Hickman Engineering.
Driving business growth, without building a new website
Hickman Engineering.
Hickman Engineering is a Grimsby-based business with serious credentials. Second-generation, specialist expertise in heavy equipment servicing and maintenance, and a particular strength in marine environments.
When the current owner set out to grow the business and expand nationally, the marketing plan seemed straightforward enough. They had a relatively new website and were investing in paid search. The leads, however, weren’t coming.
They did what any sensible business would do – they sought advice from a local agency, who told them “you need a new website.”
Then they came to Sourcefour.
Honest advice first.
We treat our clients’ businesses like our business, so when we looked at what was already there, we saw things differently.
The existing website design had decent bones. It didn’t need demolishing – it needed refining and enhancing. A strategic overhaul of the content, structure and SEO approach would do far more than starting again from scratch.
The budget saved by not rebuilding the site could then be redirected into ongoing support and content marketing, which was where the real problem lay.
This is one of the most common mistakes we see. A business invests in a new website, then leaves it to gather digital dust. No new content. No ongoing optimisation. Slowly sliding down the search rankings until enquiries dry up and the business concludes it needs a new website. Then the cycle starts again. We broke that cycle.
An SEO strategy that actually reflected the business.
The existing site content wasn’t doing Hickman any favours. Generic in tone, light on specifics, and doing little to communicate what actually sets the business apart. It could have been written about any engineering company.
We went back to basics. Our team spent time on site with the Hickman team to understand the business from the inside out. What they do, how they do it, and crucially, the problems they solve for their clients.
From that, we rewrote every page of the website. The content became specific, authoritative and genuinely useful. We created case studies that showcased real project experience, and rewrote the blog in a voice that felt personal and industry-relevant rather than copy-pasted from a template.
Alongside the content work, we built a broader SEO strategy. We identified target audiences and established keyword priorities with the goal of driving the right traffic through to the site and into the enquiry pipeline.
Making the paid search work harder .
Hickman was already spending money on Google Ads when we came on board. The campaigns had been set up by a previous agency, and when we audited them, it became clear why the results weren’t stacking up.
Budget was leaking through non-relevant clicks. Underperforming campaigns were running unchallenged. The setup needed a thorough overhaul.
We stripped out what wasn’t working, tightened targeting, and built new campaigns focused on specific services and industries. The result was a more efficient spend, which freed up budget to expand into other channels such as LinkedIn advertising.
We expanded their presence across more channels, increased their reach, and did it all without increasing their budget.
The results, six months in .
Without the need for a website re-design, in the first 6 months of working with Hickman Engineering, we delivered some impressive results.
- 1,765% increase in impressions
- 535% increase in click-throughs to the website
- 60 keywords achieving a first-page position organically
- 70% increase in new business leads from the website
Their team understands the technical nature of our work, from thermal lancing to on-site bore welding back to manufacturers’ tolerances. The speed and passion shown by the team to deeply understand our goals and USP’s has been astounding and places them firmly as our trusted marketing team.
Owner
What the team says:
“Researching and understanding my clients has long been the favourite part of my job, and with Hickman Engineering, it was no different. As someone who is always working with technology, it was great to learn the ins and outs of something as skilled as mechanical engineering.
Hickman Engineering is a solutions-based engineering company, and as such, their services are almost limitless. I really had to break down their contents to understand the “why” behind the “what”.
With input from the business owner, I was able to turn my findings into a significant increase not only in web traffic but, more importantly, in actual sales.”
Jon, Digital Operations Manager
