Alaska

Rod’s Alaskan Guide Service

Location: North Pole, Alaska
Website: https://rodsalaskanguideservice.com/
40 employees

As the owner of Rod’s Alaskan Guide Service, Rodney Pangborn hasn’t strayed far from his childhood passions. “I do today what I did as a kid growing up in New York–hunting, fishing, and being outdoors,” he says. “It’s just on a much larger scale here in Alaska.” After joining the Air Force at 17, Rod jumped at the chance to be stationed in Alaska and soon fell in love with the outdoor enthusiast’s paradise. When he retired from active duty in 2016, he returned and opened Rod’s Alaskan Guide Service. Today, Rod has 40 employees, including his three children, and together they lead guests from around the world on adventures like dog sledding, snowmobiling, ice fishing, and viewing the northern lights.

Rod began using Google Business Profile as soon as he launched the business, and he responds to every review–825 of them so far. “Good, bad, or indifferent, reviews are important,” he says. “We always like to hear the good stuff, but I like to hear if we didn't succeed on something, too, because that allows us the opportunity to make things better.” In 2018, Rod began running Google Ads and quickly saw results. Today, Google Ads account for about 15 percent of his business. Rod also uses Google Workspace to share documents and schedules with guests before they head into the wilderness, and he hosts his website’s videos on YouTube, giving guests a taste of the activities they can enjoy. A YouTube Short of boiling water meeting -50 degree air has over 22,000 views. Rod feels fortunate to be able to host several hundred guests from the Make-a-Wish Foundation and to sponsor events that help bring kids outdoors. In the coming years, Rod’s son, Rod Jr., and daughter-in-law will take over the business–but not quite yet. “I love what I do, and I love coming to work every day,” Rod says. “I may step back a little more, but for the foreseeable future, Big Rod is going to be around!”

Trickster Company

Location: Anchorage, Alaska
Website: https://trickstercompany.com/
10% annual growth

Trickster Company arose from a personal passion: Rico Worl, a Tlingit and Athabascan Alaska Native, was looking for a way to express himself when he painted his clan’s crest on his skateboard. “As a modern Indigenous person, I wanted to represent my identity in my hobby,” he says, “and it caught people’s attention.” Demand for his designs grew quickly, so in 2014 he and his sister Crystal Worl founded Trickster Company, which sells artwork, apparel, and jewelry featuring their own modern Indigenous designs. “We’re passionate about creating products with Indigenous innovation that inspires all people to carry our gear with pride,” he says. They set up a Google Business Profile to reach a wider audience beyond social media and word of mouth. “Any business that wants to be serious should have a Business Profile,” says Rico.

Trickster Company sold their products in their local store until they closed it during the pandemic. Crystal describes this as a blessing in disguise. “It allowed us to move online, where people discovered us more quickly,” she recalls. “Our business took off. Now, in addition to our website, our products are carried by stores across Alaska and the continental U.S.” Trickster enjoys a steady 10 percent annual growth, helped by Google Workspace tools like Gmail, Drive, and Calendar. “I don’t know how we would run our business without Google Drive,” Crystal says. She and Rico use Drive to collaborate on designs remotely and then share large art files with the company’s Anchorage production facility. Both use Gemini to help brainstorm ideas and generate content–such as artist statements, social media captions, or product descriptions–which they modify with their own unique voices. “I’m a visual artist, but storytelling is an important part of sales. AI helps me fill in the gaps in my creative writing skills,” Rico says. “It’s become part of our process.”

FishHound Expeditions

Location: Girdwood, Alaska
Website: https://fishhoundexpeditions.com/
10 employees

Growing up fly fishing in Colorado, Adam Cuthriell dreamed of leading expeditions into the heart of the finest angling on Earth: Alaska. With passion to guide him, Adam moved to the Last Frontier and in 2015 opened FishHound Expeditions, a guide-owned and -operated company offering fly fishing trips on some of Alaska’s best rivers. From small beginnings, FishHound has grown into a one-stop shop for tourists, anglers, and adventurers from around the globe. Adam and his team of 10 employees operate 17 boats in four locations across Alaska, sharing not only the beauty of the backcountry with clients but the need to preserve it for generations to come. “I want people to walk away with an appreciation for what Alaska stands for, and how important that is,” Adam says.

FishHound uses Google Analytics to help them understand what adventures customers are most interested in, and uncover untapped opportunities hiding beneath the surface. “We saw a huge spike in people searching for steelhead trips, and realized it might be a viable thing to start offering in Alaska. Analytics made it loud and clear–and now we’re booked up,” Adam says. FishHound actively encourages awestruck clients to share videos of their trips on YouTube and to leave reviews on FishHound’s Google Business Profile. “Google Reviews are a cornerstone of our business, quite frankly,” he shares. “People can talk to you, they can see you, you can engage with them.” Today, over 50 percent of FishHound’s customers find them through their Business Profile. Google Analytics shows that their web traffic has tripled since 2020. With sales doubling year-over-year, FishHound is now ready to expand its conservation work to Central America. “We’re trying to help change the world with a fly rod,” Adam says, “and we’re stoked."

Fishe

Location: Anchorage, Alaska
Website: https://fishewear.com/
272% sales increase since 2017

Linda Leary grew up in Maine and relocated to Alaska, experiencing both ends of the country in all its rugged beauty. As president of a trucking company, she enjoyed inviting clients to join in her favorite pastime–fly fishing. Linda loved being in nature and introducing other women to the sport, but was exasperated by the ill-fitting men’s waders and drab-colored clothing available for women. “I wanted to design fly-fishing apparel for women that would be colorful and functional–that could go from the river to dinner or shopping,” Linda reflects. After 30 years in trucking, Linda switched gears and founded Fishe® (pronounced “fishy”) in 2015, selling leggings, jackets, and belts out of her trunk. She hired women artists to create eye-catching, piscine-themed fabric designs, such as “troutrageous rainbow.” Google Ads helped Linda get her business and her e-commerce website off the ground. By 2017, Fishe had a flagship store in Anchorage and retailers carrying the brand across the U.S. Since then, sales have increased 272 percent.

Business kept growing during the pandemic as people sought refuge in the great outdoors, and Fishe now employs seven women. Their Google Business Profile informs customers of store hours, while showcasing new products and featuring reviews. Google Analytics and Google Data Studio let Fishe reel in their best performing products and web pages. “It’s really important for us to understand our audience better,” Linda says. Around 15 percent of sales now comes from Google traffic. Fishe also supports causes like Casting for Recovery and Covenant House with themed collections and donations. They plan to further expand internationally (they currently ship to 30+ countries), and Google tools will help them get there. “I love that our products inspire women to get on the water and to know that they are welcome in the fishing world,” says Linda.

Foraged & Found

Location: Ketchikan, Alaska
Website: https://www.foragednfound.com/
+10x revenue YoY

If Jenn Brown has her way, Alaskan superfoods sourced from non-traditional ingredients will become household staples. A former high-tech advertising executive, Jenn moved to Ketchikan, Alaska, to be closer to nature. In 2018, she turned a canning and preserving hobby into a startup, Foraged & Found. “There aren’t a whole lot of people in the seaweed game,” laughingly says Jenn, who harvests aquatic plants such as kelp—“which renews itself, detoxifies the ocean, and is highly nutritious”—and turns them into condiments and sauces such as pickles, salsa, and pesto. “If we can bring these treasures to the world and support this beautiful little fishing community, it would be amazing,” Jenn says. She and her two-woman crew got on track to do just that, using Google Ads and a Business Profile to spread the word. In 2019, they sold out of inventory, increasing revenue by 10x. They expanded into a former salmon cannery, with plans for wider distribution into the lower 48 states.

When COVID-19 shut down production, Jenn had to think and act fast. “Most of our production takes place between May and September,” she says of the kelp harvesting season. “We had to look for ways to preserve the material for later processing.” The team found they could freeze the kelp, opening up their production window and new opportunities. “We found the silver lining,” Jenn says. When operations resumed, Jenn’s team hit the ground running—lining up distribution partners to get the product to market. “We always planned to have a robust online sales presence,” notes Jenn, who launched an e-commerce website in November 2020. Google Ads campaigns enabled the business to flourish by helping Jenn reach new customers. She was able to add two employees, hiring people who’d lost their jobs when cruise tourism slowed down. “Part of the reason we founded Foraged & Found was to create an economy in Ketchikan that doesn’t depend on tourism,” Jenn says. “That opportunity came a little earlier than we thought, but it's presenting itself now."

Alaska Flour Company

Location: Delta Junction, Alaska
Website: www.alaskaflourcompany.com
Alaska Flour Company is the only commercial flour mill in Alaska

Bryce Wrigley has lived in Delta Junction, Alaska, since 1983, when he moved there to start a business raising grain. Over the years, Bryce got used to life in rural Alaska, but one thing that did trouble him was the frequent weather-related food disruptions. “There’s a three-to-five day supply of food on the store shelves here, so any disruption to our supply results in empty shelves,” Bryce said. “That doesn’t bode well for public safety or security — people start wondering where they’ll get food from.” In 2011, Bryce did something about it and shifted his focus to milling barley flour, a secure, easy-to-raise product known for its health benefits. With his son Milo, Bryce established Alaska Flour Co. and began developing different products, like pancake mix, cream of barley cereal, and couscous. Because they were starting a new company in a remote part of Alaska, Bryce and Milo needed to get the word out, both locally and beyond. “We’re disconnected from the majority of our market,” said Milo. “Google has allowed us to make a connection with our market.”

By running ads on YouTube, Alaska Flour Co. has been able to tell its story. “A picture is worth a thousand words, but a one-minute video is worth a billion,” said Milo. YouTube also provides Milo with real-time analytics and audience retention reports, allowing him to optimize the ads on the fly. “If people are only watching to 14 seconds, but you don’t see our logo or product until 17 seconds, then we know to adjust,” he said. “YouTube and Google give us the basis for building a strong ad.” The company’s “eat more barley” hero video has been viewed more than 20,000 times. “That might not seem like a lot, but we’re 350 miles from the largest market in Alaska,” said Milo. “Where else could we reach 20,000 people?”

Inspired by a need to help solve food shortages, Alaska Flour Co. has done that and more. It attributes its tremendous year-over-year growth and surge in brand awareness to its digital ads. “For every dollar we spend on marketing on YouTube, we get $9.50 back in net income,” Milo said. The company pays it forward by donating food items to the community and is heavily involved in sustainable agriculture programs across Alaska. Moving forward, Bryce and Milo hope to explore the export market, but first they want to see their products sold in major retailers in their home state. “A company like ours can provide some stability to the region,” said Milo. “We measure success by how much we invest in our community, how many jobs we create, and how much money we put back into the local economy.”

Great Alaskan Holidays

Location: Anchorage, Alaska
Website: www.greatalaskanholidays.com
140 employees during peak season

In Anchorage, where tourism is among a handful of major industries, small businesses are the backbone of the community. Bob Johnson is the director of marketing at Great Alaskan Holidays, an RV rental and sales company that’s been a pillar of hospitality since 1985. Born from humble beginnings, Great Alaskan Holidays started out on a small parking lot by the airport. “You could literally count the number of motorhomes we had on one hand,” Bob recalls. “There was a lot of room for growth.” The company set itself apart from competitors by offering customers everything they could want for a comfortable RV experience, including cookware, linens, sleeping bags, and laundry services. After years of unwavering customer service, two things happened, Bob notes. “First, we outgrew the parking lot. Second, we moved into a state-of-the-art, 27,000-square-foot facility.”

Great Alaskan Holidays began using AdWords, Google’s advertising program, in 2007 and has since seen exponential growth, says Bob. Their fleet now consists of hundreds of units, and during the summer season, they serve approximately 5,000 parties. Bob estimates that 65 percent of Great Alaskan’s business comes through their Google ads. Not only has their volume grown tremendously, their geographic reach has traveled far and wide as well. “About 90 percent of our rental customers are from outside Alaska, stretching from the lower 48 to countries on the other side of the world,” Bob explains. The company also uses Google Analytics to monitor their online performance “literally every day,” he adds. “Analytics is such a priority for us. Not only does it show us where we’re at today, but with it, we can see where we want to go.”

Great Alaskan Holidays is working to combine their online and offline efforts, building outreach ad campaigns on relationships they’ve cultivated with travel agents, visitor bureaus, and neighboring businesses. As a go-to option for locals in need of a quick getaway and one of Alaska’s champions in the tourism industry, they’re proud contributors to the Anchorage community. Their top-notch service and dedication to quality keep people coming back. “A great percentage of our business is repeat customers,” says Bob. For the Great Alaskan team, however, there’s still nothing quite like the first-timers, eager to explore The Last Frontier in a motorhome. “You can see the look on their faces—they’re in awe of all the beauty. I love when people come to our state and are so excited to be here, and that we’re a part of that.”

Majestic Heli Ski

Location: Glacier View, Alaska
Website: www.majesticheliski.com
17 employees

Challenges are huge and exciting in the Last Frontier. For guests of Majestic Heli Ski, they involve negotiating pristine snow and steep terrain in the Chugach and Talkeetna Mountains. For owner and pilot Njord Rota, however, the biggest challenge is winning customers in a competitive marketplace—but it isn’t anything the former U.S Army Aviation Officer can’t handle. Since their first season in 2013, Majestic Heli Ski has “more than doubled in guests and revenue,” says General Manager Kari Rowley. And the key tool for their growth? “I spoke with everyone who booked a trip for this week, and every single one of them told me they heard about us through Google,” Kari remarks.

The heli-ski business is highly seasonal, February through May in Alaska, and Majestic Heli Ski accepts only 16 guests at a time. They rely on AdWords, Google’s advertising program, to get the word out and maximize business during the few months of operation that they have. “AdWords is a critical tool for us to reach new customers who are researching a purchasing decision,” Njord says. “Our customers are sophisticated in selecting their options, so it’s important that our product makes it into their decision matrix.” AdWords now delivers about 40 percent of their new visitor sales, and two-thirds of the company's marketing budget goes toward digital advertising. Majestic also uses Google Analytics to better understand their customers and keep the website running efficiently. Through YouTube, they and their satisfied guests share compelling videos of the lodge and skiing experience. And G Suite tools, such as Gmail, Drive, and Docs, keep internal operations running smoothly.

Majestic Heli Ski grows about 20 percent annually. They hope to soon expand their air fleet beyond a single AStar 350B2 helicopter, own rather than lease their lodge, and serve additional visitors—all while maintaining the intimate feel of a boutique experience. Majestic also employs guides in their remote section of Alaska, donates to a youth-empowerment group that teaches underprivileged kids how to ski, and contributes to charity events throughout Alaska and Aspen, Colorado. “There are only small businesses in our community,” Kari says. “As our business grows, it’s important that we all operate as a community and take care of each other. Together, we can make heli skiing better for the world.”

Big Ray's

Location: Fairbanks, Alaska
Website: www.bigrays.com
85 employees

When Big Ray's opened in 1947, founders and veterans Howard Cruver and Glenn Miller were simply trying to sell their surplus U.S. Army gear to hard-working Alaskans who needed it at a price they could afford. Fast forward 70 years, and Big Ray's is a trusted provider of cold-weather, protective, and flame-resistant clothing to outdoor adventurers, electricians, oil workers, and everyone else who makes the Alaskan economy run. Now, as Big Ray's looks to the future, they have their eyes set on another frontier. By leveraging the web and Google tools, they're expanding their business well beyond the Alaskan border.

"Online growth is endless. It's just a matter of finding the right audience," says Big Ray's Director of Marketing Deanna Miller. To keep on growing, Deanna uses AdWords, Google's advertising program, to find that audience and drive sales. "It's been a great tool to bring awareness to our brand, both locally and outside the state of Alaska," she says. "The brands we've promoted on AdWords are the biggest sellers on our site." Big Ray's also uses G Suite tools Gmail, Docs, and Calendar to quickly collaborate, clarify, and confirm large orders to outfit entire utility and oil crews. If it gets done in Alaska, it depends on Big Ray's—and Big Ray's depends on Google.

"We are an Alaskan company that knows what it takes and has the credibility to live and work in Alaska,” Deanna says. Big Ray's now employs 85 people, has five locations in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Kodiak, and is realizing 38 percent annual growth in online revenue. For Deanna, their real success is sharing an independent outdoor lifestyle with the local communities. "Small businesses are very important here. People are still trying to live the American Dream in Alaska," she says. Chances are good that Big Ray's will be outfitting those dreams for a long time to come.