Merestone
After 50+ years serving 131+ Fortune 500 companies, Merestone’s digital presence didn’t match their industry reputation. When DAP discovered their website was built on 12+ years of technical debt, we made an unusual recommendation: pause our own $7K/month retainer to fix the foundation first. The result? A complete website rebuild, a renewed partnership, and a Local SEO program targeting 12 key markets across North America.
Merestone is a premier event production and experiential marketing company with over 50 years of experience. They design and build custom exhibits, branded environments, and event experiences for 131+ Fortune 500 companies across North America.
Project Summary
Merestone partnered with Digital Authority Partners initially for Fractional CMO services to develop and implement a comprehensive marketing strategy. However, DAP’s discovery process revealed a critical issue: the website was built on 12+ years of technical debt that made any marketing investment ineffective. Rather than continue collecting retainer fees, DAP recommended pausing the engagement to address foundational issues first. Through a complete website rebuild, technical SEO cleanup, and ongoing Local SEO program, Digital Authority Partners helped Merestone establish the digital presence that matches their 50+ year reputation in the event production industry.
The Challenge
Technical Debt Crisis 12+ Years Without a Rebuild
The website hadn't had a full rebuild since 2012. Layers of outdated code, plugins, and page builders had been added over the years without retiring old ones, causing frequent errors, slow speeds, and inconsistent behavior.
Broken SEO Foundation Multiple Conflicting SEO & Analytics Tools
Multiple SEO plugins and duplicate analytics scripts were running simultaneously, sending Google mixed signals. Crawl errors, indexing issues, and corrupted structured data undermined any SEO efforts.
Local Search Gap Zero Local Search Visibility
Despite serving clients across multiple major metros including Phoenix, Las Vegas, Dallas, and Orlando, Merestone had no location-optimized content and wasn't appearing in local search results for event production services.
Mobile Experience Poor Mobile & User Experience
Glitches from old plugins and page builders were affecting mobile usability, site stability, and visual consistency. Event planners researching vendors on the go were encountering broken functionality and confusing layouts. With six-figure event budgets on the line, prospects weren't waiting around for a buggy site to load.
How we Helped Merestone
Comprehensive Website Audit
DAP conducted a thorough technical audit in April 2025, documenting every issue and presenting findings to Merestone leadership with clear recommendations. This data-driven diagnosis laid the groundwork for everything that followed.
- Full technical SEO crawl and error analysis
- Plugin and script conflict identification
- Page speed and Core Web Vitals assessment
- Mobile usability testing across devices
- Executive presentation with prioritized recommendations
Complete Website Rebuild
Built a modern WordPress site from scratch with clean code, proper SEO infrastructure, mobile-first design, and consolidated tools. Launched August 2025 with full GA4/GSC integration and a foundation built for growth.
- Modern WordPress build with Elementor Pro
- Clean, consolidated codebase (no legacy plugins)
- Mobile-first responsive design
- RankMath SEO with proper schema markup
- GA4 and Google Search Console integration
Ongoing Local SEO Program
Launched a comprehensive Local SEO program targeting 12 key markets with location-specific landing pages, Google Business Profile optimization, local citation building, and ongoing content development to capture high-intent local searches.
- 12 location-specific landing pages
- Google Business Profile optimization
- Local citation building and NAP consistency
- Location-targeted content development
- Monthly performance reporting and optimization
Website Maintenance & Support
Established ongoing maintenance retainer to ensure the new site stays secure, updated, and optimized. This proactive approach prevents future technical debt accumulation and keeps the foundation solid for continued growth.
- Regular WordPress core and plugin updates
- Security monitoring and malware prevention
- Performance optimization and speed monitoring
- Regular backups and disaster recovery
- Priority support for content updates and fixes
What we Achieved
The complete website rebuild replaced 12+ years of accumulated technical debt with a clean, modern codebase. No more conflicting plugins, broken scripts, or legacy code causing errors and slowdowns.
From zero location-optimized content to 12 dedicated landing pages targeting key markets: Phoenix, Las Vegas, Dallas, Orlando, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Atlanta, Miami, New York, and Boston.
Replaced conflicting scripts and duplicate tracking codes with a properly configured GA4 implementation. For the first time, Merestone has reliable analytics data they can trust to make marketing decisions.
What started as a one-time website audit turned into a renewed multi-year engagement. By prioritizing their success over our revenue, we earned Merestone’s confidence and a renewed retainer for Local SEO and Maintenance.
