Case Study
Supporting a Design & Development Agency Through a Client Site Relaunch
Launching, migrating, or refreshing an ecommerce website is no small task. It’s a complex project with many moving parts, which is why brands often invest in hiring a design and development agency to manage things.
Even then, it’s possible for important details to be overlooked — especially those relating to search engine optimization (and no, it isn’t as simple as setting up 301 redirects and calling it a day).
Ecommerce growth is a long-term game, and the reality is that platform migrations and redesigns can pose a risk to a brand’s hard-won organic traffic, conversions, and revenue.
We have seen this scenario play out time and time again: a design and development agency onboards a new client to help them with a site migration or refresh. All seems well at the end of the project: the design is solid, and the client is thrilled with how their site looks.
But a few months later, the client’s organic traffic plummets.
The client blames the agency (or the platform) and ultimately, trust is lost.
Oftentimes, these kinds of web traffic disasters are the result of neglecting certain technical SEO details during the migration process.
Partnering with SEO experts who understand the ins and outs of ecommerce SEO migrations is one of the best ways to protect your client’s organic traffic and sales — and your relationship with that client. After all, good SEO works seamlessly alongside good design.
In this case study, we’ll look at how Whitecap SEO worked with Belt Creative to meet the SEO needs of one of their clients.
Background
Belt Creative is a digital marketing and design agency that supports businesses through a range of services, including website design, development, strategy, and content creation.
Several years ago Belt Creative took on Zearn, a nonprofit educational organization, as a new client. At the time, Zearn was interested in building a new website to help support educators, parents, caregivers and students who were users of their math learning platform.. Given the scope of their goals for launch and post-launch, Belt Creative guided them towards a Webflow site, which would offer the right amount of flexibility and customization.
The Challenge
The Belt Creative team got to work, and Zearn’s new website went live several months later. As it turned out, this launch was only the start of the next challenge.
Zearn experienced rapid growth in traffic following the launch of their new marketing site. It soon became clear that more upgrades to the site would be necessary to keep up.
One year later, Zearn was already working with Belt Creative on another site redesign.
They knew it was critical to be cognizant of SEO.
Though Belt Creative does provide search engine optimization services, they felt it was important to partner with SEO specialists who could not only guide Zearn’s organic search strategy leading up to and during the launch, but also mitigate any post-migration issues.
The Solution: Working with Whitecap
It was at this point that Whitecap entered discussions with Belt Creative and Zearn. We held a kickoff meeting for our team of SEO experts to learn about the client’s needs and goals.
We were brought in to perform a full audit of the current website before its relaunch, as well as to conduct a post-launch audit to ensure everything was working properly (URLs, links, redirects, etc). Our team was also available in the event that any issues occurred during or after the migration.
Additionally, we guided the development agency through the process of optimizing their client’s site for organic search growth by providing the following services:
Keyword research
Recommendations for optimizing existing on-page content
Image alt text recommendations
Technical SEO consulting
Site structure recommendations
Full schema audit
We met directly with the client to discuss their priorities and suggest site optimizations. After these initiatives were approved, we guided the agency’s team through the implementation of these recommendations, providing support as needed.
The Results
The partnership between Zearn, Belt Creative, and Whitecap SEO has yielded positive results for all parties. The development agency has been able to provide their client not only with a visually appealing website that contained the information needed to support educators, parents, caregivers and students who were users of their math learning platform, but also one that is technically sound and optimized for lasting performance and growth.
Here is what Zearn had to say about their experience partnering with us:
“SEO is a game best played by the experts. The Whitecap team are those experts. Since starting our work, we’ve seen a strong ROI in both traffic and conversions, and the team continues to help us continually keep on top of the ever-changing digital ecosystem. I highly recommend Whitecap--you get a team of experienced marketers, technical experts, and data-driven strategists advocating for and creating results for your brand online.”
The Benefits
Through working with Whitecap SEO, the design agency was able to provide their client with an even higher level of service and ensure that the website redesign went off without a hitch.
The top benefits included:
✓ Efficient workflow for the development agency — our team handles the research and recommendations, and their team handles the implementation
✓ Spreadsheet of SEO tasks functions as a checklist for the development agency
✓ Easy, quick, efficient communication with the Whitecap team
✓ Our SEO experts are available on calls with the client to provide explanations and answer any technical questions directly
✓ Flexible support based on the current needs and goals of the client
✓ The client is thrilled with the final result of their website redesign and ongoing support
The Takeaway
Any time you are dealing with a major website redesign or platform migration, SEO disasters are a genuine risk. When that happens, it can damage your relationship with the client.
Partnering with an SEO agency like Whitecap ensures that your client’s hard-earned organic traffic and sales will remain intact during a big site overhaul. Ultimately, that means greater peace of mind for you throughout the project.
Through the process of implementing our recommendations, you’ll also have the opportunity to learn more about SEO to provide better support to your future clients.
Partner with Whitecap SEO and Expand Your Service Offering
Are you an ecommerce development, design, or optimization agency looking to uplevel your services by partnering with a team of SEO professionals?
Our team of organic search experts will help you elevate the services you’re offering (and make you look really good to your client).