Published by isobel.regan@dontpanicprojects.com
Published Date 29.07.2024 
The First Internet team is over the moon to have been nominated, on a global stage, for our SEO work, as well as for the agency as a whole.
To be nominated for six awards is a phenomenal achievement and one we’ll certainly be celebrating in Krakow in September:
Best use of search – B2B [SEO]: Small – Venom IT
Best use of search – B2C [SEO]: Small – Black Brick
Best use of search – Real estate and property: small – Black Brick
Best local campaign [SEO]: Small – Venom IT
Best low budget campaign [SEO]: small – Venom IT
Best global small integrated agency – First Internet
Who is First Internet
First Internet has been around since the dawn of Google itself, 1998, but has only stepped out of the shadows in the last five years, since undergoing an MBO in 2019. Since then we’ve expanded our business nationally and, of course, globally and been recognised with nearly 60 award nominations.
Our SEO work
Our local SEO work for Manchester IT support provider, Venom IT, saw them increase their visibility, traffic and, most importantly, leads.
We used targeted SEO strategies which worked alongside each other whilst ensuring nothing was isolated to make the very best of this limited budget, in comparison to competitors. A specific example of this being building a location infrastructure while simultaneously optimising key landing pages. Throughout the entirety of the project, we were keen to utilise our understanding of all the differing elements that equate to a successful SEO campaign, by borrowing from various areas of digital marketing. This campaign demonstrated our ability to successfully combine the efforts of UX, navigational architecture, content optimisation, CTR auditing. This approach, alongside the unique creation of custom tools, built to address specific aspects of project, resulted in a huge uptick in visibility.
Black Brick, our other nominated client campaign, is a property buying agency based in Mayfair, London, targeting high net worth individuals. Prior to working with First Internet, the website was generating traffic, but absolutely no enquiries were coming through the site, and these enquires equate to deals worth millions of pounds. The challenge was not only to improve volumes of traffic and clicks from search, but to improve the quality of that traffic, from a very niche target audience, during extremely turbulent times in the property industry.
The results of this campaign have seen improvements in visibility, clicks, traffic, and importantly, QUALITY enquiries. We aren’t simply looking at an increase in metric volumes without conversion, the quality of the leads coming through is obvious, and is as a direct result of the amount of dedicated research that has gone into, and continues to go into, this campaign.
Rather than simply adopting run of the mill SEO tactics, we looked further afield and made the most of all resources at hand, working closely with other channels, and other agencies, from YouTube channels to social media and market economy content. The integration of UX principles was also essential for conversion and demonstrates how we closed the loop, from improvement in visibility, to traffic increase, to conversion generation.
What winning a Global Search Award would mean to us
Winning a Global Search Award would be our greatest accolade to date. This is the first time we’ve entered international awards, and we’re over the moon to have been nominated six times for a selection of our SEO campaigns, as well as for the agency. We truly believe in the work that we produce for clients and the results we achieve and it’s fantastic to be recognised for the quality of our work. First Internet has come such a long way since the MBO five years ago, and to win a Global Search Award would be a testament to that.
What the team has to say about our nominations
“Five years ago, First Internet wasn’t very well known locally. We’ve worked hard to increase our recognition, and now being acknowledged globally is pretty impressive. Winning a Global Search Award would mean the world to me and the team. It proves that hard work, dedication, and teamwork can help you achieve great things. We produce amazing work across each team, and having this recognised is incredible.”
Scott Baxter, Technical Director and Co-Owner.
“Being part of the Global Search Awards is MEGA, we couldn’t believe that all six entries made the shortlist! We know how hard our team works and we see the positive impact of this day in day out. To be recognised on a GLOBAL scale is phenomenal. A win would be out of this world, and I know team FI would be bursting with pride. From a management perspective, it would be the recognition that our amazing team deserve, watch this space! Fingers crossed and good luck to all.”
Kat Rodway, Client Services Director and Co-Owner
“When these award nominations came in, we were absolutely beside ourselves. Five years ago we hadn’t won a single award, and to have come this far, to be recognised globally, is a true testament to the team’s hard work and dedication. “
Julaine Speight, Marketing Director and Co-Owner
About First Internet
First Internet is a full-service digital agency, based in South Manchester, UK. Founded in 1998, the agency boasts a team of 17 and growing, spanning client services, digital marketing and website design and development. Servicing clients across the globe, including PZ Cussons, Citation Group and Science Group, their wealth of knowledge is not confined to any one industry, having worked with almost every sector over the last 26 years.
If you’d like us to enhance the visibility of your business, get in touch at info@firstinternet.co.uk
For more information and insight, follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram. For a bit of silliness, take a look at our TikTok.
