Website Overhaul · Industrial Manufacturing
From brochure site to lead engine
Mitchell Metals manufactures pre-engineered aluminum canopy systems for two very different markets, but its old site made every visitor sort themselves out. M16 overhauled it end to end: confident new positioning, market-segmented journeys for commercial and residential buyers, a conversion-focused redesign, and a rebuilt on-page and technical SEO foundation. Over the last six months, the new site has nearly tripled conversions, cut bounce rate by more than two-thirds, and more than doubled the brand's visibility in AI search.
Client
Mitchell Metals
Industry
Pre-Engineered Aluminum Canopies
Service
Web Design, UX & SEO
Footprint
Full website overhaul
~3x
Conversion rate, nearly tripled (6.10% to 18.23%)
-69%
Bounce rate, down from 50.11% to 15.34%
+122%
AI search visibility growth (18% to 40%)
26
Keywords now ranking in Google's top 3
The Challenge
A category leader with a site that made buyers do the work
Mitchell Metals serves two distinct audiences with very different needs: commercial buyers building K-12 and institutional projects, and residential developers covering multi-family amenities. The old site treated them the same. It opened with a passive line set in low-contrast gray, organized navigation around internal roles and processes, and asked every visitor to self-sort through three outlined "Click Here" boxes before learning anything. The product led the market. The website did not show it.
The Transformation
A new home page, side by side
BeforeThe Previous Site
AfterThe Overhauled Site
What Changed, And Why It Matters
Every change pointed at clarity and conversion
| Before | After | |
|---|---|---|
| Positioning | Passive and generic: "the leading provider of aluminum canopy systems," set in low-contrast gray. | Bold and specific: "America's #1 pre-engineered aluminum canopy system," stated with confidence. |
| Information architecture |
Built around internal roles and process: Architects, Engineering, For General Contractors, Install and Materials. | Built around markets: Commercial K–12 and Residential Multi-Family, matching how buyers actually shop. |
| Hero & conversion | Three outlined "Click Here" boxes over a dark photo, plus a weak "scroll down to learn more." | A clear headline, a real value proposition, and two confident, market-specific calls to action. |
| SEO foundation | Thin, role-based pages with limited keyword focus. | Keyword-aligned market pages (K–12, multi-family, "We Serve") on a rebuilt technical foundation. |
How We Did It
Positioning, structure, and search, rebuilt together
Repositioned the brand
Moved from a passive descriptor to confident category leadership, backed by the proof that matters most to buyers: a track record of 5,000+ projects.
Segmented by market
Restructured the entire site around the two core buyers, commercial K-12 and residential multi-family, each with a tailored path from the first click.
Redesigned for conversion
A bold hero, clear hierarchy, market-specific CTAs, and split phone lines that route commercial and residential leads to the right team.
Rebuilt on-page and technical SEO
Keyword-aligned market and "We Serve" pages on a fast, crawlable foundation, so the new site is built to be found, not just admired.
The Results · Last 6 Months
The overhaul is paying off, fast
In the six months since launch, the new site has not just looked better, it has performed measurably better across engagement, conversion, and search visibility.
~3x
6.10% → 18.23%
AI search mentions
Now cited 96 times across AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Gemini, up from a standing start of zero.
-69%
50.11% → 15.34%
Bounce rate
Far more visitors stay and explore instead of leaving on the first page.
+122%
18% → 40%
AI search visibility
Mitchell Metals now appears far more often across AI-driven search and answer engines.
Search rankings climbed in step. Across a tracked set of 58 commercial and residential canopy keywords, every term now ranks on the first page of Google. High-volume head terms lead the way, including "metal canopy" (1,900 monthly searches), "metal canopies" (720), and "aluminum canopy" (480), alongside the brand's own name.
58
Keywords ranking on page 1 of Google
26
In the top 3 results
15
At the #1 position
1,900
Monthly searches on the top term now captured
The Bottom Line
Stop making buyers sort themselves out
For a manufacturer serving two very different markets, the old site put the work on the visitor. The overhaul does that work for them: it states the category leadership, proves it, and sends commercial and residential buyers down purpose-built paths. The result turns a brochure into a lead engine, with a brand presence and technical foundation built to scale.
About this case study
Performance figures reflect the six months following the website overhaul delivered by M16 Marketing. Engagement metrics (bounce rate and conversion rate) come from Google Analytics 4, keyword rankings are tracked in SEMrush, and AI visibility reflects the brand's presence across AI-driven search and answer engines. The phrases "America's #1 pre-engineered aluminum canopy system" and "5,000+ projects" reflect Mitchell Metals' own stated positioning on the live site. Before-and-after visuals are simplified recreations of the previous and current site.