to convert.
- Social Media Optimization – Formatting social channels correctly adds significantly to your site’s SEO.
- Backlinking and Citation Building – We can give your site a quick boost in the rankings by adding profiles for your business to various sites, giving you more relevant backlinks.
Once the basics are in place, we become laser focused on content marketing, competitive intelligence, and more sophisticated backlinking strategies. We monitor offsite mentions, social activity, search engine position, and backlink profiles on a weekly basis to build on our initial success. Tactics may include:
- Evergreen Articles – We identify commonly searched Google queries and produce comprehensive, high-quality information to capture your audience’s attention—and thus, a high ranking in the search results.
- Service and/or Location Pages – We produce pages targeted for specific audiences by location, driving those who are looking for you directly to your site.
- Video Production – We match the referral power of YouTube, which is actually the world’s second largest search tool, with our video production skills to take advantage of a tool that your competitors are unlikely to be able to replicate.
- Testimonial/Project Overviews – Our expertly produced testimonials and project overviews speak directly to your audience’s needs and double as valuable content that can boost your rankings for both services and locations.
All progress is reported to our clients on a monthly basis, with a level of detail that far exceeds the industry standard. SEO success is reported alongside the results of any PPC, Facebook, and/or YouTube ads we may be running on your behalf. Our clients know where they stand—and where they are heading.
Let’s look at a couple of case studies so we can get into the specifics of how our clients fared in 2017.
Example #1: The Power of Video SEO
Our most successful tactic of 2017 was video SEO. The work we did for Stucco Today provides a great example of this. Our goal was to get multiple pages to rank for local searches for those searching for “stucco remediation.” Our strategy was to create multiple testimonials, each created around a location in their target market, so that we could ultimately appear several times on the first page—and we did.
Home improvement projects lend themselves very well to testimonials. When prospects see a real project unfold from start to finish, it’s easy for them to imagine their own home undergoing the same transformation. It creates immediate trust in a contractor whom they may have never even spoken with.
Media Proper was onsite with Stucco Today during 2017, capturing drone footage of several projects as they happened. Potential customers get a front row seat for all the drama, including the house in its original condition, the contractors uncovering the damage below the siding, the professionalism of everyone involved onsite, progress as it’s being made, and finally, the transformation.
The raw footage was professionally edited and rounded out with high-quality images and supporting text. Each testimonial was then published to the site and optimized for searches related to “stucco remediation” as well as for the area where the house is located. Videos were also posted to relevant video and networks, and to houzz.com.
The success of these campaigns speaks for itself. Searches for “Stucco Remediation Pipersville, PA” generate 4 or 5 organic results in the top 7 spots, all of which are for Stucco Today. As of the time of writing, StuccoToday.com owns the first (project page), fourth (YouTube video), fifth (second YouTube video), and seventh (houzz.com project page) results, as well as having ads and a local pack result showing above the organic results. For an in-depth case study, see this article.
Thoughtful Keyword Research and Good Content Mean Fast Results
Gone are the days where you can write content full of relevant keywords, post it to a blog, and expect it to rank. When planning our clients’ content, we do significant research in order to identify the specific questions that prospects have, as well to find out what already exists online that may or may not be answering those questions.
Here’s an example of how such in-depth research can pay off. In late 2017, we researched and wrote an article for Paper & Posh, a client that produces custom stationery and wedding invitations, on color palette trends for 2018. This is a timely topic that is heavily searched in the local area but does not have a significant amount of content addressing it. We produced a solid piece of content on the topic, posted it to the company’s blog — and guess what happened. It’s in the top 3 results for most searches related to that topic and has had over 200 views since it was published. Anyone who has read it is a prime prospect for a boutique wedding invitation provider in the local area.
There’s Even More to Come in 2018!
We achieved our best-ever results for clients in 2017, and we expect even bigger things in 2018. By staying on top of the latest search engine algorithm changes, we stay ahead of the curve—and our competition. Our marketing department is ready for anything Google and the other search engines throw our way in 2018.
Whatever the size and age of your business, get in touch with Media Proper to find out how we can take your search engine marketing to the next level. We’re happy to offer a free consultation that will provide valuable information that you can use whether you choose to work with us or not.