CASE STUDY
In June 2021, Ibexa approached Big Star to assist with its content creation. It was the start of a fruitful long-term partnership that continues to this day. To learn more about how the relationship developed and how Big Star’s work benefits Ibexa, we spoke with Su Kent, Director of Communications and Content at Ibexa, Derryck Strachan, CEO at Big Star Copywriting, and Ricky Marshall, our in-house SEO expert.
Ibexa provides B2B organisations with the tools they need to create world-class digital experiences for their customers. It achieves this via its innovative Digital Experience Platform, Ibexa DXP. A modular platform, customers can build and add to Ibexa DXP as their digital needs change and the business scales its digital operations. A diverse range of organisations, including Essilor, Swissport, Barcelona de Serveis Municipals, Visit Andorra and the French Golf Federation, currently utilise the platform.
“Ibexa offers a Digital Experience Platform (DXP) to B2B organisations that want to optimise the customer journey in digital channels. The company was previously known as eZ. But, roughly two and a half years ago, we rebranded to Ibexa,” explained Su.
“During that process, we did not spend enough time looking at the SEO. We lost a lot of domain authority and the site was not performing as well as it should.” To improve performance, Ibexa turned to a Danish SEO agency. Though the agency conducted initial keyword research, Ibexa decided an agency with native English speakers would be better suited to its needs.
While searching for suitable content writers, Su conducted interviews with three content agencies, one of which was Big Star. “When I talked to Derryck, he just got what we were after,” Su noted. “He recognised that lead generation and improving our domain authority were critical. And he had a plan for how to achieve that.”
Initially, the project consisted of content creation for Ibexa’s website. “Ibexa were very pleased with the results. We started to build on that work,” said Derryck. “Ricky came in to handle the SEO and facilitate a targeted monthly content schedule that met Ibexa’s search needs. And our partnership has grown from there.”
Big Star’s connected process proved key to developing a successful, long-term relationship with Ibexa. Rather than acting as just a copywriting agency or just an SEO specialist, Big Star brings together the talent required to provide both these services. Ricky explained further.
“Usually, you have agencies that handle Google Ads, SEO or both. Then the copywriting is performed by a separate agency. There is a disconnect. For Ibexa, we offer our core SEO and content services, but we also do Google Ads and work with customers on conversion, optimisation, improving the website, consultation, and so on. And it is all connected. For instance, our article research extends to SEO and Google Ads marketing.”
This comprehensive service has yielded excellent results. “Our domain authority has improved and we have seen an increase in lead generation,” said Su. “Thanks to Big Star, we are more disciplined in writing with SEO in mind. And we now produce copy that meets our marketing objectives.”
Ricky’s work with Google Ads has also paid dividends. “We have seen a considerable increase in the number of downloads for the reports we use as lead magnets,” Su observed. “And that is definitely down to Ricky’s Google Ads campaign.
Su was particularly effusive about Big Star’s SEO contribution and the role Ricky assumed. “Ricky is absolutely stellar. He has a wonderful understanding of analytics and how to improve our SEO performance. I think, ultimately, he is an excellent strategist. He now has a significant influence on our content strategy.”
Ricky detailed the various aspects of SEO he works on for Ibexa. “Originally, Ibexa asked about a link-building service to complement the copy. So we started doing two days of link building a month. That went well, so we started SEO reporting in November last year. Then Google Ads a month later. So, within three months, we were responsible for a large amount of Ibexa’s SEO workload.”
Currently, Big Star performs keyword research to establish what content we should create, writes the majority of the content, optimises it, conducts general SEO analysis, searches for unique content opportunities via competitive reviews and manages Ibexa’s Google Ads and link-building campaigns.
This requires close collaboration with multiple contacts at Ibexa. “I join Ibexa’s weekly SEO call,” explained Ricky. “It does feel as though we are essentially an extension of the Ibexa team now.” This is a sentiment Su echoed almost word-for-word. “In a way, Big Star is an extended part of our marketing team. And with Ricky attending our meetings, he certainly feels like one of the team.”
Ibexa presents a unique challenge for any content writer. Its product is complex, technical and always evolving. Yet Ibexa’s customers are not necessarily technically minded. This means copy must express Ibexa DXP’s power, potential and technical capacity in an accessible and engaging way.
To achieve this, Big Star assigned a single writer to the Ibexa project. Su noted that this helped ensure a firm understanding of the platform. “The fact that Big Star assigned us the same writer for the entirety of the project is great. It meant they got to know the product inside-out.”
Derryck also believes this was a key decision. “Luke, our writer, has been in briefings with product managers and Ibexa’s tech experts and understands the product. He got under the company’s skin and explored what they do and how they operate. It enabled him to adopt Ibexa’s tone of voice and write with authority on the subject. It also meant the copy conveyed an expertise that would have been otherwise missing.””
“With a company like Ibexa, where the subject matter is very technical, having a writer that understands the technology is very valuable. They need to be able to explain how features benefit end users who are not necessarily technical people. Luke achieves that.” Su also appreciated Luke’s ability to seamlessly incorporate SEO features into content. “He really understands how to write for SEO in a way that does not grate at all. It is a very elegant skill.”
The Big Star team is always available. They are conscientious and the service is very reasonably priced. You cannot ask for much more. We are certainly looking to continue the relationship with Big Star. And our plans for the future are shaping up to be very exciting.
With Ricky covering SEO and Luke on copy creation, Derryck provided project oversight and ensured everything ran smoothly. “With Ibexa, the emphasis was on implementing a strategic approach that blended SEO and content creation. It is very much a partnership,” he began.
“I wanted to ensure our team understood Ibexa’s needs and could deliver value in a focused and very deliberate way. We didn’t want to simply react to Ibexa briefs. We wanted to involve ourselves in their creation, shape them and contribute to Ibexa’s understanding of what content marketing can achieve. And to do that in a holistic way that encompassed every aspect of the content value chain.”
“In the B2B sector, orientating everything around keywords is not productive. Companies can rank highly for every major keyword. But that is not enough. They need convincing and engaging copy that establishes the brand as thought-leaders and helps them begin to move prospects through their sales funnel. That is what we were aiming for with Ibexa.”
Su noted that Derryck’s ability to put together an effective team and maintain it over the entire length of the project was an asset. “Derryck can pull in the right expertise whenever you require it. He has a great Big Star team and an effective extended network he can draw on, too.”
Asked to summarise Ibexa’s work with Big Star so far, Su settled on the following. “The Big Star team is always available. They are conscientious and the service is very reasonably priced. You cannot ask for much more. We are certainly looking to continue the relationship with Big Star. And our plans for the future are shaping up to be very exciting.”
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