Designeers
Project Background
Problem Statement
Project Goals
Background Context
The Process
Website Audit
A comprehensive technical, on-page and off-page audit using Screaming Frog, Semrush, Google Search Console and Google Analytics revealed critical barriers preventing organic visibility. The platform suffered from severe technical debt: approximately 23 new 404 errors daily stemming from broken redirect chains and URL restructuring without proper canonical implementation, creating duplicate content issues across hundreds of pages.
On-page analysis exposed systemic content optimisation gaps. Auto-generated metadata with no keyword targeting, missing alt text on featured designer imagery, and random slug structures severely hampered discoverability. Pages loaded 8-10 uncompressed images averaging 40MB total, resulting in Core Web Vitals failures especially on mobile devices where editorial content is primarily consumed.
Competitive Analysis & Keyword Mapping:
Competitive analysis against Dezeen, Architectural Digest and similar design platforms revealed 132,600+ keyword gaps representing missed opportunities across designer profiles, city guides and editorial content. This informed a three-tier content hierarchy strategy: Journal articles targeting informational keywords, Black Book profiles optimising for designer discovery, and Marketplace content capturing transactional intent across furniture and lighting categories.
SEO Strategy & Roadmap
A phased roadmap structured the engagement across four strategic milestones spanning 13 months. Discovery & Alignment established baseline visibility benchmarks and secured technical access. Technical SEO & Recovery prioritised foundation repair through systematic 404 resolution, canonical tag implementation, and structured data deployment using JSON-LD.
Content Optimisation & Authority Building:
Content & Optimisation expanded keyword mapping across all content categories, implementing unique targets for each page type. Off-page initiatives included Google My Business setup and backlink generation through design publication partnerships. Monitoring & Enablement focused on performance analysis and comprehensive handover documentation.
Monitoring & Iteration
Performance tracking via Google Search Console and Google Analytics revealed recovery patterns as Google progressively re-crawled and re-indexed corrected pages. Impressions on priority articles and Black Book profiles began recovering within 4-6 weeks of technical fixes, validating the foundation-first approach over premature content optimisation.
Data-Driven Refinement:
GSC query analysis identified high-impression, low-click-through opportunities where title tag and meta description refinements could capture additional traffic. Pages ranking positions 8-15 received priority treatment through enhanced snippet optimisation, while designer profile pages benefited from structured data implementation enabling rich result eligibility in search features.
Continuous Improvement Process:
Monthly performance reviews with the Designeers team analysed ranking fluctuations, traffic patterns and user behaviour trends. High-performing content formats informed editorial calendar planning, whilst underperforming sections received diagnostic review addressing technical barriers, keyword misalignment or content quality gaps. This iterative approach established feedback loops ensuring sustained month-over-month growth beyond the engagement period.
Solution
Implementation
Technical SEO: Fixed 404 errors, implemented 301 redirects, resolved canonical tag issues and deployed structured data (JSON-LD) for article and profile pages to support rich results.
On-Page SEO: Rewrote title tags and meta descriptions across all page types, mapped unique keyword targets, and added keyword-rich alt text with guided internal linking.
Off-Page & Authority: Set up Google My Business profile for digital publication presence, created media kits with ready-to-use assets for contributor outreach, and secured high-quality backlinks from design publications to strengthen domain authority.
Team Enablement: Trained the editorial and design teams on image optimisation, Monday.com SEO workflows and content best practices — ensuring improvements would hold after project completion.