Case Study
Yvette Sellyn
Discover our case study on Yvette Sellyn, a revered real estate expert in Sarasota, known for her unparalleled client dedication and deep market insight.
The Client
Yvette Sellyn is a distinguished real estate professional with a deep-rooted expertise in the Sarasota market. With a reputation for her unwavering commitment to her clients, Yvette has successfully navigated numerous property transactions, from downtown Sarasota to the prestigious Bird Key. Her clients laud her for her professionalism, responsiveness, and her keen understanding of the local real estate landscape.
Beyond just being a realtor, Yvette’s multifaceted skills also encompass design, enabling her to provide holistic guidance to clients, from property selection to renovation and decoration insights. Her website, yvettesellyn.com, showcases a plethora of testimonials from satisfied clients, each echoing her dedication, knowledge, and the extra mile she goes to ensure every transaction is seamless.
As a testament to her prowess, many of her clients, whether buyers or sellers, from Bird Key to Bradenton, have expressed their gratitude and admiration for her work, often highlighting her positive attitude, transparency, and attention to detail.
THE CHALLENGE
In the bustling real estate landscape of Sarasota, where properties often exceed the $1 million mark, standing out becomes more than just a desire—it’s a necessity. Yvette Sellyn, having recently ventured out on her own after working under the umbrella of a larger firm, was acutely aware of this. With the launch of her new website, she wanted to ensure it wasn’t just aesthetically pleasing but was also built on robust SEO and technical foundations. She approached Utterly Digital with a clear mandate: to conduct a comprehensive SEO and Technical site audit, ensuring her digital platform was primed for success.
The challenges didn’t stop there. The Sarasota market, renowned for its prime real estate, is also notorious for its fierce competition among realtors. Yvette needed to ensure her online presence was not just visible, but dominant. Furthermore, understanding the importance of local search, she wanted her Google My Business profile to be fully optimised, ensuring potential clients could find her easily and view her stellar reviews. Lastly, transitioning from a larger firm to her own independent venture came with its own set of digital challenges. Yvette wanted to ensure that any remnants or loose ends from her previous association were addressed, allowing her to present a cohesive and strong web presence.
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THE SOLUTION
When Yvette Sellyn approached Utterly Digital, she was met with a team that was ready to delve deep into the intricacies of her website. The comprehensive SEO audit conducted by Utterly Digital unveiled a series of areas that required attention. One of the primary concerns was the site’s speed and performance. The website’s lagging load times had the potential to deter visitors, a crucial aspect that needed immediate rectification. Additionally, the absence of a robots.txt file, essential for search engine crawling, was a glaring omission that was promptly highlighted.
The website’s structure itself presented challenges. It was not optimised for user navigation, and the presence of several 404 errors indicated broken or missing pages that could hamper the user experience and SEO. On the SEO front, other issues came to light. There was a noticeable lack of Schema mark-up, and the strategy for internal linking was not being effectively utilised. Both areas were provided with detailed recommendations to harness their full potential.
Another significant recommendation was related to the domain’s longevity. The team suggested an early renewal of the domain name for a decade, a move that would ensure continuity and foster trust in the eyes of search engines. Content, the backbone of any website, was another area that needed enhancement. Several pages were identified as having ‘thin content’, and the site was found wanting in terms of supporting content. This lack of depth could impact both SEO and user engagement.
Further diving into on-page elements, from page titles to headings, meta descriptions, and even PDFs, a slew of optimisation recommendations were provided. The images on the site, which were oversized, were flagged for compression to improve site speed. To bolster the site’s SEO strategy, meticulous keyword research was undertaken, and its findings were shared with Yvette. A backlink audit also revealed a gap; YvetteSellyn.com was trailing behind local competitors in terms of authoritative backlinks.
To address these myriad challenges, Utterly Digital crafted a 30-page custom report. This wasn’t just a document; it was a comprehensive guide. Detailing every issue and its solution in a manner that empowered the client, this report stood as a testament to the agency’s commitment to excellence. Whether Yvette chose to implement the changes herself, delegate to her in-house marketing team, or entrust Utterly Digital with the task, the report ensured clarity, understanding, and a roadmap to success.
The Results
Our collaboration with Yvette Sellyn showcased the synergy of combining external expertise with an in-house team’s dedication. As outlined in the audit report and further discussed in our 90-minute consultation, a division of tasks was established. Utterly Digital took charge of specific tasks, while Yvette’s in-house marketing team adeptly handled others.
A significant achievement was the comprehensive addressing of all highlighted technical SEO elements. This foundational work is crucial for any website’s long-term organic success, ensuring that search engines can efficiently crawl, understand, and index the site’s content.
While content quantity and quality remain areas for improvement, it’s commendable that Yvette’s team is proactively addressing this. Content is the backbone of SEO, and their commitment to enhancing it promises better engagement and improved rankings in the future.
The decision to allocate a modest budget towards link-building resulted in the acquisition of a few valuable links. However, the mutual agreement to prioritise content over extensive link-building at this stage aligns with best practices. Quality content not only serves users but can also naturally attract backlinks over time.
The steady growth in keywords and traffic, albeit at a slow pace, is a testament to the effectiveness of the strategies implemented. Every request made by Yvette to Utterly Digital was met with prompt action, underscoring our commitment to client success. Additionally, the strategic decision to map an old domain to a new one ensured the preservation of any existing SEO value, a move that often aids in maintaining organic visibility during domain transitions.
While there are still tasks pending on the client’s end, the steps taken so far have laid a robust foundation. Addressing the remaining items will only further enhance the website’s performance, driving it closer to its full organic potential.
