Showcasing ArtsHub’s Content to Google for 8x Organic Growth
ArtsHub struggled with low organic traffic and limited Google visibility due to its paywalled content. By implementing strategic SEO measures; flexible sampling, structured data, and a seamless CMS migration with CodeCo, we achieved an 8x organic traffic increase, balancing audience growth with subscription exclusivity for long-term success.
ArtsHub is a leading membership-based platform in the arts and culture publishing industry, headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. It provides a wealth of resources for artists, cultural organisations, and enthusiasts, including news, reviews, job listings, events, and courses.
The Challenge
ArtsHub faced low organic traffic and struggled to compete in Google search results. The site’s fragmented subdomain structure diluted authority, JavaScript reliance hindered crawling, and paywalled content limited visibility.
These issues not only affected discoverability but also impacted membership growth, as new audiences couldn’t experience ArtsHub’s high-quality content. A more strategic approach was needed to address these barriers while balancing visibility and revenue considerations.
The Strategy
- Consolidated the subdomain structure to improve content authority and clarity for Google.
- Refined mobile usability and fixed broken internal links to enhance crawlability and user experience.
- Integrated Flexible Sampling, allowing Google to index paywalled content while maintaining membership exclusivity.
- Implemented structured data across job listings, events, and courses, improving performance in enriched search results.
- Partnered with CodeCo to ensure a smooth CMS migration, optimising the platform for SEO and scalability.
The Results
8x Organic Traffic Growth
My partnership with ArtsHub has delivered an 8x increase in organic traffic, demonstrating the effectiveness of the implemented strategies. Organic search has become a major driver of audience growth, positioning ArtsHub as a leading platform in the arts publishing space.
Expansion Across Platforms
The successful strategy supported growth into related platforms:
- ScreenHub: Focused on the screen and media industries.
- GamesHub: A newly launched platform targeting the gaming sector.
Smooth CMS Migration
Collaborating with CodeCo, the CMS migration ensured no traffic loss, improved site performance, and created a scalable platform optimised for users and search engines.
