How We Grew into New Zealand’s Market Leading Digital Marketing Agency

When I started Pure SEO in October 2009, I had just moved to New Zealand from the UK. Whilst I had extensive experience in business and marketing, I had no idea of any of the nuances of the New Zealand market. I had no network here whatsoever.

n early 2010, I was still a sole trader but had graduated from my home to a free office space where I perched at the end of someone’s desk. In 2022, we now have nearly 100 people, a great reputation, and the largest market share of any independent digital agency in New Zealand.

Whilst I can’t be sure of why we have been so successful, I can point to three things that I believe played a significant part:

Care

I think, by far, the most significant difference between Pure SEO and the competitors is that we genuinely care about our people and clients. Every single aspect of the company’s DNA is about this core principle.

Our company tagline is “Doing Digital the Right Way”. Everyone at the company is empowered to make decisions based on the tenet that we will always do the right thing. I believe that, at our core, we always know the right/ethical thing to do. Therefore, if anyone at the company makes a decision with this at its heart, we can’t go far wrong or ask more from them.

Specialisation

If I cannot, hand-on-heart, say that we are the best at search engine optimisation (SEO) in New Zealand, then I am doing both our team and clients a disservice.

I believe, without a doubt, that we are leagues ahead of everyone else in New Zealand at SEO. This is demonstrated by our results, our own website ranking and our continued devotion to the principles of continual improvement.

We also manage USD$10m of Google Ads media spend a year (probably the largest independent in New Zealand), and specialise in data, analytics, and programmatic advertising. I believe the fact that we are known as SEO specialists has been critical to our success.

People

One of the most humbling things about our journey has been the people who have helped me and the lessons I have learnt. So, here’s to Deon and Uli, who gave me free office space, customers, and huge learnings when I started. Here’s to my business partners, Tony and Ian, who bought into the business in 2014, and the countless others who have freely shared their knowledge and experience with me.

Part of why I love New Zealand so much and am proud to call it home is the generosity and altruistic help I have received from the people here since I arrived.

Many other factors have contributed to our growth and achievements, such as systemisation, luck, and desire for growth, and probably a whole host of reasons I am unaware of. With serious reflection, however, I think care, specialisation, and the people have had the most significant impact.