From Hidden Gem to Chicago's Architectural Authority: Neri Architects' 230% Organic Traffic Surge with Campaignsquat's Custom SEO Strategy

Executive Summary

Despite their renowned reputation and decades of experience designing some of Chicago’s most innovative residential and commercial spaces, Neri Architects found themselves struggling in the digital landscape.
Their website was nearly invisible to non-branded searches, their competitors were outranking them, and valuable leads were being lost daily.
Campaignsquat took over their SEO transformation, implementing a highly customized and data-driven strategy that led to:
230% growth in organic traffic
300% increase in qualified lead submissions
Top 5 rankings for 25+ highly competitive keywords in under 8 months
A dramatic boost in brand visibility and local authority
This is the story of how a world-class architecture firm finally earned the digital recognition it deserved.

Client Background

Company: Neri Architects
Industry: Architecture, Land Planning, Residential, and Commercial Design
Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Website: neriarchitects.com
Key Services: Custom Home Design, Commercial Projects, Mixed-Use Development, Interior Architecture
Neri Architects had a sterling offline reputation with decades of successful projects, but without a strong online presence, they risked losing modern clientele who heavily rely on search engines for decision-making.

The Challenges

• Minimal Organic Visibility:

  Only branded keywords like "Neri Architects" ranked — none for vital industry terms like "Chicago architects" or "custom home architects near me."

• Outdated Site Architecture:

  Haphazard internal linking, poor H1-H2 hierarchy, non-optimized URLs.

• Missing Local SEO Foundation:

  No localized service pages, inconsistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone) citations, no Google Business Profile optimization.

• Technical SEO Issues:

  Site speed extremely poor on mobile (48/100 on PageSpeed Insights)
  Missing SSL redirection on subdomains
  Broken backlinks and 404 pages.

• No Content Strategy:

  No blog, no resource center, no intent-driven landing pages to capture broader audiences.

• Low Backlink Profile:

  Only 11 referring domains, mostly low-quality.

• High Bounce Rate:

  62%, indicating poor engagement and mismatched landing experiences.

• User Experience Deficits:

  Non-intuitive navigation
  Lack of mobile-responsive layouts
  Dull CTAs resulting in low conversion rates.

Goals

• Increase Organic Traffic:

  Increase organic website traffic by at least 150% within 12 months.

• Achieve First-Page Rankings:

  Achieve first-page rankings for 25+ strategic keywords including service-specific and local intent queries.

• Reduce Bounce Rate:

  Reduce bounce rate to below 40%.

• Improve Mobile Usability:

  Improve mobile usability and Core Web Vitals scores.

• Generate High-Quality Leads:

  Generate sustainable, high-quality lead inquiries through the website.

• Establish Domain Authority:

  Establish domain authority and online reputation in the Chicago market.

The Solutions (Step-by-Step Deep Strategy)

• Comprehensive SEO Audit:

  Full technical, on-page, off-page, and local SEO audit.
  Identified 270+ critical issues needing urgent fixes.

• Technical SEO Upgrades:

  Implemented SSL across all domains and subdomains.
  Improved mobile responsiveness and UX with custom-coded CSS fixes.
  Leveraged lazy loading, server-side compression (Brotli/Gzip), and advanced caching to enhance loading speeds.
  PageSpeed mobile performance increased from 48 → 92.
  Fixed broken backlinks and redirected 404 pages to relevant landing pages.

• Site Architecture Revamp:

  Created a logical, siloed architecture categorized by services, locations, and project types.
  Developed a new internal linking strategy to boost crawlability and distribute link equity.

• On-Page SEO Overhaul:

  SEO-optimized every page title, meta description, header, and alt attribute.
  Focused on semantic SEO: LSI keyword integration for natural relevancy.
  Optimized CTAs (call-to-actions) for lead generation, improving UI/UX.

• Local SEO Domination:

  Google Business Profile fully optimized with structured service listings, Q&A, rich media uploads, and review management.
  Built consistent and accurate citations across 100+ high-quality business directories.
  Created localized landing pages targeting suburbs (Evanston, Skokie, Oak Park).

• Content Strategy and Execution:

  Developed a new blog, posting 4 SEO-rich articles/month on topics like:
  "Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Custom Home Architect in Chicago"
  "The Importance of Land Planning in Modern Developments"
  "Top 5 Architectural Design Trends in 2024"
  Added downloadable lead magnets (e.g., Project Planning Checklists) to capture emails.

• Authority Link Building Campaign:

  Guest posts on reputable sites like ArchDaily, Houzz, and Chicago Real Estate News.
  Built partnerships with local media for natural mentions and citations.

• Reputation Management:

  Email outreach encouraging satisfied clients to leave detailed Google reviews, improving the trust signal.

• Competitor Analysis and Gap Seizing:

  Thorough SERP analysis of competitors like Burns + Beyerl Architects and dSpace Studio.
  Identified content gaps, keyword opportunities, and backlink acquisition strategies.

Key Features Implemented

• SEO Audit & Resolution:

  End-to-end Technical SEO Audit & Resolution

• Local SEO Playbook:

  Local SEO Playbook for Chicago and surrounding suburbs

• Service Page Optimization:

  Full Service Page Optimization (including latent semantic indexing)

• Content Creation:

  Weekly SEO Content Creation & Blog Management

• Link Building Campaign:

  Skyscraper Link Building Campaign

• Mobile Improvements:

  Mobile-First Website Improvements

• Authority Amplification:

  Authority Amplification via Reviews & Press Mentions

• Conversion Optimization:

  Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) on critical service pages

Results

• Organic Traffic Increase:

  230%

• First-Page Rankings:

  First-page rankings for 27 competitive service and location keywords.

• Google Business Profile Actions:

  Google Business Profile actions (calls, directions, website clicks) surged by 325%.

• Lead Generation:

  Lead generation through the website tripled compared to the previous year.

• Bounce Rate Drop:

  Bounce rate dropped from 62% to 38%.

• Domain Authority Improvement:

  Domain Authority improved from 21 → 34.

• High-Quality Backlinks:

  32 high-quality backlinks acquired from industry and local sources.

• Top Keywords Ranked:

  "custom home architects Chicago" — Position 3
  "architects for commercial buildings Chicago" — Position 5
  "land planning experts Chicago" — Position 2

Testimonial

"Partnering with Campaignsquat was one of the best decisions we made for our firm's future. Their SEO plan wasn’t just strategic — it was laser-focused on outcomes. We’ve seen an explosion in qualified inquiries, and our brand is now synonymous with quality design in Chicago. Thanks to Campaignsquat, our online presence finally matches the excellence we bring to every project."
— Raymond Neri, Principal Architect, Neri Architects

Future Steps

Launch a YouTube channel with behind-the-scenes project walkthroughs to capitalize on video SEO trends.
Expand service area targeting to neighboring states (Wisconsin, Indiana).
Begin a multilingual SEO strategy to cater to Spanish-speaking and Polish-speaking communities in Chicago.
Integrate AI Chatbot Lead Capturing tied to CRM for real-time engagement.

Is your brilliant work hidden from potential clients online?

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Just like we did for Neri Architects, we can help your brand dominate your local market and industry niche.
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