Working with Blink SEO

Blink is a specialist eCommerce SEO agency with a particular focus on data science. Typically, we work with businesses turning over anything from £250,000 per year to £10 million plus. This is a market we know well – it’s been our main focus for around a decade.

We put a lot of emphasis on working collaboratively, too. We see ourselves very much as partners rather than suppliers – some of our clients have been with us from the beginning, and we’ve been there as their teams have quadrupled in size, premises have expanded and new owners have come on board. For others, we’ve taken them from launch to multi-million turnovers and successful acquisitions.

But what’s it really like to work with us? Let’s break it down.

How we work

We lead with data, not guesswork. Our SEO process is built on thorough benchmarking and analysis, which includes connecting your business into our data warehouse and monitoring previous performance by using some of our custom metrics, including organic revenue by search query and brand vs. non-brand sales. Data is at the heart of everything we do and drives our decision making every step of the way.

We can’t help everybody. Because we know our audience, we know what works and what doesn’t. By working on the same kinds of projects over and over again we’ve developed processes that bring results – but not for every type of business. This is why we specialise in eCommerce SMEs as we know we can bring real value to their digital marketing campaigns.

We data-led, but know strategy too. We’ve been doing this a long time and understand that building a great business is about showing how you’re different from the competition. This means we look at qualitative data too, such as customer interviews, questionnaires and surveys. This helps us understand your positioning and points of differentiation in detail. Some more information on this approach can be seen in the video below.

We don’t use contracts. We work with our clients under flexible terms instead of contracts. Our relationship can be exited at any time if you’re not happy with our work.

Our pricing is based on value. We don’t bill for time or discrete units of work. Our pricing is instead based on the value of having us as a consultative partner, demonstrated via measurable change.

We have a flat hierarchy. Account Managers lead projects and act as main contact points, while everyone – including company directors and our Head of SEO – contributes to delivery.

We use a retainer model. While we undertake one-off projects (especially to do with web builds), having a retainer in place allows us the flexibility to execute long-term campaigns and act as a strategic partner to our clients. 

We have a four-day week. Our four-day work week is key to our company culture. Working this way means our office hours are always focused on delivery. We work 9am-5:30pm, Monday-Thursday, and have hours designated for external communications running from 12:30-3:30pm.

We are proactive, not reactive. Communication is the key to any successful project. Our team, and in particular our Account Managers, will make sure you’re informed of progress every step of the way, and will work with you continually to discuss the best way to move each project forward. 

Our process

Let’s say you find us and want to see what we can do for your business. What happens next? 

Our first step is to carry out a fact-finding call. This is so we can understand your business, including the history of the project and its goals. We’ll ask questions around core audiences, points of differentiation and revenue; this means that we can identify accurately the challenges you’re facing and how best we can help you move forward.

At this point, we’ll usually ask for access to Google Analytics, Search Console and Google Ads, if appropriate. With this information, we’ll then produce a proposal that contains KPIs around target revenue, and a timeline and outline for the activity that will get us to this point.

We typically work under retainers of £2,000-£5,000 per month. Our minimum retainer is £1,000 per month. The first payment is due on acceptance, with subsequent payments made on the 3rd of each month by direct debit. 

If this proposal is accepted, we’ll send over our terms and conditions document, an access questionnaire, a client discovery document and information on invoicing.

We’ll also provide some times to arrange our kick-off meeting. This session should take around 30 minutes, and will be primarily focused on filling in any information gaps in the discovery form and finalising the details needed to complete our roadmap document.

Once this is complete, we’ll deliver our scope of work and a finalised project roadmap.

Project roadmaps

Project roadmaps outline the general framework we’ll follow when working on your account. They’re designed to show you exactly what we’re thinking and prioritising so there are no surprises.

We work with all clients to create their own project roadmap. This is based on objectives for the next three-six months and also includes predictable tasks, such as auditing, keyword research and development updates.

This allows us to:

• Plan resources ahead of time
• Capture full requirements and documentation
• Confirm sign-off ahead of time
• Provide visibility to the rest of the business of future changes
• Ensure marketing and development time is focused towards the right objectives
• Adapt quickly and capitalise on changing market conditions
• Generate a backlog of ideas for future objectives

We’ll then report on relevant metrics to monitor progress. These are all based against the KPIs outlined in this proposal.

A sample roadmap can be seen below. This includes some example key goals.

Note: This is shown here to help you see the type and volume of work that will be delivered each month.

If our proposal is accepted, then a full roadmap will be created based upon consultations with your team, as well as our initial research and kick-off call. 

Final notes

Our goal on every project is to work collaboratively and become an extension of your in-house team. Aside from adding extra value, there’s a very real reason behind this – without engagement from both sides, the campaign is unlikely to hit its targets.

For us, this means delivering work quickly and to the required standard. From our partners, we need prompt feedback and approval where requested, as well as the capacity to implement changes needed to improve marketing performance and conversion.

It’s important that we’re clear on this from the outset. We have strong processes in place to drive an efficient workflow, and we’ll cooperate with you to put these in place from the beginning.

We’ve been in the digital marketing business for more than a decade now, providing us with ample time and experience to perfect our way of working. Your success is our success, and we’ll do what it takes to get you there.

Are you ready to see how Blink SEO can help accelerate your business’s growth? Get in touch to book your fact-finding call today.