Today we’d like to introduce you to John Locke, all the way from Sacramento.
Hi John, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
About thirteen years ago, I was working in a commercial bread factory, and I was undergoing some repetitive motion health issues and realizing I needed to make a career change. I decided to learn web design and development and spent about two years learning how to build websites. Unlike a lot of my colleagues today, I didn’t grow up as a “computer guy” and I really had to learn from the ground up. Eventually, around 2010 or 2011, I put my first website online. I started making websites for friends, which were very basic, but it helped me get practice.
Eventually, the bakery shut down to a labor dispute and then a bankruptcy, but I already had a new website up where I was advertising for web design services. I hit the ground running, and I’ve been doing web design and SEO ever since. That first couple of years, I got business from job boards, networking events, handing out business cards, putting up fliers, and doing subcontract work for remote agencies.
About five or six years ago, I started focusing more on SEO, content creation, and local SEO. The company has had steady growth since that decision. Today, we have a client roster of industrial companies, manufacturers, contractors, and some other larger organizations.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
When I first started learning web design, I had some learning curves, both in running my own business and targeting the ideal clients for my skillset. In many ways, it was like learning all over again. Many of my industry colleagues tell the story that they were entrepreneurs from an early age, but that was something that didn’t awaken in me until later in life. A lot of things I had to learn through mistakes, and I am very blessed to have made it to a point where things turned the corner for good.
Something that happened to me early on is I wasn’t as business savvy as I needed to be, and after the first year, I was trying to get a job at local web agencies. That was an eye-opening experience, as all the interviews I had, I got the impression the respective decision-makers were looking to hire younger people without kids or a family. At this time, I was living with my long-time partner, and we each had a teenager.
Not being hired by another agency was the best thing that happened in the long run, as I started putting all my effort into making my brand memorable. Things did pick up eventually, and we got through those leaner years. I am really grateful for the people in my industry who wanted to see me succeed, as they helped me grow my visibility and genuinely wanted to see me and my family do well without a hint of jealousy. I appreciate those people.
Web design and internet marketing is a really saturated market, and it takes a lot to stand out. I underestimated that at first. In the end, I’m glad everything happened the way it did because it helped make me who I am today.
We’ve been impressed with Lockedown SEO, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
One of the things we are known for is helping manufacturing and industrial brands get more visibility in search engines and get more qualified leads organically. There’s a huge need for this in the market, it is still under-served, and there are only a handful of SEO companies doing a good job for this sector, especially for small to mid-sized companies.
It’s nice to see what an impact your efforts have in the real world, helping clients grow their revenue, watching them expand, and hire more people. It’s mind-blowing to realize that our work is a small part of that, helping businesses get bigger and more stable.
Where we stand out from some of our industry colleagues is doing a deep dive in auditing and improving their sites. We win a fair number of contracts, and oftentimes we see what other agencies are offering as an action plan and what the investment level is. There is a certain standard that needs to be met for websites to outrank competitors, and oftentimes, finding those gaps between a client and the incumbents at the top of search results is very esoteric. We do a deep SEO audit before we even write a prescriptive action and take care to look for the details. This makes it higher likelihood our clients will perform better over the long term. I’m not sure every SEO or web agency is doing that. I think some agencies see SEO as a way to sell a higher monthly retainer, and it’s difficult for clients or business owners to discern the differences between one agency and another.
The bottom line is we are able to take care of the critical aspects like content creation, technical SEO, and web design and development that have the most impact, and I’m proud we’re able to help clients in that manner.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I didn’t start in web design professionally until I was forty years old. I had a whole career as a bakery manager for Safeway and about five years working for Wonder Bread before getting into web design and internet marketing. I also play guitar, which seems to be fairly common for web designers, at least the people I hang out with.
Also, I didn’t grow up in a big city. Originally, I came to Sacramento for a job transfer in 1999. I love living where I do now, in Natomas. I love LA too, the big cities in California have so much great culture, food, art, and things to do. The people are awesome.
Pricing:
- Monthly SEO retainers – $800 to 2500
- New website design and development – $7500 to 16000
- One-time SEO Audits – human curated – Start at $1500
- Google AdWords Management – $350 to 800 monthly
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lockedownseo.com/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/lockedownseo
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lockedownseo
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/LockedownSEO
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedownSEO
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/lockedown-seo-sacramento-2
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@lockedownseo
