SEO Case Study: House Plans and More
Issue: HDA, Inc., a national retailer for home designs and project plans, was finding itself in an increasingly competitive marketplace. In 2004, HDA came to The Net Impact looking for a new website design for www.HousePlansAndMore.com, a website that markets over 20, 000 home plan designs and project plans to their consumer. Despite their vast selection of house plans, House Plans and More was failing to connect with their target market. Many of their keywords were non-visible searches when visitors would try and locate a home plan company. The challenge in producing this website was to build an effective sales tool for House Plans and More products while allowing them easy management of their large inventory.
Action: The Net Impact analyzed the website, the database, the marketplace and the competition, and then developed an online action plan. This process resulted in a website redesign, rebuilding the database and development of database administration tools. The website and database redesign was centered on optimizing the content for improved search engine results and usability. Administrative Tools were developed to allow the client to make fast and easy updates to their product information on the website. These tools consisted of an administrative panel, a content management system and a designer interface. Along with these efforts, The Net Impact installed the TNI Web Analytics statistical package and trained management in its use along with consultation regarding web server issues.
Results: Keyword rankings have begun to rise as a result of search engine optimization efforts and conversion rates have begun to rise as a result of the usability redesign of the website. The client is able to efficiently respond to changes in product offerings and market trends due to the database accessibility allowed by the administrative tools. In addition, the TNI Web Analytics reports have allowed management to see and react more quickly to current trends, perform detailed analysis of search engine activity and understand keyword performance. The Net Impact will continue to keep HousePlansAndMore.com in step with new search engine guidelines, competitor tactics and important statistical findings as the company continues to grow and expand their presence on the web.