A Growth Engine for Europe

Jonathon Blackburn started his business, The Houseman, in 2011 on a budget of just £150. The company now has a growing team of property management, refurbishment and maintenance specialists, working for clients across the north of England. Jonathon attributes much of this growth to the knowledge and skills he gained through The Digital Garage. “With Google AdWords, we were getting lots of clicks, but most were irrelevant. The Digital Garage changed that,” says Jonathon. “The minute I walked out of there, I felt confident we’d found a solution. As a small business, that’s what you want.” Jonathon spent time with an AdWords specialist, learning about keywords and ad placement. He also attended sessions on SEO and social media. “I started implementing what I’d learnt the same night. Within 24 hours, the clicks started coming in – quality clicks that created leads and actual business,” he says. By implementing a new AdWords strategy and investing time in tools such as Google Analytics, Jonathon has been able to take The Houseman from a single bedsit to a fully furbished office with eight staff. “We’re now turning over in one month what we turned over in our whole first year,” says Jonathon. “The Digital Garage is the reason The Houseman is where it is today.”