Boosting Internet Sales Potential: North Pacific Promotions’ Story
There are a lot of companies like North Pacific Promotions who have tried Search Engine Optimization (SEO) or search engine marketing (SEM) in the past and were disappointed with the results.
For many of these companies generating enough evidence that there is still potential in Internet Marketing despite their past failures is necessary to overcome reluctance and to move forward.
By creating a Proof of Concept Mini Website, 1st on the List was able to generate a 400% return on investment from a mini website build that is now funding a brand new SEO friendly e-Commerce website for North Pacific Promotions.
The Challenge
Several years ago North Pacific Promotions recognized the opportunity of adding an online aspect to their promotional product business. The market for online sales of promotional products held great potential: more customers were choosing the convenience and ease of purchasing these fairly standardized products online and North Pacific Promotions could also reach a much greater geographic market.
With this opportunity in hand North Pacific Promotions hired a Web Design firm to create a new website. North Pacific Promotions spent $4,000 on their new website and $10,000 on Search Engine Optimization in hopes of boosting its online presence and online sales.
Unfortunately the website design and SEM campaign were missing several key components to make it successful. Two of the key missing elements included:
- An ineffective search engine friendly website that was unclear and hard to use
- A steady flow of potential customers to the website
In spring of 2011, 1st on the List Promotion Inc was asked to examine the website and determine if Internet Marketing would be enough to revitalize the website.
Preliminary keyword research showed that using the Internet to market promotional products was still very successful – for example the term “promotional products” generates over 1,370 searches per month and there are 54.5 million pages indexed in Google for this phrase.
But after examining the site it became apparent that the entire website design lacked a lot of the qualities required to be successful; Internet Marketing alone would not be enough to improve the website’s performance or sales potential.
The Solution
The obvious solution to this poorly designed website that lacked visitor traffic was to rebuild the website and perform Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
However, after the failure following the nearly $15,000 investment of their original website North Pacific Promotions was understandably nervous about investing another $15,000 to $20,000 without valid proof of a return on investment (ROI).
A $2000 “Proof of Concept” test was designed to demonstrate how an easy-to-use website which clearly showcased their promotional products could in fact be very effective and profitable for North Pacific Promotions.
The objective of this solution was to show that the investment would exceed their expectations and increase profits for North Pacific Promotions. In the future, this Proof of Concept would help reduce reluctance and anxiety towards investing in a new e-Commerce website.
Step 1: Build a Mini Website
Of the new $2000 budget, $500 was allocated to building a mini website. The mini site had two purposes:
1. To prove that people do use the Internet to find promotional products
2. To prove that a concise and easy-to-use website with engaging information about products would increase customer interest and conversions (and ultimately increase sales)
To achieve these objectives, the mini site included some sample images of product and descriptions of various promotional product lines. The website did not offer the opportunity to purchase but did offer very clear methods to contact the company for more information – a quote request form and a toll-free phone number. While this $500 website was not perfect, it was much better than their current website at the time.
Step 2: Drive Traffic with a PPC Campaign
The remaining $1500 of the budget was used to drive traffic to the website via a Pay Per Click (PPC) Campaign with Google AdWords.
The Results
The overall performance of the micro website was judged based on the number of leads generated through the site, the sales closed and customers acquired. A phone tracking system allowed Pacific Promotions to differentiate incoming leads from the micro site from other sources.
The performance of the new micro website in the first 5 weeks was quite impressive:
- Over 28,000 impressions
- 772 visitors from AdWords (PPC)
- 33 Email Quote Request submissions
- 19 Phone Calls
- Over $8,000 in new sales and multiple repeat orders
- Several more hot leads at the time of the writing of this Case Study
Owner Len Murdoch stated,
“This Internet marketing test using Google AdWords has been the most successful and profitable marketing campaign we have run in our 25 years of business. The response and return on investment has been phenomenal.”
The Future
Based on the Proof of Concept, North Pacific Promotions has decided to build a new website in stages using the money derived from the micro website.
By reinvesting the profits of the proof of concept the company is able to build a proper e-Commerce website that incorporates best sales practices. The new e-Commerce website will make it easy for customers to find the website and find the products or information they are looking for. The overall performance will be improved and the ROI increased as each stage for website design and Search Engine Marketing are implemented.
Looking for Great Results like these?
Contact 1st on the List Toll Free at 1-888-262-6687 or Email our team of PPC and Web Design Consultants to get your own custom designed website solution.
