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HOW SARAH BECAME THE AUTHORITY IN HER SPACE—
WITH SEO

When Sarah saw SEO is more than "website code" her business blew up and all home pros can do the same.

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Sarah Berg
Accent Wall Artist
Brushstrokes & Timber

Meet Sarah.
Sarah is a Minneapolis-based custom wood wall treatment specialist and mural artist (exactly the kind of talented trade partner you probably love bringing into your design projects!).

She Was Busy on Instagram… But Her Website Was Invisible.

She is incredibly talented.
She posts daily Reels, shares behind-the-scenes installation tips, and has built a really strong, loyal micro-influencer following on Instagram.
 

But despite all that momentum, she hit a wall.

She wanted two things:
 

  1. More consistent, website-generated clients (so she didn’t have to rely solely on the exhausting Instagram hustle).
     

  2. To expand her positioning for bigger brand partnerships and collaborations.
     

That’s when she stepped into our world. And what we did for her is exactly what we teach interior designers to do inside The SEO-Powered Website™ Course.

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Step 1: Clarifying Business Goals (Before We Even Touched SEO)

Instead of jumping straight into messy keywords or tech audits, we started with a simple question: What do you actually want your business to look like?

 

This is where most SEO advice fails.
People start by chasing traffic.
We start by defining your business goals.  

The Problem: Google Only Saw a Fraction of Her Business

When we analyzed Sarah’s website, two glaring issues stood out immediately:

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1. A lack of RELEVANCE
(Does this site match what people are actually searching for?)
 

Her website positioned her strictly as a wall muralist for homeowners.

That was technically true, but it was a fraction of the story.

When we dug deeper, we found out she also:

  • Regularly partnered with top local interior designers.

  • Created large-scale murals for commercial spaces and small businesses.
     

None of this B2B work was on her website.
And if it’s not on your website, Google doesn't know you do it.

(Side note for designers: Are you doing full-scale new builds, but your website only talks about "decorating"? Because Google takes you literally!)

 

2. A lack of TRUST
(Do Google and AI believe you are credible?)
 

Sarah had some nice Google Reviews, which is a great start.
But she was missing the big authority signals.
 

She mentioned casually that she collaborated with massive brands like Sherwin-Williams and Home Depot.

Where was that info? Buried in her Instagram feed.
In Google’s eyes, she looked like a small, beginner business.
In reality, she was expansive and highly credible.

THE SEO SHIFT:
Expanding Her Relevance

We restructured her website to reflect the true breadth of her expertise.
We didn't just tweak her homepage; we built new,
targeted pages:

  • Murals for Homeowners

  • Wall Murals for Interior Designers

  • Custom Wall Installations for Small Businesses

  • Commercial Accent Walls & Lobby Murals

  • Brand Partnerships & Collaborations
     

Why this matters for your search rankings:

Before, Sarah could only compete for basic homeowner searches.

After this shift, she became eligible to rank for highly specific, high-intent searches like “muralist for interior designers Minneapolis,” “commercial wall mural artist,” and “brand collaboration mural artist.”

She became undeniably relevant to multiple, distinct audiences.

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THE AUTHORITY MULTIPLIER

Next, we created a dedicated space highlighting her partnerships with Sherwin-Williams and Home Depot.

This did two powerful things:
 

  1. Built Human Trust: When potential clients land on her site, they immediately see industry credibility and professional validation.
     

  2. Built Google Trust: Google’s systems look for E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness).

    When your website clearly documents brand partnerships, press features, and high-level collaborations, it signals to search engines that you are a trusted regional authority.

THE CONTENT GOLDMINE
SHE WAS IGNORING

Sarah was already doing the hard work—posting daily tutorials, paint techniques, and process videos on Instagram. But Instagram content has a lifespan of about 24 hours.
 

So, we took that knowledge and created a Resource Hub on her website featuring:

  • Mural planning guides

  • Accent wall material comparisons

  • DIY vs. professional guidance

  • Commercial mural budgeting tips
     

Instagram builds engagement.
Website content builds evergreen search visibility and authority.

Now, she ranks for informational searches, and that educational content continues to position her as an expert while she sleeps.

THE PROFITABLE RESULT

By aligning her digital presence with her real-world expertise, Sarah went from a small niche service provider to a multi-sector custom wall authority.

That shift increases ranking potential, click-through rates, and long-term brand equity.

THE BIGGER LESSON FOR INTERIOR DESIGNERS

If you feel like your design firm's website isn't pulling its weight, it’s probably time to shift your perspective.
 

Old School SEO was about:

  • Stuffing keywords into paragraphs

  • Fixing boring backend coding stuff

  • Trying to "trick" Google's algorithm
     

Modern SEO is about:

  • Positioning your design business so you are a perfect match for high-end searches.
     

  • Earning real trust across the web (E-E-A-T).
     

  • Aligning your website with the actual, high-level authority you hold in the real world.
     

  • Structuring your site so search engines and AI can easily understand, reference, and recommend your firm.

When you elevate your business in the eyes of Google, Google elevates your visibility right back.

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS WHEN GOOGLE SEES YOUR WHOLE PICTURE

Instead of seeing your website as just a random, disconnected pile of keywords, Google starts to understand your design firm as a fully fleshed-out, authoritative brand.

 

Google and AI connects the dots between your name, the high-end builders you work with, the publications you’ve been featured in, and the specific niches you work in.

 

Once search engines and AI view you as a trusted "entity" rather than just another local service provider, the entire game changes.

Google actively wants to recommend you, confidently serving your design firm up as the undeniable expert to the exact, clients you’ve been looking for.

HOW COULD YOU ACCESS MORE SEO POWER?

For example, if you’re a residential designer, are you regularly collaborating with custom home builders and architects?
Give those B2B relationships a dedicated page on your site.

Do your high-end clients occasionally ask you to design their boutique commercial offices, med-spas, or luxury vacation homes? Don't hide that work just because you consider yourself strictly "residential."

Even highlighting your high-level sourcing network or custom artisans builds massive authority with search engines.

When you stop lumping everything under one generic "interior design" umbrella and start claiming your specific, high-value niches, you stop competing with every other designer in town and start capturing the exact, high-level projects you actually want.

READY TO BUILD A WEBSITE THAT WORKS AS HARD AS YOU DO?

This exact framework—moving beyond aesthetics and building a site that gets found, builds trust, and attracts aligned projects—is exactly what we do inside The Designer’s Blueprint: The SEO-Powered Website Course.
 

Stop relying entirely on the algorithm, and start building your digital real estate.

You won't be alone, you'll have six months of free coaching.

I'll be with you 100% of the way.
Nothing me more to me than your success.

— Melanie Zaelich

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