CASE STUDY
San Diego Catering SEO Case Study: 4.6x More Page 1 Rankings
A San Diego catering company launched a new website in May 2026 and started building content around what people search before they hire a caterer. By October it ranked on Google’s first page for 287 keywords, and Google had become its top source of inquiries.
THE GOAL
More of the right people finding the caterer
Many San Diego venues list the company as a preferred or approved caterer, so a large share of its inquiries came through venue referrals. The goal was to add a steady stream of new inquiries from people searching on their own.
That meant two things: a new website built to turn visitors into inquiries, and content that ranks for the questions people ask before they book a caterer.
THE RESULTS
What changed
4.6x more page 1 keywords
287 keywords on Google’s first page in October 2026, up from 62 in April 2026, the month before the new site launched.
Google leads nearly tripled
Inquiries naming Google or online search as the source grew from 14 in July 2026, the first month the form asked, to 41 in October.
7x more top 3 rankings
64 keywords in Google’s top 3 results in October 2026, up from 9 in April 2026.
A 1,500 to 2,000 guest inquiry
In November 2026, a planner for an outdoor event of 1,500 to 2,000 guests found the company through Google search and asked for a quote.
RANKINGS
Keywords on Google's first page
Keywords ranking in Google’s top 10 each month, from Semrush (US database). April is the month before the new site launched.
Semrush also estimates the site’s monthly organic traffic grew from about 530 visits in April 2026 to about 1,900 in October 2026.
LEADS
Inquiries from Google by month
Website inquiries that named Google or online search as how they found the company. The form began asking in July 2026.
November shows only the first 8 days of the month. Google or online search has been the top source of inquiries every month since August, ahead of venue referrals.
WHAT WE DID
The work behind the results
A new website
Moved the site to a new WordPress and Elementor build in May 2026, with new inquiry forms and clear calls to action on every page.
Content for planning questions
Blog content for the questions people ask before they hire a caterer, like what catering includes and birthday party catering ideas.
Keyword research and topic planning
Grouped about 2,800 commercial keywords into 21 topics, such as wedding catering and corporate and office catering, to decide which pages to build first.
Menu and service pages
Pages for specific occasions and needs, including wedding catering, breakfast and brunch catering and specialty diet catering.
BIG WINS
Ranking for high volume catering searches
Some of the biggest gains came on broad searches with national volume.
| Keyword | Monthly searches | April 2026 | November 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| catering | 60,500 | Not in top 100 | 8 |
| caterer | 14,800 | 31 | 10 |
| catering defined | 2,400 | 70 | 2 |
| what is catering | 1,900 | 24 | 4 |
| catering for birthday party | 590 | 84 | 8 |
Positions from Semrush (US database). Monthly searches are average US search volume.
WHAT'S NEXT
From helpful content to local demand
Google is now the company’s largest source of new inquiries, and a handful of inquiries even named ChatGPT or AI search as how they found it. Most of the new first page rankings come from helpful content.
The next phase focuses on local searches like catering san diego, where the company competes directly with other local caterers.
ABOUT THIS CASE STUDY
Sources and methods
Ranking and traffic estimates come from Semrush (US database). Inquiry counts come from the company’s website form submissions since the new site launched in May 2026, with tests, spam and repeat submissions removed. The form began asking how people found the company in July 2026.
The SEO work was led by Dustin de Koekkoek with Blue Media. The client’s name is withheld.
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