Justin Schoen took his nearly six years of online marketing experience with G&L Clothing Inc. and applied it at eComegy LLC, the e-commerce strategy and digital marketing firm he founded in June 2010.

During his time with the Des Moines-based clothing retailer, Schoen watched its online sales climb to nearly 2,700 orders a week from about a dozen a week. He said his contribution to that growth inspired him to launch a company aimed at helping small to medium-sized businesses improve the “findability and functionality” of their websites.

“I think I realized that I really liked the entrepreneurial aspect of that, of helping small businesses grow, and went out and decided to do it with lots of businesses,” Schoen said.

Schoen, who said most online marketers don’t have a retail background, thinks his experience in that industry sets him apart from others as he applies search engine optimization techniques intended to direct potential customers to his clients’ websites.

Schoen also creates how-to videos for some clients’ products and services, which he said is an effective way to capture attention and drive traffic. The most successful visits, whether they come from someone surfing the Web for news, videos or other content, result in transactions.

“You need to build it so it meets the consumers’ expectations, so they really understand how to navigate it,” Schoen said. “I’m still amazed at companies that go out and hire a fancy designer, spend tens of thousands of dollars on a site with flashy graphics and all sorts of cool widgets, but it’s not something that’s really usable. The consumer is going to get there, get confused, and leave.”

Schoen is pursuing an M.B.A. at the University of Iowa’s Tippie School of Management location in Des Moines. He also serves on the Central Iowa Shelter & Services’ board of directors and as board president of the Des Moines Music Coalition.

“The Des Moines marketplace, I think, has been pretty receptive to what I’m doing,” he said. “Having grown up in Des Moines and knowing a lot about the business community here has really helped me. I actually haven’t had to go out and do a lot of marketing for myself at this point, which has been a good thing.”