New NE Ohio Recycling Business PK Crushing Takes Green Online

April 7, 2009 - A long-time, Northeast Ohio family-owned business has taken its commitment to recycling, environmental consciousness and cost efficiency straight to the Web with the help of a local search engine optimization firm.

In May 2008 Akron-based Perrin Asphalt, a 45-year-old asphalt and concrete paving business, launched PK Crushing, a concrete and asphalt recycling operation, out of its location on Dan Street.

At the time of PK Crushing's launch, Perrin Asphalt already had been active in recycling. The company recycles cardboard and paper generated in its office and heats its building with used oil taken from the company's trucks. It was only natural that the company would develop a plan to recycle the tons of concrete and asphalt removed from work sites that had become a mountain of waste at its dumpsite in Akron.

The company now recycles 100% of the asphalt and concrete it removes from job sites throughout Northeast Ohio and has the capacity to accept material from other asphalt and concrete contractors in the state.

The material is then used to produce recycled aggregate for new roads, parking lots, driveways, patios and more, which Perrin Asphalt uses in its paving projects and PK Crushing sells to other contractors. Using recycled aggregate in construction projects reduces the cost of paving projects and removes a significant amount of waste from landfills.

Once the details of the new operation had been worked out, the Perrin family, headed by Charlie Perrin, realized it was time to market the business. The company hired Pilot Fish, a local search engine optimization firm located in Bath, to lead the development of its PK Crushing web site.

According to Pilot Fish President Angela Charles, the initial meeting went so well that Perrin decided to have Pilot Fish work on its Perrin Asphalt site too. "They realized that the initial investment in a professionally developed, search engine optimized website would further their green initiatives by leveraging the Internet for most of their marketing effort," she said.

Pilot Fish worked with Perrin and PK Crushing to develop the site navigation, content and keywords that would be used to position the companies' sites on major search engines, such as Google and Yahoo. Pilot Fish coordinated the development of the websites with eNetOhio, a web development firm in Stow.

"A key component to the project was keyword research," Charles said. "The companies had a defined budget for the web sites, so it was important to determine what type of content would generate the most quality traffic for their business. Given that the web sites would be their primary form of marketing, it was important to get the most bang for their buck."

Since launching both sites in January, the company has watched as their name recognition has expanded from Northeast Ohio to parts well outside Ohio's borders.

"We got a call from a business in Indiana that wanted to know if we could crush their concrete," said Perrin co-owner Kim Hengle. "We couldn't help them, but we were happy to see that our company is starting to get visibility on the Internet."

Charles said that in addition to providing a green alternative to traditional forms of marketing, search engine optimization is cost-effective. "Most clients report that their SEO project has paid for itself within the first year," she said. "That's important in today's economic environment. Companies need to invest in marketing activities that are measurable and offer a quick return."

PK Crushing's web site is located at www.pkcrushing.com. Perrin Asphalt's new site is www.perrinasphalt.com.

For more information about search engine optimization, visit www.pilotfishseo.com.