DEUTZ SEO & SEM Case Study
How Papaya Search helped DEUTZ drive over 250 leads through SEO.
Meet Jeff Wolfe
“Our number one priority is taking care of our customers. At DEUTZ, we demand a level of quality and representation of the brand. If that loyalty gets chipped away over time, we lose that business. We want everyone on our team to be an expert in care and dedication. We affect livelihoods.”
Jeff Wolfe,
Marketing Director
DEUTZ America
Engine Manufacturing is a tested and proven industry, and for over 140 years, DEUTZ engines have contributed to the successful industrial story of the United States.
Last year, DEUTZ sold over 50,000 engines for commercial equipment in the U.S., with over 26 DEUTZ distributors across the country.
Jeff Wolfe, Director of Marketing for DEUTZ America, joined the company six years ago and is positioning it for a broad and profitable future.
Jeff brought a lot of hard-won marketing experience to DEUTZ. His talents were honed through a wide range of roles, from consulting on international projects to owning his own firm.
And he understands that marketing’s fundamental role is to always drive sales.
Though DEUTZ is an old (and trusted) name, Jeff is excited about all the new opportunities coming their way, as the company evolves with its client base and prepares to serve the greener demands of tomorrow.
As Director of Marketing, Jeff focuses on US Power Centers (company-owned service centers) that promote their services through DeutzSupport.com.
DEUTZ's Struggle
DEUTZ is a large, respected company based in Germany, and they are dedicated to quality and service.
Their head of marketing describes the company philosophy this way: “We don’t like to look at the people we serve as just ‘customers’. If our equipment goes down, it affects Mr. Smith and his livelihood. We open regional Power Centers to make sure our customers are receiving the very best in care and service.”
But despite DEUTZ’s long tenure in industry and solid reputation, they noticed something just wasn’t connecting when it came to their DeutzSupport.com website.
“The local corn mazes got more hits to their sites than the DEUTZ Support website,” is how Director of Marketing Jeff Wolfe summed up the problem.
DEUTZ had a partner whose marketing method was to drive service intermittently “in sprints.” This approach seemed innovative, but it didn’t help Jeff achieve his goals.
“Our former partner’s culture was not a good fit for DEUTZ. They created a decent website, but after reviewing our hits, the stats were embarrassing. We’re a big company. They didn’t feel like a partner. The promised efforts never seemed to materialize.”
Jeff’s goal is to make opportunities for the sales team and drive revenue. But those efforts have to be supported by a website that works hard to drive leads and conversions.
“Brand presence and awareness only go so far. It doesn’t make the phone ring. I need to bring customers to our website 24/7. These leads are all that Marketing can provide to Sales.”
Jeff’s been around this industry for a while. He has seen the business shift.
“The days of impromptu sales visits are gone. I need to bring the local traffic to our support site.”
In 2018, Jeff ended the partnership with his service provider. And he soon found the solution to his website woes when he met Bobby Kircher, owner of Papaya Search, at WordCamp Atlanta.
Papaya Search's Solution
Jeff went to WordCamp Atlanta on a mission to find a replacement for his SEO provider.
Here’s how he describes it: “I sat down and listened to Bobby speak, and I could hear his knowledge and passion instantly. I thought, ‘Wow! This guy is good.’ SEO is very complicated, but he’s so relatable and understandable.”
So, he brought Bobby and Papaya Search onboard to see how they could help DeutzSupport.com get seen and rank more highly in search.
Papaya Search was able to troubleshoot the problems with the website and give it a complete SEO overhaul.
We came in and reorganized the information architecture, and used WordPress optimization to improve UX and performance.
A refresh of website content focused on keyword targets and schema markup optimization was deployed to dramatically improve the site’s SEO.
We also added lead capture forms to every product page for CRM and lead generation.
Finally, we performed an overhaul of the site’s Location Pages, which are a centralized meeting place for the company’s Power Centers and crucial way they connect with regional distributors.
So, how did this SEO-centered website makeover work out?
According to Jeff, the partnership is going beautifully.
New projects and marketing initiatives are evolving (along with the DEUTZ services), and DEUTZ now receives substantial traffic from contact forms created by Papaya Search. In 2020, 75 leads came from Location Page lead forms, and Products Page forms generated 69. Contacts come from every corner of the world, and Jeff’s team can now then redirect them appropriately.
Jeff is also pleased with the open communication, clear results and easy working relationship DEUTZ has with Papaya Search.
Here’s what he had to say about it:
“Papaya Search provides very detailed reports on our website visitors coming to us each month. They show how many times people have placed service calls or orders from the website. I know how many objectives we’re meeting.”
“We’re growing together. We add pages. Change keywords. Tag images. Organic traffic has increased by 275%. Papaya Search goes beyond their duty. They work directly with distributors to tweak Location Pages and even help us optimize our YouTube Channel.”
“They take an active interest in our business and ultimate success. It means a lot to me when you find a service provider like Papaya Search who has the same level of commitment that you do.”
When Jeff reflects on how far DEUTZ has come with Papaya Search, he beams, “Bringing Papaya Search onboard was the best decision I could have made. They are helping grow our business, and we’re able now to quantify our efforts and find ways to do better.”
DEUTZ’s Results
Why Papaya Search?
We asked Jeff Wolfe what made him glad he hired Papaya Search.
1. Expertise
Jeff says he hired Papaya Search because of the elegant way Bobby Kircher was able to distill down the principles of SEO. As a seasoned marketer, he could tell that Papaya Search’s team would be able to match his high standards and exceed his level of expertise in their niche.
Jeff admits that he can be demanding, but that is because the company sets such high standards. And he has been nothing but pleased with the expertise of the Papaya Search team.
2. Impeccable Service
Over the years, Jeff has worked with small and large agencies and has been an entrepreneur himself. He’s noticed a troubling trend among larger agencies – the tendency to overlook and overcharge clients.
For this reason, he never hesitates to work with smaller agencies like Papaya Search.
In Jeff’s own words: “Papaya Search does not overcharge or overlook us. They are truly a partner to us. It’s like they put on a DEUTZ shirt when they come to work.”
3. Fresh Ideas
The old, “If you build it, he will come” idea may have worked on the silver screen, but that advice won’t attract website visitors.
Papaya Search never settles for canned solutions or SEO shortcuts. Increasing a client’s lead generation and earning top search placement is the overarching goal of everything we do.
By tailoring goal-oriented action plans for each client, Papaya Search delivers fresh solutions consistently.
Clients like Jeff have clearly noticed the difference.
“Papaya Search is helping to grow our business. Their resources are eye-opening. We are able to quantify our efforts and converse about how to grow.
For all the complicated Xs and Os, 1s and 0s that go into SEO, their team is approachable, likeable and always gets the job done.”
Jeff Wolfe
Marketing Director
DEUTZ America
