What would you say is unique and/or challenging about the Illinois SEO industry?
Brad Fogel:
“I would say standing out from all the other SEO agencies in the Illinois area. Illinois and, specifically, Chicago is a very competitive market with many high-performing SEO and digital marketing companies. You need to really sell your value proposition, success stories and how you can help companies from various industries grow online and acquire more sales.”
How does your agency stand out in a crowded market like Illinois?
Brad Fogel:
“Our agency is focused on creating opportunities to generate word-of-mouth, get people to talk about our company and generate a buzz, like awards from sites such as SEOblog.com. Also, we decided to brand ourselves as a provider to other agencies that want to sell white label services such as SEO. We’ve found many web design agencies are good at design, however, but lack the expertise in search engine optimization techniques that are always changing. That’s where we come in to assist.”
Can you share a success story from a local SEO campaign centered around the Illinois area?
Brad Fogel:
“We’ve been able to grow organic traffic for a manufacturing company here in Illinois by 300% since 2015 and 150% since 2017 with a limited budget. Each year has seen higher organic traffic because of new content, technical SEO and onsite optimization of existing content, including old, neglected blog posts along with continual link building. This has led to more leads and targeted traffic to its existing site.”

Brad Fogel, President of Operation Technology, was recently interviewed on SEOBlog.com.
What is the best advice you ever received in business?
Brad Fogel:
“I was told to ‘Earn Their Trust’ by an old mentor. Whether it’s a coworker, client or a boss, once you have earned someone’s trust, new opportunities come your way. I’ve found this to be true for three decades of my career as an owner of an agency and as an employee of a Fortune 500 company.”
Read the entire interview on SEOblog.com.
Who is Bradley Fogel:
Brad Fogel is the founder and CEO of Operation Technology. Brad has been in the marketing industry for over 20 years developing strategies to help clients grow their business online. Starting his own company was something he had always wanted to do. It has been very rewarding to him seeing the team at Operation Technology helping small businesses with their digital marketing needs. His passion is developing strong online strategies for clients while making new connections within the industry. Brad’s background also includes a PMP certification from the Project Management Institute.
Operation Technology provides creative solutions for companies big and small. This includes mobile responsive websites, search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click advertising (PPC) and local SEO marketing services.