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LOCAL SEO + WEBSITE REDESIGN CASE STUDY

More organic visibility. Healthy bookings without Google Ads.

An established local service business came to Keyforge with a website that needed a stronger technical base. We preserved the visual identity, moved the site to a better page builder, repaired its SEO foundation, and created pages for the locations the business wanted to reach.

As organic visibility grew, the client turned off increasingly expensive Google Ads. Bookings continued, and the client asked to move more budget into SEO.
17.4K Google Search clicks 4.53M Google Search impressions 2,138 clicks in May 2026 9.5K Bing AI citations

THE STARTING POINT

The website looked familiar, but the foundation was holding it back.

The client already had a website and wanted to retain its original appearance. A complete visual reinvention was unnecessary.

The problem was underneath the design. The page builder made the site harder to maintain and limited what could be improved. Technical issues affected the site’s search foundation, while its backlink profile included links that needed investigation and cleanup.

The website also lacked focused pages for several locations where the business wanted more enquiries.

What needed attention

An outdated or restrictive page builder
Technical SEO problems
A backlink profile containing harmful or low-quality links
Weak authority compared with competitors
Missing pages for priority service locations
Limited visibility in target local markets

WHAT KEYFORGE CHANGED

We rebuilt the foundation without throwing away the original design.

Website rebuild

A better page builder, without an unnecessary redesign.

We rebuilt the website on a more capable page builder while preserving the design the client already recognized. The move gave us cleaner control over page structure, performance, content, and future updates.

The client kept the established visual identity. The website gained a better technical base.

Technical repairs

We fixed the problems beneath the pages.

We reviewed how search engines crawled, indexed, and understood the website. Technical problems were repaired before expanding the site, so new pages would not inherit the same limitations.

Backlink cleanup

We dealt with harmful links before building better ones.

The existing backlink profile contained low-quality links that did not support the business. We reviewed the profile, cleaned up what could be addressed, and reduced the risk attached to links that appeared manipulative or irrelevant.

Authority building

Better links replaced the old numbers-first approach.

The new backlink strategy focused on relevant websites, business citations, brand mentions, and sources connected to the client’s market.

The goal was not to report a larger link count. It was to earn signals that made sense for the company and the locations it served.

Location pages

New pages targeted the places where the client wanted leads.

We created focused pages for priority locations instead of asking one general service page to rank everywhere.

Each page connected the service with a specific market, answered local customer questions, and gave visitors a clear route to enquire.

GOOGLE SEARCH PERFORMANCE

Clicks and impressions climbed after the rebuild and ongoing SEO work.
Google Search Console chart showing organic clicks and impressions increasing from April 2025 to May 2026
Google Search Console data shown from April 2025 through May 2026. The selected period recorded 17,400 clicks and 4.53 million impressions. May 2026 produced 2,138 clicks and 414,535 impressions.

The chart shows growth across both clicks and search exposure. The increase was not tied to one isolated ranking screenshot. It reflects broader visibility across the website and the locations it serves.

COMMERCIAL OUTCOME

The client turned off Google Ads. Bookings continued.
Search metrics alone do not tell us whether the work helped the business. The client’s email provides the commercial context.
Client email confirming Google Ads were turned off while the business continued receiving bookings
(the image is part of the client's email)
The client did not turn off Ads because Keyforge told them to. They made the decision after paid campaigns became too expensive. With bookings still coming in, they chose to direct more of the marketing budget toward SEO.

AI SEARCH VISIBILITY

The website is also being cited in AI-generated answers.
Bing Webmaster Tools AI Performance showing 9,500 citations and nine average cited pages
Bing Webmaster Tools AI Performance shows 9,500 citations and an average of nine cited pages during the selected reporting period.

This was not a separate campaign built around an “AI SEO” label. The website already had focused service content, clearer location relevance, stronger technical signals, and improved authority. Those same foundations now help its pages appear as cited sources in Microsoft’s AI search experiences.

WHY IT WORKED

We fixed the foundation before trying to scale it.

We kept what was worth keeping
The original design did not need to be discarded. Rebuilding it on a better system solved the underlying limitation without creating unnecessary disruption.
We addressed the backlink problem
Adding more links would not have fixed a weak backlink profile. The old risks were reviewed before a better acquisition strategy was put in place.
We built pages around real markets The location pages were tied to places where the business wanted enquiries, not added simply to increase the page count.
We kept improving the site The redesign created a stronger starting point. Continued technical, content, local, and off-page work produced the growth shown in Search Console.

HOW TO READ THESE RESULTS

Search figures come from the client’s verified Google Search Console property. AI citation data comes from Bing Webmaster Tools. The email excerpt is reproduced with the client’s identity withheld.

The screenshots show selected reporting periods, not the full client relationship. The client reported continued bookings after turning off Google Ads, but the excerpt does not attribute every booking to organic search.

Results vary by market, competition, website history, implementation, and investment. This case is not a traffic, ranking, or lead guarantee.

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