Timber & builder merchants group has been serving the North East of England for many years, building a reputation as the go-to independent supplier for high-quality timber and building products. With over2,500 trade products in stock ranging from plywood sheets and concrete blocks to driveway paving and roof windows the company is a trusted partner for both professional builders and homeowners.

In addition to its extensive product catalogue, timber & merchant group offers customers the chance to explore its dedicated showrooms, showcasing decking, flooring, fencing, and more. Their commitment to sourcing from leading market suppliers ensures customers always receive genuine, high-quality products to complete their building or landscaping projects.

Despite its strong offline presence and loyal customer base, timber & builder merchants group faced online challenges:

• Outdated technology – Each of its 5 locations operated separate WordPress sites, creating fragmentation and inefficiencies.

• Weak organic visibility – The business was relying heavily on paid ads to drive traffic, leaving little long-term value.

• Poor conversion design – The outdated sites lacked SEO-friendly structure and modern UX, leading to missed revenue opportunities.

The group recognised that without a strong digital transformation, it risked losing ground to competitors with stronger online strategies.

To address these challenges, a full SEO-focused website migration and strategy overhaul was implemented. The project spanned 4months and included the following key steps:

1. Migration to Magento 2.0

• All five WordPress sites were consolidated into a Magento 2.0 platform, with Mageworx plugin integration to support SEO fundamentals.

2. Technical SEO Setup

• Conducted a post-migration SEO audit.

• Fixed broken pages and ensured proper redirections.

• Resolved canonical issues to avoid duplicate content.

• Configured Google Tag Manager (GTM) through Mageworx, including event tracking for phone calls, form submissions, and purchases.

• Implemented GA4 tracking for advanced analytics.

• Set up cookie and consent mode to meet compliance standards.

• Connected and optimised Google Merchant Center feed to enhance organic product listings.

• Claimed and optimised Google Business Profiles (GMB) for all locations, integrating with Merchant Center.

• Added structured data markup for local business, products, About Us, and Contact pages to improve rich result visibility.

3. Site Architecture Optimisation

• Developed a clean folder structure to improve both user navigation and search engine crawlability.

4. Content Strategy Development

• Collaborated with the client to prioritise key product categories.

• Built a seasonal content calendar aligned with customer buying trends.

• Conducted in-depth keyword research, validated by the client.

• Implemented a rolling 4-month content plan for continuous growth.

5. Competitor Research & Strategy

• Performed competitor analysis for each of the 5 locations to uncover opportunities and gaps.

• Crafted a unified, data-driven SEO strategy tailored to the client’s objectives.