Squarespace Website Redesign and SEO for a Marketing Consultant (Case Study for Service-Based Businesses) (Copy)
When your experience is strong… but your website isn’t reflecting it
There’s a moment many service-based business owners reach where they realize that while their experience has grown, their website hasn’t quite kept up.
It still works, technically. It still shares what they do.
But, it doesn’t position them the way they’ve evolved.
And more importantly, it isn’t consistently bringing in the kind of inquiries they know they’re ready for.
This was exactly the case for Ridge Marketing & Strategy, a Manitoba-based fractional marketing expert serving businesses in Brandon and Winnipeg.
With years of corporate marketing leadership behind her, Kyla had already built the depth, clarity, and strategic thinking that many businesses are actively searching for. But online, she wasn’t being found in a way that reflected that level of expertise, and when she was, she was often competing with larger, more established agencies dominating local search results.
This project became about more than just a redesign. It was about alignment, positioning, and visibility for the long term.
The challenge: not being found (and not being positioned clearly)
Like many DIY or early-stage websites, the foundation was there. But there were a few key gaps that were quietly holding the site back:
Her positioning as a fractional marketing expert wasn’t immediately clear
The visual design leaned slightly corporate, without differentiating her from larger firms
The structure didn’t guide visitors clearly from interest to inquiry
And most importantly, the site wasn’t optimized for local SEO visibility in her target regions
This meant that even with strong expertise, she wasn’t consistently showing up for searches like:
marketing expert Brandon
marketing expert Winnipeg
fractional marketing Manitoba
And for service providers, especially those competing in regional markets, visibility is everything.
“Working with Kaylee is a clear, communicative dream.”
— Kyla C. | Ridge Marketing & Strategy
The goal: build a website that reflects expertise and gets found
The direction for this project was clear from the start.
We weren’t just creating a more elevated design, we were building a website that would:
Position Ridge as a strategic, executive-level marketing partner
Clearly communicate her niche and offer (fractional marketing leadership)
Improve visibility in local Manitoba search results
Guide visitors through a more intentional, trust-building experience
And ultimately, support more qualified, aligned inquiries
Because a strong website doesn’t just look good. It helps the right people understand exactly why they should work with you.
The redesign: from corporate and unclear → strategic and grounded
One of the biggest shifts in this Squarespace website redesign project came through the homepage and overall site structure.
Rather than leading with generalized marketing language, we reworked the entire experience to feel more:
clear, confident, and distinctly positioned
This included:
Rebuilding the homepage to immediately clarify her role as a fractional marketing expert
Strengthening headline clarity so visitors instantly understood who she works with and how
Refining typography hierarchy to improve readability and SEO structure
Introducing intentional contrast through color blocking (deep teal sections paired with warm white space)
Reworking the page flow to guide visitors through:
→ problem → solution → credibility → actionUpdating imagery to feel more grounded and reflective of leadership (less stock, more presence)
The result is a site that feels:
✶ Established
✶ Strategic
✶ Human
✶ Regionally relevant
And most importantly, it communicates (at a glance) that this is not entry-level support.
This is high-level marketing leadership, available in a more flexible way.
The SEO strategy: building local visibility that compounds
Alongside the design, we implemented a focused SEO strategy built specifically around local search intent.
For service-based businesses, especially those operating within specific regions, this is often the missing piece.
We focused on:
Location-based keyword targeting (Brandon, Winnipeg, Manitoba)
Optimized page titles and meta descriptions
Clear H1–H3 hierarchy aligned with search intent
Service-specific sections for fractional marketing
Internal linking improvements
Copy refinement to naturally integrate key terms
Technical cleanup to support crawlability and indexing
This wasn’t about “adding SEO in.”
It was about building it into the structure of the website from the start.
The results: ranking alongside (and above!) larger agencies
Following the redesign and SEO implementation, Ridge Marketing & Strategy began ranking in the Top 5 positions for key local search terms, including:
“fractional marketing Manitoba”
“marketing expert Brandon”
“marketing expert Winnipeg”
“fractional marketing expert Manitoba”
For a solo consultant competing against well-established agencies, this level of visibility is significant.
It means:
More qualified traffic from the right regions
Increased credibility simply by appearing in search
Less reliance on referrals alone
And a stronger position within her local market
This is what happens when strategy, structure, and SEO are working together.
What this means for your website (especially if you’re a Calgary-based service provider)
Even though this project was based in Manitoba, the pattern is the same for so many service-based business owners here in Calgary and beyond.
You might have:
years of experience
a solid offer
and a website that technically “works”
But if you’re not:
clearly positioned
guiding your visitors intentionally
and optimized for how people are actually searching
Then your website may not be supporting your growth the way it could be.
And it’s often not about starting over. It’s about refining what’s already there, strategically.
If your website isn’t bringing in inquiries, there’s usually a reason
And the good news is, it’s almost always fixable.
If you’re a Calgary-based (or Canadian) service provider and you’re feeling like your website doesn’t quite reflect where you are in your business anymore, or isn’t bringing in the inquiries you expected, this is exactly the kind of work I support clients through.
✨ Whether that’s refining your structure, elevating your design, or building a stronger SEO foundation so you can actually be found.
Explore your Website Reset
Ready for a website that grows your business while you live more offline?
Hi, I’m Kaylee! A web designer and SEO strategist based in Calgary, helping small businesses get found, booked, and paid what they’re worth.
