Fischer Mill Website SEO Improvement

While working at Sandhills Global, I led a full-site SEO and performance strategy project for Fischer Mill Supply, Inc., a family-owned agricultural supply and fabrication business with a legacy dating back to 1889.

I initially began the project in collaboration with another designer. But as the work progressed, it became clear that I had a sharper vision for how the content, structure, and design needed to align. The decision was made at the executive level to move me into the site designer role as well—allowing for tighter integration between the SEO strategy and the site’s visual and structural execution.

Before diving into strategy, I conducted a full audit of the existing site. The navigation structure was disorganized, with outdated and irrelevant links still live—to temporary pages that had never been removed. The site was slow, largely due to uncompressed, oversized images, and lacked a clear content hierarchy. Mobile usability was inconsistent, and there was little alignment between the site’s structure and what users were actually searching for.

Cleaning this up became the first priority. Improving site speed, refining the navigation, and simplifying the visual flow laid the foundation for the SEO work that followed.

Once the site was cleaned up, I shifted into research and planning using SEMrush. I began by identifying Fischer Mill’s top competitors—both regional as well as brand-specific—and analyzing how they were ranking across key categories. For each competitor, I evaluated keyword performance compared with Fisher. From there, I identified the most valuable keywords that aligned with Fischer Mill’s services, prioritizing those with a difficulty score under 20 unless there was a strong reason to go after something more competitive.

Once filtered, I sorted the keywords by intent—whether users were looking for information, services, or product comparisons. This helped me define which keywords belonged on service pages, which supported educational content, and which should drive transactional calls to action.

With the list finalized, I created a sitemap and detailed page-level briefs. I then worked directly with copywriters and the client to rewrite or restructure each page’s content, ensuring it aligned with both SEO targets and Fischer Mill’s brand voice.

As the designer, I was responsible for the overhall in the site code. The navigation was restructured to match real user behavior and internal priorities. Visual hierarchy was simplified to emphasize service clarity and contact pathways. Images with quality alt tags were added to engage user and search engine both. Content blocks were redesigned for readability and fast mobile access, and I implemented subtle layout improvements to help guide users through the site in a more intuitive way.

This wasn’t just about visual polish—it was about making every design decision work in support of content clarity, searchability, and conversion.

Throughout the project, I remained the primary point of contact for both the internal team and the client. I helped manage expectations around the pace and nature of SEO improvements, and made sure that everyone understood how the technical work, design choices, and content direction were working together toward the same goals.

Because I had led both the research and the design, I was able to maintain a consistent strategic thread through the entire process—from competitor research to the final user experience.

The updated site was faster, more focused, and far more discoverable. The site's traffic has considerable improved since the rollout of the new changes. Pages are better aligned to user intent, search rankings began to improve across key terms, and the overall experience was significantly more usable. The new content helped reinforce Fischer Mill’s brand as a trusted, established provider—and finally gave them a digital presence that matched the quality of their reputation.

Since the project’s launch, I’ve continued to stay in contact with the client. I provide periodic updates and SEO check-ins to ensure that the site continues to perform well and evolves alongside their needs. It’s a working relationship I value, and one that reflects my long-term approach to site performance and strategy.