Online Optimism

Challenge

The New Orleans BioInnovation Center (NOBIC) is a private, not-for-profit business incubator dedicated to the development of bioscience innovation in Louisiana. After working with our Social Media Department, NOBIC expanded their campaign to include email marketing. Previously, NOBIC had a newsletter focused on events but didn't have the bandwidth to send a comprehensive newsletter on a consistent schedule.

Solution

Our approach included setting a regular cadence so subscribers would know when to expect their NOBIC newsletter, which began with creating a general newsletter announcement to increase awareness and excitement. We also created a newsletter structure that included NOBIC news, BioInnovation news, funding opportunities, NOBIC events, and social media posts. We revamped the email template to have less white space and be more mobile-friendly and tested send times as well to improve performance.

Result

Due to the testing to increase engagement, maintaining a schedule, and providing readers with exciting information, we increased the open rate, click rate, and overall number of subscribers. We also integrated our social media strategy, soliciting new and engaged subscribers to improve performance. In the first 10 months of the campaign, we achieved a 45% average open rate (compared to the industry average of 35%) and 5% average click rate (compared to the industry average of 1%).

Challenge

Cardinal Expo, a trade show services company operating nationwide, had the unique challenge of revamping and broadening their online presence using SEO in the middle of 2021, while in-person events and expos were still recuperating from post-COVID numbers. After initial success, Cardinal Expo’s leadership sought to further leverage the optimization work Online Optimism’s SEO team had already done by bringing in pay-per-click traffic to generate qualified leads.

Solution

Starting with a brand and location-specific campaign, Online Optimism optimized campaigns for lower cost-per-click using SEO insights. The Digital Ads team expanded campaigns to Las Vegas, Chicago, and Orlando, strategically targeting medium-sized markets and promptly withdrawing from unprofitable areas when the cost-per-conversion no longer justified their presence. A hyper-localized ad strategy, paired with intensive search term analysis and exclusions, further reduced cost-per-conversion.

Result

The Cardinal Expo website saw immense organic traffic growth. Organic sessions increased 154.46% in 6 months. Regarding Google ads, following early campaign expansions, CTR and impression share decreased. Online Optimism responded by aggressively analyzing search terms and implementing negative keywords to capture more relevant traffic. By the end of 6 months, impression share was 42.95%, CTR was 11.46%, conversion rate was 15.00%, and cost per conversion was $55.71.

Challenge

TNOLA Languages is a leading provider of high-quality, comprehensive language services in the Gulf South region. Following a recent rebrand, TNOLA Languages engaged Online Optimism to increase awareness and website traffic. After a successful Google display, social ads, and SEO campaign, TNOLA Languages sought to redirect their budget toward lead generation in the New Orleans and Houston markets through Google search ads.

Solution

In a niche, competitive market, we launched campaigns with granular location and keyword targeting while meticulously stewarding the budget. To boost traffic, we strategically expanded by implementing aggressive negative keywords, leveraging TNOLA’s industry expertise and call tracking to measure relevance. Employing engagement-based conversions, we trained Google Ads’ machine learning to automatically bid more aggressively for high-intent users.

Result

We gradually expanded into larger markets, raising impression share to 47.42%. Through rigorous negative keyword additions, we increased the click-through rate to 10.09%, signaling a growing and relevant audience. Once we expanded into larger, more competitive markets, we lowered the cost-per-click while continuing to bring in relevant leads through stringent negative keyword additions and consistent improvements to quality scores, ending the campaign with a $16.01 cost-per-click.