Positive Highlights
Organic Search Advancements
- Website Health Improvement: Site audit efforts elevated the website’s health score from 86% at the start of the year to a peak of 96%, with 26,287 issues resolved.
- On-page Optimisations: Fun Flows and solutions pages were optimised, contributing to improved keyword rankings and organic lead generation. The solutions pages alone began generating over 10% of all organic leads.
- URL Shortening Project: This initiative led to a 2–3% boost in organic visibility within the first week, alongside an increase in sessions.
- GTM Audit Implementation: Enhanced tracking accuracy, segmented event tracking, and key event insights were achieved, allowing for more refined marketing strategies.
Paid Search Enhancements
- Fund Flows Campaign Performance: The Fund Flows solution emerged as the top-performing segment, generating strong leads at a competitive cost per lead (CPL) of around £55.
- Geo-targeting Strategy: Location-based campaign segmentation enabled more precise budget allocation and regional targeting without compromising performance in other areas.
- Campaign Innovations: New campaigns such as PMAX and Money Market were launched, while ongoing refinements like the negative keyword list updates and targeting adjustments helped streamline performance.
Problem/Challenges
EPFR faced a range of challenges typical in digital growth and transformation, including:
- Inaccurate and fragmented tracking due to suboptimal GTM implementation, which hindered comprehensive campaign performance analysis.
- A large volume of unresolved site health issues affecting the site’s visibility and user experience.
- Suboptimal organic visibility for key solution pages, limiting lead generation potential.
- Fragmented campaign strategies in paid search, which reduced the effectiveness of budget distribution and lead quality.
Solution
A comprehensive, multi-channel digital strategy was deployed to resolve the above challenges:
- Technical Fixes & Optimisation: Focused on site health through large-scale issue resolution and on-page content enhancements.
- GTM Audit and Revamp: Conducted a detailed audit of Google Tag Manager (GTM) to restructure tracking implementation, segment user interactions, and isolate key conversion events.
- Campaign Consolidation and Segmentation: Streamlined Google Ads efforts by identifying high-performing segments and aligning campaign strategies accordingly.
- URL Optimisation: Standardised URLs to enhance crawlability and ranking potential, directly contributing to early performance gains.
These strategic initiatives helped EPFR position itself for stronger digital outcomes by the end of 2024 and set the foundation for future improvements.
Approach
The execution strategy was methodical and data-driven:
Technical SEO & Content Execution:
- Conducted a full site audit to diagnose and address issues impacting SEO performance.
- Implemented targeted on-page SEO for high-value pages, particularly within the solutions section.
- Rolled out a URL shortening project to improve search engine readability and user experience.
Tracking & Analytics Overhaul:
- Initiated a GTM audit focused on identifying tracking gaps, implementing best practices, and ensuring robust event tracking across the site.
- Created segmented tracking events to improve marketing data insights.
Paid Campaign Strategy:
- Launched new Google Ads campaigns including PMAX and Money Market with defined keyword themes.
- Implemented geolocation targeting, enabling precise campaign control across multiple regions.
- Regularly reviewed and updated the negative keyword list to optimise ad spend.
Cross-functional Collaboration:
- Ongoing feedback loops between marketing, analytics, and web development teams ensured agile improvements and transparent reporting.
Conclusion
2024 was a year of transformation for EPFR’s digital presence. Through meticulous execution, EPFR overcame key challenges, resulting in measurable improvements across organic and paid channels. The company has laid a solid groundwork for 2025, supported by a robust roadmap that includes CRO analysis, competitor reviews, content ideation, and remarketing campaign rollouts.
As EPFR moves forward, the focus will remain on leveraging analytics, refining user journeys, and deepening the integration between SEO and PPC strategies to build a stronger lead generation ecosystem.