Benesch growth playbook

Rebuild each office page from data the site already has: a short paragraph on the office's work, the practice areas staffed there, the local projects pulled automatically by state or city, local awards, the division manager and recent local news. Add a meta description and LocalBusiness structured data. Start with the ten offices behind the most pursuits.

Public owners weigh local experience heavily, and the proof already exists on the site; it just is not connected to the places people look for it. The pages also give pursuit teams a link to send before the RFP drops.

[ ] One-paragraph summary of local work
[ ] Practice areas staffed in this office
[ ] Local projects (auto-pulled by city/state)
[ ] Local awards
[ ] Division manager and contact
[ ] Recent local news
[ ] Meta description and LocalBusiness schema
[ ] Link from every local project back to the office

• Thin pages for small offices

  Group small offices under a state page until they have five projects.

• Project tagging takes time

  Start with state tags already in the header.

• Your websiteOffice pages (49 in the location sitemap): the Chicago, Omaha, Raleigh and Wichita pages each show an address, a phone number and one contact, with no meta description, no description of local work and no link to the projects delivered from that office.Source
• Your websiteProject pages (446 in the sitemap, all read October 21, 2026): each header gives "Client | City, ST". By state: Illinois 64, North Carolina 54, Florida 50, Pennsylvania 46, Nebraska 38, Connecticut 28, Wisconsin 20, Michigan 19, Kansas 18; Texas only 3, although Benesch has offices in Austin, Fort Worth and Houston. 414 of the 446 project pages have no meta description and no social preview description. The /projects/ page filters only by service and practice area.Source
• HiringMarketing Pursuit Director (posted September 3, 2026, hybrid from any office or remote): leads "strategic pursuit planning for priority opportunities across Benesch's markets and service lines", guides "capture planning and pre-positioning", gathers "client, competitor, market, and procurement intelligence", leads interview strategy for shortlists, runs the "Good, Better, Best proposal quality program", analyzes "wins and losses", and will "Lead and develop market research and grant writing capabilities".Source
• HiringCommunications Director (posted September 3, 2026): will "Lead the strategy and ongoing development of Benesch's website, digital communications channels, and social media presence", "Oversee website content, messaging, user experience", "Lead media relations", build thought leadership with technical experts, "Establish measures of effectiveness and leverage communications and digital analytics", and tell "the story of our people, projects, culture, and employee ownership".Source
• Competitor researchRivals' own sites: Garver ("employee-owned", "In the top 100" of ENR's Top 500) has a Strategic Funding Team page that helps clients "research, identify, and pursue the optimal funding opportunities", with a named manager to contact; Kimley-Horn's office pages carry local copy, the services offered and a nearby-office link; HDR calls itself "100% employee-owned".See the research Source

Generate a description for every project from its header and opening paragraph ("Bridge replacement for PennDOT in Philadelphia, PA: ..."), review the top 50 by traffic by hand, and add the same text as the social preview. Make the field required for new projects.

Project pages are the firm's proof, and clear snippets lift clicks from searches for the client or structure name.

• Generic text

  Lead with the structure, client and place.

• Your websiteProject pages (446 in the sitemap, all read October 21, 2026): each header gives "Client | City, ST". By state: Illinois 64, North Carolina 54, Florida 50, Pennsylvania 46, Nebraska 38, Connecticut 28, Wisconsin 20, Michigan 19, Kansas 18; Texas only 3, although Benesch has offices in Austin, Fort Worth and Houston. 414 of the 446 project pages have no meta description and no social preview description. The /projects/ page filters only by service and practice area.Source
• HiringCommunications Director (posted September 3, 2026): will "Lead the strategy and ongoing development of Benesch's website, digital communications channels, and social media presence", "Oversee website content, messaging, user experience", "Lead media relations", build thought leadership with technical experts, "Establish measures of effectiveness and leverage communications and digital analytics", and tell "the story of our people, projects, culture, and employee ownership".Source

Add JobPosting markup (title, location, employment type, date posted, valid through, pay range where posted) to every job page, list only open roles in the sitemap, and expire closed jobs automatically from Greenhouse.

For a firm whose growth depends on hiring engineers, free placement in job search is the cheapest recruiting channel there is.

• Markup errors

  Validate in Search Console each week for the first month.

• SitemapSitemaps (checked October 21, 2026): 359 posts, 36 pages and 127 people pages. The page sitemap includes placeholder and internal working pages and conference pages for APWA PWX 2025 and 2026; the 80th anniversary page sits under /services/. The job sitemap lists 221 job URLs while 148 roles are open; the other 73 redirect to the jobs archive. Job pages carry no JobPosting structured data.Source
• HiringBenesch's Greenhouse board lists 148 open roles (checked October 21, 2026), about 40 of them internships and co-ops, plus a Talent Acquisition Coordinator, Campus Recruiting (posted October 15, 2026), a Talent Acquisition Specialist, and branch manager roles for Central Illinois and Iowa.Source

Add state, office and client-type filters (DOT, city or county, transit agency, airport, private), and a "share this list" link so pursuit teams can send a filtered list with a proposal or before an interview.

Selection panels look for similar work in their own state; making it two clicks away supports every pursuit.

• Wrong tags

  Have division managers check their state.

• Your websiteProject pages (446 in the sitemap, all read October 21, 2026): each header gives "Client | City, ST". By state: Illinois 64, North Carolina 54, Florida 50, Pennsylvania 46, Nebraska 38, Connecticut 28, Wisconsin 20, Michigan 19, Kansas 18; Texas only 3, although Benesch has offices in Austin, Fort Worth and Houston. 414 of the 446 project pages have no meta description and no social preview description. The /projects/ page filters only by service and practice area.Source
• HiringMarketing Pursuit Director (posted September 3, 2026, hybrid from any office or remote): leads "strategic pursuit planning for priority opportunities across Benesch's markets and service lines", guides "capture planning and pre-positioning", gathers "client, competitor, market, and procurement intelligence", leads interview strategy for shortlists, runs the "Good, Better, Best proposal quality program", analyzes "wins and losses", and will "Lead and develop market research and grant writing capabilities".Source
• Your websiteOffice pages (49 in the location sitemap): the Chicago, Omaha, Raleigh and Wichita pages each show an address, a phone number and one contact, with no meta description, no description of local work and no link to the projects delivered from that office.Source

Serve WebP or AVIF images at phone sizes, lazy-load the slider images after the first, and recheck PageSpeed.

It protects the good field result as the Communications Director adds more media to the site.

• Blurry images

  Keep high resolution for desktop.

• Google PageSpeedHomepage on mobile: performance 64, lab Largest Contentful Paint 12.5 s, with "Improve image delivery" worth about 3.5 MB and 7.4 s. Real Chrome visitors are fast: homepage LCP 1.4 s at the 75th percentile, and the whole site at 1.0 s LCP, 57 ms INP and 0 layout shift, so Core Web Vitals pass.Source
• HiringCommunications Director (posted September 3, 2026): will "Lead the strategy and ongoing development of Benesch's website, digital communications channels, and social media presence", "Oversee website content, messaging, user experience", "Lead media relations", build thought leadership with technical experts, "Establish measures of effectiveness and leverage communications and digital analytics", and tell "the story of our people, projects, culture, and employee ownership".Source

Remove placeholder and internal pages from the sitemap and set them to noindex, move the anniversary page under About, and add a monthly sitemap check to the Communications Director's web review.

A clean index makes the pages that matter rank and keeps odd pages out of search results.

• Breaking links

  Redirect rather than delete.

• SitemapSitemaps (checked October 21, 2026): 359 posts, 36 pages and 127 people pages. The page sitemap includes placeholder and internal working pages and conference pages for APWA PWX 2025 and 2026; the 80th anniversary page sits under /services/. The job sitemap lists 221 job URLs while 148 roles are open; the other 73 redirect to the jobs archive. Job pages carry no JobPosting structured data.Source
• HiringCommunications Director (posted September 3, 2026): will "Lead the strategy and ongoing development of Benesch's website, digital communications channels, and social media presence", "Oversee website content, messaging, user experience", "Lead media relations", build thought leadership with technical experts, "Establish measures of effectiveness and leverage communications and digital analytics", and tell "the story of our people, projects, culture, and employee ownership".Source

Publish a Funding Strategy page: the programs Benesch has helped clients win, results by project, the team, and a "funding readiness review" offer. Link it from every grant-funded project and from the office pages.

Municipal clients often start with "how will we pay for it?"; answering that first makes Benesch the firm they call before the RFP.

• Promising funding

  Present past results, not guarantees.

• Your websiteGrant funding: the homepage slider says "We navigate grant funding processes that help bring projects to life" and links to an article on the Copper Creek Sewer Interceptor in Omaha, which "qualified for both state and federal grants, securing a total of $26.1 million in grant funding". 39 project pages mention grants (for example RAISE grant technical support for Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority), but none of the 17 service pages covers funding or grants.Source
• HiringMarketing Pursuit Director (posted September 3, 2026, hybrid from any office or remote): leads "strategic pursuit planning for priority opportunities across Benesch's markets and service lines", guides "capture planning and pre-positioning", gathers "client, competitor, market, and procurement intelligence", leads interview strategy for shortlists, runs the "Good, Better, Best proposal quality program", analyzes "wins and losses", and will "Lead and develop market research and grant writing capabilities".Source
• Competitor researchRivals' own sites: Garver ("employee-owned", "In the top 100" of ENR's Top 500) has a Strategic Funding Team page that helps clients "research, identify, and pursue the optimal funding opportunities", with a named manager to contact; Kimley-Horn's office pages carry local copy, the services offered and a nearby-office link; HDR calls itself "100% employee-owned".See the research Source
• Your websiteProject pages (446 in the sitemap, all read October 21, 2026): each header gives "Client | City, ST". By state: Illinois 64, North Carolina 54, Florida 50, Pennsylvania 46, Nebraska 38, Connecticut 28, Wisconsin 20, Michigan 19, Kansas 18; Texas only 3, although Benesch has offices in Austin, Fort Worth and Houston. 414 of the 446 project pages have no meta description and no social preview description. The /projects/ page filters only by service and practice area.Source

Request a debrief after every shortlist, record it in one form (scores, strengths, gaps, competitor), and review trends each quarter by market. Feed findings into the Good, Better, Best proposal program.

Small changes found in debriefs raise win rates across every pursuit that follows.

• Debriefs not offered

  Ask the procurement officer in writing.

• HiringMarketing Pursuit Director (posted September 3, 2026, hybrid from any office or remote): leads "strategic pursuit planning for priority opportunities across Benesch's markets and service lines", guides "capture planning and pre-positioning", gathers "client, competitor, market, and procurement intelligence", leads interview strategy for shortlists, runs the "Good, Better, Best proposal quality program", analyzes "wins and losses", and will "Lead and develop market research and grant writing capabilities".Source

Give each expert page their credentials, projects (linked to project pages), articles and talks. Link every article and project back to its expert.

Named experts build trust with selection panels and help search engines and AI assistants credit the firm's expertise.

• People leave

  Review pages each quarter.

• SitemapSitemaps (checked October 21, 2026): 359 posts, 36 pages and 127 people pages. The page sitemap includes placeholder and internal working pages and conference pages for APWA PWX 2025 and 2026; the 80th anniversary page sits under /services/. The job sitemap lists 221 job URLs while 148 roles are open; the other 73 redirect to the jobs archive. Job pages carry no JobPosting structured data.Source
• Your websiteHomepage: insights quoted from the Chief Growth Officer on alternative delivery, the Chief Process and Innovation Officer, and a structural leader on ProValue ("provides the tools necessary" for budget management); a slider on "award-winning technologies that harness the power of artificial intelligence" for pavement assessment; "We help communities plan for major weather events".Source
• HiringCommunications Director (posted September 3, 2026): will "Lead the strategy and ongoing development of Benesch's website, digital communications channels, and social media presence", "Oversee website content, messaging, user experience", "Lead media relations", build thought leadership with technical experts, "Establish measures of effectiveness and leverage communications and digital analytics", and tell "the story of our people, projects, culture, and employee ownership".Source
• HiringMarketing Pursuit Director (posted September 3, 2026, hybrid from any office or remote): leads "strategic pursuit planning for priority opportunities across Benesch's markets and service lines", guides "capture planning and pre-positioning", gathers "client, competitor, market, and procurement intelligence", leads interview strategy for shortlists, runs the "Good, Better, Best proposal quality program", analyzes "wins and losses", and will "Lead and develop market research and grant writing capabilities".Source

Publish every completed Texas project, add Texas work by acquired or newly hired teams where clients allow, and build a Texas page with the offices, leaders and services. Pair it with TxDOT and city pre-positioning.

In a large, competitive market, a thin local portfolio online can cost a shortlist before a proposal is read.

• Few projects yet

  Feature people and their prior work with permission.

• Your websiteProject pages (446 in the sitemap, all read October 21, 2026): each header gives "Client | City, ST". By state: Illinois 64, North Carolina 54, Florida 50, Pennsylvania 46, Nebraska 38, Connecticut 28, Wisconsin 20, Michigan 19, Kansas 18; Texas only 3, although Benesch has offices in Austin, Fort Worth and Houston. 414 of the 446 project pages have no meta description and no social preview description. The /projects/ page filters only by service and practice area.Source
• Your websiteOffice pages (49 in the location sitemap): the Chicago, Omaha, Raleigh and Wichita pages each show an address, a phone number and one contact, with no meta description, no description of local work and no link to the projects delivered from that office.Source
• HiringBenesch's Greenhouse board lists 148 open roles (checked October 21, 2026), about 40 of them internships and co-ops, plus a Talent Acquisition Coordinator, Campus Recruiting (posted October 15, 2026), a Talent Acquisition Specialist, and branch manager roles for Central Illinois and Iowa.Source

List every acquired firm's domain, renew any that lapse, and redirect old pages to the matching Benesch service, office or project pages. Add the heritage to those office pages.

Links from public agencies are hard to earn; keeping them working passes their value to benesch.com.

• Domains already lost

  Ask linking agencies to update links.

• Your websiteGrowth by acquisition, from Benesch's own news posts: Tindale Oliver, Nashville-based SH Group, Kansas-based McAfee Henderson Solutions and Toole Engineers in Augusta, GA. tindaleoliver.com did not load when checked on October 21, 2026.Source
• Your websiteOffice pages (49 in the location sitemap): the Chicago, Omaha, Raleigh and Wichita pages each show an address, a phone number and one contact, with no meta description, no description of local work and no link to the projects delivered from that office.Source

Build an awards page grouped by market and state, linking to each project, with a short story per major award. Use the same list in proposals.

Awards are third-party proof that reviewers and journalists trust.

• Old awards look stale

  Show the newest first.

• Your websiteNews: "Benesch Ranks #95 on 2026 ENR Top 500 Design Firms List", a six-spot climb that "has broken into the top 100 U.S. design firms"; the firm was "Established in 1946 as a structural engineering firm" and is celebrating its 80th anniversary. 106 project pages list awards. News & Insights filters by practice area, service and office.Source
• Your websiteProject pages (446 in the sitemap, all read October 21, 2026): each header gives "Client | City, ST". By state: Illinois 64, North Carolina 54, Florida 50, Pennsylvania 46, Nebraska 38, Connecticut 28, Wisconsin 20, Michigan 19, Kansas 18; Texas only 3, although Benesch has offices in Austin, Fort Worth and Houston. 414 of the 446 project pages have no meta description and no social preview description. The /projects/ page filters only by service and practice area.Source

Add a signup with market choices, send one short email a month per market (projects, funding tips, an expert article), and invite readers to events.

Regular contact between pursuits keeps Benesch in mind before the RFP.

• Too much content to make

  Reuse posts and projects.

• programmable.infoSite scan: WordPress; LinkedIn is the only social profile linked; no newsletter signup found; RSS feed last updated October 15, 2026; active SAM.gov registration as Alfred Benesch & Company with primary NAICS 541330 (engineering services).Source
• HiringCommunications Director (posted September 3, 2026): will "Lead the strategy and ongoing development of Benesch's website, digital communications channels, and social media presence", "Oversee website content, messaging, user experience", "Lead media relations", build thought leadership with technical experts, "Establish measures of effectiveness and leverage communications and digital analytics", and tell "the story of our people, projects, culture, and employee ownership".Source
• Your websiteNews: "Benesch Ranks #95 on 2026 ENR Top 500 Design Firms List", a six-spot climb that "has broken into the top 100 U.S. design firms"; the firm was "Established in 1946 as a structural engineering firm" and is celebrating its 80th anniversary. 106 project pages list awards. News & Insights filters by practice area, service and office.Source

Train 50 volunteers, give them a monthly kit (project photos, a short story, a hiring post), and highlight employee-owners in a series.

Personal posts reach far more people than company pages and help recruiting too.

• Client confidentiality

  Only share approved projects.

• programmable.infoSite scan: WordPress; LinkedIn is the only social profile linked; no newsletter signup found; RSS feed last updated October 15, 2026; active SAM.gov registration as Alfred Benesch & Company with primary NAICS 541330 (engineering services).Source
• HiringCommunications Director (posted September 3, 2026): will "Lead the strategy and ongoing development of Benesch's website, digital communications channels, and social media presence", "Oversee website content, messaging, user experience", "Lead media relations", build thought leadership with technical experts, "Establish measures of effectiveness and leverage communications and digital analytics", and tell "the story of our people, projects, culture, and employee ownership".Source
• HiringBenesch's Greenhouse board lists 148 open roles (checked October 21, 2026), about 40 of them internships and co-ops, plus a Talent Acquisition Coordinator, Campus Recruiting (posted October 15, 2026), a Talent Acquisition Specialist, and branch manager roles for Central Illinois and Iowa.Source

Use one event template: experts attending, a booking link, a target list from the pursuit pipeline, and follow-up emails within 48 hours. Report meetings to pursuits.

Booked meetings turn travel costs into pipeline.

• Low bookings

  Ask experts to invite their own clients.

• SitemapSitemaps (checked October 21, 2026): 359 posts, 36 pages and 127 people pages. The page sitemap includes placeholder and internal working pages and conference pages for APWA PWX 2025 and 2026; the 80th anniversary page sits under /services/. The job sitemap lists 221 job URLs while 148 roles are open; the other 73 redirect to the jobs archive. Job pages carry no JobPosting structured data.Source
• HiringMarketing Pursuit Director (posted September 3, 2026, hybrid from any office or remote): leads "strategic pursuit planning for priority opportunities across Benesch's markets and service lines", guides "capture planning and pre-positioning", gathers "client, competitor, market, and procurement intelligence", leads interview strategy for shortlists, runs the "Good, Better, Best proposal quality program", analyzes "wins and losses", and will "Lead and develop market research and grant writing capabilities".Source

Publish a free calendar of the federal and state programs Benesch works with, by state and project type, with deadlines and tips, and send alerts to subscribers. Offer readiness reviews to those who sign up.

A useful tool earns regular visits from exactly the people who buy engineering, and gives early notice of funded projects.

• Out-of-date deadlines

  Check each program monthly.

• Your websiteGrant funding: the homepage slider says "We navigate grant funding processes that help bring projects to life" and links to an article on the Copper Creek Sewer Interceptor in Omaha, which "qualified for both state and federal grants, securing a total of $26.1 million in grant funding". 39 project pages mention grants (for example RAISE grant technical support for Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority), but none of the 17 service pages covers funding or grants.Source
• HiringMarketing Pursuit Director (posted September 3, 2026, hybrid from any office or remote): leads "strategic pursuit planning for priority opportunities across Benesch's markets and service lines", guides "capture planning and pre-positioning", gathers "client, competitor, market, and procurement intelligence", leads interview strategy for shortlists, runs the "Good, Better, Best proposal quality program", analyzes "wins and losses", and will "Lead and develop market research and grant writing capabilities".Source
• Competitor researchRivals' own sites: Garver ("employee-owned", "In the top 100" of ENR's Top 500) has a Strategic Funding Team page that helps clients "research, identify, and pursue the optimal funding opportunities", with a named manager to contact; Kimley-Horn's office pages carry local copy, the services offered and a nearby-office link; HDR calls itself "100% employee-owned".See the research Source
• programmable.infoSite scan: WordPress; LinkedIn is the only social profile linked; no newsletter signup found; RSS feed last updated October 15, 2026; active SAM.gov registration as Alfred Benesch & Company with primary NAICS 541330 (engineering services).Source

Track which clients visit the site, open emails or attend events, and log those signals against pursuits in the CRM. Report reach per pursuit and win rate for engaged and unengaged clients.

It shows which communications help win work and where to spend.

• Privacy

  Use company-level data only.

• HiringCommunications Director (posted September 3, 2026): will "Lead the strategy and ongoing development of Benesch's website, digital communications channels, and social media presence", "Oversee website content, messaging, user experience", "Lead media relations", build thought leadership with technical experts, "Establish measures of effectiveness and leverage communications and digital analytics", and tell "the story of our people, projects, culture, and employee ownership".Source
• HiringMarketing Pursuit Director (posted September 3, 2026, hybrid from any office or remote): leads "strategic pursuit planning for priority opportunities across Benesch's markets and service lines", guides "capture planning and pre-positioning", gathers "client, competitor, market, and procurement intelligence", leads interview strategy for shortlists, runs the "Good, Better, Best proposal quality program", analyzes "wins and losses", and will "Lead and develop market research and grant writing capabilities".Source

Collect results from past value studies (savings, schedule, risk), publish them anonymized or with permission by project type, and offer a short value study for priority pursuits.

Numbers on savings are rare in engineering marketing and speak directly to owners with tight budgets.

• Clients decline to share

  Use ranges and project types.

• Your websiteHomepage: insights quoted from the Chief Growth Officer on alternative delivery, the Chief Process and Innovation Officer, and a structural leader on ProValue ("provides the tools necessary" for budget management); a slider on "award-winning technologies that harness the power of artificial intelligence" for pavement assessment; "We help communities plan for major weather events".Source
• HiringMarketing Pursuit Director (posted September 3, 2026, hybrid from any office or remote): leads "strategic pursuit planning for priority opportunities across Benesch's markets and service lines", guides "capture planning and pre-positioning", gathers "client, competitor, market, and procurement intelligence", leads interview strategy for shortlists, runs the "Good, Better, Best proposal quality program", analyzes "wins and losses", and will "Lead and develop market research and grant writing capabilities".Source

Ask each intern to write or film one short story about a project they worked on, publish them on the careers pages and LinkedIn, and link them from the internship postings.

Peer stories help campus recruiting and show the firm's work to future clients.

• Few volunteers

  Offer a small prize.

• HiringBenesch's Greenhouse board lists 148 open roles (checked October 21, 2026), about 40 of them internships and co-ops, plus a Talent Acquisition Coordinator, Campus Recruiting (posted October 15, 2026), a Talent Acquisition Specialist, and branch manager roles for Central Illinois and Iowa.Source
• HiringCommunications Director (posted September 3, 2026): will "Lead the strategy and ongoing development of Benesch's website, digital communications channels, and social media presence", "Oversee website content, messaging, user experience", "Lead media relations", build thought leadership with technical experts, "Establish measures of effectiveness and leverage communications and digital analytics", and tell "the story of our people, projects, culture, and employee ownership".Source

Create a service page with a sample report, the process, typical costs and timelines, and offer a pilot for one city's network.

Cities want to try new tools on a small scale first, and a named offer is easier to buy.

• Hard to price

  Start with a fixed-price pilot.

• Your websiteHomepage: insights quoted from the Chief Growth Officer on alternative delivery, the Chief Process and Innovation Officer, and a structural leader on ProValue ("provides the tools necessary" for budget management); a slider on "award-winning technologies that harness the power of artificial intelligence" for pavement assessment; "We help communities plan for major weather events".Source
• HiringCommunications Director (posted September 3, 2026): will "Lead the strategy and ongoing development of Benesch's website, digital communications channels, and social media presence", "Oversee website content, messaging, user experience", "Lead media relations", build thought leadership with technical experts, "Establish measures of effectiveness and leverage communications and digital analytics", and tell "the story of our people, projects, culture, and employee ownership".Source