About Root and Branch
Root & Branch aims to provide thoughtful, transparent, and effective digital marketing planning, training, and implementation work focused on Local SEO, On Page SEO, Google Analytics, and Google Ads.
Hello! Thanks for Coming By
My name is Zack Duncan.
I’m the Founder and President of Root and Branch. I enjoy good hiking, fresh beer, great coffee, and real conversations. I haven’t (yet!) found a way to make money by drinking beer, so it’s a good thing I also really like Local SEO, SEO Content Strategy, Paid Search (Google Ads), Google Analytics, and general marketing strategy and planning.
This is me.
Since you’re here, let me tell you a little about myself and about Root and Branch.
Some Things About Me
We all have things that make up our story in life. Here are some details from mine.
- I spent the first 10 or so years of my working life at large retail corporations. Most of my time was spent in Marketing and I worked in functions like Brand, Planning, CRM, and Strategy.
- I first became interested in the digital side of marketing when I was at those corporations. I remember our outside digital agencies coming in to speak with us and talking about things like “attribution models” and “conversion tracking” and “funnel progression.” It all seemed like a mysterious black box that I couldn’t wrap my head around, but the positive results were undeniable. I didn’t know much about digital marketing myself, but I knew I was interested in knowing about it.
- I eventually left the corporate world due to a combination of factors including immaturity, professional burnout, a brush with death (I’m only here today thanks to an implanted cardiac defibrillator that saved my life nearly 8 years ago), and a nagging suspicion that the personal validation I was seeking in my career was masking some far deeper issues. That’s a whole different story, but you can read it here if you’re interested.
- I recently moved to North Carolina after spending most of my adult life in Pittsburgh, PA. Pittsburgh is a great place. If you’re ever visiting, here are some recommendations to consider checking out. Have fun!
The Root and Branch Story
Root and Branch was born in 2016, and it became my full time job a year later. The idea with the name can basically be summed up like this: the things we do (branches) are the results of who we are and what we believe (roots). This applies in business, where the best results (branches) come from thoughtful plans that are consistent with values, mission and what customers want (roots). I think the same paradigm is also relevant in our individual lives.
Here’s a brief history of the company.
The Early Days of Root and Branch
I worked alone and primarily did Google Ads work. At that time it was called Google AdWords. My first client was my aunt, who was gracious enough to let me get hands on experience in the platform by running PPC ads for her HVAC business. Gradually, I accumulated more clients and expanded service offerings to include basic SEO support as well as social media content creation. I enjoy learning new things, and it took a lot of learning to feel comfortable offering new services to clients. It was at this time that I became especially interested in Google Analytics, which is a powerful free tool that can help to measure much of the digital ecosystem.
I soon realized I could grow the business only as much as I was willing to work. And it takes a lot of time to do all the work! I hired interns and some contractors to help, but it was still a bit too much for me to handle. That eventually led to a second phase of the business.
Second Phase
I eventually hired a full time person, and then another person after that. That made us three full time folks, including me. That was supplemented with a number of contractors who primarily helped with SEO content creation (blog writing) and some social media support.
This was the high water mark of Root and Branch. It was a small business, but one that was steadily growing. Then Covid came calling, which changed things for us as it did for so many.
Third Phase
Covid changed things both for our clients but also for me personally. With daycare closed, I became the primary childcare provider in our family which didn’t leave nearly enough time – or mental capacity – for work.
My two former employees both found great new opportunities, and I got along as best I could. But without full time employees, I didn’t know a great way to scale, or even sustain, the business. Even after Covid began to settle down and businesses reopened, I found I didn’t have the desire to scale up the business.
Today
Today, Root and Branch has one full time employee. You guessed it! It’s this guy. Root and Branch has a very small number of ongoing clients, and I am generally not looking for others* (more on that below). Instead, I spend some time teaching and also making instructional YouTube videos.
I enjoy learning, but I tend to have to work for it to wrestle it all into my brain. The videos are the result of what I’ve learned after those hard fought wrestling matches. There is content related to the following subjects below, along with links to a couple examples for each.
- Google Analytics
- Google Ads
- Google Tag Manager
- SEO (On Page SEO and Local SEO)
Root and Branch is in the YouTube Partner Program, which means we get 55% of all ad revenue. This year, all proceeds are being given to organizations and causes that make the world a better place. So thanks for being patient with any ads.
Want to Get in Touch?
If you’re interested in any of the following, I’d love to hear from you:
- Are you interested in learning about digital marketing for yourself or your company? I provide training and instruction in SEO, Google Ads, and Google Analytics. Let me know what you’re looking to solve, and I can tell you if I’d be a good fit. For example, if you are looking for more advanced GA work or highly technical SEO, there are a couple other names I can provide for you.
- If you are looking for digital marketing implementation work, I am not doing much in that area today. Instead, I can provide a short list of other agencies and freelancers that you might want to check out.
- If you’re looking for a preliminary Local SEO clean up, that is something that I can handle. We’d review and clean up your Google Business Profile and Google Search Console property and put together a short plan for ongoing success. We’d also typically set up Yext PowerListings to create consistent business directory listings and improve local visibility.
- Are you interested in creating an instructional how-to video for the Root and Branch YouTube channel? I’d love to hear about it. If there’s a good fit, you can pick from a short list of non profits that will get 100% of all ad revenue from your video.
If you want to read a little more first, there’s a little more info about Root and Branch below. And here are 4 recommended blogs:
- What’s the difference between Local SEO and National (or On Page) SEO?
- How does the new Google Analytics 4 compare to Universal Analytics?
- What are branded and non branded keywords? And how can you get more non branded traffic?
- How much does Local SEO cost?
If you’re interested in connecting, the best way to reach me on LinkedIn. Thanks again for coming by, and have a great rest of your day!
What Does Root and Branch Do?
At this time, we’re not taking on new clients outside of limited cases. You can read about those above. But we are interested in B2B and B2C organizations that want to get more out of their digital marketing efforts.
I believe we have a track record of generating strong results, but we do not guarantee results in terms of number of leads generated or return on ad spend. I believe that these kinds of incentives can lead to short term thinking that makes it hard to focus on long-term, strategic goals. What I will always guarantee is that any work and business dealings will be ethical and transparent.
But Do You Know What You’re Doing?
I am far from an expert in all areas of digital marketing (despite what some may claim, I’ve yet to meet someone who is skilled in web development and content strategy and graphic design and CRM set-ups and paid search management and etc, etc), but I do have a lot of hands on experience with Local SEO, On Page SEO, Google Ads, Google Analytics, and general planning and strategy.
In other words, I will be up front if I don’t think I can add value and won’t pretend to be good at something I’m not.
87%
Percentage of the top 10,000 websites that are currently running Google Analytics. Is your organization taking advantage of this free and powerful platform?
Today could be a great day to start getting more out of GA.
$17,500
The median value that consumers assign to Online Search, based on how much they say they’d need to be paid to give it up for one year. R&B focuses on Search for B2B and B2C companies because it’s where audiences are most engaged across all levels of the marketing funnel.
90%
Of all searchers have not made up their mind about which brand to purchase at the time that they begin their online search. Having helpful, relevant, and engaging content to help these people can build brand equity, inspire trust, and drive valuable organic traffic. Good SEO is not possible with good content.
91%
Percentage of people who don’t look past the first page of Google search results. Our SEO approach is designed to target valuable, high-intent keywords and drive them to prime real estate on page 1.
