Find out how the Wake Media team worked with a client to improve its marine website’s SEO performance and create an enhanced user experience.
Project Objectives
Phase 1: To provide actionable SEO and content recommendations that would drive qualified traffic to the client’s marine website by improving keyword targeting, aligning content with high-intent search queries, and enhancing the overall user experience.
Phase 2: Content creation to improve the website’s SEO performance, support the implementation of a new quarterly customer e-newsletter and feed the client’s social media channels.
The Starting Point
The client’s marine website needed a content refresh and its SEO performance was being eclipsed by competitors. Wake Media was commissioned to carry out a detailed SEO audit of the website, benchmarking against 4 identified competitors, and to provide comprehensive SEO strategy recommendations to help achieve top rankings for high-volume, high-intent keywords that resonate with its marine customers.
The Process
A detailed SEO audit was performed using a leading digital marketing platform to assess the website’s online visibility. The audit was designed to identify content gaps and keyword opportunities and provide insights to support critical technical improvements which would elevate visibility in search engines, drive qualified traffic, and boost conversions.
The resulting findings were compiled into a comprehensive SEO recommendations report, which included top priority recommendations to fix technical issues, keyword strategy and mapping and content and page structure optimisation for the homepage and throughout the site. The report was discussed with the client and a content development plan agreed to address the competitor analysis discoveries and keyword gaps.
Wake Media’s communications team then embarked on an ongoing process of combining desktop research with insights from the client’s subject matter experts to create a series of blogs on topics that both leveraged trending themes, such as FuelEU regulations and alternative fuels, and supported the client’s wider communications strategy. Content support also included updating key solution web pages and landing pages to improve website performance and user experience.
The Outcome
Technical issues on the website which were adversely impacting its SEO performance and the user experience have been fixed. A new blog section is supporting the ongoing SEO work and is also serving the client’s communications plan, with a new quarterly customer e-newsletter established and regular content for other channels, such as social media.
A website content refresh is progressing well with several solutions pages updated and expanded and a number of new pages added to remedy content and keyword gaps.
The Impact
The project has resulted in significantly improved SEO performance within just six months of the initial audit. Organic traffic to the website has increased by 180% and there has been a 96% increase in ranking keywords after only partial implementation of content recommendations and technical fixes.
The client’s quarterly e-newsletter is being well received by customers and is helping to drive traffic to the website and to highlight product and service updates. The newsletter is also being shared on LinkedIn, with several thousand users subscribed to the LinkedIn version after publication of the first edition. This repurposing of content supports the wider digital strategy and leverages the content being created to enhance reach and engagement across various channels.
Conclusion
SEO strategy is a fundamental element of marketing and by maintaining a website with a strong SEO performance, there are many positive outcomes for a company’s communications activity and customer experience as well as supporting lead generation.
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