Straight North
Srinath Reddy, Coyote Logistics
Best part of the experience?
Straight North transformed a website into a lead generation engine. They manage paid search and the distribution of advertising and display marketing. They also work with Google AdWords and analytics.
Change about the experience?
I would love to continue working with them for international regions as well. Straight North should develop competency in foreign languages like French, German, and U.K. English. That would exempt us from working with multiple agencies.
Overall Feedback:
The collaboration with Straight North resulted in dramatic increases in the ROI for paid advertising. Over the past year, they tailored their services to respond to evolving business needs, delivering strong expertise. They’re easy to communicate with and expedite work with flexibility when needed. We have monthly strategy calls and weekly optimization meetings with Straight North. We have a weekly cadence for everything that needs to be done. We can also address anything that comes up in-between, like strategy discussions, planning new campaigns, implementing new tracking code, or creating new landing pages. Our initial contact person went on maternity leave, but she was replaced by someone who is equally good. She’s responsive to what we need and flexible in working with us, especially if we have to turn something around quickly for a business meeting. She does a good job of harnessing their internal resources to put together whatever is required. One of the things I love about Straight North is that they’re not hierarchical and it’s easy to communicate with them. They don’t have the overhead of a large agency.
- Hired for:
- SEO
- Hired In: 2017
Ben Belavsky
Best part of the experience?
Straight North implemented digital marketing strategies focused on improving search rankings and driving new business. Having redesigned the website, the team continues to manage the growing digital presence.
Change about the experience?
I really appreciate their responsive communication skills.
Overall Feedback:
Straight North’s SEO strategies led to higher search rankings and instilled a sense of internal confidence and pride in employees. The team’s involved approach to the project, their responsiveness, and their level of experience are key to generating positive results. Following an unsuccessful run with a different web agency that claimed to specialize in marketing for orthodontists, we were looking for a new partner to help us develop our brand, web presence, and improve our SEO strategies.
- Hired for:
- SEO
- Hired In: 2018
Marcin Chojnowski
Best part of the experience?
Straight North created and implemented SEO campaigns to increase visibility in a niche market. Using Google Analytics, the efforts focus on improving search rankings in Google to attract new business.
Change about the experience?
There are no areas for Straight North to improve because they are already so open to change. We consistently have discussions if we find that any element of the partnership needs to be tweaked.
Overall Feedback:
So far, Straight North’s outreach strategies have generated new customers, increased traffic rates, and improved search rankings. With a balanced, collaborative, and transparent approach to the partnership, the team is able to develop valuable strategies that drive business. In the year that we’ve worked with Straight North, we’ve received more new customer orders than any of our previous years. Our website traffic has increased, our rankings have improved, and we have a stronger digital presence, which has definitely brought in a significant number of new clients.
- Hired for:
- SEO
- Hired In: 2017
Ken Shapiro
Best part of the experience?
Straight North provides 360-degree SEO and PPC services, handling AdWords and inbound lead validation. Currently, they’re also redesigning a website to boost overall functionality and design.
Change about the experience?
It's hard to say what they could improve upon. I would like more information on the website development, even though it's much more technical than I'm probably able to understand. I suppose I could reach out and ask Ann those things. I haven't yet because they've always delivered everything they said they would within deadlines. Everything else is great, so I have zero complaints.
Overall Feedback:
Search rankings and inbound leads have improved dramatically since Straight North was first engaged, while conversion costs have dropped. Their consistent communication, responsiveness, and understanding of digital technologies justify the investment and make them a valuable partner. Their team is very good. Hillary and I have biweekly meetings to go through everything they're doing for SEO and any changes that they've made. Ann serves as my liaison for the website developers and writers. We have a set schedule to review anything they send us, as well as deadlines every few days to get them our feedback or approval. She’ll pass that along to the developers and make sure that the job gets done. If there's something wrong or I flag some issue, they’re on top of it and get it fixed right away. Straight North has an excellent platform for reporting a full breakdown of project metrics. It shows organic and PPC leads. It covers what they're doing for SEO, too (e.g., backlinks, blog posts). Everything is completely accessible to me in real time. They also use Google Analytics, and we get monthly reports from AdWords.
- Hired for:
- Digital Marketing
- Hired In: 2017
Marketing Software Company
Best part of the experience?
Straight North optimized product-driven PPC campaigns by modifying the key messaging and updating the Google AdWords account.
Change about the experience?
They spent a significant amount of time conducting tests on material that they had already observed during the onboarding process. They should keep a record of their results so that they can refer to them and avoid redundant evaluations.
Overall Feedback:
Their innovative marketing techniques have generated a large number of qualified leads and reduced the $1200 cost-per-conversion rate to $365. Straight North adjusted well to the project’s ever-evolving direction, proving that their team can strive in any environment. Straight North is one of the most transparent and responsive companies that I’ve had the pleasure to work with. We didn’t know what to expect when it came to setting deadlines, so we relied on them heavily for scheduling. They stayed true to the suggested timeline and kept us updated along the way with biweekly phone conferences. Their project manager was very responsive to our needs and always had an answer for our inquiries. It was also nice to have their PPC specialist present during the meetings; he gave feedback on all of our business ideas, even for matters outside of the scope.
- Hired for:
- Digital Marketing
- Hired In: 2018
Legal Services Company
Best part of the experience?
Straight North provides various digital marketing services, including SEO, PPC, and content strategy. They’ve also implemented analytics tools to track efforts and drive lead quality.
Change about the experience?
There were some website changes that could've been completed faster, but that might be unfair to say since I don’t know how complex it is on the development side.
Overall Feedback:
Since Straight North’s initial involvement, site traffic has continued to grow as lead quality improves. The team focuses on data-driven strategies, recording all campaigns to gain crucial insights. Customers can expect responsiveness, transparency, and open communication throughout. Everything is on an upward trend. In the last two years, we’ve seen a big increase in organic traffic. Stronger content and targeted keywords have spiked our Google visibility, and our lead quality has also improved. A few months ago, we reached a new high of 81 leads.
- Hired for:
- SEO
- Hired In: 2016
Ryan Bongard
Best part of the experience?
Straight North has built two WordPress websites. Services include digital marketing, beta testing, SEO, and PPC.
Change about the experience?
No, I cannot think of anything.
Overall Feedback:
Vastly improved search result rankings have exceeded expectations. The site design encourages user engagement and garners overwhelming praise. Customers can expect an undemanding, full-service experience. Before hiring Straight North, our automotive consulting firm site did not register on any rankings. We were on the 98th page on Google. A month after Straight North launched the site, we jumped to the second page of almost every key web search. We have not put any additional money into SEO or PPC, yet our rankings continue to improve. The head-hunting agency site has not launched yet, but customers regularly provide positive feedback on the automotive consulting firm site. They praise the clean and unique design. We have received many inquiries about who built the site.
- Hired for:
- Digital Marketing
- Hired In: 2018
Construction Company
Best part of the experience?
Straight North made design and development updates to a residential home remodeling company’s website. They also coordinate SEO and PPC campaigns, which includes keyword analysis and content creation.
Change about the experience?
I can’t pinpoint any areas that need improvement. So far we are extremely satisfied with our new website and Straight North’s performance with our other projects.
Overall Feedback:
Straight North delivered website updates that have drawn extensive internal and external praise. They utilize a thorough and well-researched project plan to ensure a successful engagement. The staff is client-oriented and spares no effort to meet deadlines and fulfill all requirements. Our online traffic has increased by 30% since the launch of our new website. We’ve received compliments about the site’s design from our team and clients alike. We are currently working with Straight North on SEO strategies that will include targeting specific locations and utilizing our blog section.
- Hired for:
- SEO
- Hired In: 2018
Janet Donnelly
Best part of the experience?
Straight North developed a B2B lead generation site, integrating it with Salesforce Pardot and their own proprietary reporting tool to better analyze key metrics. Currently, they support digital marketing.
Change about the experience?
No, I can’t think of anything. They did a great job and continue to do so for our PPC, SEO, digital optimization, and lead generation.
Overall Feedback:
For five months, there has been continuous month-over-month traffic growth, and conversion rates for new leads have remained strong. Clients have also responded positively to the new site. Easy navigation and new content on service offerings have helped attract more business from existing clients. We’ve been very satisfied with the success we’ve seen in just over five months. We continue to see month-over-month (MOM) traffic growth and double-digit new lead generation customer conversions. As for the website, numerous customers have complimented on our efforts. The site’s hierarchy allows our customers to move through our pages at a comfortable cadence. In addition, they’ve recognized the new content on our services, and we’re seeing more success when upselling additional services to existing clients.
- Hired for:
- Digital Marketing
- Hired In: 2018
Renewables and Environmental Company
Best part of the experience?
To replace an antiquated site, Straight North developed a new website to attract customers. It featured a mobile-responsive design, updated content, and interactive graphics. They also created an SEO strategy. This review was updated by the client on January 14, 2020.
Change about the experience?
No, we were very pleased.
Overall Feedback:
The new site has pulled in more leads and better conveys the business’s messaging. Thoughtful and amenable, Straight North made sure to keep the client’s input at the forefront. They took the time to explain their thought process on specific decisions to best manage expectations. We tasked Straight North with creating a brand new website that would allow us to grow as a business. Our main goal was to obtain new customers, so the platform needed to be mobile-friendly. As for the content, we wanted to highlight who we’ve become as a company by integrating more interactive graphics. They also set up the on-site SEO for our target keywords and developed off-page SEO strategies. But, we haven’t gone live with those yet because we wanted to see how the first two months after launch would go.
- Hired for:
- Web Design
- Hired In: 2019