Project at a Glance
Client: Travel to Alkebulan
Scope: Modern WordPress architecture, UX/UI, modular content system, technical SEO, analytics
Core Outcomes: High performance on Core Web Vitals, Lighthouse, and GTmetrix, improved stability and content publishing velocity
Tech: WordPress, custom theme and blocks, schema markup, next-gen images, caching, GA4 and GSC
Background
Travel to Alkebulan needed a web platform that matched its mission – elevate authentic African travel experiences for global and diaspora audiences. The legacy setup limited speed, discoverability, and content velocity. Nairobi Marketing was engaged to deliver a fast, secure, and SEO-ready WordPress site that could scale content and partnerships.
Goals
- Ship a responsive, mobile-first WordPress build that loads fast and passes Core Web Vitals
- Implement a modular content system for guides, destinations, and resources
- Strengthen technical SEO and schema for better discovery and rich results
- Enable analytics-driven decisions with clean GA4 events and GSC insights
What We Built
1) Platform Architecture
Custom WordPress theme with lightweight templates, reusable blocks, and clean URL structure. Implemented canonical tags, XML sitemaps, and internal link patterns for scalable SEO.
2) UX and Visual System
Inter typography, generous whitespace, accessible color contrast, and image-first layouts that highlight destinations and culture. Simplified navigation and clear CTAs improved exploration and intent paths.
3) Performance and Web Vitals
Next-gen images (WebP and AVIF), responsive image sizes, lazy loading, critical CSS, deferred non-critical JS, and caching. CDN-ready configuration for global audiences.
4) Technical SEO
Structured data for Organization, Article, and TravelAgency. Clean slugs, breadcrumb schema, and consistent on-page hierarchy. Consolidated and redirected thin pages to increase topical authority.
5) Analytics and Events
GA4 events for newsletter sign-ups, outbound affiliate clicks, and CTA interactions. GSC monitoring for coverage and enhancements. Monthly reporting templates to track growth and content ROI.
Results
GTmetrix
Lighthouse
Note: SEO numeric value not provided – site configured with structured data and clean metadata.
Highlight: Sub-second LCP at 900ms and very low CLS at 0.01 indicate fast perceived load and stable layout, which directly improves engagement and ranking potential.
What Made the Difference
- Lean theme and minimal JS – reduced render blocking and improved first input readiness
- Next-gen media and responsive images – lower transfer size for mobile networks
- Entity-aware information architecture – better internal linking and topical depth
- Structured data and canonical hygiene – consistent rich-result eligibility
- Analytics-first process – improvements guided by GA4 and GSC insights
Key Metrics We Track
- Core Web Vitals – LCP, CLS, TBT
- Mobile page load and interaction latency
- Organic sessions and top 10 keyword coverage
- Newsletter sign-ups and CTA conversion rate
- Affiliate and outbound partner click-through
- Index coverage and rich result enhancements in GSC
Roadmap
- Destination cluster expansion – West, East, and Southern Africa coverage
- Interactive itineraries and map blocks – improved planning UX
- PWA enhancements for offline reading and faster repeat visits
- Video gallery and YouTube SEO for discovery and watch time
- Quarterly technical audits – maintain Web Vitals and Lighthouse scores
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