Client – A North East Sailing School
A well-established RYA-accredited sailing school offering lessons, qualifications, and experiences on the North Sea coast.
The Challenge
The client approached us with a clear brief:
- Update and modernise their existing website
- Migrate to a more reliable and secure host
- Retain their current design aesthetic and avoid a full rebrand
- Add key functionality like a booking form and a media gallery
- Most importantly, they wanted to improve their visibility on Google, aiming to appear higher in search results for relevant keywords (and ideally reach the top spot).
Their existing site was slow, difficult to manage, and had no SEO structure in place. They were losing visibility to competitors and missing out on direct bookings.
Our Solution
We delivered a comprehensive solution across three key areas:
1. Seamless Website Migration & Build
- Migrated the site to a faster, more reliable host suited for small businesses
- Rebuilt the website to closely match the original design while improving usability
- Integrated a custom booking form to streamline enquiries and registrations
- Added a visual gallery showcasing courses, boats, and student experiences
2. On-Page SEO Overhaul
- Rewrote and optimised all web copy using targeted keywords
- Implemented SEO best practices (meta tags, alt text, internal linking, image optimisation)
- Improved site structure for faster load times and better crawlability
3. Off-Site SEO Strategy
- Developed a backlink-building strategy targeting local directories, sailing forums, and relevant publications
- Set up and optimised their Google Business Profile
- Monitored performance and fine-tuned keywords monthly to respond to ranking data
The Results (within 8 months)
✅ #1 Ranking on Google for multiple high-intent local search terms (e.g. “sailing school North East”)
✅ Faster website performance with improved user experience
✅ Increased organic traffic and a noticeable uplift in booking enquiries
✅ A stable, scalable website setup ready for future growth
✅ Ongoing high SERP performance — they remain at #1
Client Feedback
“We were nervous about changing our website, but the process was smooth and the results speak for themselves. Our bookings are up, the site is easier to manage, and we’re finally being found online!”
— Owner at the sailing school
Conclusion
This project proves that you don’t always need a dramatic redesign to see dramatic results. By modernising behind the scenes and applying the right SEO strategy, we helped this client climb to the top of Google rankings — and stay there.
