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CASE 1: Website Marketing Research / Search Engine Optimization

Paragon Property Services - LLC.

In June of 2008, I was hired to undergo a search engine optimization project for a website I had built for a client. Having been studying marketing at the time, I decided it was a perfect opportunity to get my feet wet.

Problem: Low website traffic. Low visibility via organic searches.

Overall, the goal of the project was simple: The site I designed, ParagonInspects.com was not getting the desired level of traffic, while the company's major competitors were seeing hundreds of unique visits a day. The client wanted his site to appear in the top ten Google search results for a specific set of key word searches.

Secondary Data Collection: Analyze and compare website content against competitors.

Paragon In order to get a picture of the who, what, how, and when of the site's traffic, I installed Google Analytics tracking code on each page. This allowed me to get a picture of the current traffic patterns. In addition, I spent a lot of time viewing, and analyzing the content and structure of the company's top two competitors. Lucky for us, both competing firms voluntarily provided information about their website's traffic. Via Google analytics, I observed a big cause for the lack of unique visits: a high bounce (exit) rate on the home page. In other words, 72% of visitors were leaving the site after seeing the home page, and did not visit the site's other pages. With this problem in mind, we observed differences in the home page structure between ParagonInspects.com, and competing sites.

Primary Data Collection: Develop and test alternate versions of home page.

Using Google Webmaster tools, we performed keyword analysis, and checked our pages for errors and other problems. Finally, we decided to test a new version of the site's home page using an A/B variant experiment. The new home page focused on presenting the viewer with useful articles, rather than service information.

Hypothesis: Informational version of home page will be favored over service based version.

Our hypothesis, was that the new home page would entice users to further explore the site, and decrease the bounce rate of the home page. Sure enough, with 50% of users being presented with the original page (control), and 50% of users being presented with the new page (test), our hypothesis was confirmed. The new home page resulted in a lower bounce rate of 35%, versus the previous home pages' bounce rate of 72%.

Results: New Home paged favored by users. Bounce rate changed by -41%. Increased unique page visits.

Because the bounce (exit) rate was lower in the test version, it can be inferred that users were more likely to explore other pages within the site, when compared with the control version. This resulted in more unique page visits. Furthermore, the key word analysis, and content restructuring resulted in top ten organic search results for the desired keywords.

CASE 2: Event Promotion / Street Marketing / Email & Social Network Marketing

Roof Top Hip-Hop: Ascension Concert, September 25th, 2008

Ascension While working with a team of independent film makers in the production of a documentary film focusing on Chicago's local music scene, we decided to hold a concert with two primary goals: To create a controlled setting to film the artists we were covering, and to raise some much needed money to fund production. In this particular case, we needed to raise enough money to cover all of the expenses of the event, and pay for the equipment rental and staff required for filming. In order to do so, we needed to sell at least 250 tickets ranging between $8 and $15.

Street Marketing: Flyer distribution, and hard ticket sales:

The first step in promotion for this event was a paper flyer distribution campaign, coupled with hard ticket pre-sales. This began four weeks out from the event. A group of volunteers from the production crew was asked to distribute 5,000 flyers, and pre sell printed tickets hand to hand, at events that attracted our target audience. (Primarily other local music concerts, and nightclubs.) Result: 112 hard tickets pre-sold.

E-Marketing: Online Ticket Sales, Email & Social Network Marketing:

Following the first week of flyer promotion we began selling printable tickets online. In order to drive traffic to the ticket sales site, we launched two campaigns. The first was an email marketing campaign. We developed a list of 30,000 email addresses from the artists performing at the event. Because these addresses were all provided by willing fans of the artists, most of whom signed up for newsletters at concerts, we anticipated a high level of response from the campaign. Result: 20 tickets pre-sold.

Our second, and far more successful E-Marketing campaign was a special promotion for Face Book users. Using the Face Book friend networks of the performing artists, we sent Face Book invites to 2,000 users; all friends and fans of the artists. The invite included a special link to the ticket sales site, along with a coupon code for a discount off the ticket price. Result: 43 tickets pre-sold.

"South Beach" Wrist Band Promotion:

Borrowing a technique I observed while on vacation in South Beach, FL, we launched a "VIP" bracelet campaign several hours before the actual event. This was done by sending a team out to the bars and clubs neighboring the venue, and physically putting wrist bands with the word "VIP" written in bold letters around anyone's wrist that would allow it. This wristband allowed individuals to enter the concert without waiting in line, and gave them a discounted ticket price. The concept behind this technique is that the idea of being considered a "VIP" can positively influence people's attitudes about attending the event, even if no real privileges exist. The team was able to distribute 20 wristbands. Result: 6 wristband entries.

Results:

With the combined effort of the street and internet marketing campaigns, we pre-sold 175 tickets. In addition, we had 142 walk ups for a total of 317 ticket sales, well over our quota of 250. This allowed us to pay our overhead, and provided further funding for the production of the film. Currently, we are putting together an experiential marketing opportunity to attract sponsors for a future event, which will be held to help fund the release of the film upon completion.




Navigate: My Resume View Resume Print Resume Download (.pdf) My Portfolio Web Dev Media Dev Marketing Contact Me Via Email On Monster Marketing Portfolio CASE 1: Website Marketing Research / Search Engine Optimization Paragon Property Services - LLC. In June of 2008, I was hired to undergo a search engine optimization project for a website I had built for a client. Having been studying marketing at the time, I decided it was a perfect opportunity to get my feet wet. Problem: Low website traffic. Low visibility via organic searches. Overall, the goal of the project was simple: The site I designed, ParagonInspects.com was not getting the desired level of traffic, while the company's major competitors were seeing hundreds of unique visits a day. The client wanted his site to appear in the top ten Google search results for a specific set of key word searches. Secondary Data Collection: Analyze and compare website content against competitors. In order to get a picture of the who, what, how, and when of the site's traffic, I installed Google Analytics tracking code on each page. This allowed me to get a picture of the current traffic patterns. In addition, I spent a lot of time viewing, and analyzing the content and structure of the company's top two competitors. Lucky for us, both competing firms voluntarily provided information about their website's traffic. Via Google analytics, I observed a big cause for the lack of unique visits: a high bounce (exit) rate on the home page. In other words, 72% of visitors were leaving the site after seeing the home page, and did not visit the site's other pages. With this problem in mind, we observed differences in the home page structure between ParagonInspects.com, and competing sites. Primary Data Collection: Develop and test alternate versions of home page. Using Google Webmaster tools, we performed keyword analysis, and checked our pages for errors and other problems. Finally, we decided to test a new version of the site's home page using an A/B variant experiment. The new home page focused on presenting the viewer with useful articles, rather than service information. Hypothesis: Informational version of home page will be favored over service based version. Our hypothesis, was that the new home page would entice users to further explore the site, and decrease the bounce rate of the home page. Sure enough, with 50% of users being presented with the original page (control), and 50% of users being presented with the new page (test), our hypothesis was confirmed. The new home page resulted in a lower bounce rate of 35%, versus the previous home pages' bounce rate of 72%. Results: New Home paged favored by users. Bounce rate changed by -41%. Increased unique page visits. Because the bounce (exit) rate was lower in the test version, it can be inferred that users were more likely to explore other pages within the site, when compared with the control version. This resulted in more unique page visits. Furthermore, the key word analysis, and content restructuring resulted in top ten organic search results for the desired keywords. CASE 2: Event Promotion / Street Marketing / Email & Social Network Marketing Roof Top Hip-Hop: Ascension Concert, September 25th, 2008 While working with a team of independent film makers in the production of a documentary film focusing on Chicago's local music scene, we decided to hold a concert with two primary goals: To create a controlled setting to film the artists we were covering, and to raise some much needed money to fund production. In this particular case, we needed to raise enough money to cover all of the expenses of the event, and pay for the equipment rental and staff required for filming. In order to do so, we needed to sell at least 250 tickets ranging between $8 and $15. Street Marketing: Flyer distribution, and hard ticket sales: The first step in promotion for this event was a paper flyer distribution campaign, coupled with hard ticket pre-sales. This began four weeks out from the event. A group of volunteers from the production crew was asked to distribute 5,000 flyers, and pre sell printed tickets hand to hand, at events that attracted our target audience. (Primarily other local music concerts, and nightclubs.) Result: 112 hard tickets pre-sold. E-Marketing: Online Ticket Sales, Email & Social Network Marketing: Following the first week of flyer promotion we began selling printable tickets online. In order to drive traffic to the ticket sales site, we launched two campaigns. The first was an email marketing campaign. We developed a list of 30,000 email addresses from the artists performing at the event. Because these addresses were all provided by willing fans of the artists, most of whom signed up for newsletters at concerts, we anticipated a high level of response from the campaign. Result: 20 tickets pre-sold. Our second, and far more successful E-Marketing campaign was a special promotion for Face Book users. Using the Face Book friend networks of the performing artists, we sent Face Book invites to 2,000 users; all friends and fans of the artists. The invite included a special link to the ticket sales site, along with a coupon code for a discount off the ticket price. Result: 43 tickets pre-sold. "South Beach" Wrist Band Promotion: Borrowing a technique I observed while on vacation in South Beach, FL, we launched a "VIP" bracelet campaign several hours before the actual event. This was done by sending a team out to the bars and clubs neighboring the venue, and physically putting wrist bands with the word "VIP" written in bold letters around anyone's wrist that would allow it. This wristband allowed individuals to enter the concert without waiting in line, and gave them a discounted ticket price. The concept behind this technique is that the idea of being considered a "VIP" can positively influence people's attitudes about attending the event, even if no real privileges exist. The team was able to distribute 20 wristbands. Result: 6 wristband entries. Results: With the combined effort of the street and internet marketing campaigns, we pre-sold 175 tickets. In addition, we had 142 walk ups for a total of 317 ticket sales, well over our quota of 250. This allowed us to pay our overhead, and provided further funding for the production of the film. Currently, we are putting together an experiential marketing opportunity to attract sponsors for a future event, which will be held to help fund the release of the film upon completion.
Copyright 2009 Oliver Holmberg