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Writer's pictureHarshal

Learnings From Website Revamp And B2B GTM Strategy To Unlock 9x Sales

Updated: Mar 29

SEO, UX Redesign, And 26% Faster Website For Security Systems’ Business Expansion


I used to think designing websites was a 2000s project. But, I designed 3 websites recently. I was surprised that building websites is so common, crucial, and time-consuming in 2024. Paul Graham said,


"Overall the Web is pretty sloppy, but an online store can't afford to be."


You need a good website when you are selling goods or services. I worked with a B2B client to target a 9x increase in monthly organic traffic. I redesigned their website, moved to a new web platform, and optimized on-page SEO. I’ll share my journey and learnings.


I spent 2 hours 20 minutes writing this post.

Website design to unlock organic growth.
Website design to unlock organic growth.

I originally published this post on www.sparkcreativetechnologies.com on Mar 08, 2024.


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Project Background And Challenge

The client manufactures B2B security systems. For example, they manufacture RFID readers and electronic cabinets to secure items. The company has sold products for 25 years. Most of their customers are government organizations including heavy industries and petroleum companies. They also have for-profit customers, such as the Marriott chain of hotels, GE, Ford, and Honeywell.


They had spent the upfront time and cost to develop products that meet the needs of B2G and (for-profit) B2B customers. The client had a portfolio of 40+ proven products. They wanted to sell their existing products to for-profit companies to grow in the B2B market, which is 6.2 times bigger than the B2G market.


But, they knew they needed a different approach to grow in the B2B market vs the B2G market. In 2022 and 2023, I worked with them to identify ways to increase their for-profit customer base.

Targeting expansion in a 6.2x addressable market.
Targeting expansion in a 6.2x addressable market.

Research To Identify Growth Barriers

Most customers found them through:

  • referrals from another customer, 

  • a partner/vendor, or 

  • online searches.


We didn't have a process to get referrals. We did not have a process to find new partners. But, we had a website that showed up via online search.


For-profit companies were more likely to choose us based on our website, compared to government buyers. So, we wanted to make our website easier to find. This would lead to more leads or inquiries, leading to more sales.


To get more people to our website, we had 2 options:

  • Content marketing for organic traffic

  • Digital ads for inorganic traffic

Comparing organic vs inorganic digital marketing.
Comparing organic vs inorganic digital marketing.

We chose organic growth because we wanted to get traffic that cost less in the long term.


My research on how customers find our website showed we had 3 ways to get organic traffic:

  • Blog content

  • Case studies or customer stories

  • Customer testimonials


Our website had some big challenges:

  • It did not have a CMS (Content Management System). This meant we needed to know PHP, HTML, and CSS to add anything new.

  • It was slower than most websites, ranking in the 46th percentile for speed.

  • Users could not easily discover us via Google search. For example, our webpage titles were “1.php” and “2.php”.

  • It used an old platform. We wanted to add case studies, testimonials, or blogs. These are essential for attracting more visitors, but we couldn't easily put them on our site.

  • We did not have dedicated website developers in our team.


So, we decided to redesign the website and switch to a new platform. We aimed for these four goals:

  • Faster page loading,

  • A modern design,

  • Easy to add blogs, case studies, and testimonials, and

  • Implementing on-page technical SEO changes.


30-40% of the company's revenue came from one product, the key management system. So, we decided to focus on this product in our project.

Focused on the one product contributing to a large amount of revenue.
Focused on the one product contributing to a large amount of revenue.

Research To Redesign Website

I researched these topics:

  • Website platform, e.g. Wix, WordPress, Squarespace, and more.

  • Peer and competitor websites for design ideas.

  • SEO keyword analysis for on-page SEO

  • Choosing the right agency to build our website.

Agile project plan, avoiding waterfall impact with a few ‘iterate’ boxes.
Agile project plan, avoiding waterfall impact with a few ‘iterate’ boxes.

I looked at 44 websites in our industry for design inspiration. I checked their:

  • SEO performance,

  • Style, and 

  • Content

Monthly organic traffic was 9x larger for our closest competitor.
Monthly organic traffic was 9x larger for our closest competitor.

I analyzed SEO keywords. I aimed to find non-branded keywords with high volume or high conversion in our industry. I used:

  • Ahrefs and

  • Google Trends

SEO keyword analysis as a word cloud.
SEO keyword analysis as a word cloud.

My research showed customers buy from us because:

  • They know the founder,

  • Appreciate our 25-year history, and 

  • Trust referrals from our customers


So, I highlighted the founder, our company history, and customer stories in our new home page design.

Results: Redesigned Website

Before-after of home page redesign to emphasize benefits and the company history.
Before-after of home page redesign to emphasize benefits and the company history.

I hired a web development agency to create the new website and its features in WordPress with Elementor. I followed best practices and used insights from our customers to improve the website:

  • We chose a modern design, similar to the top websites in our industry.

  • We optimized our website for mobile devices.

  • We kept the most important info at the top and used a carousel to provide extra information.

  • We showed the benefits of our products, not just their features.

  • We used photos of our product in use, rather than stock photos.

  • We featured a select few private customers, rather than listing every customer we have.

Before-after of product page redesign to make it easier to scroll on mobile and understand benefits.
Before-after of product page redesign to make it easier to scroll on mobile and understand benefits.

On the product page, I updated the (copy) text and organized the information better. I talked to our experts to fully understand what our products do. Then, I matched what I learned about our products with what our customers need. This helped me improve the product catalog.


We achieved these goals by rewriting the content:

  • Highlighted benefits, not features.

  • Spoke about jobs-to-be-done by the customer.

  • Made it easier to skim or speed read, by removing hidden information or info behind tabs.

  • Made it easier to read headings without details by grouping information and adding pictures and icons.


Results: Faster Website

Before-after website re-architecture, mobile performance improved by 30 units.
Before-after website re-architecture, mobile performance improved by 30 units.

82% of consumers say slow page speeds influence their purchasing decisions, as per Website Builder Expert. We cut down the page load time by 3 seconds. This could increase conversions by 33%, as per research by Envisage Digital. Our next challenge is to reduce our image sizes while retaining quality to speed up our website even more.

Before-after of website re-architecture improved page load speed by 26%. 
Before-after of website re-architecture improved page load speed by 26%. 

Estimating Impact

Our closest rival had 9 times our organic traffic. I predicted that through content marketing, we could achieve a similar traffic - 9 times growth in our organic traffic. With our redesigned website, we now easily add case studies, testimonials, and blogs. This would spark the future growth of the client.

Before-After of the website with CMS enables future organic traffic growth.
Before-After of the website with CMS enables future organic traffic growth.

Website Revamp Thoughts

To start your digital marketing, review: do you have a suitable web platform?


To move your focus to a new vertical, check: how do those customers search for solutions to their problems?


Once you have a better understanding of the customer needs and technical feasibility, build your go-to-market strategy.


What have you seen work well in having a digital presence and website design?

I originally published this post on www.sparkcreativetechnologies.com on Mar 08, 2024.


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