When we first met Artem Pop Up Gallery, SEO wasn’t on the agenda.
We were on a shoot for Downtown Evanston, cameras and cell phones in hand, ready to document the eclectic businesses that make our hometown so incredible. On this particular shoot day, Artem was part of that story.
And that’s where we met Sarita, Artem’s owner and a talented local artist. It’s also where we learned that Artem is more than a gallery, it’s Evanston’s local creative hub.
It’s a place where local artisans showcase their wares. It’s a place where art novices can experiment and get their hands messy. It’s a place where you can take a jewelry making class and attend watercolor workshops.
But, as we found out later, Artem’s website wasn’t bringing in any traffic.
Sarita came to us with a clear goal: drive more website traffic with a specific focus on her workshops.
She wanted to connect with people searching for creative experiences in the area.
Before jumping into tactics, we did what we always do: started with an SEO audit (we love you, Semrush).
At a high level, we wanted to understand how the site was performing, where opportunities were being missed, and how search engines were interpreting Artem’s offerings.
The audit surfaced several quick wins, small but meaningful changes that removed friction and helped search engines better understand the site. Nothing flashy, nothing disruptive.
Just smart cleanup of broken links, better internal linking and alignment that laid the groundwork for what came next.
Once those improvements were in place, we shifted into strategy mode.
Rather than chasing broad, generic terms, we built a keyword strategy around what actually makes Artem special: its workshops.
Instead of lumping everything under a general “art classes” umbrella, we focused on Artem’s specific offerings—watercolors, acrylics, jewelry making, and other hands-on experiences people are actively searching for.
The goal was simple: match Artem’s real-world creativity with the language people use when they’re ready to sign up.
This meant aligning content with intent, structuring pages so they were easy to understand (for both users and search engines), and making sure each of Artem’s workshops had room to shine.
The impact was fast. And honestly, pretty exciting.
Within the first month, Artem saw a 380% increase in search traffic. Not a slow burn. Not a “check back in six months.” Immediate traction.
And it didn’t stop there.
By Q4, views of Artem’s workshop pages were up approximately 80%, signaling not just more traffic, but more of the right traffic. Visitors were actively exploring classes and creative experiences.
While this case study focuses on SEO, it’s worth noting that our work with Artem didn’t live in a silo. Alongside the optimization work, we partnered on videography, photography, and content creation, helping tell Artem’s story visually and cohesively across channels.
SEO worked because it was part of a bigger picture, not a one-off tactic.
It’s all about clarity.
When those pieces come together, search visibility tends to follow.
Creative businesses don’t need generic SEO.
They need strategies that respect what makes them different and know how to translate that uniqueness into search. Artem Pop Up Gallery already had something special. Our job was to help people find it.
Proudly Based in
Evanston, IL
1744 Oak Avenue
Evanston, IL 60201
