reimaging digital lead strategy for a legacy marketing agency

Pathfinders Advertising Agency
Creative Director, Digital Director, Search & Content Strategist

Digital lead strategy, email strategy, and an end-to-end website redesign for a legacy marketing firm in business for more than 45 years.

A laptop on an orange couch displaying a website with the title 'Work hard. Rest hard.' and photos of people in a virtual meeting.

growth, digital & search stratgegy

pathfinders advertising agency

In 2025, as Digital Director at Pathfinders Advertising Agency, I was tasked with reimagining the digital lifecycle and growth strategy for the established marketing agency.

In business for more than 50 years, the agency’s online presence had stagnated. The original website was difficult to navigate, email communication was sporadic, and their growth had hit a plateau due to a lack of data-driven acquisition.

My Approach

Mobile phone screen displaying a digital marketing newsletter titled "PATHFINDER" with a subtitle "Your guide to financial marketing," featuring text about creating Pathfinder and helping organizations understand the impact of marketing, alongside illustrations of a megaphone and dollar signs.

1. Web Redesign: Built for Clarity

We didn't just give Pathfind a "facelift." We rebuilt the user journey from the ground up to ensure every click led toward a conversion.

  • User-Centric UI/UX: Simplified the information architecture so users could find specialized services (Recruitment vs. Career Transition) in under two clicks.

  • Mobile-First Performance: Optimized for the modern professional on the go, resulting in a 40% increase in mobile session duration.

  • Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO): Integrated strategic, search-optimized CTAs and lead magnets that turned passive readers into active prospects.

2. Email Strategy: Automated Engagement

We moved Pathfind away from "batch-and-blast" newsletters toward a sophisticated, segmented automation strategy.

  • Nurture Sequences: Developed automated "drip" campaigns for new leads, providing value before the first sales call.

  • Segmentation: Grouped the audience by industry and intent, ensuring that HR managers saw different content than job seekers.

  • Result: Open rates stabilized at 32% (well above the industry average) with a significant boost in re-engagement from dormant leads.

3. Growth Strategy: Scaling the Reach

To fuel the new website, we implemented a multi-channel growth engine focused on high-intent traffic.

  • Content Pillars: Established Pathfind as a thought leader through SEO-optimized articles targeting "Future of Work" and "Executive Leadership" keywords.

  • Lead Magnet Ecosystem: Created downloadable whitepapers and career toolkits to capture top-of-funnel leads.

  • Data-Driven Iteration: Established a monthly reporting dashboard to track CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) and LTV (Lifetime Value).

“The transformation wasn't just aesthetic; it changed how we do business. We went from chasing leads to managing an influx of qualified inquiries.”

- Pathfind Stakeholder

the results

111%

Increase in web visits yoy

27%

higher web engagement rate yoy

45%

Increase in organic search traffic yoy

125%

increase in total lead volume

An infographic article about TikTok marketers and financial education. The image shows a mobile phone with the TikTok logo and dollar signs, representing financial topics related to social media marketing.

Our content strategy focused on structured content, including page introductions, FAQs, relevant outlinks, and organized, ordered information in question-and-answer format. This approach earned the website the highly valuable top position in search results for dozens of keyword searches, thanks to leveraging the latest in next-generation AI-driven search tactics.