The Challenge
Times have changed. In the 1990s and 00s, you could rely on word of mouth and customer referrals, but with evolving customer habits and increased competition from all sides, an online presence has become much more important. Constantine recognized that his competitors were advertising online, and knew that the ones near the top of Google were receiving more calls. He felt it was necessary to compete in that arena if they wanted to keep a steady flow of business going forward.
They needed a website that:
A) Was built with SEO in mind, in order to reach the top of Google, and
B) Showcased their professionalism and care, enticing new clients to reach out.
The Approach
Custom Web Design
Web browsers have certain standards of quality, and they’re increasing all the time. If the website is too slow or has a confusing layout, there is a good chance they’ll be gone, and never look back. Older websites are notorious for both of these issues.
The old Pefanis Horvath website was a placeholder. If somebody was trying to find them, they didn’t want to be totally unreachable. But, they found it wasn’t very effective in terms of bringing in new clients, and they recognized that it was getting more important. Not less. Basically, Pefanis Horvath wanted a modern website that showcased the same level of care and professionalism that they have in their legal work.
Visit their attractive and professional new website, right here.
Search Engine Optimization
SEO takes upfront investment for a long-term payoff, in the form of a steady stream of clients who end up finding you. The sooner you start SEO, the sooner you can reach the top. We wanted to help Pefanis Horvath reach the top rankings of Google for a handful of popular “keywords” that people search when they need a lawyer with one of their skillsets, such as “best personal injury lawyer in Calgary.”
We did page content updates, improvements to metadata, quality backlink generation, and threw in a little of our secret sauce. We hoped to start climbing the ranks of Google right away and appearing in front of Calgarians who needed a lawyer.
Results
So far, so good. Pefanis Horvath has gone from non-existent on Google… to page 5, to 4, to 3, to 2… and very soon, we expect their keywords will break into the all-important first page. They’re happy with the look of their new website and with its performance. Now that their web presence is solid, they can consider other avenues to attract new clients, such as Social Media or Digital Advertising.
We stay in communication with Constantine and keep him apprised of the latest SEO developments for his website. He loves working with the team. But don’t take our word for it, scroll down and see the wonderful things he has to say about working with STEALTH Media.
“I went with STEALTH because of the team approach. There’s more than just one person that I’m dealing with. You’ve got different people pitching in, each with their own part, bouncing ideas off one another. You get a more robust product as a result of that.”
-Constantine Pefanis, Pefanis Horvath Barristers & Solicitors
(Interview Transcript)
Welcome to Calgary! Good to see you. My name is Constantine Pefanis. I’m a lawyer here in Calgary.
I’ve been doing personal injury law since about 1995, with my own firm since about 2002. It’s a busy practice. Staying on top of things is always what you want to do, and I’m trying my best at that while handling everything else that comes along with the practice. The marketing and the business side, on top of the law. At the firm right now, it’s me doing personal injury law and I’ve got a business partner that does real estate. I’ve hired one person and I’ve got another vacancy available that I’ll fill after the new hire comes in and we figure out how best to fill it.
How were you marketing the firm before?
I’ve always been a small firm guy. Meaning that in getting people through the door, it’s mostly word of mouth. Clients that existed in the past will refer their friends and family. That’s where I’ll get my calls. The marketing side of it has never been very heavy. No billboards, no commercials, no radio. On the personal injury side, we’re dealing with motor vehicle accidents, we’re dealing with slip and falls, and that can happen anytime. What you have to do is just have a presence out there so that people are aware you’re around and available.
We had a website, but that was pretty much it out of necessity. I think back to the 90s when people were jumping on board with the internet and website thing. I was late to it because there wasn’t really a need back then. But it became something that was essential. No more yellow pages right? No more advertisements with a telephone number in a brochure. Rather now, people are searching. A good website has become important.
What led you to reach out to STEALTH?
The old website really just served the purpose of joining the rest of the gang out there. Everybody’s got a website, I had better get one too. It wasn’t very effective I don’t think. I wanted to avoid a situation where somebody tried to look for me online and found nothing. The website was just to have some sort of online presence, but I didn’t really use it to find clients.
Now, there’s more competition out there. People are advertising in my industry more frequently. I’ve been finding that people on page 1 of Google are definitely getting more calls. There seems to have been a shift in how the public looks for a personal injury lawyer. They used to rely on friends and family for recommendations. Now it’s more independent, in that somebody will sit down at a computer, or even their phone, to find a lawyer.
It’s also a little bit different, because rather than hearing from family and friends, when people search the internet they’re looking at reviews. There’s a broader market out there that I really think I wasn’t accessing when I relied on word of mouth. The work was steady, but right now I need to change things, and that’s what led me to reach out and beef up the website to what I have now.
I involved my son who is involved in computer programming and has always been interested in computers in general. I said, “Find a company that does websites and SEO, that are good at what they do.” He did some research. Mostly online. He found STEALTH among some others. We reviewed it initially online as the first step, then talked to you guys as well as some others. STEALTH seemed great, with a presence in central Canada although you’ve done work in other areas too. The website was set up well. And from an SEO perspective, I could find you. That’s important, because if you can’t get your own SEO set up then how should I expect that you can help me out?
The portfolio was good. When I’m checking you out online, I’ll have a look at that. I checked on some of your clients in the past, and a lot of them were still with you. I tend to research things way more than the average person.
Are you happy with your new website?
Number one, it looks professional. It looks great. It’s not an artistic website with animations that will get on a “top websites of 2022” list, but that’s not the point. SEO is the point. If you’ve got something that will bring clients in, then that’s a successful website.
The cost of the website is more than I would spend elsewhere. But I didn’t back off because of the price. I went with STEALTH because of the team approach. There’s more than just one person that I’m dealing with. You’ve got different people pitching in, each with their own part, bouncing ideas off one another. You get a more robust product as a result of that. You get what you pay for. You can expect that it would cost more than somebody in their basement working on their own computer for your entire project.
Would you recommend STEALTH to somebody else in your line of work?
Absolutely. STEALTH is great. You’re paying for it, but they’re great. If you go with them, you’re not going to have any regrets. They’re full-service. There’s always somebody to talk to and bounce ideas off. I liked having Michelle because she was one person that I could deal with for everything. She’d bring different people in and that was good. Michelle was fantastic overall. The personal touch, the occasional email and call went a long way. The relationship is important. That’s probably at the top of why I chose STEALTH. I could sense that was something you want to develop with your clients.
We’re proud of the work we’ve done with Pefanis Horvath, and excited about working on many more projects with them in the future.
If you’re interested in being the next success story, get in touch today!
