Lone Wolf

How a firearms ecommerce site got a leg up in SEO and boosted online sales.

Founded in 1988, Lone Wolf sells firearms parts and accessories both from third parties and from its own line of products. As general manager of the firm, Rob Hansel oversees all aspects of sales and marketing—something that's especially tricky in this industry.

In 2014, Rob began search for ways to increase his web traffic and sales. Because firearms companies aren't allowed to advertise on major search engines, nearly all web traffic is organic. To make matters even more difficult, Rob says that firearms customers tend to be loyal, but difficult to win initially. "It is critical that new visitors follow through with a purchase—so they can become repeat customers in the future."

Rob needed a service that would help convince cautious first-time buyers to choose Lone Wolf, while also delivering superior web traffic.

Two needs, one solution.

Until 2014, Rob hadn't considered that both his problems stemmed from the same root: not communicating to visitors that lonewolfdist.com is a safe, legitimate website. He realized that visitors who don't know if a site is trustworthy won't click on it in search, and even if they're on a site, they won't buy without some kind of reassurance.

When Rob heard about the McAfee SECURE service, he was intrigued—not only because it increases sales by certifying sites as safe, but also because certified sites are highlighted in the search results of tens of millions of people. Rob did an A/B test where 50% of lonewolfdist.com's visitors would see the McAfee SECURE trustmark. The trustmark lets customers know the site they're on is tested and certified to be safe, free from malware, viruses, and more.

When the tests results came back Rob was stunned: Displaying the trustmark increased online sales from SEO traffic by 14.4%!

"Displaying the McAfee SECURE trustmark clearly had a huge impact in converting new visitors, especially those who found us using a search engine."

- Rob Hansel, General Manager, Lone Wolf Distributors

Brand matters.

In addition to boost Lone Wolf's performance in search and sales, Rob opted for McAfee SECURE certification because of the company's strong, globally-recognized brand. "One of our biggest customers also uses McAfee SECURE for Internet security," said Hansel. "We thought, 'If it is good enough for them, it is good enough for us.'"

"Anything you can do to make your customer feel more secure is beneficial to your bottom line, and the results show that our customers do feel more secure with this service."

- Rob Hansel, General Manager, Lone Wolf Distributors