Corporate Website Development + SEO: A Case Study

In this case study we walk through the step-by-step process of building a corporate website and optimizing it for SEO. We also lay out the main upsides of building a site together with a team of SEO specialists.

The project came in with a clear goal: design a new look, code it up, and run SEO optimization on every page. At the start we had the old site and the existing content, which had to be moved over to the new site.

What was working:

• clearly defined goals;

• existing content;

• design references the client liked;

• development on WordPress.

What needed work:

• no SEO optimization on the old site;

• no detailed technical brief.

After a detailed discussion of the project and the completed brief, our team put together a step-by-step action plan to hit the set goals:

• page prototypes;

• page design;

• SEO recommendations;

• front-end build;

• site functionality;

• UA version;

• site testing;

• project launch.

Each page prototype included a block layout plan and a detailed description of the functionality. We created prototypes for several pages:

• home;

• service category;

• service;

• about;

• contacts.

We didn't build prototypes for the blog and individual blog posts - we used the standard WordPress structure as a starting point.

Based on the prototypes, we put together the page designs for the site.

At the development stage we handled the following SEO tasks:

• built the semantic core;

• prepared briefs for the copywriters;

• put together technical SEO guidelines for the developers;

• wrote out title and description metadata.

We coded the page designs on WordPress, adapting how the content is displayed in the new site design. In total, we coded several page types: home, service category, service page, contacts, about. Separately, we cleaned up the markup on the blog, posts, and the references section.

During development, our programmers wired up all the necessary site functionality:

• site search;

• slider for news and blog posts;

• combined drop-down menu;

• request forms;

• standalone page blocks.

We built the UA version of the site and set up correct hreflang tags for three language versions.

At this stage the QA specialist verified:

• proper layout across different device types;

• site functionality;

• implementation of the SEO recommendations.

Once all the necessary testing was done, the site went live and was submitted to Google for indexing.

As a result, our client didn't just get a brand new site - they got an SEO-optimized site ready for active SEO promotion and the launch of Google Ads campaigns.