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Case Study: Ranking #1 for One of the Toughest Local Keywords

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Case Study: Paragon Security

Ranking #1 for One of the Toughest Local Keywords

Paragon Security

A combination of Local SEO and Local PPC strategies combined with Social Media catapulted Paragon Security to the #1 local pack rank for “New York Locksmith,” doubled organic traffic, and generated qualified leads for under $25 each from AdWords.

Bottom-line results

#1 rank

Target keywords including “New York Locksmith”

100%+

Lift in organic traffic over 3 years

200%+

Lift in total traffic from over 3 years

5X

Total keywords ranking keywords improvement

$25

PPC generated lead cost

The Challenge

Locksmiths are a notoriously competitive local SEO category. Because of the service-area nature of the business, most locksmiths want to rank in cities where they may not be physically located. This has lead to heavy competition and aggressive, sometimes black-hat SEO for locksmith local searches. The heavy local competition was especially true for Paragon Security, a reputable locksmith located in the heart of Manhattan – perhaps the world’s most competitive local SEO market. The combination of a competitive industry, competitive location, and commitment to white-hat SEO made Paragon’s local SEO project a challenge.

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“OpenMoves has made a huge difference to my online lead generation! Their multi-channel approach to SEO, PPC, and Social Media enabled me to gain top web presence in my market and increased my sales.”
– Yaniv Zohar, CEO

The SEO Strategy

In taking on the project, we knew it would be a long-term effort. There are many competitive locksmiths in New York, and rising to the top took a sustained effort for more than 2 years. There was no magic to the project, just by-the-book SEO done consistently and correctly.

  • Strong Technical Foundations. OpenMoves and Paragon were fortunate to partner with Lumina, a web design firm in New York. Working with Lumina, a new website was built for Paragon that was mobile responsive, secure, and very fast.
  • Rich Content. OpenMoves worked with Paragon to understand the full scope of the Paragon business, and build a website that covered a wide range of products and services. This enabled Paragon to rank and convert customers for much more than just “locksmith” queries.
  • Local Listings. OpenMoves deployed an aggressive local listings management program for Paragon, including a combination of Yext, MozLocal, BrightLocal, and manual listings management strategies. Careful review of NAP consistency helped Paragon thrive in local rankings, even when they moved to a new office location.
  • Multi-Channel Marketing. Supporting SEO was a strong social media marketing effort, email marketing campaign, PPC program, and some great business development work from the Paragon team. OpenMoves and Paragon worked together to create a consistent and findable brand across the web.

The PPC Strategy

The PPC landscape for locksmith and security keywords is very competitive. OpenMoves had to build a PPC strategy for Paragon that would drive profitable leads at scale, while dodging the worst of the market pressure.

  • Valuable Niches. OpenMoves worked closely with Paragon to identify Paragon’s most valuable services and products. Rather than focusing on the most obvious keywords, we found new and less competitive search spaces that allowed us to drive more profit.
  • Focus on Calls. When people need a locksmith, they don’t want to complete a form and wait. They want to call and get a response immediately, 24/7. Working with a call tracking vendor, OpenMoves created a PPC program focused on driving phone leads and accurately reporting the results.
  • Brand Presence. Paragon has always been dedicated to building a strong brand, and they wanted AdWords to help. OpenMoves created and managed a brand campaign that captured huge impression share and CTR. Rather than cannibalizing organic results as some might fear, Paragon has seen consistent YoY improvement in brand impressions both paid and organic.
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The Social Media Strategy

With over a billion people on Facebook and Twitter combined, the challenge for Paragon on social media was to rise above the local competitive noise, connect with their target audience and drive measurable results.

  • Social Media Strategy: To succeed, we built a strategy that enabled Paragon to embrace the use of social media as a relationship building tool rather than just a marketing tool. OpenMoves used channels like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, G+, Pinterest and Instagram to build social bridges to the Paragon target market and better understand their preferences, behaviors, the technology uses, and pain points in real life. This understanding translates into the ongoing production of relevant, compelling content that speaks directly to the needs of the Paragon community, forging valuable relationships and a deeper cache of trust. This authentic and thoughtful approach to social media not only empowers all other marketing efforts, like SEO, PPC but also had a far-reaching impact on referrals and customer lifetime value.

The Results

  • #1 rank for many target keywords including “New York Locksmith”
  • 100+% lift in organic traffic from 2014 to 2017
  • 200+% lift in total traffic from 2014 to 2017
  • Total ranking keywords improved 5X since start of project
  • PPC conversion rate over 10% on average
  • PPC generates qualified leads for under $25 on average
  • PPC budget doubled since start of project

Conclusions

The most important theme of the Paragon project has been consistent progress over time. Paragon’s leadership team was effective at providing the support needed for SEO success and patient in allowing time to see results. The combination of strong client leadership, effective technical support, and a solid SEM and Social Media strategy has lead to Paragon being a market leader in one of the world’s most competitive local SEM spaces.

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