Strategic use of the Microsoft Advertising Network (MSAN) helped a health insurance plan facilitator increase high-quality leads during an incredibly competitive period of open enrollment.
SEO + Content Case Study
4x visibility for financial services client
Combined SEO & PPC digital strategy, scalability across new markets, and continuous optimization produced dramatic, record-setting results month-after-month.
Results
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94%
increase in meaningful conversions
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476%
increase in GMB actions, YoY
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300%
increase in calls
The Client:
IPX1031 focuses solely on 1031 Tax Deferred Exchanges, helping owners of multiple properties defer payment on their home sales in order to reinvest the funds in new properties.
The Objective:
When IPX1031 came to us, they were in a unique position. They were the overall industry leader with regards to volume, but their digital presence did not reflect their position in the market. They had never focused on SEO or Google Ads. They had competitors bidding on keywords that they weren’t bidding on. They had dozens of physical locations, without any local optimization or visibility. Not only that, but they weren’t utilizing digital to expand their market reach into areas without a physical presence. They needed a partner to help them break the business through the current plateau and reach new heights.
“The biggest challenge was that our part of the real estate industry isn’t well known. Investors who sell real estate don’t realize that they can defer the taxes if they structure them as a tax-deferred exchange. Our salespeople educate realtors, accountants, attorneys, and investors about this option. We needed a way to hit a larger, broader audience at one time to make them aware of our services.”
Scott Nathanson, Executive Vice President, IPX1031
SEO Strategy
Website didn’t reflect expertise or status within their industry
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The Problem
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The client had established themselves as industry experts, and attributed much of their success to word of mouth. Their website, however, did not reflect that expertise. Some of the blog content and pages were too short to be evaluated favorably by Google, and some of their most useful resources were buried within the site. Similarly, their visibility in local search was limited and they were missing opportunities to garner business through local listings.
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The Solution
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To improve their overall visibility we needed to polish their website content for search engines. We did a wave of on-site improvements and site tagging, eliminated duplicate and thin content, and set up better site navigation such that they could be more easily crawled by bots and evaluated favorably.
We worked with IPX1031 to claim all 45 of their previously unclaimed local Google My Business (GMB) listings. This reclamation effort included key optimizations of each listing with accurate hours, contact details and website information. -
Why it Matters
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This combined SEO strategy set IPX1031 apart from their competitors. While on-site optimizations are key for ranking improvements, the aggressive reclamation of local listings was a strategy none of their competitors pursued, and the execution of both skyrocketed their visibility.
“Our website appears much higher on Google search results and keeps moving up the rankings. We used to be on page three but now we’re on page one.”
PPC Strategy
Leverage local tendencies of real estate search & geo-target audiences
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The Problem
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IPX1031 lacked much of the data needed to optimize their paid advertising strategy. They were bidding on broad, low-intent keywords and weren’t geo-targeting audiences with specific language and messaging.
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The Solution
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To better use our ad spend, we worked with the IPX1031 to identify the keywords used by their most valuable prospects and enact aggressive standards to eliminate waste and build an evolving negative keyword list.
Real estate-related searches tend to include geographic keywords. To capitalize on this, we tested our geo-targeted paid media campaign in one state, before rolling it out to 19 other states across the country. By split-testing ad language on a state-by-state basis, we revealed geographic disparities in the search terms used and better reached potential customers locally. -
Why it Matters
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By aggressively adding negative keywords to our list to clarify intent, we were able to better spend their ad dollars on more qualified searches. As we set up their account to collect data we were able to learn more about their buyer’s journey and use that data to inform our evolving paid strategies.
“Digital Third Coast Internet Marketing is user-friendly. Their team gives us analytics for how many people hit our website. They hit every deadline and push us. When their team has to wait for a website update or copy, they call us to ask for it to happen. Their team wants to accomplish our goals. They’re upfront with challenges and what they can accomplish. When we have to bring in our executives who aren’t familiar with websites, their team was patient to explain the project and its effects in the marketplace.”
Through the reclamation and optimizations of 45 Google My Business (GMB) listings across the US, IPX1031 experienced a 476% increase in actions and interactions taken on their local listings between July and December compared to the previous year.
94%
Increase in conversions via paid advertisements during a six-month period.
When we look at the totality of meaningful conversions taken across metrics — individual events, phone calls, assisted and non-assisted form completions — IPX 1031 saw a 94% increase. Our strategy to optimize and segment their ad campaigns produced incredible results. Their new user engagement increased by 43%, and clicks on their paid advertisements increased by 38%.
Most importantly, all of these improvements led to an 18.1% increase in exchange orders for IPX 1031 comparing the same record-breaking time period the previous year. When asked what changes were made to achieve the growth, Nathanson said “The only change we made is adding Digital Third Coast to our team.”
“Their team took the time to explain how the engagement would work as this was a new frontier for us. Before our partnership, we used more traditional forms of advertising and only dabbled in digital marketing. They invested the time to learn our business and apply that understanding to their efforts, which paid off.”
Scott Nathanson, Executive VP, IPX1031
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Lyndsey Maddox
Chief Executive Officer
Email Lyndsey. Find out how we can help.