Marketing Review — Nov 2025

Monthly marketing performance review with ^[1] and ^[2]. Covered Google Ads performance, SEO/organic traffic trends, content quality issues, and the upcoming Quaritalia website sync.

Meeting date: ~Nov 2025
Attendees: Karly Oykhman (AAG), Melissa Cusumano (AAG), Lincoln Durham (Quarra), Lauren Pomaranski (Quarra), Avokerie Onorimuo (AAG)

Overview

The call was a monthly stats review plus alignment on several open items. Overall trajectory is positive — organic traffic is up and the website health score is strong — but two areas need immediate attention: a decision on whether to continue Google Ads given low search volume, and a critical sync with the Quaritalia Italy team to unblock the stalled website project.

Key Decisions

• Google Ads — pause vs. expand: Quarra (lldurham) to decide whether to pause campaigns or expand keyword targeting to broader, less niche terms. AAG noted that if campaigns continue, landing pages should be reworked and e-guides would help conversion rates. No decision made on the call; lldurham to follow up with Karly.
• Kill two blog drafts: Two drafts with factual errors will be discarded rather than revised:
• Vols Quartzite in fine art — the premise is factually incorrect; a replacement on Vols Quartzite in high-end residential was suggested.
• Hand tools / pointing — draft conflated masonry pointing (grout joints) with stone pointing (chisel reference points); not salvageable as written.
• Blog pre-approval process: AAG will share blog topic/keyword calendar with Quarra before drafting to prevent future accuracy issues.
• Eaton project page: Kept as unlisted (not deleted) so it can be reactivated quickly if client approval comes through.

Action Items

• [ ] lldurham — Decide on Google Ads strategy (pause or expand); inform Karly so she can rework landing pages and add broader keywords if continuing.
• [ ] lldurham — Email Karly the exact titles of the two blog drafts to kill/revise.
• [ ] Karly (AAG) — Schedule Quaritalia sync for Tues, Nov 25 at 8 AM EST (2 PM Italy); invite Lincoln, Mark, and Melissa.
• [ ] Karly (AAG) — Send blog topic/keyword calendar to Lauren and Lincoln for pre-approval.
• [ ] Karly (AAG) — Draft "identity column" copy (per Lauren's email).
• [ ] Karly (AAG) — Continue building email templates.
• [ ] Lauren — Generate email signatures for all staff using HubSpot's signature generator; paste into Outlook.
• [ ] Lauren — Send Karly placement instructions for the images already submitted.
• [ ] Lauren — Secure approval to use the Obama video on the website; contact John Lupinos (L-U-P-I-N-O-S) via Josh Trump if needed.

Google Ads Performance (Last 30 Days)

Core issue: Niche B2B keywords have inherently low search volume. The ads are performing well for the audience that does see them, but that audience is small. AAG's view: low spend means little harm in leaving them on, but expanding to broader keywords is worth considering if the goal is more volume.

"B2B Google Ads are kind of difficult in that sense because most of the time as a business owner, you're not going to be searching for those things." — Karly

Website SEO & Organic Traffic (Last 30–90 Days)

Key challenge: The site ranks predominantly for branded terms (searches containing "Quarra"). Goal is to build non-branded, top-of-funnel keyword rankings through new content and optimized existing posts.

Positive signals: Project pages are performing well and contributing to domain authority. Blog and project content is trending up across the board.

Quaritalia Website — Status & Blockers

See also: ^[3] (if exists)

Current blockers:
1. Past-due invoice from Quaritalia — lldurham to address in person during Italy visit.
2. Missing project content from Frederica — still outstanding; needed to complete site build.

AAG progress:
- Melissa is writing copy.
- Developer is building mock-ups from the approved designs.

Critical sync — Tues, Nov 25, 8 AM EST (2 PM Italy):
- lldurham will be on-site in Italy Mon–Tue the week of Thanksgiving.
- Purpose: resolve invoice, align on content deliverables, unblock development.
- AAG attendees: Karly, Mark, Melissa.
- Quarra Italia attendees: lldurham + Italy team (lldurham to forward invite internally).
- Note: The existing Nov 24 meeting remains on the calendar for now; to be cancelled if no separate topics arise.

Admin & Housekeeping

• MIT presentation video: Link it on the news page rather than embedding — embedding an hour-plus video would hurt page load speed.
• Email signatures: Use HubSpot's free signature generator to create and copy-paste into Outlook. Lauren to create for all staff.
• Eaton project page: Unlisted (not deleted). Can be pushed live immediately upon client approval.
• Website images: Lauren has sent images to AAG but needs to provide placement instructions before they can be placed.
• Content audit (typos/wrong project info): Lauren found and fixed one error (in a title). AAG also has a team member auditing. Both sides to continue and flag anything found.
• Ms. Madison project: Added to the website; categories corrected per Lauren's email.

Context & Notes

• lldurham mentioned wanting to keep adding project pages — these are among the best-performing content on the site.
• Email marketing was flagged by Karly as potentially a stronger lead-gen channel than Google Ads for Quarra's B2B audience. Not a formal recommendation yet, but worth revisiting.
• The Obama video (presumably featuring Quarra's work) is a potential high-value content asset for the website; approval is the only blocker.