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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBozeman_RFP_Response_eCurasGraphic Design and Communications Support City of Bozeman Address eCuras LLC 547 Cleveland Ave. Linden, NJ 07036 Phone 917-300-1711 917-300-8320 Prepared by Ben Rakov ben@ecuras.com eCuras.com Issued date 12/21/2020 Ben Rakov Founder/President 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Table of Content 2 Executive Summary 14 3 Company Overview 4 8 9 10 16 33 34 24 28 74 64 65 66 Our Capabilities Team Bio Marketing Campaign Summary Social Media Posts Examples PPC Web Design & Development Capabilities Case Studies with Client References Marketing Campaign - Social Media included Pricing Conflict of Interest Financial Information Certification of compliance Executive Summary Unlike other digital firms, eCuras provides an end-to-end service offering. Our process commences with a thorough strategic review that encompasses everything from concept, branding, messaging, image, and technical and commercial foundations to user story development, content, and keyword sphere of reference and design and image dimensions through to code development and implementation. We customize each project by client specs; there aren’t cookie-cutter platforms or plug and play features in our technology arsenal. Following the strategy, design, and development phases, we turn on our marketing machine to begin the pre-launch planning and prioritization for continued organic growth through our proprietary SEO and digital enhancement program. At eCuras, nothing sets us apart more than the quality of our deliverables and our clients' opinions. We believe our client portfolio speaks for itself. We have included several of our projects below for your review and consideration. We define ourselves by the quality of our clients, the solutions we build for them, our ability to diagnose the critical strategic issues our clients face, and then partner with them to resolve the challenges in a way that benefits us both. Bozeman - eCuras LLC What sets us apart... eCuras is a distinguished full-service digital agency celebrated for being an agent of change for our clients. Our techniques and methodologies allow our clients to take advantage of online marketing opportunities that were previously unavailable to them. We provide all the tools necessary for businesses to become relevant and influential in the digital realm. eCuras takes businesses through every step of the process, from the seed of an idea to a fully functioning online platform. Founded in 2012 by web-savvy entrepreneurs, our vision remains the same today. We believe in every business’s ability to launch a powerful online presence. This brand presence is what ultimately translates into greater visibility, a wider audience, and more users. Everything we do is with that singular goal in mind. We’ve helped a number of businesses become more successful, as a result. What distinguishes our firm from others lies in our processes. We take pride in a clear, detailed, and well-defined process from the minute we start on any client project. We staff our client teams with subject matter experts in each discipline. Your team will include global experts in graphic design, UI/UX illustrators and animators for visual design, senior SEO practitioners who have mastered algorithms, rankings and crawling systems on Google and before any content is created a conceptual brief is prepared with a full suite of rules from headlines, titles and keywords and the number of times is keyword must be used, bold headers, meta descriptions title tags with word and character counts, images, capitalized words, filler words to remove and the like. It is not unusual for a 1000 word content piece comes equipped with a 2,000-word instruction guide. We don’t waste time, we don’t waste effort. We position every client deliverable for maximum efficiency. Our team is based globally and works 24/7 as a team to deliver fast results and turn negative situations around quickly. 4 Bozeman - eCuras LLC What sets us apart… Cont’d Our handiwork can be viewed on a number of sites, including a number of high-profile Forbes websites. We’re committed to taking the unique characteristics of each client and making them shine through our work. A good site is where robust development, tailored content, and vivid design all combine. At eCuras, we have driven professionals in every marketing discipline, subject matter experts who are leaders in their respective fields. It is this synergistic collection of people that makes eCuras such an exciting place to be! Everyone is passionate about what they do and that passion naturally pours over into our work. We create experiences for the user, not just products and services. Any website that expects an expansive return viewership must focus on how its users interact. We achieve the highest-possible UX through a versatile approach to front-end development, ensuring every aspect is clean, visually-pleasing and purposeful. Back-end development must be robust as well, and by seamlessly combining aspects of these two, we create a level of quality that is consistent across all our projects. We believe in radical transparency. You’ll know every phase of development on a detailed level, because we maintain constant contact, keeping you in the loop. Not to mention, we perform our best work when our clients are involved and vocal about their vision for the project. From large-scale structuring to last-minute details like graphical elements, your input is valued and we’ll ensure your needs are met. 5 Bozeman - eCuras LLC Capabilities by discipline: Digital Strategy From websites to engaging content, eCuras knows the value of preparation, following a plan, and selecting the best of resources and tools by which to apply to your project from the very start. We scrutinize every aspect of your project and make sure we are employing and deploying just the right instruments, software, skill sets, and techniques to effectively exceed your expectations. Branding/Corporate Identity Through eCuras branding measures, we seek to make an impact on the heart of your customers, so they keep coming back for more. We do this through a blend of different strategies all designed to have your name make the largest impact possible. Web Design (UI/UX) Design is less about making a pretty website and more about creating a functionally designed work of art. The user-interface and user-experience design teams use visual storytelling tools to engage your users, promote your brand, and communicate the uncommunicative. Great design represents your brand identity, spreads your key message, and empowers your users with intuitive, delightful interfaces created from the depths of great imagination. Web Development - eCommerce Development - WordPress Development Quality programming is the lifeblood of our engineers. Our developers take nothing for granted and never rest on their laurels. They spend time testing, re-testing, and then testing again. From blazing-fast load times, to fully fluid, error-free, pixel-perfect responsive user-interfaces, our developers adhere to rigorous iterative processes that ensure no detail on the front-or back-end is overlooked. We specialize in WordPress but by no means exclude other tools, we look at the complete picture and decide what is the best approach for your site, we employ the latest use-cases, frameworks, and interaction design functions, and stay on the cutting edge of programmatic language developments to ensure we build the best products possible. We might be nerds but at least we make certain to be the best nerds possible. 6 Bozeman - eCuras LLC Capabilities by discipline: Cont’d Digital Marketing (SEO) -Technical Optimization and Analysis (on-page, on-site, competitor’s analysis) -Linkbuilding -Content Marketing -Social Media -PPC -Reporting (growth, roi) While you focus on running your business, we work behind the scenes to help you grow it. Our digital marketing team leverages human-centered strategies to connect new users to your brand from organic traffic, paid search, and display ads. We know the value of high-quality targeted traffic, and place a laser focus on attracting strategic users to your brand. Our confidence is backed by a host of data and analytics and is reported to you regularly with the concrete evidence of our impact on your bottom line. You will never hear us say it if we can’t show you the proof. It is not unusual for a small client who has a 12-page website to receive an 80-page analytics report at the end of each month. Supported Cloud Hosting At eCuras, we host and maintain websites, as well as all digital products for brands trusted by millions of people around the world. With 99.9% uptime and lightning-fast dedicated servers, we don't play when it comes to hosting and supporting client's digital assets. We understand the magnitude of what is at stake. Reliable. Dependable. Rock-solid. It's the eCuras commitment. 7 Bozeman- eCuras LLC Company Overview Cont’d 8 Website: https://ecuras.com Founded: 2012 Recent Completed Website Projects with on-going marketing services (we covered from A to Z) - for detailed case studies and client reference, please see Page 14 https://midgardeducation.com/ https://abii.ecuras.work/ https://dbilandscapegroup.com/ https://sidehillgroup.com/ https://abii.ecuras.work/ https://lipsmart.com/ For more of our work, please visit: https://ecuras.com/work/ Details and Experience Alberta Strategy for Patient Oriented Research Support Unit — eCuras Marketing and Strategies Campaign Objectives The campaign will be based on ethical link-building, on-site SEO, and other strategies based on competitor analysis. Once these parameters are set, we do an in-depth on-page optimization analysis to identify specific keywords that will drive traffic to your site. Through tactical link-building, we build a robust network of relevant sites that link back to your own, expanding your reach organically and combing through the edges of your audience. This framework will deliver a sustained increase in traffic, largely unaffected by changes to search engine algorithms. This method ensures realistic, lasting growth that can be measured for years to come. Launch a campaign that will improve conversion rate, garner more leads and, ultimately, secure more clients. Use proven white-hat techniques to organically boost your site’s ranking across all the largest search engines and secure this improved placement for lasting success. Connect to the heart of your audience and increase brand awareness through innovative marketing strategies such as, email blasts, targeted promotions, social media and more. Develop an effective Pay Per Click (PPC) campaign to widen your outreach and broaden the scope of your audience. Monitor the established content to ensure the improved rankings are held and continually optimize to further increase search rank. Company Proposal9 10 Name / Education Role Experience (including clients’ details) Responsibilities in this project Ben Rakov Founder / President A business entrepreneur that not only works directly with clients on the development end but also understands the client’s business needs and will work to develop a business plan unique to those needs. Whenever I’m working with a new client I like to keep in mind this idea: what good is a state of the art website if one does not have a clear business and marketing plan to back it up and gain exposure while reaching the potential customers one wants to reach? We help solve those issues and get your marketing plan on track. Education:2009 to 2012 Rutgers University–New Brunswick Bachelor of Science - BS Economics, Political Science Lead meetings and discussing with the client; Giving final approval on deliverables, and providing feedbacks and comments before submitting to the client. Team Bio 11 Team Bio Cont’d Name/ Education Role Experience & Education Responsibilities in this project Shuyang Peng Project Manager/ Creative Director Shuyang has worked on several web design and development projects with eCuras LLC. She handles projects from start to completion. 2016 to Present: Project Manager/ Creative Director at eCuras LLC responsible for assigned initiatives, including defining, planning, staffing, managing, reporting on, and closing projects. 2014 to 2016: Fashion Design Freelancer at Marc Jacobs Diane von Furstenberg Donna Karan Alexander Wang Education: 2012 - 2017 Parsons School of Design Bachelor of Fine Arts Fashion Design The New School Bachelor’s degree, Literature Managing Team; Communicating with clients; Project planning and scheduling; Generate summary and reports; Plan project life-cycle deliverables and resource availability and application. Prepare technical and modification specifications. Lead the exploration, evaluation, and design of technical solutions; Develop and complete test plans; maintain project and technical documentation. 12 Team Bio Cont’d Name Role Experience & Education Responsibilities in this project Andrey Demidenko Senior Developer An experienced full-stack developer with 12 years of industry experience and a high level of proficiency in the following programs: Javascript, SQL , C#, HTML and CSS at the highest level, very familiar and experienced with the architecture of web applications and worked with a large number of successful projects. 2006-2007 system administrator and information security specialist at Ministry of health Kaliningrad region - responsible for network configuration, annual maintenance of servers such as mail servers and file servers, and much more.provide a reliable work environment, especially when multi-user computers are connected to a local network. 2008-fullstack developer (freelancer ) - Custom plugins, templates, and functions to create Development and implementation of the user interface using HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript JQuery scripts for basic animation and end user screen customization purposes. April 2017 - Present day - Head Full Stack Developer at eCuras LLC digital agency - Developed Front-end of the Project using JSF, JavaScript (Various Frameworks), HTML, Bootstrap and JQuery.Developed Back-end web services using Wordpress for MySQL. Education: 2012-2018 - Baltic Federal University Master's Degree of Information technology Managing the development team; Frontend and Backend development; Determine the most suitable plugins or scripts to use for this project; Communicating with the design team, QA team and SEO manager to further optimize the project. 13 Team Bio Cont’d Name Role Experience & Experience Responsibilities in this project Amir Gimaev Senior Designer Amir is a senior designer who has worked on several projects with eCuras LLC. He handles all aspects of digital design, including web design, branding, logo, brochures, etc. Designer with more than 6 years of experience. Has strong and effective technological, organization, interpersonal, and leadership skills. Executes assignments promptly and collaborates with all stakeholders involved to find success. March 2014 – Jan 2016 - Graphic Designer at HOLSTEC - logo and website design development; development of templates for printing all types of advertising. Aug 2016 – Mar 2017 - UX/UI Designer at Schwarzthal Tech - Created visual design prototypes, designed icons, and developed solutions for a new navigation system,Carried out migration of 400+ static web pages from a legacy server onto author and publishing servers. April 2017 – Present day - Project Manager & Lead Designer At eCuras LLC digital agency - Created interactive designs for complex web applications by way of page/user flow diagrams, site maps, and interactive wireframes. Conducted UX research by interactively testing designs using high and low fidelity prototypes. Education: 2019-2021 Innopolis University - Master's Degree of CS Software Development Managing the design team; Creating unique wireframes, and mockups; Developing custom icon pack; Editing images and videos (if required); Developing concepts and providing multiple options. 14 Team Bio Cont’d Name Role Experience & Education Responsibilities in this project Valentyn Siedlovskyi SEO Manager Valentin is an experienced SEO manager who has worked on all digital marketing projects with eCuras LLC. He is a SEO wizard. Highly motivated professional with more than 10 years of experience in progressive seo management. Has the ability to work well with others and under pressure, able to meet deadlines.Shows high work ethic, commitment, honesty and competence. May, 2016 - Present day - SEO Specialist at eCuras LLC digital agency, - deeply engaged in SEO website promotion, responsible for link building and content marketing June, 2014 - November, 2016: SEO Consultant on Premmerce part-time - SEO,PPC (Google/Yandex), Email marketing, Branding,Facebook / VK targeting advertising,SMM (competition analysis in Facebook),SERM (work with negative feedbacks),Tiaser net (Kadam) September 2010 – May 2014 – SEO, PM on SixMin - Preparing technical specifications for developers, work with customers, working with copywriters and developers Education: 2008 - 2013 - National University 'Ivan Franko' - Specialist Of Economic Cybernetics Developing and implementing effective search engine optimization (SEO) strategies; Coordinating with the design team to create designs that converts the best (placement of CTAs, etc.); Managing onsite and onsite optimization projects and reporting on performance; Coordinating with the development team and ensuring all optimization tasks will be applied correctly; Creating a list of keywords according to competitor analysis, and optimize the site verbiage. 15 Team Bio Cont’d Name / Education Role Experience (including clients’ details)Responsibilities in this project Natalia Denisenko Quality Assurance Analyst Natalia has been working with eCuras for over 3 years. She ensures all of our projects are done to the highest standard, responsive across devices and browsers, as well as bug free. More than 5 years of professional experience in the it industry with extensive hands-on experience as a senior quality assurance analyst in various areas of quality assurance, test management, test leadership, and test automation. March 2013 - September 2015 - IT Recruiter at Recruiting Agency “Top Recruiting” - search for personnel of different specialties, search on special work sites, manual search on various sources, conducting interviews September 2015 - November 2017 - Quality Assurance Analyst - Conducting a high quality examination of project documentation for compliance with the project plan volumes and requirements; Analyzed business requirements and user experience goals to develop test plans and test cases June 2017 - Present day - Quality Assurance Analyst at eCuras LLC. - creating a comprehensive testing structure; Testing the functionality of the project, compatibility with the browser Education: 2012 - 2016 - National technical University "Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute"- Bachelor of applied linguist Сreating a comprehensive testing structure across all development; assisting in end-to-end project pipeline verification, developing front-and back-end testing strategies, documenting test results, and facilitating in the release and post-release process to ensure project accuracy; Collaborate with others to clarify requirements and specifications and how those translate to test plans and test cases. Test the project functionality, browser compatibility, accessibility and information structure to specifications and provide feedback to developers, designers and product manager. Ensure that deliverables meet functional and design specifications and requirements. 16 Team Bio Cont’d Name / Education Role Experience (including clients’ details) Responsibilities in this project Konstantin Vasiliev Automation Developer Konstantin has been working with eCuras on developing automated scripts. So far, he only works on internal projects. Hardworking, Dedicated, and Highly motivated senior technical professional, combined with leadership skills and extensive knowledge of Industrial Automation domain. rich experience to lead and execute all stages of Industrial Automation Projects; starting from Pre-Project Engineering till final handover to customer and service. 06.04. 2007-02. 06.2009 - developer of map systems for urban development cadastre in Delphi and Oracle DBMS at Closed joint-stock company "SiSoft Tyumen» (CSoft Tyumen CJSC) Since the end of 2012 - 2016 - Chief specialist of the automation Department at Branch of Soyuzny commercial Bank (limited liability Company) in Tyumen November 2016 - Present Day - Automation Developer at eCuras LLC digital agency - Proficient in programming and troubleshooting variable frequency drives. Ensured compliance with health and safety regulations and quality standards. Education: 2004-2008 - Rostov state University of Economics Bachelor of Computer technology and information security Konstantin will be assisting the development team to write automated scripts when needed. Alberta Strategy for Patient Oriented Research Support Unit — eCuras Campaign Summary On-site SEO preliminary tasks required to prepare the site for promotion. Competitor’s analysis establishing the primary promotion strategy current site evaluation basic semantic keyword research On-page optimization extensive semantic keyword research segmenting keyword groups to web page Link building 17 Bozeman - eCuras LLC Content marketing Optional Pay per click (PPC) Optional SERP analysis Based on our on-page analysis and optimization, we identify how effective those keywords were at boosting your site’s ranking and drawing in your audience. Using the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) report, we identify what keywords have been effective and which may need to be changed. This is done monthly to ensure your site’s rankings are maintaining a consistent upward trend. 18 Bozeman - eCuras LLC 19 On-site SEO Includes all the preving forward to any promotional work. A list of steps (recommended by Google) which will allow search engines to index the site successfully (eliminating the errors on the site which will interfere with indexing, and setting up the proper elements that will aidliminary tasks that need to be completed prior to mo the search crawlers). This type of work does not require the involvement (approval of each step) of the client and structures the site to a standard form more suitable for search bots. SEO elements The presence of the sitemap.xml file The presence of a robots.txt file 404-page design (if required) Breadcrumbs functionality Presence of customized Hreflang H1-H6 hierarchy in code The menu can be seen without pictures The robots.txt is not blocking any pages from indexing The uniqueness of the texts The code indicates the encoding Presence of a host, sitemap in robots.txt? Outbound links Bozeman - eCuras LLC 20 On-site SEO Cont’d SEO elements The presence of the sitemap.xml file The presence of a robots.txt file 404-page design (if required) Breadcrumbs functionality Presence of customized Hreflang H1-H6 hierarchy in code Outbound links The menu can be seen without pictures The robots.txt is not blocking any pages from indexing The uniqueness of the texts The code indicates the encoding Presence of a host, sitemap in robots.txt? Metadata fixes Customized mirror (www) Check for missing descriptions Title duplicity Descriptions duplicity Check for presence or errors in H1 titles Check aliases (.html, .php, index.php) duplicate main H1-H6 hierarchy in code Bozeman - eCuras LLC SEO elements rel=canonical Pagination Microformats Code validity Check for general site usability Broken links (non-existent 404 pages) Check 404 pages server response status Permalink URLs: Include Target Phrase in URL if possible (NC Analysis and Tuning) Download speed Check inbound links Check anchor sheet for spam 21 On-site SEO Cont’d Bozeman - eCuras LLC Competitor Analysis 22 The work in this section includes identifying the main competitors and establishing common patterns for promotion in the current business niche. In this step, we will generate a promotion strategy. For example, increasing content, linking strategies, working with price comparison tools, content marketing, crowd marketing, using low-frequency queries, etc. The tasks in this category are divided into 4 stages 1) Determining the current state of the site (new site without history, with history, current link profile, current rankings for various queries) Site history check Content analysis Findings report Reference backlinks mass analysis General usability data based on "similar competitors" 2) Competitor analysis. We define our competitor list based on subject, the original semantic core and other recommendations according to the client. Then we analyze the following factors: site, site age, site type, link weight, anchor list, link quality, number of pages in Google index, search queries for which site and positions are ranked, site usability, site content, etc. Filtering competitors by site type Selection of "similar sites" Detailed analysis of “similar sites” Select the top 10 competitors Basic semantics collected (3-5 queries) for each category or site service Usability analysis of "similar sites” Bozeman - eCuras LLC 23 Competitor Analysis Cont’d 3) Establish a promotion strategy based on Google’s search algorithm Results of the competitor analysis Drawing up a promotion strategy 4) Create and link Google Analytics, Search Console, and Tag Manager accounts. Create Google Analytics Profile Install Google Analytics Code Create Events & Goals in Google Analytics Setup Segments and Filters Create Custom Views for Testing and Filter Set the Tag Manager and register through it a console Develop Google Analytics Measurement Plan Bozeman - eCuras LLC On-page optimization 24 After establishing the strategy, we will proceed with preparing the site for promotion according to actual search queries. At this stage, we are starting to create the semantic core based on the keyword research, the site structure and competitor analysis. After compiling the semantic core of the site and confirming this list of keywords with the client, we will proceed to prepare the current content for promotion, which includes the following steps: 1) Semantic core clustering (distribution of keyword groups by landing pages) The most frequent subcategories are added to the menu or linked to the main page All categories and services added to the menu Basic semantics collected (at least 5-10 queries) for each category or site service The semantics are clustered according to the principle: 1 separate user need = 1 separate page 2) Adjustments to the layout of the landing pages (as well as other pages on the site) based on the competition analysis and keyword groups (if required). 3) Provide detailed task requirements to the copywriter for creating new landing page content. 4) Content review and placement. Bozeman - eCuras LLC On-page optimization Cont’d 5) Provide detailed task requirements to the copywriter for completing the metadata for other pages (if required). 25 The distribution of groups of keywords on the pages Completion of metadata (Title, Description, H1), taking into account keywords Adjustments to the layout on the landing and other pages based on the analysis of competitors and groups of key queries (if required) 6) Metadata template for indexing for non-promotional pages. 7) Implement Alt Tags. The above-mentioned tasks in the three categories of: ‘On-site SEO’ ‘Competitor analysis’, and ‘On-page optimization’, are performed once on the first stage of promotion, and in most cases should be performed several times per year in order to maintain the established rankings (this is primarily related to factors such as changes in the search algorithm, competitors’ sites, inbound links, and other external elements). Bozeman - eCuras LLC Link building The link-building tasks should be performed on a monthly basis (metaphorically speaking if the site is our vehicle the inbound links are the fuel). After completing the on-page tasks the inbound link profile should be improved systematically—gradually and consistently (any spikes could be considered suspicious by the search engines). It is also vitally important to keep the link equity similar to the competition (anchor text, domain authority, etc.) while utilizing both paid and free sources. It is recommended to work in short 2-4 week sprints in which goals are defined and accomplished. Monthly Link Building Work Preparation of sites for manual placement of links. Manual link placement Contact with outreach sites Preparing a list of sites for outreach (guest posts) links Monthly report Defining A General Link Building Strategy Based on the current state and analysis of competitors creating a promotion strategy Drawing up a reference link promotion plan The distribution of KPI for link building for 1 month The tasks described above should lead to the promoted site ranking for most relevant search queries (optimally for TOP 30 results). 26 Bozeman - eCuras LLC Content Marketing 27 To maximize the efficiency of our overall SEO efforts, we should consider implementing a content marketing strategy where we utilize other platforms to increase brand awareness. The goal of this effort is to create content that can be repurposed on all of your platforms to push your business forward. We will implement a framework for your email and social media campaigns that match the voice of your brand. Once approved we will begin mailing and posting custom-designed messaging to your audience to promote what it is that you want your audience to know about purchase. We’ll be strategically placing articles in various sites with references to our website and brand. Successfully implementing these tasks will require useful thematic content with high virality potential. When successfully implemented, we should see a noticeable increase in inbound links, PR, and the number of references to our brand. Analysis of current data Results and plan for building content in this stream Internal Content Analysis Competitor Analysis Defining A General Link Building Strategy Accepting work from a copywriter Sending for revision if required Post preparation Placement on the site if required Leave to work Preparation technical description for a copywriter Bozeman - eCuras LLC Content Marketing Examples 28 Social Media Posts eCuras: Proud of our team for supporting local SME peers during this time of crisis. Are you Small/Local and need assistance transitioning online? We can help. Use your site to help you fight! Don’t let COVID-19 rewrite your story. Design, Development, Hosting, Marketing, Lead Gen, Digital Storytelling, our experts are available to you. #30secondstochangeyourfuture #fightthefight #helpisavailable https://ecuras.com/contacts/ Twitter 1: (254 characters) Supporting small/local peers to transition online during COVID-19. Our specialists are available to serve you. Use your site to help you fight! We are here to help before it’s too late. #30secondstosaveyourbusiness #supportinglocal #weareinthistogether Twitter 2: Don’t let COVID-19 rewrite your story. Our team is here to help Small/Local businesses to transition online. Helping our peers survive - call for assistance with web design, development, hosting, lead gen, marketing, digital storytelling. #takeaction #beforeitstoolate #helpisontheway Sidehill Group: Simply Speechless - a year into our engagement with Sidehill Group and results keep getting better and better with each month that passes. To what do we attribute this success? A new, persuasive brand identity layered on an enhanced custom WordPress site with animation and interactive effects coupled with a flexible codebase to ensure responsiveness and then masterful promotional activities to boot. https://ecuras.com/work/sidehill/ #mastersofwebdesign #raisingthebar #proudandhumbled #teamworkmakesthedreamwork Twitter 1 (221 characters).: Simply Speechless - a year into our engagement with Sidehill Group and results keep getting better and better with each month that passes. #demystifyingtheweb #ecurasdoesitdifferent #satisfiedclients #digitalstorytelling Twitter 2: (260 characters) To what do we attribute the success of Sidehill Group’s program? A new, persuasive brand identity layered on an enhanced custom WordPress site with interactive effects coupled with a flexible codebase to ensure responsiveness. #ROIncredible #reachingnewheights Bozeman - eCuras LLC Content Marketing Examples Cont’d 29 Social Media Posts Cont’d PureSeal: eCuras delivered an arresting video for PureSeal that made a complex concept simple. Using vivid animation coupled with dynamic content the poignant package advanced the understanding of PureSeals eco-friendly water conditioner. Lending itself to many of eCuras strengths - design, content, animation, digital storytelling, video, marketing - PureSeal was thrilled with the final result. #happyclientshappyceo #exceedingexpectations #makingthecomplexsimpler https://www.behance.net/gallery/82464983/PureSeal Twitter 1 (261 characters): Another happy client - eCuras delivered an arresting video to PureSeal that made its complex water conditioner simpler using animation combined with dynamic content and advanced the understanding of PureSeals primary product. #happyclients #neverceasetobeamaze Twitter 2 (266 characters): Delivered an e-capturing video for client PureSeal that lent itself to many of eCuras’ strengths in design, content, animation, digital storytelling, video, marketing - Happy Clients = Happy CEO #creatingdigitaldreams #fullservicedigitalagency #expecttheunexpectated. Lipsmart: eCuras gave Lipsmart a facelift with an elegant new website where modernity meets minimalism. The new site combines a subtle color scheme with new strategic messaging and the final result had the client blush with appreciation over its powerful new e-commerce experience. #ecurasdoesdesignbetter #blushwithappreciation #combiningdigitalexpertise https://ecuras.com/work/lipsmart/ Twitter 1 (252 characters): eCuras gave Lipsmart a facelift with an elegant new website where modernity meets minimalism. Subtle colors, strategic CTAs, striking video combined for a powerful new e-commerce experience for Lipsmart customers. #supermodelsolutions #curatedbyecuras. Twitter 2 (266 characters): eCuras created an elegant new website for client, Lipsmart flush with new design, new color palette, video, animation, web development, strategic content, a virtual medley of many eCuras’ expertise. #blushwithappreciation #satisfiedclientsonewebsiteatatime #ecurious. Bozeman - eCuras LLC Content Marketing Examples Cont’d 30 Social Media Posts Cont’d AdMarketplace: Creating brand positioning and a voice for one of New York’s fastest growing companies is no easy feat. eCuras was up for the challenge and the result was a brilliant video for AdMarketplace, a classic example of how even animation templates can be customized to look original. #ecurasdoesitdifferent #makingclientsproudoneprojectatatime https://www.behance.net/gallery/82400893/AdMarketplace Twitter 1 (268 characters): Not many digital agencies get the chance to create brand positioning and voice for one of New York’s fastest growing companies. We rose to the challenge and made digital history with a brilliant new video for AdMarketplace launching its critical product, Conducive. Twitter 2 (224 characters): eCuras rose to the challenge to create a brilliant new video for AdMarketplace, one of New York fastest growing companies. We delivered a masterful example of how even animation templates can be customized to look original. DBI: DBI has a long-standing reputation in Westchester and Fairfield Counties, it is among the most recognized brands in residential landscape design. We delivered a new high quality website, new design footprint, optimized content and implemented a new promotional program to raise DBI’s profile both online and in its local community. With the new website as the foundation, the growth and visibility of DBI online has more than exceeded expectations and online engagement has increased far in excess of 100% in less than a year. https://ecuras.com/work/dbi/ #DBIdoesitbetter #domenickdominates. Twitter 1 ( 269 characters ) DBI engaged us to revamp its online profile and raise visibility. To their satisfaction, we delivered a new site design commensurate with DBIs reputation and then layered on an aggressive promotional campaign. A great example of the power of a brand refresh! #branders Bozeman - eCuras LLC Content Marketing Examples Cont’d 31 Social Media Posts Cont’d Twitter 2 (266 characters): DBI commissioned eCuras for a high quality site, new design footprint, optimized content and an aggressive digital marketing program which launched to great success. To the clients' revelry, performance prevails and online engagement continues. #keepingclientshappy Midgard: Midgard is reinventing the textbook. Upon commissioning us to upgrade its web appearance, we rose to the occasion to reflect their creative and engaging form of teaching in every area of their website. eCuras used its expertise in digital storytelling to visually tell Midgards mission to educate through stories and to close the gap between passive visitors and optimized conversions on their new website. 18 new pages later, mission accomplished. #deliveringclientsvisions #curatedbyecuras #digitaldesign https://ecuras.com/work/midgard/ Twitter 1 (267 characters): eCuras upgraded Midgards web presence with a fresh brand revision. We rose to the occasion to reflect their creative and engaging form of teaching in every area and with every design element of their website resulting in a brand symbolizing innovation. #ecurasdesign. Twitter 2 (265 characters): eCuras used its expertise in digital storytelling to visually tell Midgards mission to educate through stories and to close the gap between passive visitors and optimized conversions on their new website. 18 new pages later, mission accomplished. #satisfiedclients. Bozeman - eCuras LLC Content Marketing Examples Cont’d 32 Social Media Posts Cont’d ABii-World: The strategy behind the site upgrade for Van Robotics ABiis-world focused on matching the client's ability to add innovation into its educational products. eCuras brought its A(I)-game and created a highly dynamic, forcefully functional site that included e-commerce capabilities for driving and optimizing conversions. To say the team at ABii was ABsolutely thrilled with the results would be discounting the great work of the entire eCuras team from department to department. https://ecuras.com/work/abii/ #design #development #digitalmarketing Twitter 1 (267 characters): For client ABiis-world eCuras brought its A(I)-game and created a highly-dynamic, forcefully functional website that introduced e-commerce capabilities for driving and optimizing conversions. ABii’s management was ABsolutely thrilled with the results. #happyclients Twitter 2 (267 characters): The strategy behind the ABii’s-world site upgrade focused on matching the client's innovation in educational products. eCuras matched this innovation with AI, modernization of design and enhanced technical functionalities to implement e-commerce capabilities. #ecuras Bozeman - eCuras LLC 33 Blogs/ News / Events / Articles https://ecuras.com/insights/concepts-m ade-concrete/the-digital-design-doctrine/ https://ecuras.com/insights/capture-your -audience/small-businesses-can-survive- covid-19/ https://ecuras.com/insights/useful-drip-e mail-templates-and-how-to-use-them/ https://sidehillgroup.com/blog/jon-ander son-founder-and-ceo-of-sidehill-group-to- host-exclusive-webinar-series-on-purpose -driven-growth/ https://sidehillgroup.com/blog/a-closer-l ook-create-an-effective-sales-strategy-an d-complementary-sales-strategy-plan-for- your-business/ https://sidehillgroup.com/blog/news-flas h-the-new-normal-has-nothing-to-do-with- covid-19/ https://sidehillgroup.com/blog/tips/is-it-b etter-to-adjust-the-strategic-goalposts-or- to-accept-the-setback-and-stay-the-cours e/ https://abii.ecuras.work/2019/09/20/abii s-visit-to-the-governors-mansion/ https://abii.ecuras.work/2019/10/29/ho w-to-use-robots-in-education/ https://abii.ecuras.work/2019/09/20/ho w-smart-learning-is-revolutionizing-the-cla ssroom/ Content Marketing Examples Cont’d Bozeman - eCuras LLC PPC Optional A PPC campaign will tie all the other tactics together. It’s the most effective way to promote your site and widely used because of its tendency for fast results. While optional, we highly recommend using a PPC campaign as it will supplement all the other strategies and lead to the most recognizable results. For budget under $1,000, our service and management fee is $250. Our goal in all this is to create a framework that will sustain a long-term increase in website traffic. SEO can often be a nebulous subject, with different opinions coming in from all sides. That’s exactly why we lay out our methods in such detail. Our transparency allows you to see from the very beginning. We put so much effort into SEO because it’s easy to overlook, yet vital to the success of your site. Reaching your audience and engaging with your clients is only possible if they find you in the first place. We seek to bridge the gap between you and the users who are looking for your services. 34 Bozeman - eCuras LLC Web Design & Development Capabilities 35 Our Web Design Process, Strategy and Methodology We start with a comprehensive overview of the vision for every project. From the overview, we draw the next stage of the process which is to identify the most effective structure for the site build complete with productive, functional, and powerful messaging. Of chief importance here we look to construct a unique approach for the SFCA but one that is most likely to generate conversions. Following the audit, we start the mock-up process for the homepage. As part of our process, we always provide a wide variety of hero section mockups to give you choice, selection, and options. The hero (aka. ‘above the fold”) section of the homepage is important as this is the first thing that people will see. Once you provide input on the initial mockup, we determine typography, the most beneficial color palette, logo, and the overall stylistic approach. This would include all areas of the site including headers/footers, dropdown boxes, tabs, button functionality, if any login or search features are required and what they look like stylistically, etc. We then review these elements with you and measure your feedback and preferences. If you are pleased we move forward. If not, we head back to the drawing board. After determining the primary styles, we begin the process of mocking up all required pages. Another thing to notice while reviewing our projects is that nothing is static, we strategically include interactive elements and motion subtly where it wouldn’t overwhelm the audience. This approach captures the user’s attention and has a hypnotic effect making it harder for them to close the tab. Of course, we keep these animations in mind from the inception of the project, but this is the stage (after mock-ups are approved) when we finalize these elements and submit them to coding. While the design team is focused on the mock-ups, the copywriters are simultaneously conferring with you on content development and structuring your messaging, with a list of SEO content guidance generated by our digital marketing team (copywriting is optional). Bozeman - eCuras LLC Web Design & Development Capabilities 36 Our Web Design Process, Strategy and Methodology Cont’d Once you approve the final mock-ups and copy, our developers take over and implement the HTML code. Your site will be coded exactly, spec-for-spec, according to the approved mock-ups. Upon completion of the code integration, the process points towards responsiveness to ensure the site is fully optimized for different screen sizes, devices and browsers as well as minimizing any causes for site bounce. We start with a comprehensive overview of the vision for every project. From the overview, we draw the next stage of the process which is to identify the most effective structure for the site build complete with productive, functional, and powerful messaging. Of chief importance here we look to construct a unique approach for the SFCA but one that is most likely to generate conversions. Following the audit, we start the mock-up process for the homepage. As part of our process, we always provide a wide variety of hero section mockups to give you choice, selection, and options. The hero (aka. ‘above the fold”) section of the homepage is important as this is the first thing that people will see. Once you provide input on the initial mockup, we determine typography, the most beneficial color palette, logo, and the overall stylistic approach. This would include all areas of the site including headers/footers, dropdown boxes, tabs, button functionality, if any login or search features are required and what they look like stylistically, etc. We then review these elements with you and measure your feedback and preferences. If you are pleased we move forward. If not, we head back to the drawing board. After determining the primary styles, we begin the process of mocking up all required pages. Another thing to notice while reviewing our projects is that nothing is static, we strategically include interactive elements and motion subtly where it wouldn’t overwhelm the audience. This approach captures the user’s attention and has a hypnotic effect making it harder for them to close the tab. Of course, we keep these animations in mind from the inception of the project, but this is the stage (after mock-ups are approved) when we finalize these elements and submit them to coding. Bozeman - eCuras LLC Web Design & Development Capabilities 37 Our Web Design Process, Strategy and Methodology Cont’d While the design team is focused on the mock-ups, the copywriters are simultaneously conferring with you on content development and structuring your messaging, with a list of SEO content guidance generated by our digital marketing team (copywriting is optional). Once you approve the final mock-ups and copy, our developers take over and implement the HTML code. Your site will be coded exactly, spec-for-spec, according to the approved mock-ups. Upon completion of the code integration, the process points towards responsiveness to ensure the site is fully optimized for different screen sizes, devices and browsers as well as minimizing any causes for site bounce. And, finally, upon completion of HTML coding, we turn to WordPress integration - which essentially means we create a custom WordPress theme for your site. Going forward, you will have the ability to login to your backend and modify any language, images, and create new pages based on the custom templates that will be developed with the integration. Our team also includes a dedicated and highly skilled Quality Assurance team whose chief responsibility is to confirm the site not only runs smoothly but also displays properly insomuch that every pixel is perfect to the naked eye. They are experts at poking holes in every possible aspect to certify that each and every element runs precisely and accurately. We work 24/7/365, when there is an issue with the site, our dev team will receive an auto email, and we will start debugging. If there is a ticket from you, we usually will reply and start resolving no later than 2 hours. For both first time and annual training, we will be able to provide detailed documentation as well as video tutorial that can be accessed at any time. We can also conduct digital training anytime as needed. Because of our expertise in producing digital identities, we keep SEO in mind when we start building a site. We bring a unique understanding and approach to digital marketing, its core functionality, what makes it tick, what works, and what doesn’t. Under the guidance of our SEO directors, we follow a team approach to ensure all the core marketing elements are working together in tandem. Bozeman - eCuras LLC Web Design & Development Capabilities 38 Our Web Design Process, Strategy and Methodology Cont’d This is the recipe for success and has worked wonders for us and our clients for years. Our KPIs and other metrics exceed those of most industry standards pound for pound due to our integrated, balanced, and strategic approach to the full digital lifecycle. We are a small shop but we are proud of the great work we do for clients and hold each other accountable to produce the best product possible. In short, our methodology is straightforward and somewhat unusual. A lot of people use templates, some act as designers and don’t know how to code properly, other developers try to design but don’t deliver satisfactory results; and most of the time, strategy and content are left to a poor imagination. Our holistic approach covers the entire production process from A to Z. We assign a fully-staffed team of professionals, experts in each respective field, to your project. When all is said and done, the final product is a 100% customized site, which includes the following steps: ●Concept development and strategy; ●Identity/branding; ●Copywriting; ●Design; ●Animated and interactive web elements; ●HTML coding; ●WordPress integration, including implementation required functionalities; ●Page speed optimization; ●On-site and on-page SEO optimization; ●Quality Assurance: we make sure the site is responsive on all devices and browsers; ●Hosting (we provide 1 year of free hosting to our clients). Bozeman- eCuras LLC Case Study - DBI CLIENT DBI Landscaping Group DELIVERABLES ●Branding ●Customized WordPress Site ●On-going Digital Marketing 39 OUTCOME https://dbilandscapegroup.com/ ABOUT THE CLIENT Domenick Bulfamante & Sons Inc. is a staple of Westchester and Fairfield counties in the northeastern states. They’ve operated a reputable landscaping company since 1970 and bring decades of passion and experience to their community. For DBI Landscape Group, we knew we had to show the love and respect they’ve earned among locals on every page of the site. CEO: Nick Bulfamante Email: nick@dbilandscapegroup.com Phone number: (914) 636-0722 Bozeman- eCuras LLC Strategy & Approach 40 Professionalism in Every Stroke We designed the website with a smooth and streamlined approach in mind. The large photographs accompanied by content descriptions and background graphics give the site a professional yet approachable feel. For a company as well-established as DBI, every design element contributes to the high caliber work they offer for people’s homes. No matter the project or business, eCuras wants each client to stand out from the crowd. Our approach to design and development is one that illuminates the personal brand of the client and that’s exactly what we’ve done for DBI Landscaping. Their site is a home where they can display their work and attract future clients, and that’s possible because every element was meticulously created and implemented by our expert team. Wireframes Development Bozeman- eCuras LLC 41 Wireframes Bozeman- eCuras LLC 42 UX/UI concepts Bozeman- eCuras LLC Brand Refresh 43 Stand Out from the Crowd Bozeman- eCuras LLC Brand Refresh 44 Bozeman- eCuras LLC User Interface and Experience 45 User-Tailored Development Clean, sweeping animations and a responsive layout make DBI’s site a pleasure to browse. For a customer-base largely focused on aesthetic appeal, we developed the website to breathe with fluidity and visually enticing pages. Developing our clients’ sites from the ground-up enables us to provide a truly enjoyable user-experience with every project; and when a website is a treat to browse, conversion rates naturally increase. Bozeman- eCuras LLC Mobile Responsiveness 46 Bozeman- eCuras LLC 47 Bozeman- eCuras LLC Case Study — Sidehill (11/01/2019 to 02/01/2020) CLIENT Sidehill Consulting Group DELIVERABLES ●Branding ●Customized WordPress Site ●On-going Digital Marketing ABOUT THE CLIENT Sidehill Group is a leading advisory firm for companies struggling to grow revenue, those challenged with bringing in new revenue and others who have misaligned sales functions which, in turn, are undermining sales improvements and stagnating the growth trajectory. Sidehill has built a niche within the sales strategy segment due to its ability to identify and understand what precipitates sales shortfalls. They have leveraged their expertise in restructuring to provide their clients with the most effective tools, strategic thinking and structural requirements, faster and better than other firms. They put broken pieces of great companies back together towards maximizing growth within a fine-tuned organization where behavior is aligned with strategy and structure. 48 OUTCOME https://sidehillgroup.com/ CEO: Jon Anderson Email: jon.anderson@sidehillgroup.com Phone number: (603) 762-3710 Bozeman- eCuras LLC Strategy & Approach 49 The leadership of Sidehill engaged eCuras to create an end-to-end strategic marketing and web development program that commenced with a new corporate identity including a new logo and website by which to build a foundation for future growth. The relationship incorporated a redefined marketing and communications strategy to complement the new user experience that would be reflected in the new web design. eCuras performed a complete audit of all Sidehill existing materials, messaging and digital marketing efforts and defined new SEO requirements and keywords in keeping with the new site verbiage while using images and icons to make the site pop in subtle yet powerful ways. eCuras also completed a strategic review of longer-term goals and opportunities. Sidehill received a completely revised wireframing and mapping of the CTA pathways to ensure each touchpoint was efficiently maximizing the user experience. Initial Design Mockups Bozeman- eCuras LLC Brand Refresh 50 A Side Effect of Success eCuras created a new, persuasive brand identity indicative of the sophisticated and noble culture that defines Sidehill. Bringing more joy into the world is a key underpinning to Sidehill business model and drives its efforts for clients each and every day. eCuras was charged with striking a balance between a warm foundation with a powerful strategic advisory firm that has moved mountains for its clients. The enhanced, custom WordPress site included animation and interactive effects while adapting the site’s design to a flexible codebase to ensure responsiveness. As a result of the new site launch, Sidehill’s bounce rate has decreased xx% while the time spent on the site has increased from xx minutes to xx minutes and even greater overall engagement. Logo Development Bozeman- eCuras LLC 51 Style Guide Bozeman- eCuras LLC 52 Bozeman- eCuras LLC User Interface and Experience 53 Err on the Side of Excellence Using its unique techniques and technical approach to the design and development process, eCuras created new mock-ups and graphics for the site homepage and internal pages allowing for an unlimited number of pages. The new marketing strategy for Sidehill called for extensive use of several channels which required integration of social media and email subscription functionalities as well as blogging into the new site. As such, Sidehill’s vision required a clear graphical illustration that resonated well through the platform with a seamless flow through other disciplines. Quality Assurance was performed up to the highest standards and ensured a flawless launch. Sidehill’s new brand and website launched to great fanfare and social media and email marketing efforts are aggressively underway. The future looks bright for Sidehill and its relationship with eCuras with the addition of a blogging campaign, lead generation efforts and enhanced SEO/SEM to improve search results. Sidehill’s already impressive performance metrics are on the road to continued growth. Bozeman- eCuras LLC Mobile Responsiveness 54 Bozeman- eCuras LLC 55 Bozeman- eCuras LLC CLIENT DELIVERABLES ●A Customized WordPress site: ○Teacher’s Portal; ○Audiobook Portal with smooth mobile usability; ○WooCommerce; ●Digital Marketing - SEO. OUTCOME https://midgardeducation.com/ 56 Case Study - Midgard Midgard Education Publishing CEO: Jay Gissen Email: jgissen@midgardeducation.com Phone number: +1 (914) 373-1379 ABOUT THE CLIENT Midgard Publishing is tackling America’s reading crisis head-on with a cast of creative, story-centered history textbooks. They see the problem of decreased reading rates among children and young-adults as a failure of our education system and not the kids themselves. Textbooks such as American Hero recount the integral parts of American history by using storytelling as the driving force. Bozeman- eCuras LLC Strategy & Approach 57 Inspiring Design eCuras reflected this creative and engaging form of teaching in every part of their website. The initial sweeping animation, including the Midgard logo and other graphics were all designed and implemented by eCuras. They mirror the exciting nature of the site’s content and products but keep a clear focus on Midgard’s mission to educate through stories. Of course, the purpose of all these design elements and graphical techniques is to lead to higher sales for Midgard. To close the gap between visitor and converted sale, we integrated a full store using WooCommerce into the Midgard framework. This makes it ridiculously easy to purchase their textbooks, and we even included preview functionality for several of the books. In particular, we included a sample price banner for American Hero that anyone can see right from the “Shop” page. Bozeman- eCuras LLC 58 Wireframes Bozeman- eCuras LLC 59 UX/UI concepts Bozeman- eCuras LLC 60 Style Guide Bozeman- eCuras LLC Brand Refresh 61 Built for the Brand We built Midgard’s website with its particular brand-identity in mind. The dragon-Midgard logo is present on every page and there are numerous backdrops resembling old-time maps as well as relevant graphics interspersed throughout the site. With every site eCuras creates, the focus is always to make the brand abundantly clear and then to increase sales through strong brand-identity. Midgard’s site is simply another example of how eCuras curates the web for each client we serve. Bozeman- eCuras LLC 62 Bozeman- eCuras LLC UI/UX - Teachers’ Portal 63 Bozeman- eCuras LLC 64 UI/UX - Audiobook (with mobile usability) Bozeman- eCuras LLC 65 User Interface and Experience Bozeman- eCuras LLC 66 Bozeman- eCuras LLC 67 Bozeman- eCuras LLC Mobile Responsiveness 68 Bozeman- eCuras LLC Case Study - ABII 69 CLIENT Van Robotic DELIVERABLES ●WooCommerce ●Customized WordPress Site ●Digital Marketing OUTCOME https://abii.ecuras.work/ ABOUT THE CLIENT ABii is a desktop-size robot with an accompanying web app that can be utilized with any WiFi-enabled device. The online skills-based lessons, paired with ABii, and her online friends are part of an ecosystem that covers key topics to improve individual academic achievement. Students love learning with ABii and stay more engaged in subjects that might otherwise become tedious or challenging for many students. CEO: Laura Boccanfuso Email: laura@myvanrobot.com Phone number: (803) 237-7598 Bozeman- eCuras LLC Strategy & Approach 70 Design that Matches the Product In designing ABii’s website, we wanted a look and feel that matched the tone of the product. It was vital that we touched on the themes of education, robotics, and student-centric learning. Consequently, our design features background graphics relating to elementary education, numerous pictures of the robot itself, and photos of students using ABii. Bozeman- eCuras LLC 71 Bozeman- eCuras LLC User Interface and Experience 72 A Source for Conversion eCuras developed ABii’s site to be a source of measurable conversion. The concept of using AI to aid in student learning is still catching fire, so we wanted a space that could capture the full scope of what ABii offers to students, educators and parents. The site is search-engine optimized (SEO) to capture a wide audience related to K-5 education and artificial intelligence. Add SEO to an integrated set of powerful links, and the site is well-placed to capture large swaths of its audience. Bozeman- eCuras LLC Mobile Responsiveness 73 Bozeman- eCuras LLC Project Cost 74 Our hourly rate is $65 Our monthly package for all required items are $2,400. Attachment A NONDISCRIMINATION AND EQUAL PAY AFFIRMATION ____________________________________(name of entity submitting) hereby affirms it will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, age, marital status, national origin, or because of actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity or disability and acknowledges and understands the eventual contract will contain a provision prohibiting discrimination as described above and this prohibition on discrimination shall apply to the hiring and treatments or proposer’s employees and to all subcontracts. In addition, ____________________________________(name of entity submitting) hereby affirms it will abide by the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Section 39-3-104, MCA (the Montana Equal Pay Act), and has visited the State of Montana Equal Pay for Equal Work “best practices” website, https://equalpay.mt.gov/BestPractices/Employers, or equivalent “best practices publication and has read the material. ______________________________________ Name and title of person authorized to sign on behalf of submitter Ecuras Limited Liability Company Ecuras Limited Liability Company Founder, President