Vancouver Island Web Agency Offers Multiple Services To Clients
VICTORIA – Nice guys finish last?
Jonathan Michaels, Chief Executive Officer and owner of Geeks on the Beach web agency doesn’t believe that at all.
“We have a nice team of nice geeks, and we make nice websites. And we’re serious about business,” Michaels says of the web design and optimization company he founded in 2007.
“Our whole focus is on trying to find the balance between being easy to deal with and doing serious business,” adds Michaels, noting they have offices in Dragon Alley in downtown Victoria, and in Parksville. “We’re very knowledgeable about what we do.”
Geeks on the Beach offers web site construction, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media Strategy, Google ads expertise and graphic design to clients, and the company has grown steadily since its beginning in Qualicum Beach.
“We have staff members up and down Vancouver Island, and we’re using Vancouver Island as a jumping off point for servicing clients across North America and the world,” Michaels states, adding the company now has 14 employees, including Partner David Michels, who has been with the firm for 10 years. Jonathan focuses on sales, with David looking after project management.
Despite the COVID crisis, Geeks on the Beach actually grew its business last year, Michaels observes. “We’ve roughly doubled in size over the past year, and I would attribute that specifically to people who revisited their websites and online marketing and decided it was time to step up from using independent website designers, to a full service agency like ours,” he says. “They knew they needed to up their game to an agency that would meet all their needs.”
Michaels had a software company in Regina, Saskatchewan and penned a book titled “Personal Finance On The Web: A Personal Guide”, while writing for mostly financial-related technology. British Columbia beckoned.
“We wanted to move out to BC, and specifically liked Vancouver Island because of the lifestyle, and Qualicum Beach had some really good schools for our children,” he recalls. “We raised our family in the area, but once the kids were grown, we decided that I could work anywhere in the world, and that Victoria was the perfect fit for us.”
Michaels set up shop in Chinatown on Fisgard Street, first renting a three-storey live/work townhouse, then buying that unit and the one next door, which are still home to Geeks on the Beach.
“I live in the cutest little office on Pandora,” he notes, adding he is also a Director of the Downtown Victoria Business Association.https://downtownvictoria.ca/
Geeks on the Beach has built websites for some of the largest resorts and tourist attractions on Vancouver Island, and Michaels notes that the San Francisco Aquarium is near the top of the list of their creations.
Sites that utilize WordPress are their specialty, and they have earned a reputation for their works creating blogs for clients.
“We have a clear focus on SEO and that’s something that comes directly out of my personal background, and it impacts every site that we build,” he notes. “SEO is never an after-thought with us, as it’s something that’s linked in to our pages.
“We also do a lot of online marketing for clients who are looking to stand out in local search engines and are in highly competitive sectors. They come to us for the strategic advantages we deliver,” he adds. “We also work on Shopify websites, promotional give-away campaigns, and help people attract positive reviews for local searches. That includes Reputation Management. Really, anything that clients who need a better website in order to be more competitive, which they know they need if they want to survive.”
