Big Leap

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the marketing director for a pest control company location in Hanna City, Illinois. We are a family run business, with 75 employees, and over 65 years of pest control experience.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Big Leap?

We were very unhappy with our former SEO company and wanted a change. Our company went fully paperless a year ago and we wanted to improve our online presence. We felt like we were overpaying and our former SEO company was underdelivering. We needed help with creating content with our website and improving our gooogle ranking.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals were to have Big Leap help us create content for our website and improve our Google ranking. We are one of the largest pest control companies in the state of Illinois and you would not know that by our small online presence.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They were referred to us by the company that runs our pest control software. They looked at our website and told us what they were going to do for us and how they were going to do it. We jumped on a call with them and after a couple minutes, we knew that they were going to be better than our former SEO company. They were honest about their price and they did not and have not tried to up sale us.

Describe the project in detail.

We started off with weekly meetings with a team of people. They did a complete audit of our website. We gave them control of our GMB pages and our website. After about a month we then went to monthly meetings with an account manager. From there, they have created numerous blogs for us and have created service pages for our website. With this we have seen a large increase in our keyword rankings.

What was the team composition?

We communicate with an account manager. She is very friendly and always goes into detail in her report during our monthly meetings. I am never afraid to ask questions. She is very clear on what she needs from us each month.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have seen a large increase in our keyword rankings and have had over 10 great pieces of content created for our website.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The team and account manager have been awesome to work with. We have learned a lot about SEO since hiring them. They are quick to respond to emails and have a flexible schedule if we have to change the time of a meeting.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They deliver on what they promised. They understand our industry and so they know what is best for our company. They also have been great at explaining the complicated process of SEO.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, they have met or exceeded our expectations

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We're a mountain bike and dirt bike media outlet primarily focused on reviewing products as well as creating unique native content features.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Big Leap?

To increase web traffic, drive more visitors, increase domain authority and improve our rankings in google.

What were your goals for this project?

Triple our web traffic!

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

After several calls talking/interviewing other firms we felt a connection with Big Leap and their employees expressed more concern with our specialized content and ability to produce content without their writers so they could focus on structuring and optimizing our existing reviews and posts.

Describe the project in detail.

We had a great introduction call and met the team, some of whom were actually familiar with our sport and what we were trying to achieve. From there we worked on developing a strategy that begin with some deep research into keywords and top competitors in our space.

After gaining some very impressive results and knowledge from the deep dive we began a strategy to check highly searched terms off our content calendar list to maximize our chances for traffic while BigLeap worked to optimize our older posts.

What was the team composition?

We have a great marketing manager named Cassara and she's been very on top of requests and scheduling any additional help or services we need.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've seen increased traffic to the site in a relatively short period of time and are excited to see that grow even more as Big Leap continues to optimize more pages. We've also quickly jumped up many places in our Google ranking and have reviews placed in the Google Snippet box within 1 month of being optimized.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Email correspondence is great! We get replies back very quickly and they're able to hop on any request in short order.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The speed in which they respond blew me away!

Are there any areas for improvement?

Overall we're very impressed.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CMO of a fence and deck installation company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Big Leap?

To handle our digital marketing, specifically SEO, PPC and local listings.

What were your goals for this project?

To increase our online presence and leads generated through all search engines, but most importantly Google.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I have previously worked with the founder and several other employees of this company and I know that they are the best at what they do and trust them to the utmost.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

From the very beginning they impressed me with how in tune they were with helping to plan the strategy around our "why" we are in business. We collaborated on designing a strategy to match our goals and they did great at jumping into the minutia and taking care of all of the tactical plans on the back end. We came up with a game plan to employ PPC to see some short-term and SEO for more long lasting results in the organic results. And of course, we wanted to make sure we were on top of our local listings and reviews.

What was the team composition?

I first met with the found and VP of biz dev and they took great care of me during the presentation and sales process. The transition to the account management team was seamless. I've had a lead account manger and some specialists I work with on a day to day basis since day one.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

When we first started we had under 100 keywords on the first page of Google and now we have hundreds of keywords on the first page driving us continuous leadflow. Before we started using BigLeap the majority of our leads (although the volume was low) were coming from traditional marketing channels like yellow pages and magazines but now we are seeing a drastic increase in lead volume, as well as lead quality.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The transition to account management teams was seamless and they've always been great to send me monthly reports, meet in person on a monthly basis and answer any questions or requests I have in between.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The most impressive thing about BigLeap is the trust they have earned from all their clients. In a day where a lot of fly-by-night digital marketing companies are popping up employing smoke-in-mirrors tactics is refreshing to know your are in such good hands with BigLeap. Anyone that has ever worked with them refers their friends and family there and that is the best compliment anyone could ask for.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There's always room for improvement and I know they always continue to innovate and work hard to maintain their amazing culture as they grow. As for our relationship, I can't think of anything specific I would say needs to be fixed.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Absolute Air is a home service company offering repair and installation of HVAC equipment, water heaters, water softeners, and other related products and services. I am the Operations and Marketing Manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Big Leap?

We wanted to improve our ongoing organic SEO efforts for our online presence.

What were your goals for this project?

Increase traffic to our site, increase visibility for customers searching for our services in our area, convert more searchers to actual customers.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

By referral

Describe the project in detail.

They reviewed our needs in detail and proposed a plan of action. After reviewing the details together we agreed on the plan and budget and moved forward. They have had regular calls with us to review progress and adjust work as needed. They provide monthly reports to track work completed and results.

What was the team composition?

We work with our project manager who is supported by a team of strategists, writers, and other team members I don't know.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've seen steady increases in rankings and traffic during our time with them, despite a lagging industry with mild weather this year.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We speak mostly by email in between our monthly scheduled calls, but communication is always prompt and professional.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their professionalism and transparency about their work set them apart. Previous SEO companies seemed to have us on autopilot without any real work completed on a regular basis, but Big Leap shows us the work being done and the results we're seeing so it's easy to continue to work with them.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None that I can think of now.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the SEO manager at the Center for Excellence in Higher Education (CEHE).

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Big Leap?

We hired Big Leap for content strategy, content (e.g., onsite copy, blogs, offsite content), general SEO strategy, website audits, keyword research, reputation management, and more.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to improve leads and conversions for all of CEHE's websites.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They were already selected before I started working here.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

They conducted monthly reports on website performance, provided monthly blog content for each website, and consulted on SEO practices. We had weekly calls to review goals, current projects, and new projects.

What was the team composition?

I worked with CJ Lewis (Enterprise Digital Marketing Director, Big Leap), Jake Webster (Online Marketing Manager, Big Leap), and Megan Shockley (Senior Digital Marketing Specialist, Big Leap). They were fantastic to work with!

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have seen an increase in year-over-year (YOY) organic traffic for all brands.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They were great. We, on the other hand, put a lot of restrictions on them because we have certain marketing rules and standards that we must follow. And we have been slow most of the time keeping up with everything that Big Leap has provided us because of those rules and standards and approvals that we have to get from our compliance team and our executives.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was impressed that they were always willing to do whatever asked of them and be adaptable.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Sometimes Big Leap could be slow to respond to chats or emails, but it was never egregious.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of digital marketing at the Center for Excellence in Higher Education (CEHE). We’re a parent company for several post-secondary education schools. We have four major colleges with roughly 10,000 students between them.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Big Leap?

Each of our main four universities has a different website, so we needed Big Leap’s help with SEO and content creation for the web pages.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Big Leap provides ongoing SEO support. In the beginning, they performed a complete audit of our sites. For the optimization efforts, they do keyword analysis and find related key terms. They create meta descriptions and title tags for our search results. Their team also provides linking support to increase backlinks, etc.

In addition to the SEO efforts, Big Leap creates materials for our various sites. They run blogs and write content for our websites. Their team works to upgrade our existing content and add more to increase our platforms’ optimization.

What is the team composition?

We have three main points of contact. CJ (Enterprise Digital Marketing Director, Big Leap) leads our weekly discussions and answers my questions. Jake (Digital Marketing Manager, Big Leap) is responsible for providing SEO recommendations and performing audits. Megan (Senior Digital Marketing Specialist, Big Leap) supports our content upgrades and blogs.

How did you come to work with Big Leap?

We looked at vendors across the nation, but we liked that Big Leap was local to us.

How much have you invested with them?

We pay them $20,000 monthly. In total, we’ve spent between $600,000–$700,000 on Big Leap's services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in July 2016, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We track their success through three different forms of traffic: direct, organic, and referral traffic. In each type of engagement, we’ve seen significant gains and increases from our users. Our main goal is to get more people to look at our websites and improve the number of leads we receive. Working with Big Leap has helped us achieve these goals.

How did Big Leap perform from a project management standpoint?

Their level of organization and ability to keep up with the work have been their main strengths. Even though we’re working on several websites, they communicate their progress well and keep track of our needs. We primarily speak through email, phone calls, and Slack for daily updates.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their willingness to evolve and adapt make them a valuable partner who stands out in their industry. Whenever we provide feedback on their ideas, they’re eager to make changes and go the extra mile for us. If we want more content, blogs, or updates, they make our needs a priority, which we don’t see with other providers.

Are there any areas they could improve?

At the beginning of the engagement, the communication wasn’t as strong as it is now. My suggestion for Big Leap would be to ensure they are available and easy to interact with from the start of every engagement like they are now.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the COO of an interpreting company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Big Leap?

We wanted to boost our Google rankings, so we were looking for a company to help us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provide SEO services and create content for our website. They also write blurbs, maintain our blog, and create backlinks to our website. We're focusing on organic traffic and they also help us with keyword research. We have some referral pages on our website, so they've edited some of the descriptions on those pages, optimizing our presence.

What is the team composition?

We have one main point of contact.

How did you come to work with Big Leap?

They were recommended to us by someone who had worked with them previously and had a very positive experience.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent about $18,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in February 2018 and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They're very personable and willing to learn the terminology specific to our industry. We haven't seen a big impact yet, so we started a tracking software to help us see the progress.

How did Big Leap perform from a project management standpoint?

They're good communicators and send us regular updates via email, which we really appreciate. We also meet once a month in their office.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're willing to go an extra mile for us. They were very proactive about learning the specific terminology and doing their own research to make sure they use the language that is politically correct in our community.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They've done a great job letting us know where the budget is going, but we'd like them to also show us what our ROI is. We're a small company, so seeing the value proposition is important to us.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the digital marketing manager of Venafi, an IT security company. We sell to enterprises.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Big Leap?

We had never made a concerted effort to go after keywords via SEO. When I became the digital marketing manager, I decided to implement a keyword research strategy. We then hired Big Leap to audit our SEO and address ongoing concerns.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Big Leap audited our website and implemented an SEO strategy based on keyword research. After executing the strategy, they optimized our content including the blogs. The team fixed technical issues and updated keyword terms, titles, and descriptions to improve the site’s Google rankings.

Initially, the scope included PPC. However, Big Leap dropped that service line. We now use a second vendor for that.

What is the team composition?

We work with an account manager and a project manager.

How did you come to work with Big Leap?

I did a Google search and found multiple vendors including Big Leap. Contacts in my network recommended the team as well. Next, I interviewed six companies and Big Leap impressed me the most. We hired the team based on their performance during the interview stage.

How much have you invested with them?

We started working together in January 2017 and the partnership is ongoing.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve spent around $100,000.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve more than tripled our monthly web traffic and that’s all due to Big Leap. Specifically, the number of visitors has increased from 7,000 to 25,000 per month.

How did Big Leap perform from a project management standpoint?

The team is organized and timely; if the project is running behind, it’s usually our fault. Originally, we had weekly in-person meetings but transitioned to every other week as the partnership evolved. I go to them because Big Leap’s office is near my house. We also communicate via email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Big Leap is highly competent at content optimization and keyword research. They effectively allocate resources to maximize results. One of their content pieces is among our site’s five most-viewed pages. Overall, they’re a group of smart people that know SEO strategy.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I’m happy with the engagement. It’d be great if Big Leap still did PPC because it’s difficult to have two vendors. Otherwise, I’m completely satisfied.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the co-founder of WANDRD. We create photography equipment.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Big Leap?

We wanted to increase our organic traffic and visibility, so we were looking for a company to help us with SEO.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They've been doing keyword research and optimizing our website. They create content for our web pages and blog posts, add meta tags and keywords to images, create backlinks, and help us establish connections to other influential sites.

What is the team composition?

We have a project manager, but I can talk to any member of their team.

How did you come to work with Big Leap?

They were recommended to me by another agency.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend about $3,500 a month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in June 2017 and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our rankings and the number of keywords that we target have been increasing month over month. Our organic traffic has also been on the rise.

How did Big Leap perform from a project management standpoint?

They stay on top of everything. We have a call with them every other week and they send us a monthly report. They're genuinely interested in our brand and invest their time in building a positive relationship. We usually communicate via email and phone, but we've also met in person. They're great communicators.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We appreciate their personable approach.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't have any complaints. Everything has been great.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

When I worked with Big Leap, I was a PR manager at Zurixx.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Big Leap?

We needed a company to help us improve our SEO rankings. We had worked with three other companies before hiring Big Leap, but we didn’t see the results we wanted. Big Leap definitely outshone the competition.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Big Leap came into our office multiple times, trying to understand our problem. They provided keyword research and then created videos and other content for us. They also developed new web properties and were constantly auditing the content we had to help us improve it.

They also invested a lot of time in developing the reporting that was easy for our team to understand. They educated us about SEO and provided a timeline, so we were never left in the dark.

What is the team composition?

I had regular communication with two people from their team, but there were about five people assigned to our project.

How did you come to work with Big Leap?

Our CEO found Big Leap. We didn't have much success with the other companies we worked with, so we needed urgent help.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent about $350,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with Big Leap in October 2016 and our company continues working with them. (I'm no longer with the company).

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I worked with Big Leap for two years and they far exceeded our expectations. We had specific goals about what we wanted to see on the first page of results for certain keywords and Big Leap hit all of our goals. In addition, they developed even better content than we used to have. Anytime there was a crisis with the company, they were always there to lend a helping hand.

How did Big Leap perform from a project management standpoint?

Their communication and reporting were excellent. They stayed on top of everything when it came to phone calls and meetings, so I never had to remind them of anything. They updated the list of projects weekly, so we knew what was happening. We were in constant communication over the phone and email, and we also had in-person meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They paid attention to what was most important to us. Also, they invested a lot of time in doing the reporting that we needed and that our CEO liked.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything. It was a great relationship.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be transparent. They can't read your mind, but they will pay attention to every single idea, complaint, or thought that you lay out for them. They're an exceptional team. I highly recommend them.