Work samples, for your perusal

Linky Innovation

SEO // Strategy // Content Creation

Linky Innovation, an Italian-based startup that produces and sells new forms of personal electric mobility devices, wanted to overhaul its blog. Their goal was to increase traffic to the blog area and improve the overall quality of content.

I was approached by Linky and asked to create a new content strategy as well as write some articles. I returned with a proposal and provided the following services:

  • An initial SEO audit of the site to find areas of improvement.
  • Keyword gap analysis based upon a list of key competitors.
  • A content roadmap covering all relevant keywords assembled during research.
  • 10-12 articles delivered that would be used as templates.

Following the implementation of the new content strategy, blog traffic has increased by 90% between June 2021 and November 2021 when compared to the previous six months. Note that most of the content is only aged a few months as well.

Epic Backpacker Tours

SEO // SEM // Strategy

Longtime client and collaborator, Epic Backpacker Tours, had recently experienced a change in ownership that led to a change in the overall direction of the business. The company, which had previously relied on consistent referral traffic from the previous owner and his other business (a large travel website), was in need of additional acquisition channels and expanded marketing. I pitched a bold new plan that would entail omnichannel marketing and a revisioning of the company’s central ethos.

A brief outline of my plan was as follows:

  • Reorienting the company’s messaging based on in-depth analysis of previous clients’ demographics and affinities.
  • Expand marketing channels to include social media, SEM, email marketing, and influencer/affiliate partnerships.
  • Provide schedules and task boards to crucial parties who would be responsible for handling/delivering marketing assets.

Ultimately, the 2022 season was the best ever for the company. Total trip spot volume was nearly double what it was in 2021. The company, which had been in a tight financial position following the ownership change, was then well-positioned for a successful 2023 season.

Since the start of 2023, SEM campaigns created by myself have generated over $60,000 in direct revenue for the company and an unquantifiable amount in leads.

Journey Era

SEO // WebDev // Strategy

Client (Jackson Groves of Journey Era) requested to have his website theme, built originally on WordPress using Astra, to be switched over to a new framework by Mediavine called Trellis. Trellis, at the time, was a relatively new theme and was out of scope for the client to use. I stepped in to assist with developmental work.

Transitioning to the new theme required custom HTML, CSS, and JS as well as setting up a child theme. Trellis was and still is quite a “rigid” framework to work with at first. By the end of the project, the client’s new theme was quite bespoke.

Following the completion of the project, the website’s performance was immediately impacted. Global load times were down 25-30% and Mediavine ad revenue began to steadily rise. Over the next three months, which featured a core update on Google, traffic also rose and would eventually increase by 100% by early Q2 2022.

Here is a case study written by myself and published on Mediavine

The Broke Backpacker

management // SEO // content

Up until 2020, The Broke Backpacker – a site that regularly receives more than one million monthly visitors – had been using a basic child theme. It was starting to show its age though and be weighed down by subpar development work.

Crucially, page speed was abysmal: in January 2020, the average page load time was 12.5 seconds. The site needed to be optimized, badly.

With the Google Core Web Vitals update looming on the horizon, management decided that the website needed to be overhauled and the theme completely rebuilt from the ground up. I was given charge of overseeing the entire theme overhaul project.

After six months of work, the site’s theme was completely scrapped and replaced with a unique, bespoke one. Post-deployment, average site load times were down to 1.5 seconds: a 718% difference. Shortly after, the Google CWV update was released and the site immediately benefited. Organic traffic steadily rose over the following three months. By the end of the year, it was 200% higher.

For more details, refer to this case study where the entire project is broken down.

Worldpackers

content // SEO // education

In 2020, I was approached by Worldpackers – one of the largest travel & volunteering online platforms – and asked to make a video series for their new Worldpackers Academy. The company was pivoting to a post-COVID world and wanted to engage travelers even though they weren’t traveling.

Worldpackers asked me specifically for a series on “How to Be a Traveler Writer” since I had worked with them before in such a role. The entire series was composed of five videos at about 12 minutes long each.

In each video, I discuss a topic related to travel writing. Here is an outline:

  1. Introduction and how to develop your writing
  2. How to differentiate yourself as a writer
  3. SEO for travel writers
  4. How to enter the job market
  5. Next steps: after becoming a travel writer

The style of the videos was based on several successful SEO Youtubers, including Brian Dean and Matt Diggity. My goal was to be, above all, educational but also personable, mostly through the use of memes and a bit of humor. It still has one of the highest ratings in the Academy.

Ziggy Writes

webdev // SEO // education

Client approached me in need of a new portfolio site. Given the unique nature of the client’s work (writing) and his distinct character, the website would need to be stylistically unique.

A retro video game feel was the overall tone we decided upon for the website. To help establish this aesthetic, we found a (very talented) pixel artist on Instagram and commissioned a few works from them. Ultimately, it was a good move as the pixel art really brought the site together.

Website was designed with all of the usual optimizations that I provide, namely: SEO, low latency, performance, user-friendly, and modular.

You may visit the website at https://ziggysamuels.com/

Wren Legal

webdev // strategy // SEO

An Australian immigration lawyer approached me in 2022 and asked that I build her a new website for her new private practice. The client, Wren Legal, was leaving her old firm and starting her own.

As an immigration lawyer, Ms. Wren’s clientele was mostly foreigners who wanted to relocate to Australia. Ms. Wren wanted to focus on the allure of the destination: the beach life, good weather, wine country, wildlife, etc; all quintessential things Australian.

As such, the overall aesthetic or “vibe” of the website would be very similar to a modern travel publication i.e. stylish, contemporary, and edgy. This would also help separate her from her old firm, whose website had a much more traditional look and feel.

With the help of a professional designer and some reference material provided by Ms. Wren, we created a bold new website that met the client’s needs. As a part of this package, the following was also included:

  • various SEO optimizations, on-page and globally
  • email marketing capabilities e.g. forms, leadgens, Outlook integration, etc
  • SOPs on how to use the CMS and create content

Visit Wren Legal here.

Travel Made Me Do It

webdev // SEO // education

Dan and Beck, owners of Travel Made Me Do It, were referred to me after work I did with several other website owners in their industry. At the time, I was helping several people move their websites over to a new framework called Trellis by Mediavine, which was making waves for its fast load times. Dan and Beck wanted to do the same, and to increase traffic as much as possible so that they could qualify for a premium ad platform.

At the end of 2022, Dan and Beck approached and asked for my assistance in setting up their website with Trellis. In addition to doing this, we also planned on:

  • Decreasing load times and optimize for Google’s Core Web Vitals
  • Purging unnecessary plugins and third-party scripts
  • Building out new bespoke blocks

Upon completion of the project, we were able to decrease various benchmarks (related to Google CWV) by between 50-80%. Within 6 months, traffic has increased steadily by 200%.

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