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How We Helped A US Manufacturer Double Their Traffic In 8 Months & Get 722 Quote Requests In March 2021

Case Study: YourBoxSolution, box manufacturing company in Springfield, OR

Table of Contents

The Background

We hear you. You built your contracting business on sweat, skill, and maybe a killer reputation. 

But let’s face it: the online world can feel like a different ball game. You take pride in what you do, but websites and SEO?

Yeah, that’s a whole different story.

Take YourBoxSolution (YBS), for example. This Oregon-based, family-owned company makes top-notch custom-printed boxes. 

Blake Brewster from YourBoxSolution

Blake Brewster from YourBoxSolution describes the journey with Contracting Empire and the results they were able to see happen.

They’re all about American-made quality at an affordable price. Sound familiars? They know their stuff, just like you. But by late 2019, they were facing a common contractor’s website nightmare: dwindling traffic.

Back in 2014, when YBS launched its website, things were simpler. Getting found online felt easier.

But guess what? The online landscape changes faster than a jackhammer on a deadline. Here’s the thing:

YBS’s website, once a lead magnet, was slowly turning into a ghost town. Traffic plummeted from a peak of 5,000 monthly visitors to a meager 3,000 by December 2019.

Ouch.

That’s a familiar feeling, isn’t it?

You put in the hard work, but your website isn’t reflecting your expertise or attracting new clients.

That’s where we came in.

We knew YBS had a great story to tell, but their website wasn’t telling it.

A quick audit using Google Lighthouse revealed their website was in rough shape. 

Imagine this:

In addition to these technical problems, YBS was facing an increasingly competitive landscape. A flood of Chinese manufacturers posing as US-based companies, along with resellers offering similar boxes, was making it harder for YBS to stand out.

But we made it work with actionable steps that can be applied to your contracting business, too!

For now, just remember: you’re not alone in this struggle

We’ve seen it all, and we’re here to help.

The Challenges

You’re rushing to a job site, toolbox in hand, and realize you forgot a crucial tool.

Talk about a headache!

Your website should be an extension of your professionalism, a reliable tool that showcases your expertise and attracts new clients.

But just like a rusty toolbox, a website riddled with problems can hold your business back.

Here’s what YBS faced and what you might be facing too.

The Slowpoke Website

Say a potential client Googles “basement waterproofing Denver” and stumbles upon your website. They’re excited to see your work, but then… nothing.

The page takes forever to load.

In today’s world, with lightning-fast internet speeds, people expect instant gratification. A slow website (like YBS’s, which took almost 5 seconds even to display content!) is the online equivalent of a client waiting for you to show up hours after the agreed time. Frustration sets in, and chances are they’ll head straight to your competitor with a website that loads in a blink.

We optimized YBS’s website to load super-fast.

Think of it as giving your website a tune-up and a fresh coat of paint. There are technical aspects to website speed, but let’s just say we cleaned up the code, optimized images, and ensured everything ran smoothly.

The result?

A happy user experience and more potential clients who can see your amazing work quickly and easily.

Website (In)Accessibility

YBS’s website wasn’t accessible to people with disabilities. This might not be the first thing that comes to mind, but it’s an important factor for two reasons.

First, it’s the right thing to do – everyone deserves equal access to information online.

Second, search engines like Google actually consider website accessibility when ranking websites. Think of it like having a great storefront with a giant step leading up to the door—it might look nice, but a lot of people won’t be able to get in!

We made sure YBS’s website followed accessibility best practices. This means things like clear navigation, proper use of color contrast, and features that work with screen readers used by visually impaired people.

It’s a win-win – you create a welcoming online space for everyone and potentially improve your search ranking in the process.

Unlocked Toolbox Website Security

YBS’s website had security vulnerabilities, which is essentially like having a digital toolbox with a broken lock. Potential clients might be nervous about entering their information or trusting your website with their project details.

We implemented best practices to tighten YBS’s website security. This involved using strong encryption protocols and keeping the website’s software up-to-date.

This gives potential clients peace of mind, knowing their information is safe and secure.

Missing SEO Essentials

Search engines are like the busy information booths of the online world. People use them to find what they need, and if your website doesn’t speak their language, it might get lost in the shuffle. 

YBS’s website lacked basic SEO features, like relevant titles and descriptions.

These are like little signs on your website that tell search engines what your business is all about. Without them, search engines won’t know what’s inside, and potential clients won’t be able to find you.

We optimized YBS’s website with relevant keywords and descriptions, making it easier for search engines to understand their content.

Now, when someone searches for “custom printed boxes” on Google, there’s a much higher chance they’ll find YBS’s website at the top of the search results.

Mobile Unfriendly Website

Assume a homeowner is in the middle of a kitchen renovation disaster. The faucet’s leaking everywhere, and they urgently need a plumber. They whip out their phone and search for “emergency plumbers near me.”

Your plumbing company’s website is beautiful, but it’s not mobile-friendly. The loading times are slow, the buttons are too small to tap easily, and the contact information is buried under layers of menus.

Frustrated, the homeowner moves on to the next search result, a competitor with a mobile-friendly website that allows them to call with a single tap.

This scenario plays out countless times every day for contractors with non-mobile-friendly websites. 

Here’s the harsh reality:

Here’s the thing: many contractors get caught up in creating a visually stunning website with all the bells and whistles—high-resolution images, fancy animations, the whole package. 

It looks great on a desktop computer but not so much on a phone.

Those flashy elements can take forever to load, and navigating the website on a small screen becomes a frustrating exercise in zooming and scrolling.

Mobile optimization ensures your website displays beautifully and functions flawlessly on any device, from a giant desktop monitor to a tiny smartphone screen.

Images resize automatically, text is clear and readable, and buttons are easy to tap. It’s a seamless experience for potential clients, no matter how they choose to browse the web.

A mobile-friendly website ensures potential clients can find you, learn about your services, and contact you easily, no matter what device they’re using.

The Strategy

First things first, we started by getting to know YBS’s audience and website inside out. Think website speed, mobile-friendliness, SEO—the whole nine yards. 

We also looked at how visitors navigated the site, uncovering their frustrations and hidden opportunities. And, of course, we checked out the competition to see what they were doing well (and not so well).

Based on this intel, we implemented a two-pronged attack:

Here’s the kicker: these strategies also tackle the biggest pain points for contracting businesses:

Implementing this data-driven marketing strategy supercharged YBS’s online presence and lead generation. Let’s take a closer look at the kind of magic that can work for you, too.

The Results

Fast-Loading Website

Before diving into speed optimization, we recommend a comprehensive website assessment. This involves evaluating four key areas:

In today’s digital age, attention spans are shorter than ever. When potential customers visit your contracting company’s website, they expect a fast, user-friendly experience

If your website takes forever to load or is confusing to navigate, they’ll bounce off faster than you can say “free estimate.”

Been there?

A slow, clunky website is a conversion killer. Here’s why website speed is your secret weapon:

Just by increasing your website’s speed, we can decrease the bounce rate, a.k.a. how fast people close the website. 

To put things in perspective:

1.

57% of visitors leave the site if the page takes more than 3 seconds to load (Google/SOASTA Research, 2017)

2.

Improving your load time by 0.1s can boost conversion rates by 8% (Google, 55 and Deloitte Research, 2020)

3.

Amazon loses 1% of sales for every 100ms of load time (Stanford, Amazon, 2007)

4.

Walmart increased conversion by +2% per 1-second load time improvement (WalmartLabs, 2012)

TIP: You can check your site’s loading speed using the free tool at gtmetrix.com

A Website That Converts Users To Leads

Let’s look at their old website to see what was wrong with it.

Specialized Services

Say you need a bathroom remodeled. Would you call a general contractor who does “a little bit of everything” or a specialist who focuses on bathrooms? 

Most people choose the specialist. 

That’s the power of specialization in contracting.

People don’t want to wade through 20 different services on your website. If you confuse them with choices, they’ll leave frustrated. 

Instead, make it easy!

For YourBoxSolution, we streamlined their customer journey. We:

Going Mobile-Friendly

Since 2017, smartphones have driven nearly half of all web traffic globally. The trend is clear: mobile is the future of internet browsing.

And Google, the search engine giant, took notice. In 2015, they announced that mobile-friendliness would be a key factor in search engine ranking. 

This means websites that aren’t mobile-friendly are getting pushed down in search results, making them harder for potential customers to find.

YourBoxSolution experienced this firsthand. In November 2019, their mobile traffic started a slow decline, dropping to 756 visitors.

When we launched YBS’s new mobile-optimized website, mobile traffic skyrocketed to around 1,500 visitors – a significant jump!

Even a temporary traffic dip during COVID couldn’t hold it back. Within two months, mobile traffic was on the rise again.

Don’t let a clunky mobile website cost you valuable leads. Use Google’s free mobile-friendliness tool to check your website now.

Fast Forward On Trust

Seth Godin, one of the greatest marketers and founders of permission marketing, said:

“People like us do things like this.

There is no more powerful tribal marketing connection than this.

More than features, more than benefits, we are driven to become a member in good standing of the tribe”.

We want to fit in.

We want to make the right decisions fast and painless.

When making decisions, we all crave reassurance

We look for signals that a product or service is trustworthy.

These phrases leverage social proof, the psychological phenomenon where we rely on the actions and opinions of others to guide our own choices.

This applies to your contracting business too! 

 Potential customers are looking for cues that validate your expertise and trustworthiness. 

 Here’s how to leverage social proof:

Unleashing SEO Power

Imagine carrying a leaky bucket filled with water. 

Even with some drips along the way, you’ll still have water left. That’s like attracting random website traffic. It might generate some leads, but it’s inefficient.

Random traffic is like that leaky bucket. Targeted traffic is like a perfect vessel, delivering qualified leads directly to you.

Many shady SEO services promise quick fixes and irrelevant traffic. Here’s a better approach:

Yes, SEO requires an investment. But the return can be phenomenal.

By investing in SEO, YBS doubled its new customer acquisition (from 20 to 40 per month) within 8 months. Considering their average customer lifetime value of $3,000, this translates to a staggering 1,900% return on investment!

While short-term SEO scams exist, a well-planned SEO strategy is a goldmine for contracting businesses. 

Here’s why:

Remember this formula:
Traffic + Relevancy = Leads & Growth

If you do a job for $14k at a 50% profit margin, that’s $7k.

A single contracting job can cover your SEO costs for two months. If that investment brings in just one additional high-quality client per month, you’ve broken even – with the potential for continuous growth.

Not all SEO companies are created equal. Beware of those making unrealistic promises or lacking transparency. Always ask for details on their strategy, reports, and results. We offer these as a given.

Increased Conversions

We’ve established that increasing website traffic is great, but imagine doubling your conversion rate on top of that!

This means a higher percentage of visitors actually take the desired action, like requesting a quote. 

Many businesses operate in the dark, making decisions based on gut feelings rather than data. 

This is a recipe for wasted resources.

Here’s why tracking website data is crucial:

Here at Contracting Empire, tracking is part of our DNA.

We constantly examine inputs and outputs to assess the best course of action. This includes everything from traffic to goal completions and even site health scores.

But let’s get back to conversions. 

Before attempting to increase them, it’s important to understand that they stem from either the pages on the website or the process as a whole.

Below are some of the best questions we consider:

Page Conversion Questions

Process Questions

We are not going to take credit for the job the sales reps do in a company.

They lead to the successful conversion of the prospect into a paying customer. YourBoxSolution has some amazing sales reps who have been very open to suggestions.

Even if YBS serves another industry, results like these are also possible for your contracting business.

Key Takeaways

This case study barely scratches the surface of the expertise we bring to your business.

Because we know our way around marketing systems and understand everything from user behavior to tracking the right metrics, we help you:

Stop hustling for leads and watch qualified clients find you. Get a website audit to see how we can make it happen.

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