Get to know Jeremy Durant, Co-Founder, Bop Design

My name is Jeremy Durant, the Co-Founder and Business Principal of Bop Design. Bop Design was started 10 years ago because I felt that B2B companies were sorely under-served in the marketplace. Most agencies want to work with major consumer brands—the Nikes, Pepsis, Sonys of the world. However, if you’re a small to mid-market B2B company, you want to find an agency that understands B2B marketing since it is very different than B2C. B2B sales is different: longer sales cycle, multiple decision makers, higher priced product or service, longer term relationship, etc. Bop Design relies solely on inbound marketing for all of our leads with our website being a 24/7 sales tool. B2B companies large and small find us from all over the world.

The changes in Google’s algorithm have successfully managed to keep SEOs honest with a focus on relevant, keyword-rich content. There used to be some unethical shortcuts that SEOs could take advantage of. Fortunately most of these shortcuts have been closed. With on-page and off-page SEO, it is all about discipline. You need to consistently create worthwhile content based on your keyword strategy. If you can blog 4 times a month, that’s 48 pages of keyword rich content a year that Google is crawling and indexing for. The more keyword rich content on your website, the more likely you are to be found. The more relevant, the longer someone will remain on your website. The longer someone stays on your website, the more likely they are to convert. For off-page SEO, if the content is worthwhile, guest blogging opportunities on high domain websites will arise.

My entire background is sales. I wanted to start a marketing agency that the sales team actually liked since we were helping them uncover selling opportunities and giving them the tools to nurture a lead from a general inquiry to a qualified prospect to a committed client. I started Bop Design to create websites that were viable lead generation platforms. Organic search is typically where the bulk of leads will come from so with any website we build, SEO is a top priority.

Bop Design provides 3 core services: Website Design, Branding & Content Marketing for B2B Companies. Website Design includes UI/UX, web development, SEO, copywriting, etc. Branding includes logo design, brand messaging and story, brand guidelines, buyer persona development, etc. Content Marketing includes blogging, guest blogging, email marketing, digital advertising such as Google AdWords, social media marketing, achieving on-page and off-page SEO objectives, etc.

Contrary to what some people say, guest blogging is an effective off-page SEO strategy. The key is thoughtful outreach with relevant content. Identify a list of high domain authority websites where proposed content would be relevant. Approach each website and highlight the mutual benefits of a guest blog. Make this a monthly task and if successful, you will see your domain authority dramatically increase.

You need to embrace lifelong learning. Effective digital marketing tactics continuously change and you need to constantly measure what’s working and what’s not. Make it a practice to read, learn and experiment with new digital marketing practices.