SEO & WEB PRESENCE CASE STUDIES

You don’t need a slick website to succeed in business; you need an effective website that communicates well to the right market, well-tuned SEO, and a way to stay connected with your audience.

When it comes to your web presence and SEO, it's crucial to take a holistic approach. Many business owners spend too much time and money casting a wide net to capture as much traffic as possible. However, this alone won’t foster genuine connections or significant business growth. A comprehensive strategy that includes SEO, content, and engagement with the right audience is essential to achieving your goals. Once optimized, your website will become a powerful marketing tool that will function with little attention.

Good Website Performance is Crucial to Effective Marketing

Don’t get me wrong—the design of your site is essential to get your message across quickly and clearly (I'm a web designer, after all!). Still, plenty of basic websites work well because they are organized and communicate exceptionally with words and images. Start by clarifying content to reach your ideal audience, implementing essential SEO, and fixing user experience issues. Next, focus on engaging with your ideal audience and getting them on your email list.

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CASE STUDIES

BioSpirit Day Spa was my client for 15 years. Along the way, she had me redesign her site several times to keep it current to engage with her clientele as much as possible. The more connected she was, the more she knew about them and what they needed. This work will be ongoing for any business owner and pay off well.

I worked on monthly search engine optimization (SEO) to stay on top of trends, monitored her analytics to see what worked best, and adjusted accordingly. At the beginning of our work together, she had a couple of hundred monthly website visits and a high bounce rate (Bounce rate is the percentage of people who come to a website and navigate off of the website within 10 seconds. A reasonable bounce rate is about 40% or lower.). After some adjustments, her website traffic quickly grew to hundreds of ideal monthly visitors and a busier day spa.

I ensured she dominated more than one position at the top of the organic SERPs (search engine results page) by keeping her local SEO in excellent shape (an effective way to boost search results quickly) and all pages had the most current high-quality SEO. I focused on keeping her search results as visible as possible within the first six listings in as many relevant searches as possible. The number of ideal people who visited her site every month grew by the hundreds year after year, her day spa remained busy throughout the year, and her bounce rate was excellent (low). It significantly impacted the number of people booking appointments at her Tahoe spa after visiting her website.

She also continually looked at ways that resonated with her to improve her outreach to ideal prospects, such as local ads, social media posts, and a newsletter with focused specials. Her dedication to learning and being the best made her spa an inspiring success. Despite fluctuating economies, she continued growing the business and sold it in 2022 to pursue other passions.

DreamWeight Blankets faced fierce competition from larger, well-funded companies selling lower-priced weighted blankets. But this client had something special—a highly specialized product vastly different from other weighted blankets on the market. What she lacked was the right messaging and a way to convey her blanket’s unique benefits to potential customers effectively.

I began by analyzing her Shopify website and identifying areas for improvement. We refined her site’s content to communicate the product’s benefits clearly, implemented comprehensive search engine optimization (SEO) strategies, and created eye-catching graphics to support her brand messaging across her site and social media platforms. (The examples above are graphics used on her website and in social media created from photos she supplied.) This new content highlighted what set her product apart, making it easier for visitors to understand its value quickly.

Knowing that her preferred social media platform was Pinterest, I focused our marketing efforts there, leveraging targeted SEO tags and graphics that resonated with her ideal audience. To ensure she could sustain this momentum, I provided a detailed, step-by-step guide for creating posts, using keywords effectively, and maintaining consistency—critical factors for ongoing success. This tailored approach enabled her to capitalize on the platform she was most comfortable with, making it easier for her to maintain her marketing efforts long-term. Using a platform you enjoy is essential for consistency, and in this case, Pinterest’s visual nature was a perfect match for showcasing her product.

Almost immediately after launching these changes, her sales skyrocketed. Orders poured in so quickly that she temporarily ran out of stock. This surge wasn’t just a fluke—it was a testament to the power of a focused SEO strategy designed to emphasize her product’s strengths and align with her marketing preferences. By aligning her website’s content, search optimization, and social media presence, we created a cohesive message that connected with the right audience and drove rapid results.

Sierra Nevada Snow Removal had been in business since the 1980s but never created a website. With growing competition and evolving consumer expectations, the owner recognized the need for a solid online presence to attract new clients and support word-of-mouth marketing. In 2017, he approached me to design a site that would establish his digital presence and ensure that it performed well in search engine results.

Given that the business had no prior web content, I started from scratch by developing a custom WordPress site, incorporating his rough notes and bullet points into full content that effectively highlighted his services. I researched his competitors and target audience to identify key SEO opportunities, optimizing the content for top search results. This groundwork ensured his site could be found by locals searching for snow removal services, helping him grow without relying solely on traditional marketing.

In 2024, the client purchased Aspen Hollow Nursery, another local business I had previously worked with. To streamline his growing business portfolio, I created a temporary landing page with plans to develop a comprehensive new website for the nursery. In addition, we began planning a new site and extensive SEO for his existing landscaping business, Earth & Stone Landscapes. By strategically linking all three sites, we’re building a powerful online presence that showcases his expertise across multiple services. This interconnected web presence increases visibility, boosts search engine rankings, and reinforces his authority within each industry.

The outcome of this project goes beyond just launching a few websites. By establishing a strong, interconnected online presence, Sierra Nevada Snow Removal, Aspen Hollow Nursery, and Earth & Stone Landscapes will support one another’s visibility, creating a network effect that enhances brand authority across multiple industries. This approach will increase organic traffic and position his businesses for long-term growth. Creating content and SEO strategies that work together enables each site to bolster the others, maximizing the impact of every marketing dollar spent.

This is the launch page for my environmental stewardship book, With Love, From Tahoe. The first and most critical step for any project is defining your audience and the problem you’re solving. Without this clarity, your marketing and SEO efforts will lack direction. I’d already completed an extensive pitch to secure a grant to produce the book, which refined my understanding of my ideal audience and their needs. I’d also promoted the book release well in advance on social media, which gave me invaluable insights into my audience’s interests and expectations.

With my target audience defined, I then focused on authority-building. A great way to gain search engine credibility is by leveraging high-quality backlinks from diverse, trusted sources. To establish my site’s authority in this niche, I secured backlinks from news outlets, relevant social media communities, and subject matter experts who aligned with my project’s theme. These backlinks did more than boost SEO—they drove targeted traffic, built buzz, and positioned my work as credible and valuable within its niche.

By combining a solid understanding of my audience, a well-structured SEO plan, and a deliberate authority-building strategy, I achieved robust visibility for my project. My page performance exceeded expectations, attracting the right visitors, leading to an engaged audience, subscribers, and significant book downloads.

SIDE NOTE: If you have multiple disciplines on one website like I do as an author, illustrator, and SEO strategist, establishing clear credibility for each aspect of your work without confusing search engines is essential. Why? Search engines may struggle to understand the connection between seemingly different roles, leading to lower rankings unless a strategic approach or narrative ties everything together. This is something I continually pay special attention to across my website.

Kathy Harmon-Luber needed a central online hub to launch her new book, Suffering to Thriving, promote her healing modalities, and establish her presence as an author and speaker. She had a clear vision for the site, which included various service pages, a press kit, and a lead magnet—a guided visualization—intended to connect with her ideal audience.

To help nurture these connections, I created an automated email system that delivers her guided visualization as a thank-you gift to new subscribers. This thoughtful touch builds rapport with her audience and establishes an ongoing relationship that supports her other business goals.

Kathy is active in her industry, regularly writing articles and appearing in interviews and podcasts. When I built her Squarespace website, I created a prominent space to highlight these media appearances. Keeping her content updated with new features and media placements helps boost SEO and positions her as an expert in her field. By strategically integrating new articles, podcasts, and external features into the site, I ensure that her web presence stays fresh and relevant to the search terms her ideal audience uses, drawing in visitors interested in both her book and her healing practices.

The result is a cohesive website that weaves together all aspects of Kathy’s work, from book promotion and services to her evolving media presence. This ongoing collaboration ensures that her site continues to grow alongside her business, establishing her as a credible expert and allowing her to connect meaningfully with her audience.

Artful Leather launched as a bespoke purse brand, using responsibly sourced materials and ethical production methods. From the ground up, I developed her brand identity, crafted a cohesive website, and implemented advanced SEO to position her in the right search results. A strong SEO foundation is vital, but it takes time to yield results and requires ongoing adjustments. While her SEO was gaining momentum, she activated her network and leveraged social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook to generate visibility and attract her first wave of ideal customers.

Unlike many sites built on content management systems (CMS) like WordPress, her site is a static HTML build—simple, fast, and highly secure. This choice was intentional. It caters to business owners who prefer a "set-it-and-forget-it" approach and don’t want the ongoing hassle of maintaining a CMS, dealing with plugin issues, or navigating frequent software updates. The result is an ultra-fast site with minimal code and zero scripts, which search engines favor. This performance edge makes it far superior in terms of speed compared to platforms like Wix and Squarespace, which often add hidden scripts that can slow down a site and hinder visibility.

Artful Leather also needed a functional way to handle orders without complicating her operations or compromising site speed. A fully integrated e-commerce solution felt daunting, so we opted for a streamlined fillable order form and invoicing through Square. This allowed her to manage her orders efficiently while preserving flexibility to scale up the system as her business grew and her needs became more apparent.

Wood carving instructor Maverick Jaillet came to me with great content and the need for a website to make his life easier. Without a website, he spent a lot of time managing information to send to people. My job was to make his content accessible to the right visitors with a design that showcased the beautiful work he and his students created.

To streamline Maverick’s operations, I developed a WordPress site that consolidated all his workshop information into one easily navigable platform. This made it easier to update content himself. Each class listing is designed to provide students with clear details and a straightforward registration process, allowing Maverick to minimize direct communication and focus on what he loves most—teaching and carving. The site’s visual design highlights the artistry of his work, enhancing credibility and engagement.

To complement his primary marketing method of word-of-mouth referrals, I implemented essential SEO across the site to capture search traffic from those looking for wood carving classes in his area.

Millicent Meng wanted a minimalist, elegant site that could evolve as her business grew. One advantage of a well-designed website is that it can expand gradually without overwhelming the business owner. You don’t have to do everything at once—start with strong foundational content and build out additional features like email marketing, promotions, and e-commerce over time.

For Millie, I began by creating a clean, sophisticated photography gallery that showcased her work. Instead of incorporating a total e-commerce solution, I linked each image to her offsite print store. This approach allowed her to begin selling prints without the cost and complexity of a shopping cart. The gallery design included a lightbox feature, enabling viewers to see each image in detail before navigating to the purchase link. This approach aligned with her goals, keeping the site visually focused.

One of the biggest challenges for visual artists is achieving good search engine visibility because their sites typically have more images than text. Search engines still rely heavily on textual content to understand a website’s relevance, so I ensured every gallery image and page was optimized for SEO. Each image was accompanied by detailed alternative text, keyword-rich file names, and strategic captions to improve her search ranking and attract her ideal audience. These seemingly minor adjustments can make a significant difference, especially for visually driven sites that struggle with traditional SEO strategies.

Now that the site’s structure is in place and optimized, Millie is ready to expand her online presence by refining her messaging and marketing efforts. Taking a strategic approach is essential, focusing on the most impactful steps first instead of trying to do everything at once. By establishing a solid foundation and building in stages, she’s set up for continued growth as her business and brand evolve.

Children’s author extraordinaire Nikki Shannon Smith already had a website. But, like so many others, she was contacted by her web host, telling her that the host platform where she built her site would soon no longer exist. Her website would disappear unless she rebuilt it on the new platform.

When she learned that her hosting platform was shutting down, she faced the daunting task of rebuilding her entire website from scratch. When you are a DIYer, learning and building your first site is challenging, let alone starting from scratch on a new platform! While it’s possible to find what you need by watching tutorials, it is quicker and more effective to get knowledgeable, personalized help in real-time. I provided guidance, simplified the process, and offered technical assistance where needed.

After evaluating her new site’s layout, I suggested accessibility improvements and provided an SEO assessment. With these enhancements, her site is now more user-friendly and optimized to attract the right audience. While I handled some technical elements, Nikki did most of the work herself. She did a great job!

Lynne Latham’s sustainable design website had fallen behind. Outdated features, text, and photos were holding back her brand’s online presence. While she was considering her next business moves, it was critical to keep the website active and engaging without sending mixed signals to her audience. I refreshed the site by updating content, replacing broken features, and optimizing the SEO to attract eco-conscious clients who value her sustainable approach. During this process, I preserved the site’s core messaging and aesthetics, making sure it communicated her values clearly while staying flexible for future growth. A well-maintained site with a cohesive message can ensure business continuity and keep audiences engaged, even as plans evolve.

Destination 74 is built on Showit, a platform connected to WordPress that has unique limitations and technical challenges. The client didn’t want to invest time mastering it, so she delegated that aspect to me, allowing her to focus on what she does best—creating memorable experiences and managing a beautiful destination.

One of her primary needs was to streamline the event registration process for both herself and her clients. This meant building an events page, gallery, and registration forms that looked appealing and functioned seamlessly. This was essential for reducing manual tasks and making the event booking experience easy and efficient. Now, she can dedicate her time to designing more enriching events and enhancing the guest experience rather than getting bogged down in admin work.

Another critical improvement area was accessibility and user experience. The original site had text that was too small to read comfortably, and the headings and subheadings didn’t stand out, making navigation difficult. By optimizing the typography and hierarchy of the content, I enhanced the site’s readability and visual flow. These changes made the site much easier for her audience to engage with and ultimately encouraged more visitors to explore the events and lodging she offers.