CASE STUDY: Authentifier

Redesign and online pivot for document authentication business

Invested in: Custom Web Design, Branding Add-On, Clever Day, Clever Hour, Clever Marketing Plan, Clever Care, vCMO
Web design - Website

Rebrand

Ray's document authentication business had been running successfully for 3 years before I came on board. The business had matured to a point where it had outgrown it's startup origins and was ready for a professional brand identity that would help the business grow.

Brand strategy was crucial for hitting the right touchpoints — Ray's vision was to be the first genuinely virtual document authentication service, so the brand had to reflect the tech nature of this endeavour while also outdoing his competitors with a brand that carried higher trust and authority ratings as it gained in value over time.

The move to a fully virtual service also meant some serious tech power at the back-end of the website to facilitate the complicated variables within product options, while keeping the service streamlined and easy at the front end for buyers.

Ray also wanted to launch with a strategic search engine optimization action plan to target new business clients and build awareness around the new brand.

Web design - Website

A professional and polished brand that generates trust and authority

In many ways, rebranding was an easy task with Authentifier. All of the competitors have truly horrifying logos and even worse brand identities. I knew it'd be an easy to task to blow them out of the water. The parameters around branding were to avoid all the cliched graphics used by competitors and to design a brand that looking forward-thinking and relevant. We have worked together to build a brand identity that conveys a high level of trust, that gleams know-how, and that is recognisable for visitors.

Online pivot to virtual service delivery

Document authentication is a traditionally physical business, where documents are verified in person. Yet the demands of document authentication for overseas use — by having to be verified first by a notary, then by DFAT and then by the relevant embassy — makes it an impossible task for anyone who doesn't live near those services (often in other states) and even harder for the many referrals Ray was getting from people living abroad. So he found a gap in the market and was servicing it. In the early years of the business, document collection was still a very manual process.

Studio Clvr had been recommended to Ray by another client, so he knew we had the expertise to build his vision. We built a system that would serve the needs of a geographically broad client base with the added benefit of a massive reduction in manual effort both from end-users and from Ray as the business owner. The online system has created exponential business efficiencies—with room for more where that came from at the next stage of growth—and has made it easier for clients to get their documents authenticated regardless of their location.

Authentifier-online-pivot
Blog-graphics

SEO powerhouse that has tripled site traffic

When I took Authentifier on board, foundational SEO had been done on the old website, which had achieved 1 keyword in the top 10 (at position 9), and a further 11 keywords in the top 100. Within a year of the launch of the new site, and with a targeted but low-level search strategy, the site had gained 3 top 3 positions, 26 top 10 positions, with a further 158 keywords in the top 100. Furthermore, onsite optimization meant that higher rankings were given to keywords with better relevancy, resulting in a bounce rate drop from 83% down to 27%. These improvements have also led to a higher conversion rate, which continues to improve as we iterate on results and optimize the site over time.

Nic is extremely attentive and professional in her approach, taking the time to thoroughly understand our business. We're very appreciative of Nic's efforts in helping us re-brand and pivoting our business from service to product based. Timely and responsive, as always, we highly recommend Nic to assist in your business!

Rebranded, redesigned and digitally remastered

I think Ray would agree that I feel as invested in the success of his business as he does—the journey we have shared to bring Ray's vision to life has been an exciting one. I've loved the intellectual challenge of pivoting Ray's products to virtual offerings while focusing deep on user experience to keep the ordering system simple and sustainable. The site's performance has benefitted enormously, the old site performance had an overall rating of 31/100. On launch, the new site was performing at 95–100 out of 100 in all categories—performance, accessibility, best practices and SEO. The global pandemic has been a tough time for all businesses reliant on travel, yet Authentifier has stayed afloat during this hard time, largely thanks to Ray's early adoption of digital transition prior to COVID. I am excited to continue our SEO efforts to keep growing Authentifier and adding value to the brand and the business as world travel stabilises.

Ready for an online pivot?
If you think your website should be performing better for your business, let’s chat.
Studio Clvr services graphic