Supporting growth with SEO & content strategy

Context

Netmums is the UK's largest parenting website.

The Local section of the site served as a valuable resource for local businesses, enabling them to promote themselves and events through free listings. Additionally, paid options offer increased visibility for businesses seeking to reach a wider audience within the Netmums community.

Local was identified as highly strategic part of the website for SEO.

However, the section faced a significant challenge: a large number of low-authority pages were diluting its SEO performance and cluttering the user experience.

The primary objective was to eliminate a significant number of pages with low or no authority while enhancing the overall user experience and search engine optimisation. This posed a risk, as removing a substantial number of pages could potentially decrease the site's overall traffic if not handled correctly.

Company

Netmums

Industry

Online media

Platform

Web

Solution

To address the identified SEO and UX challenges within the "Local" section, we implemented a multi-faceted optimisation initiative.

  • In-depth SEO analysis: a comprehensive SEO audit was conducted to pinpoint low-authority pages and identify overall optimisation opportunities. This included analysing factors like canonicalisation, on-site search functionality, and breadcrumb implementation.

  • Content strategy revamp: leveraging user needs and keyword research, we redefined the content strategy to prioritise the creation of high-authority content that would better serve user needs and enhance search engine visibility.

  • Enhanced navigation: the navigation of the "Local" section underwent a restructuring to reduce page depth and improve user engagement, streamlining the user journey.

  • Mobile-first UX design: a mobile-first approach was adopted for the UX design, ensuring an optimal user experience specifically tailored for mobile devices, where a significant portion of users access the platform.

  • Alignment with new pricing structure: importantly, all optimisation efforts were implemented with careful consideration of the platform's newly introduced pricing structure.

Netmums Local section on mobile

Impact

Netmums' strategic "Local" section revamp, conducted in collaboration with engineers, content team and the Head of SEO, yielded demonstrably positive results across both SEO and UX metrics.

  • Search visibility: the focused content strategy (from 24,000 pages to a set of 300+ pages), prioritising high-authority content creation, resulted in a significant improvement in search engine rankings for the "Local" section. This translated to increased organic traffic targeted towards relevant local businesses and user needs.

  • User experience: the streamlined navigation structure, achieved through collaboration with engineers, and the implementation of a modern, mobile-first UX design significantly enhanced user engagement. Users benefited from a more intuitive browsing experience, particularly on mobile devices, a critical access point for a large portion of the Netmums audience.

Mitigating risk

The project acknowledged the potential risk of reduced overall traffic associated with removing a substantial number of low-authority pages. To address this, a meticulous SEO audit was conducted to identify and remove only those pages with minimal impact on organic traffic. Close collaboration with the Head of SEO ensured that technical considerations, like proper canonicalisation and 301 redirects, were implemented to minimise any potential negative effects.

Netmums' Things to do near you on mobile

Key results

-40%

Bounce rate

300

High authority pages

+15%

Overall engagement metrics

“She is effective, has great communication and problem solving skills. She was able to deliver big complicated projects on time, always flagging any issues and working on resolving them promptly.”

Daria Fennelly, Head of SEO at Netmums

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