SmarttNet grows success with Ferguson contract

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For immediate release Nov. 17, 2008

When Lorne MacInnes, vice president of Ferguson Moving and Storage, did his online competitive homework, he followed a trail that led him to Martin Wong, the marketing manager at SmarttNet – all because of accidental advice. Luckily, the two businessmen got along immediately, and the result was a success-driven partnership.

“I actually did a ‘who-is’ on a company that was ranking well on search engines and found they used SmarttNet. I contacted them, asking who does SEO work there. Eventually I was fortunate enough to get a hold of Martin, but SmarttNet had nothing to do with that other company!” explained MacInnes.

They started with search engine optimization (SEO) – a strategy used by online businesses to please the demands of search engines like Google, that have strict rules about which sites appear in their database in order to eliminate spam. MacInnes saw his business boom, and the next logical step was to have SmarttNet make Ferguson a new, modern-looking site, complete with built-in SEO rules that would keep them ahead of competitors.

“I think visitors are looking for a solid company and this Web site really reflects that. When they are searching moving companies, after they leave our site for a competitor’s, there will be no comparison. Ours is the best,” said MacInnes of his newly re-developed site.

Wong’s idea was to make a site with easy navigation and simple-to-use interface, while not neglecting the importance of content, which is what customers – and search engines – look for these days.

“We incorporated a blog on the Ferguson site, like we do for all our clients. This way, customers who are looking for moving tips or news about the moving industry will be able to find it on Lorne’s site and he’ll make more deals. People will see that he’s an expert,” explained Wong.

The new site was also designed with a shopping cart so Ferguson can easily receive orders for packing materials. With the Internet being an automatic entry to a worldwide market, MacInnes saw this as the perfect business advancement.

“We can now ship boxes anywhere,” he noted.

The site gets even more fanciful – SmarttNet included a spot for video commercials and included live chat support, so moving customers can get help with a few clicks.

“It’s vastly more advanced than any competitors Web site,” said MacInnes, while still noting that, “even though it has many new features, it’s still easy to navigate for novice users.”

For SmarttNet, the Ferguson site is a milestone in their growing collection of success stories.

“Customers like Lorne are great to have. We enjoy helping them, and then they tell others about us. That’s how we grow our business,” said Wong.

For more information, or to arrange an interview call 604 473 9700 or e-mail joyce@smartt.com.