Our senior SEO exec Rob was losing hope.
He’d sent out tens of LinkedIn messages offering his skills for free to charities as part of Platypus Digital’s pro bono initiative, but weirdly he wasn’t getting much interest.
Then Rob reached out to Trees for Life, a Scottish charity dedicated to rewilding the Highlands and protecting the Caledonian Forest.
“I found myself working with a lot of health and medical charities in my paid client work at Platypus, which is fantastic, but I didn’t have many opportunities in the environmental sector,” Rob explains. “I did geography at university, and I’m really passionate about the environment.”
“I reached out to quite a few charities, and it was strangely difficult to find someone that wanted to take me up on the offer. I think the offer seemed almost too good to be true? People thought it might be a strange sales tactic. The promise of free work with no ulterior motive doesn’t come along often.”
Rob’s persistence paid off when he connected with Chris, Trees for Life’s Head of Fundraising and Marketing.
“I just had a chat with Chris, explained the process and how I came to have this opportunity to do pro bono work through the perks that Platypus Digital offers,” Rob says.
To prove that our pro bono offer wasn’t a sales pitch in disguise, Rob knew he had to build trust with the charity. He utilised his SEO skill set to demonstrate the value he could provide.
He started with a technical audit of their website, presenting the work without asking for anything in return. “Once I’d done that and presented the work to him, and didn’t ask him for any money, I think something changed, and he was like, ‘Okay, this is genuine and actually really useful. This is something that we can move forward with.’”
From there, Rob provided SEO training, worked closely with the team to implement technical fixes, and conducted keyword research to inspire new content ideas.
The results spoke for themselves:
- Lots of technical improvements across the site including fixing broken links, better internal linking, and meta data optimisation
- The Trees for Life team gained a deeper understanding of SEO best practices
- Keyword research uncovered new content opportunities
- A strong, trusting relationship formed between Platypus Digital and Trees for Life
“The level of appreciation that they give is very heart-warming” said Rob. “Every time we jump on a call to talk through recommendations or help explain a concept, they’re always genuinely thankful. It’s just lovely to be able to offer expertise and support a charity doing amazing work that otherwise wouldn’t be able to access it.”
For Rob, being able to choose a cause close to his heart has been just as rewarding. “It’s nice to have been able to build that relationship with Trees for Life,” he reflects. “I wouldn’t have had that opportunity without the Platypus pro bono offer.”
“It’s been incredibly beneficial working with Platypus over the past 12 months,” said Chris from Trees for Life.
“Rob is easy to work with and clearly very knowledgeable. His expertise and advice have been easy to follow, and it’s rewarding to see our website’s performance improve as the months go by; meaning that more people can learn about our Trees for Life and what it means to rewild the Scottish Highlands.”
