- URL : https://foodfireknives.com/
- Business Type : Business to Consumer
- Focus : Lead Generation
- Client Industry : Food & Beverage
- Platform : WordPress
- Services Provided : AI SEO, Email Marketing, Local SEO, PPC, Retainer, SEO, Social Media
Overview
Individuals across the United States (U.S.) can find experienced private chefs who have been vetted on the Food Fire Knives’ (FFK) website, foodfireknives.com. With just a few clicks, users can browse menus, find chefs in their area, and make reservations. The website was slow, and users found it difficult to make reservations. The client contacted us to improve the website’s functionality and appearance, and grow brand visibility. We redesigned sections of foodfireknives.com, and performed a host of marketing services including search engine optimization (SEO), AI SEO, email marketing, pay per click (PPC), and social media marketing (SMM).
See how we improved the functionalities and user-friendliness of the WordPress website, and helped grow organic revenue, by 105.5%, AI-generated search sessions by 266.7%, and clicks by 444%.
Problem
Food Fire + Knives (FFK) struggled to stand out in a space crowded with online influencer content. To achieve its revenue goals, the brand needed a simple, scalable marketing strategy to build trust and highlight its key differentiators: easy booking, custom menus, hosting, and cleanup.
In our audit, we identified broken links, non-optimized content, pages returning 404 errors, and other outdated SEO strategies across the website. Also, several pages had incomplete or missing header tags and meta descriptions. There were oversized images and others were missing image alt text. We also noticed that the brand was not showing up in AI-driven search responses.
The mobile version of the website was buggy. When users tried to make a reservation, the layout was clunky and loaded slowly. Additionally, the brand was unable to leverage email and social media marketing effectively. Previous PPC campaigns had low return on ad spend (ROAS). FFK needed help with refreshing the website, and with showcasing their chefs’ services.
Solution
We simplified the navigation, reservation and payment flows to grow user friendliness and organic traffic. We launched local and AI SEO campaigns to grow organic brand visibility. The new email marketing campaigns helped attract previous and new customers, social media content boosted engagement, and the SEO strategy helped with increasing traffic and revenue.
Website Redesign & Development
We added a video banner and a “How it Works” section to the homepage. Users can find chefs quickly using the Chef Quick Modal view option. We added new filtering options to the layout and navigation menu, clear and bold call to actions (CTAs), and improved how the website looked on mobile devices. We created and optimized new chef profile pages and location specific pages.
FFK’s users can now update their profiles, make reservations, and pay in just a few clicks. We’ve also integrated tools for tracking orders, managing users’ profiles, and leaving reviews. The website is faster, smoother, and works great on any device.
Search Engine Optimization
All H1 tag issues and schema-related issues were fixed and internal links were added across the pages. We implemented redirects, fixed HTTPS issues, added an HTML sitemap so that search engines would be better able to understand and index the website’s pages. To help increase visibility in search engines, we added the Robots.text file with instructions on which pages should and should not be crawled.
Our copywriters added optimized content for main and location specific pages. We added meta descriptions, fixed broken links, and pages returning 404 errors. All oversized images were compressed without impacting their quality, and we added alt image texts to all images.
We were able to gain high-authority placements for Food Fire Knives, including a featured syndicated article on msn.com.
AI SEO
The AI SEO strategy we implemented for FFK were aimed at helping with improving the brand’s visibility across AI-driven platforms and search engines. We added an llms.txt file to ensure that Large Language Models (LLMs) could crawl and index the website’s content. We added LLM prompt optimization to help FFK get cited by AI platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini and CoPilot.
Local Search Engine Optimization
To showcase local chefs to website users, we created new landing pages and Google Business Profiles (GBP) for major service areas across the US. We added optimized descriptions, category and label information, and other content to help users find and engage with chefs in their local areas. When users search with “near me” terms, they are now able to find and engage with chefs closest to their location.
Email Marketing
We targeted leads and also engaged past customers in our email campaigns. We launched several email campaigns including a “Customized Meals for Your Events” promotion, and a “Meet the Chef” series to re-engage former and potential clients.
Social Media Marketing
To boost visibility and fill content gaps, we implemented a social media strategy to make the brand more relatable and easy to understand. We posted engaging content across multiple platforms, featuring real reviews, helpful tips, recipes, behind-the-scenes stories, and booking tutorials. This was complemented by seasonal videos, themed carousels, event promotions, and the revamping of existing visual assets such as carousel banners and videos.
Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
Our paid team created multiple search and shopping campaigns. Among the keywords we targeted in the Google Ads campaigns were “best chef knife set” and “professional kitchen knives”. We created optimized messaging for key landing pages, and consistently A/B tested the content and ad creatives. We paused all low-converting campaigns, and refined the bids on high performing landing pages and SKUs.
Results
Our efforts helped to achieve strong results for Food Fire Knives. Comparing successive four-month periods, organic sessions grew by 15.2%, engaged sessions were up by 22.3%, and organic revenue grew by 105.5%. Total clicks and impressions also increased by 444% and 416.2% respectively. For this same comparison period, organic conversions rose 47.5%, and overall conversions increased by 29.1%.
Quarter-over-quarter, total revenue increased by 50%, while Google Ads click-through rates rose 138.6% year-over-year, with a return on ad spend (ROAS) of 342.3%.
50%
Increase
in Total Revenue
416%
Growth
In Impressions
342%
Return
On Ad Spend
During the first two months, the open rate in email marketing grew to 74%. For this same period, the brand had 0% spam complaints. In the early months of the campaigns, traffic, conversions, and engagement all trended upward. Our efforts helped grow brand awareness, and engage their audience on social media platforms.
Within a few weeks, FFK started appearing in LLM-powered search results. Within five months sessions from AI-driven search responses grew by 266.7%, engaged sessions increased by 323.8%, and engagement rate rose by 62.2%. Average open rates continue to grow steadily, reaching 56.6% month-on-month, 74.3% quarter-on-quarter, and 56.4% year-on-year.
74%
Open Rate
324%
Growth
In AI-Driven Engaged Sessions
62%
Engagement Rate
Year over year, total AI traffic grew by 669.6% and AI conversions by 650%.
Over the past six months, Food Fire + Knives saw significant growth of their social media channels and traffic. Compared to the previous 6-month period, revenue from organic social media increased by 606.3%, website traffic by 217.9%, and new users by 222.1%. Our tailored social media approach helped grow engagement, followers, and bookings. Instagram followers rose by 18% with a 1115.8% growth in engagement, Facebook impressions jumped 202% with a 150% growth in engagement, and TikTok engagement doubled as impressions grew by 44%. The brand also saw a 68% increase in LinkedIn impressions, reactions, comments, and reposts. By sharing authentic chef stories and engaging content, Food Fire + Knives evolved into a recognized culinary leader with a growing social media presence.