National civils website relaunch delivers 39% organic growth and 80% growth for local search traffic

Client introduction

The client is a premier UK distributor of civils and drainage materials, operating a network of branches alongside a growing online store. For decades, they have been the go-to supplier for contractors, not just for products, but for something less tangible: best-in-class technical advice delivered by genuine experts in every branch.

Problem

A new website was in the pipeline, a vital investment to improve user experience and keep pace with customer behaviour, which was steadily shifting towards digital channels.

This replatforming project was essential for the future, but it came with considerable risk. A botched migration could wipe out years of accumulated search engine authority, reducing organic traffic and severely hampering the return on their significant infrastructure investment.

Solution

Our project, with SEO expertise and project management led by Seb Atkinson and executed in collaboration with a range of in-house and external agency partners, was built on a two-pronged strategy: de-risk the migration and then build for the future.

First, we implemented a rigorous website migration support programme. Seb supplied a comprehensive migration checklist and provided active project management to ensure every team worked in harmony. Behind the scenes, our work involved a meticulous content audit (identifying all important traffic-driving pages), a full site structure review to model the impact of URL changes, and a technical SEO deep-dive, comparing the old and new platforms, covering everything from JavaScript rendering to internal linking.

With the migration secured, we moved to the growth phase. Under the old website, one of the client’s greatest assets, their local branch expertise, was virtually invisible online, thanks to a very limited overview of each branch on a single page. We set out to change that. The strategy was to build a digital home for each branch:

• An entirely new branch finder tool was created on the website soon after the initial website launch.
• This was supported by dedicated landing pages for each individual branch, providing a hub for contact details, expert profiles, and local service information. All key calls to action, such as requesting navigation directions or contacting the store, were tracked via Google Analytics events
• We then optimised Google Business Profile pages for every single location, linking them directly to their new landing pages. To reclaim click data that is often lost through Google Maps, we used UTM tracking codes on these links, a simple but powerful technique that allowed for precise measurement of clicks and visits.
• Finally, a targeted local link-building campaign established each branch’s footprint across key online directories and regional in-market sites, strengthening their local authority.

Results

The outcomes following the launch were immediately impactful. In the quarter directly after the migration, the client saw a 39% year-on-year increase in organic traffic.

Following on from this, the local strategy was a resounding success in its own right. The new branch pages achieved an 80% year-on-year traffic increase, directly connecting online searches to their physical locations.

Furthermore, our robust tracking solution provided clarity on a persistent business question: how does the website actually influence branch revenue? For the first time, our stakeholder could present management with definitive data. Our tracking solution bridged the digital-physical divide, drawing a clear line from online user activity to in-store footfall and sales. This helped to prove the website’s value as a powerful engine for the entire business rather than a separate entity.

Following these initial wins, the client confidently channelled further investment into optimising their eCommerce pages, offering even more entry points to new customers, whether through buying online or for collection orders from the customers’ local branch.

Conclusion

This project demonstrates the power of combining defensive and offensive strategy. By first eliminating the considerable risks of a site migration and then executing a smart, targeted local SEO campaign, the client was able to demonstrate quick wins through the website refresh and provide the impetus for further investment and growth of their online presence.