Project Overview
Queer Athena is a community-focused platform dedicated to connecting New York City's LGBTQ+ community through curated events and inclusive gatherings. Despite offering rich, relevant content, their website suffered from severe technical SEO issues that hindered their visibility on search engines, significantly limiting organic traffic and community reach.
When starting this project, Queer Athena had a technical SEO health score of just 57%. The site faced critical structural problems, including 25 orphaned pages, frequent server (5XX) errors, and over 60 pages missing accurate meta descriptions. These issues weren’t merely technical—they directly impeded the platform’s ability to engage its audience.
In a focused three-month effort, I led a comprehensive technical recovery initiative that improved the site’s SEO health to 99%, eliminated crawlability issues, and laid the groundwork for sustainable organic growth.
My Approach
My approach emphasized building a solid technical SEO foundation to achieve sustainable, long-term growth rather than applying short-term fixes. I structured my strategy into four clear stages:
Stage | Description & Actions |
Technical Audit | Conducted a thorough site audit using Ahrefs and Google Search Console |
Issue Prioritization | Addressed issues systematically |
Infrastructure Rebuild | Redesigned URL structures, rebuilt internal linking networks, and standardized meta tags. |
Continuous Monitoring | Set up ongoing tracking and proactive alerts via Google Analytics 4, Search Console, and Ahrefs. |
Key Issues Identified
Issue | Impact |
Site Health: 57% | Poor structure limited indexation, significantly reducing organic visibility. |
Orphaned Pages (25+) | Valuable event pages were invisible to Google due to missing internal linking. |
Server Errors (5XX) | Unstable performance prevented effective crawling and indexing. |
Meta Descriptions (60+) | Incorrect or missing descriptions damaged click-through rates (CTR). |
Technical Audit & Recovery Process
To address Queer Athena's technical SEO challenges, I executed a structured, three-phase recovery plan:
Phase | Actions & Deliverables |
Phase 1: Diagnostics | - Conducted comprehensive Ahrefs Site Audit to identify SEO gaps.
- Reviewed Google Search Console reports for indexing and crawl issues |
Phase 2: Remediation | - Fixed and resolved 5XX server errors to ensure stable site performance.
- Strategically reintegrated orphaned pages back into the main navigation structure. |
Phase 3: Sustainability | - Implemented continuous SEO monitoring via GA4, Google Search Console, and Ahrefs.
- Developed a standardized internal SEO checklist for ongoing site maintenance. |
Results Achieved
Metric | Before | After |
Site Health (Ahrefs) | 57% | 99% |
Orphaned Pages | 25+ | 0 |
Server Errors (5XX) | Frequent | Fully Resolved |
Meta Descriptions (optimized) | 60+ issues | 100% optimized |
SEO Foundation Now Established:
- Automatic crawlability and indexation for every new event page.
- Optimized meta content to increase user engagement and improve CTR.
- Robust monitoring and alerting infrastructure to proactively handle any future SEO issues.
Conclusion
This case study highlights the critical importance of a solid technical SEO foundation for sustainable, long-term success. Queer Athena had compelling content but struggled with foundational issues; poor site health, orphaned pages, server errors, and metadata gaps, that prevented their content from reaching its full potential.
By systematically identifying and resolving these technical barriers, I've established an infrastructure for Queer Athena that ensures ongoing crawlability, indexing and efficiency. This foundation not only resolves immediate problems but positions Queer Athena for consistent and sustainable organic visibility moving forward.