Client showcase: One year on...

Looking back at 2016, I can’t help feeling what a remarkable year it was. The month of September was the most memorable as Perfect Layout Digital Marketing was born. Like many small business owners venturing into the world of self-employment, feelings were mixed; excitement, anticipation, enthusiasm, fear, trepidation, worry…the list goes on. I’m delighted to report that the negative emotions have dissipated somewhat, due to the early success of our business.

We’ve worked hard to understand our sector, the needs of our customers and diligently apply our style of website design and SEO to meet their needs. We have passion for what we do and hope that this comes across when you meet us. Our aim is to understand you, as well as your business, to ensure that our website creations represent your services and products in the best possible light. We also want you to start being found for relevant keyword searches on organic search. Let’s be honest, who goes beyond page 2, when looking for a product or service?
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When we meet a client for the first time and talk through their needs, we always make sure to tell them that it will take a while for their websites to begin ranking. Whilst we can’t guarantee that your business will be found on page 1 within 6 months – what we can guarantee is that we’ll try our hardest to make it happen. We are realistic as well as eternally optimistic about the services we provide. One year ago today...On 1 December 2016, our very first website: Carly's Ice Cream Vans went live. We were excited and nervous at serving the needs of our very first customer. Recently, she was kind enough to undertake an interview with us outlining her journey so far…​

​I know the clue is in the title, but could you explain what services and products Carly’s Ice Cream Vans sell?
We sell soft and hard ice cream locally and attend school fetes, weddings, christenings, birthday parties, corporate events, festivals and football tournaments etc. Our ice creams range from the traditional 99’s, different flavoured hard ice-creams and various lollies. Bubblegum flavour is really popular at the moment.

How long have you been in the ice cream business?
I’ve been in the ice cream business for over 20 years now. My partner, Peri, has been around ice cream for even longer - over 30 years! Together, we know about ice cream, inside and out!

Before you had a website how did you promote your vans/get business?
Purely by word of mouth. We also supply our ice creams to people in local shopping centres.

What made you diversify and invest in having a website?
Whilst getting work via word of mouth is okay, a website is seen by everyone and offers me the chance to get around to different areas and attend different events. It also means that I’m making more money.

Why did you choose Perfect Layout as your website providers?
You were very nice and approachable. During our consultation, things were explained to me really well and I was able to understand exactly how my website would be laid out. I was also impressed with the amount of communication and quick response rate that I had from you whilst the site was being built. I was also pleased that I knew exactly what my website would look like before it went live.

How has the site made a difference to your business?
Local people are hearing about us, which means more jobs. This wouldn’t have happened if we didn’t have the website.

What kind of interest have you received since your website went live?
We’ve had loads of leads via the forms and direct calls.

Are you surprised at the number of leads the site has generated?
Yes, I’ve been surprised at the amount of extra work the website has generated - and very pleased!

What would you say to business owners who have not yet committed to having a website for their business?
Definitely get one! It’s made a real difference to our income and weighed against the cost of the site, it paid for itself quickly.
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How do you see the future of the business evolving in the next 5 years?
I hope to be doing more of the same. To continue getting leads from the website and responding to the needs of those that fancy an ice cream!

The proof is in the pudding, or should I say ice cream!
To give the sceptics out there something to munch on, below is a snap shot of statistics showing how well her site did in a very short space of time. The information relates to just a couple of the keyword search terms we track as part of our ongoing SEO. Please note that not all months have been detailed.

Go live date - 1 December 2016
7 December 2016
Ice cream vans Romford – page 2, position 12
Ice cream vans Essex – page 5, position 47
 
24 February
Ice cream vans Romford - page 1, position 2,
Ice cream vans Essex - page 1, position 4
 
7 June
Ice cream vans Romford - page 1, position 3, Google My Business (GMB) listing showed
Ice cream vans Essex - page 1, position 8, position 2 on Map Pack
 
29 September
Ice cream vans Romford – page 1, GMB showed, plus 4 mentions on the organic page
Ice cream vans Essex - page 1, position 3 on Map pack and position 5
 
30 November
Ice cream vans Romford -  page 1, position 1 on Map pack and positions 3, 4, 6 and 8
Ice cream vans Essex – page 1, position 2
 
This demonstrates that the various digital strategies that Perfect Layout Digital Marketing implemented are making a difference. You’ve got to admit that these are pretty impressive results! Carly is happy and so are we.
 
If you would like your business to have results on page one of organic search, give us a call and let’s see how we can help your business be more visible online.