Case Study - From No Online Presence to 200+ Monthly Search Visits for a New Nonprofit
Cornerstone Connections had a heart to serve their community and no way to be found online. We launched their first website, Google Business Profile and local SEO, and families now find them through 200+ search visits a month.
- Client
- Cornerstone Connections
- Year
- Service
- Website & SEO Services
The story at a glance
- 01 · The ProblemA new nonprofit with a heart to serve, and no way to be found online.
- 02 · What They WantedFor families who need help to find them when they search.
- 03 · What Was at StakeFamilies searching for help find nothing, and go without.
- 04 · The PathwayA first website, Google Business Profile, Search Console and local SEO.
- 05 · The Result200+ monthly search visits and a busier Community Closet.
01The Problem
A heart to serve, and no way to be found
No website. No listing. No footprint.
Cornerstone Connections is a nonprofit committed to serving families and individuals in their local community, including through a Community Closet that provides clothes and household essentials to families in need.
When they first came to us, they were brand new. They had no website, no Google Business Profile and no digital footprint at all. The families who needed them had no way to find them online.
02What They Wanted
To be there when a family in need searches
Brandy Hannah and her team did not need vanity metrics. They needed the people they exist to serve to be able to find them.
Be found by families in need
When someone nearby searches for free clothes or nonprofit help, Cornerstone Connections should show up.
Grow the Community Closet
Get clothes and household essentials into the hands of more local families.
Earn trust from day one
A professional presence that families, volunteers and donors can trust.
03What Was at Stake
When help cannot be found, families go without
For a nonprofit, invisibility is not a marketing problem. It is a mission problem. Every search that turns up nothing is a person who needed help and did not get it.
Help that goes unclaimed
A family searching "free clothes near me" finds nothing, and goes without, even though help is a few miles away.
Growth limited to word of mouth
Without search visibility, the mission only reaches as far as people happen to talk about it.
Harder to trust
An organization with no website or verified listing is harder for families, volunteers and donors to trust.
04The Pathway
We built the foundation, then the visibility
You don't have to do this alone.
Cornerstone's journey began from zero, so the path started with the basics and built up from there.
- 01
Launch their first website
A modern, mobile-responsive website tailored to their mission and community services.
Their first websiteA clear, mobile-friendly home for the mission and the services families come looking for. - 02
Set up and optimize their Google Business Profile
Optimized categories, photos, descriptions and service areas, so they could appear in local search and on Google Maps, with the credibility of a verified listing.
- 03
Connect Google Search Console
Search Console integration so we could monitor performance and see which searches were bringing people in.
- 04
Target the searches families actually make
An SEO audit and starter kit identified real, rankable keywords their community searches for, and on-page SEO fundamentals targeted them, including terms like "community clothing closet" and "nonprofit help near me."
What we delivered
- Website Design
- Google Business Profile Setup
- Search Console Integration
- SEO Audit
- SEO Starter Kit
- Local SEO
05The Result
From invisible to a steady flow of families finding them
200+
Monthly visits from organic search
480
Active users from June 15 to July 12, 2025
246
Of those visits came from organic search
Between June 15 and July 12, 2025, the new site saw 480 active users with an average engagement time of 56 seconds, and 246 of those visits came from organic search. They now receive more than 200 search visits a month, from a starting point of zero.
The Community Closet started gaining traction as more people found them online. They now rank locally for services like "community clothing closet" and "nonprofit help near me," have the credibility of a verified listing and reviews, and receive inquiries and visits from people actively searching for help.
Very professional and attentive services. Always having an eye for detail and making sure that the visibility of the organization is key. Highly recommend.
Sound familiar?
Can the people you exist to serve find you when they search?
Cornerstone Connections started from zero. If your organization is in the same place and you want a similar payoff, let's map the way to being found.
No pressure and no pitch deck. We will tell you honestly whether we are the right fit.