Key Medium Helps Support the Growth of Philadelphia’s Economy and Wins 4 Awards

For Immediate Release | November 14, 2019

  • Key Medium won four awards for its work on the Philadelphia Works website.
  • Key Medium’s mobile-first, voice-friendly website, and site re-structure helped with a 30% increase in sessions, a 20% increase in unique users, and a 5% bounce rate reduction compared with the period directly preceding. We also realized a 7% lift in traffic from organic search.
  • Key Medium developed a performance analytics dashboard accessibly 24/7 and trained key members of Philadelphia Works to use and understand the dashboard to continue to generate positive results.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Key Medium won the 2019 Gold Award in Mobile Information Experience by the AVA Digital Awards, the 2019 Gold Hermes Creative Award, administered and judged, by the Association of Marketing and Communications Professionals, the 2019 Muse Creative Gold Award, as well as the 2019 Communicator’s Award of Distinction in User Experience for Websites by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts for their work on Philadelphia Works website, which connects critical workforce services and solutions to jobseekers and employers in the Philadelphia area.

Ali Jaffar, CEO and lead developer notes, “The old website structure for Philadelphia Works was confusing, difficult to navigate, had a poor website structure, and had an outdated design. When you open an organization’s website, you should know what they do within five seconds. It was difficult to figure out what Philadelphia Works did with their existing offerings and site. With such an important offering, helping career seekers and employers, it’s vital that the website was comprehensible, user-friendly, fast, updated for SEO, and had a sleek design to make it as user-friendly as possible. And that’s what we did!”

Key Medium implemented a mobile-first platform and re-configured the website’s key data points so that data could be used to understand and factor into the decision-making process going forward. They worked on the target audience, mapping out intent-driven keyword strategy, and ensured the website was ready for voice search. They also implemented a component-based design system, improved functionality and look, supported the enrichment of the content areas to make the site more user-friendly and clear. After implementation, Key Medium provided training to key members of staff and developed an administration manual to enable a transfer of knowledge.

In addition to the website work, Key Medium added a custom WordPress theme, launched a new sleek, streamlined design with clear categories to help employers/workforce system partners and career-seekers understand how to find the necessary information. Key Medium also implemented Google’s Data Studio with the goals being measured in alignment with the City’s overarching strategy (Fueling Philadelphia’s Talent Engine).

Ali Jaffar continues, “The website work was essentially two websites–or two sides of the same website–where people seeking jobs can find the right information and employers can find where to go too. The website provided new challenges for me and I was excited to be able to work to help improve the community under an initial Coding For Causes grant discount. I worked with other partners such as Rachel Dukeman, Kasey Thompson, P’unk Avenue, Elena Vayner, Patricia Blumenauer, and Meg Shope Koppel, Ph.D. of Philadelphia Works and various organizations to bring the final design to life in line with the organization’s needs.”

Key Medium further categorized pages to provide clear resources for each type of user and mapped out how to best redirect old pages to new ones to retain authority in Google Search and to ensure a smooth transition. The website now has a clear way for users to explore data and trends, find jobs, build skills, and hire talent with all pages cohesively in-keeping with the theme. For career seekers, it shows current job openings, workshops, how to land a job as a young person, and career coaching. Previously, the resources were jumbled and information wasn’t easy to find but now the user experience is sleek, user-friendly, and clear.

About Philadelphia Works

Philadelphia Works is the city’s Workforce Development Board, investing in solutions and services to grow Philadelphia’s economy by connecting employers to workforce talent and career seekers to jobs. They influence the public policies that support economic growth and optimize funding and resources to invest in regional solutions to build a skilled and thriving workforce. For more information, visit www.philaworks.org.

About Key Medium and Coding for Causes

Founded in 2014, Key Medium is a premiere digital agency that creates beautiful, branded experiences for businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies. Key Medium has received praise for spearheading the growth of startup companies and lending affordable expertise and services to Philadelphia’s workforce development board, charter schools and nonprofit organizations through the Coding for Causes program. For more about Key Medium, visit www.keymedium.com or follow on Twitter @KeyMedium.

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Ali Jaffar, CEO
Key Medium LLC
215.302.0280
press@keymedium.com
100 S. Juniper St, Floor 3, Philadelphia, PA 19107


Web Developer, UX Designer, Communicator, Brand Strategist and Search and Conversion Optimization Expert in Philadelphia

Ali Jaffar has been building dazzling websites and creating amazing online experiences for over a decade. His mastery of the latest innovations in web development results in world-class website experiences set apart by show-stopping style and seamless functionality. A sought-after consultant and 50-time award-winning storyteller, UX expert, and web developer — Ali lends his talents to build and bolster digital experiences for a wide array of clients — with a keen focus on web design for nonprofit organizations, B2B, and government agencies. When Ali’s not helping his clients grow or providing pro bono services via his Coding For Causes program, you can find him exploring beautiful open spaces with his dog, working on digital solutions like the Good Jobs Search Engine software, or doing yoga.

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