RoughWorks
& Milkjar Candle Co.
Candle Flickering in the Corner
Overview
Milkjar Candle Co. had everything going for them: incredible, clean-burning products, a loyal local following, and a strong mission. But online, their light was dim. Their beautifully designed e-commerce site was underperforming, and the algorithms weren't in their favour.
The key problem was one of visibility and efficiency. Potential customers couldn't easily find them on Google, and their paid advertising budget was being wasted on expensive, low-converting keywords. The Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) was low, and their organic reach was stuck—meaning their growth was limited by their digital marketing, not their product quality.
Poor Organic Reach
The website was not optimised for search engines, so customers weren't finding Milk Jar when searching for niche candle terms.
Wasted Ad Spend
Google Ads campaigns were inefficient, spending money on expensive, generic keywords with low conversion rates.
SEO Technical Debt
The site was held back by technical issues like missing metadata, broken links and slow loading elements.
Crowded Market
Operating in a competitive space, Milk Jar needed expert help to strategically stand out without a massive marketing budget.
Turning the Wick Way Up
Fixing the Foundation
Rough Works was brought in to make sure every dollar worked harder and every search result counted. We approached this as a two-fold mission: a deep dive into Performance Marketing to fix the foundation and sharpen their focus. We turned their organic reach and ad efficiency into the reliable workhorse they needed for growth.
Better Bang for their Buck
Advertising Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) increased significantly from the previous 2.9, meaning every dollar spent generated much more revenue.
A Holiday Season Hit
Milk Jar achieved its best-ever advertising return during the busy holiday season, proving the strategy delivered results when it mattered most.
Showing Up Strong
The site climbed the search rankings to land on the first page for valuable niche terms, like “soy candles Calgary,” where they previously had zero presence.
An Empowered Marketing Team
Milk Jar’s internal team gained a clear, actionable keyword roadmap and a strong foundational understanding of how to manage their digital growth moving forward.
Glowing Online, Maximum ROI
Sharper Spend, Bigger Glow
By combining technical SEO fixes with a razor-sharp PPC strategy, Milk Jar's online visibility and ad efficiency improved dramatically, allowing them to scale sales without scaling their budget. Their light is no longer flickering; it's glowing brightly across the web.
The increased efficiency was felt most profoundly during the holiday season, their busiest time of year.
A Full SEO Audit
We combed through the site to uncover every technical hang-up—from slow-loading images and broken links to missing structured data—then cleaned things up to dramatically improve site health and speed.
Targeted Keywords
We ditched the generic, expensive search terms and hunted for specific, high-intent keywords Milk Jar could realistically rank on, then updated titles, headings, and product copy to match.
PPC Optimisation
We restructured Google Ads campaigns around high-converting phrases and branded terms, dramatically improving Quality Score with copy that emphasised Milk Jar's mission.
A Collaborative Strategy
Weekly data check-ins and active content guidance—suggesting blog topics that organically boost SEO—gave Milk Jar a strong roadmap and the confidence to keep building.
"Working with Seubert was fantastic because they embraced innovation and welcomed suggestions for an improved web experience."
Vice President, Imaginarium
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