SEO for a project selling handmade paintings for interiors

This case study demonstrates the high efficiency and potential of the SEO strategy for a website selling handmade interior paintings. The particular value of the achieved results lies in the fact that they were realized despite significant challenges: the strategy proved effective even with partial implementation of technical audit recommendations and the presence of unresolved critical errors.

About the Client

Kline Collective – is an online gallery specializing in contemporary art, primarily wall decor paintings.

• Product type: 100% hand-painted acrylic or oil works. The company does not sell prints or mass-produced items. 
• Styles and themes: A wide selection of styles (abstract art, minimalism, textured art, landscapes, seascapes, florals, and others). 
• Materials: High-quality, museum-grade canvas (350–400 gsm) is used. 
• Value-added services: Most paintings are delivered with professional framing and mounting hardware, ready for installation.

Key benefits highlighted by the company on its website:

• Full customization: custom orders for colors, shapes, textures, and dimensions of paintings. 
• US and European locations: high-quality, bespoke art and seamless support, thanks to teams in the USA and the Czech Republic. 
• Free express shipping: free, insured worldwide shipping (DHL, UPS, FedEx) with no customs duties for customers in the US and EU. 
• Return guarantee: full refund or free revision of the painting within 90 days if the customer is dissatisfied. 
• Brand trust: works endorsed by major global companies (The Ritz-Carlton and Starbucks Coffee).

Promotion efforts launched in late April. The client engaged our services through the Upwork platform.

Task: Promotion of the website's core categories (based on a priority list provided by the client). Goal: Achieve top rankings for keywords within priority categories and drive targeted traffic to the site.

The project has been on hold since December - the client decided to pivot their approach and evaluate different strategies

Niche and competitor analysis

The niche is highly competitive. The client operates in a market where primary competitors have been established for nearly a decade, boasting significantly larger inventories, complex site architectures, and substantially more robust backlink profiles. A key challenge in the project's search engine optimization was the client's requirement to rank for high-volume and high-competition keywords.

At the start of the partnership, the client maintained two clones of the primary website. Our resource analysis determined that Google perceived these two sites as thin or duplicate versions of the main domain. Furthermore, the two copies shared a range of technical, visual, and content characteristics with the primary klinecollective.com site, providing grounds for them to be flagged as affiliates. The lack of traffic and visibility for these two sites further indicated that the search engine had already linked them and did not treat them as independent projects. The presence of weak affiliate sites without visibility could have stifled further organic search growth. Consequently, the optimal solution was to decommission the secondary sites. We provided these recommendations to the client for implementation.

Competitor analysis revealed that all competitors were actively building backlink profiles, though their approaches varied: some focused on quantity (with low DR), while others prioritized quality to drive DR growth. Competitors maintained effective content strategies centered on niche-specific queries within the interior art sales market. To gain organic traction, we needed to focus on high-volume, low-competition keywords and develop new collection pages.

Post-analysis recommendations:

1. Prioritization of commercial queries. In the initial stages, it is more effective to focus on keywords with high commercial intent and low competition. 
2. Backlink quality. Focus on the quality of backlinks to ensure steady growth in site authority. Reduce the share of links from low-DR domains and increase the proportion of high-DR donors. 
3. In-depth competitor semantic analysis. Conduct a detailed analysis of competitors' semantics to identify new growth opportunities and expand the keyword list. 
4. Expansion of content and site structure. Continuously scale the website with new pages that address additional user queries. Create dedicated pages for popular art types, styles, and interior themes to attract a more targeted audience. 
5. Sustaining steady traffic growth. Regularly monitor the performance of generated content and adjust the strategy based on shifts in user behavior and search engine algorithms.

Analysis of four priority keywords for the client revealed significant disparities in their competitiveness and commercial potential.

• "Abstract art" was the most challenging to rank for (KD 45/100) and boasted the highest search volume (110k MSV). Its intent is predominantly informational: the SERP is dominated by major encyclopedic resources and museums. This makes it a target for a long-term authority-building strategy rather than immediate sales. 
• In contrast, queries such as "abstract wall art", "modern wall art", and "landscape art" showed significantly lower keyword difficulty (ranging from 9/100 to 22/100) and clear commercial/transactional intent. Users utilizing these queries (with a combined search volume of approximately 20k MSV) were actively looking to purchase artwork for decor. Specifically, "landscape art" (KD 9/100) was the most promising candidate for rapid organic traction.

General conclusion: For the client’s site in the initial stages, we recommended focusing on low-competition keywords with high commercial potential. This approach allowed for capturing targeted traffic and securing conversions much faster than the highly competitive, informational query "abstract art".

Technical audit

Based on the technical audit of klinecollective.com (May 2025), a series of critical and major errors were identified that impacted ranking, indexing, and user experience.

1. Site loading speed - low performance metrics in PageSpeed Insights.
2. Hreflang tags - hreflang tags were configured incorrectly. The site featured multiple languages, yet all versions were assigned the "us" attribute instead of the corresponding language-specific hreflang tags. This prevented search engines from accurately identifying the regional relevance of the pages.
3. Title tags - duplicate Title tags were identified. This diluted keyword weight and could lead to indexing issues and decreased CTR.
4. Meta Descriptions - missing across all pages of the website.
5. H1 tag duplication - pages with duplicate H1 headings were identified on the site.
6. Duplicate pages (products and collections).
7. Missing H1 tags - pages lacking H1 tags were identified, including pagination pages.
8. H2 tag duplication - duplicate H2 headings were found, creating a redundant semantic hierarchy.
9. Partial absence of Alt tags and attributes - this diminished accessibility and reduced ranking potential in Google Images.

Among the critical issues identified: 

• Periodic disappearance of 301 redirects from deleted language versions to the primary English version, resulting in thousands of 404 error pages. 
• Inconsistency between metadata/copy and the site's language versions due to automated translation errors. 
• Missing essential collections in the navigation menu. 
• Schema markup errors.

Usability analysis

Identified errors:

1. Inactive contact details

• The email address (service@klinecollective.com) and phone number on the "Contact Us" page and in the footer were displayed as plain text and were not clickable. This was particularly inconvenient for mobile users who expected the ability to initiate a call or send an email with a single tap.

2. Missing blog content

• The Blog section was present on the site but contained no content, displaying a "Not Found" message instead. An empty blog added no value and failed to build user trust.

3. Hidden key information ("About Us")

• Critical links (such as "About Us", "Shipping," and "Refund Policy") were tucked away in the footer, reducing their visibility. This was a significant oversight, as the "About Us" page is vital for establishing credibility in the art sales niche.

4. Low search bar visibility

• The search field was not persistently visible and was hidden behind a small icon, which complicated navigation.

5. Suboptimal filter functionality on collection pages

• On collection pages, the filter panel was hidden behind a button. Once a user selected a single filter, the panel would automatically close. This forced users to repeatedly reopen the filters to select additional options.

6. Limited category-based navigation

• The main menu lacked essential navigation paths that are industry standards among competitors. This restricted the user's ability to explore content based on specific stylistic preferences.

Language versions analysis

Key issues and observations:

• Extremely low efficiency (Finnish and Danish):

The Finnish and Danish versions had a very low click-through rate despite a notable number of impressions. This resulted in critically low CTR metrics, indicating that the pages were poorly aligned with search queries and featured unappealing meta tags in the SERPs.

• Growth potential in German and Italian versions:

The German and Italian versions demonstrated stronger performance. The Italian version achieved the highest CTR and the best average position, indicating that these pages had already secured Top-10 rankings and were driving targeted traffic.

• Incorrect Hreflang configuration:
  • ТHreflang tags pointed to incorrect language and regional combinations (e.g., de-US, ja-US, etc.). This caused search engines to improperly index language versions, as they could not determine the intended region for specific pages. This resulted in internal competition between different language versions rather than allowing them to complement one another.

We prepared and provided the client’s technical team with a strategic recommendation package covering usability enhancements, language version optimization, and a prioritized list of critical technical errors requiring immediate remediation.

Link building

The link-building strategy involves a steady, secure expansion of the backlink profile without aggressive spikes. During the first month, the primary focus is on establishing a foundational link base. The second month aims at scaling the profile and increasing diversity. By the third month, the focus shifts toward consolidating results and increasing the volume of guest posts and article placements. Overall, the strategy is engineered to ensure the profile appears natural to search engines:

Strategy logic

• steady scaling of link volume without aggressive spikes;
• initial emphasis on naked URLs and branded anchors to ensure a safe profile;
• increased share of keyword-rich anchors via guest posts in later stages;
• gradual shift in focus from homepage links to deep linking.

Semantic core of the project

During the initial phase, the semantic core was built around priority pages provided by the client. However, due to the high competitiveness of these pages and the lack of necessary traffic growth momentum, we agreed to expand the semantics to other site pages. For further promotion, we selected pages and search queries with higher volume but lower competition levels, allowing us to build a more effective growth model and focus on areas with faster result potential.

Starting in October 2025, the approach to setting SEO promotion priorities was revised. The primary focus shifted to keywords with zero or low competition difficulty, as these offered the most immediate and tangible results. High-difficulty keywords remained a long-term goal to be addressed incrementally - once the site established sufficient authority, a high-quality content base, and a stable link profile. Consequently, from October onward, our team actively targeted queries with solid search volume and minimal to zero difficulty, while simultaneously maintaining focus on medium- and high-competition clusters. These queries required significantly more time to reach the Top-10; therefore, we systematically supported them with monthly backlinks, gradually building page authority and laying the groundwork for future growth.

SEO results

In the current project, we faced challenges regarding the timely implementation of technical audit recommendations, which were critical to successful promotion.

• Implementation Pace. Technical optimization tasks were executed more slowly than planned, which delayed the full realization of the agreed-upon SEO strategy's potential.
• Critical risks. A significant portion of the critical errors identified during the technical audit remained unresolved. This created recurring technical risks for site visibility and search engine indexing.
• Impact on results. The failure to meet necessary technical standards directly influenced the speed of achieving sustainable results and placed constraints on the overall traffic and conversion growth that could have been attained.

Despite the aforementioned challenges that constrained our full growth potential, we achieved high promotional efficiency, as evidenced by key business metrics.

Link building strategy

The growth dynamics of the backlink profile demonstrate a steady and consistent increase in domain authority: from May to December 2025, the number of external links grew from 82 to 181:

The upward trend signals the successful execution of the link-building strategy, the high quality of acquired backlinks, and the strengthening of brand recognition within the search landscap.

The steady increase in referring domains has positively impacted indexing, page authority, and the site's competitiveness in the SERPs, establishing a foundation for further organic traffic growth.

Organic traffic

All organic traffic metrics increased during the engagement period. Overall, the site attracted nearly 1.5 million users throughout the duration of the partnership:

The overall trend remains positive: klinecollective.com is demonstrating significant gains in visibility and organic traffic, characterized by an increase in clicks and impressions alongside an improved average position).

Traffic growth:

• A notable surge in clicks from 6.77K to 8.79K indicates that more users are navigating to the site from search. 
• A substantial rise in impressions from 936K to 1.37M confirms that the site is appearing more frequently within the SERPs.

Ranking improvements:

• The average position moved from 13.5 to 11.3, signifying that content has climbed within the search results, closing in on the first page (TOP 10).

CTR decline:

• Despite the gains in clicks and rankings, the average CTR softened slightly from 0.7% to 0.6%, as impressions are scaling significantly faster than the clicks they generate. 

The decline in the average click-through rate (CTR) is an expected outcome of the semantic expansion strategy. Per the client's request, the site began ranking for a large volume of new, broad, high-frequency keywords that were previously untargeted. Since these broad queries often carry informational or research-based intent, they generate a significant number of impressions; however, users click the snippets less frequently as the content may not yet be perfectly aligned with their immediate needs. Furthermore, CTR was negatively impacted by duplicate meta tags (as detailed in the Technical Audit section) and other technical discrepancies that we previously flagged for the client.

Organic Search channel data:

• 0,9% of total users;
• 1,42% of new users;
• 2,02% of returning users;
• 1,03 minutes average session duration (the highest among all channels);
• 0,58 engaged sessions per user (the maximum across all channels);
• 2,07% of total events;
• 4,06% of key events;
• 2,78% key event rate per user (the highest across all channels).

Organic search accounted for 0.9% of the total user base. While this represents a relatively small share, the quality of this traffic is exceptionally high: the channel boasts the highest conversion rate (2.78%) and generates a significant portion of key events (4.06%). The returning user rate from organic search stands at 2.02%, indicating that search remains a powerful tool for engaging a loyal audience. Organic users had the longest average time on site among all channels. It’s a clear indicator of high engagement, as these visitors are arriving with specific search intent. Organic search also yielded the highest engaged sessions per user, meaning their interactions were higher quality and more productive, rather than brief bounces. 

Comparison with the prior period (pre-engagement):

• +61.77% users
• +60.45% new users
• +53.14% sessions
• -58.48% average engagement time per session
• -27.79% engagement duration per session 
• +44,93% events
• +142,57% key events
• +70,05% key event rate per user.

We are observing a significant expansion of the total audience (+61.77%). The decrease in engagement time (-58.48%) alongside a surge in conversion rates (+70.05%) suggests that the site has attracted fresh, highly targeted traffic. Users are navigating to conversions more efficiently without extensive browsing of secondary pages. Although average engagement time dropped, total events climbed by +44.93%. This indicates that while individual sessions were shorter, the sheer volume of users grew enough to generate a higher aggregate of interactions, including clicks, views, and conversions.

Visibility and keyword rankings

Below is a detailed breakdown of the ranking results for the high-priority landing pages and commercial keyword clusters.

• 79 - average ranking position
• 7,1 - search visibility;
• 11% of keywords in the TOP 10;

The general trend in position distribution at the end of the period indicates a recent decrease in the number of keywords in top-tier positions (TOP 1, TOP 10). This shift resulted from the revised strategy focused on zero- or low-competition phrases. The chart illustrates that Average Position and Search Visibility metrics showed strong positive momentum in September and October, with the average position improving from approximately 90-100 to 70-80.

The average site position did not show net growth because new categories were progressively added to tracking - some of which ascended in rankings while others did not. Up until October 2025, the primary focus remained on promoting high-volume, low-competition keywords, which yielded a 48% increase in traffic.

Ranking results for priority pages:

• https://klinecollective.com

• https://klinecollective.com/collections/black-and-white

• https://klinecollective.com/collections/textured-wall-art

The improvement in priority page rankings validates the successful optimization of the selected keyword clusters. The "textured" group has secured its place in the TOP 10, which will serve as a driver for high-quality traffic moving forward. Additionally, the "Home page SC" and "black and white" clusters have demonstrated significant ranking gains.

The majority of key tracked keyword clusters are exhibiting a positive upward trend. Several queries have secured rankings within the TOP 5, which is the primary driver behind the surge in organic traffic.

In summary, despite certain promotional hurdles, the performance of the organic channel demonstrates that our content quality and optimization strategy effectively mitigated technical constraints. The web resource achieved a nearly 62% increase in organic traffic, key events (conversions) surged by 142%, and as of November 2025, the average position stood at 11.3. These metrics validate that the developed and agreed-upon promotion strategy was exceptionally effective. However, fully remediating technical errors remains critical to eliminating risks, ensuring future scalability, and unlocking the project's full SEO potential.