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Escape room chain

NicheLocal business, entertainment
GeoLos Angeles, USA
+318%
Organic traffic
from 955 to 4,000/mo
+286%
SEO leads
from 29 to 112/mo
+1,000
Google Maps
visitors/mo
3,000
Keywords
in the semantic core
§ 01 Objective of the task

Maze Rooms is a chain of escape (quest) rooms with several locations across Los Angeles. At the start of our collaboration (November 2023), mazerooms.com was bringing in around 955 organic visits and 29 SEO leads per month. The ask was direct: more relevant traffic from search and more bookings.

We approached this not as a set of separate fixes, but as a single working model: the site is the core, and around it work the technical foundation, semantics, content, the link profile and local visibility. In the first year the site reached the TOP for the city's main commercial queries; over the engagement organic traffic grew roughly ×4, and the number of SEO leads roughly ×3.9.

Below — what we saw in the data, which hypotheses we tested, and which of them became a verified pattern for us.

What we changed in Maze Rooms' SEO system

The main focus wasn't on point fixes, but on making the technical foundation, semantics, content, schema markup and link profile work as one system. Each block reinforced the others: a clean technical base gave the foundation for indexing, semantics set the structure, content covered demand, microdata improved snippets, links added authority.

The working model we started from: in a local business, organic visibility is born not from a single channel, but from the connection — when the site structure, content, technical SEO and the local profile support one another. So we built not a task list, but a system.

What the SEO audit revealed

We ran a full technical audit (100+ check points). A few observations that set the priorities:

  • The site's technical health was generally sound (after the fixes the Health Score reached 98/100), but structure and semantics weren't connected in a way that could scale traffic beyond a handful of brand and most-generic queries.
  • Metadata and snippets weren't using the full SERP CTR potential — a hypothesis we later tested with rewritten meta tags and schema markup.
  • Local visibility (Google Maps, "near me" queries) had room to grow that was barely tapped at the start.

We logged this as an observation, not a verdict on the site — and built the plan around what could be tested the fastest.

Why the SEO strategy worked

The main result came not from a single optimization, but from all the blocks starting to pull in one direction. Which of our hypotheses were confirmed as a pattern on this project:

  • A large semantic core (~3,000 keywords) + a systematic content plan gave the site a reason to rank for hundreds of relevant queries, not a dozen. We attribute the ~×4 traffic growth mainly to semantic coverage, not to individual pages.
  • Quality links pointed precisely at priority commercial URLs helped push those pages into the TOP-10. For us this is a verified practice: targeted off-page for specific URLs works predictably.
  • Microdata improved the snippets' appearance — the working CTR hypothesis was confirmed at the SERP level.
  • Google Maps became a separate channel: after optimizing the profile, it began adding up to ~1,000 visits per month.

An open question we hold honestly: some of the broadest queries (for example, generic "escape room near me") depend heavily on local results and behavioral factors, so there we keep testing rather than treating the result as final.

§ 02 What is done
SEO Audit SEO Strategy Technical SEO Semantic Core Content Plan On-Page SEO UI/UX Audit & Redesign Recommendations Meta Tags Optimization Schema Markup Implementation SEO Blog Content Off-Page SEO Link Building PR Google Maps Optimization
§ 03 Actions
and strategy
01.

Full technical SEO audit (100+ checks) and prioritization

At the start we ran a deep technical audit — so every next step would rest on concrete data.

  • Crawled the site (1,106 URLs, 6,617 links found), checked indexing, duplicates, page statuses and crawl errors.
  • Logged the constraints and built a prioritized task list: quick wins + strategic fixes.
  • Brought the technical Health Score to 98/100 — the foundation everything else relied on.

Organic traffic trend in Google Search Console

Google Search Console: organic traffic trend for the Maze Rooms site — 44.9K clicks and 2.63M impressions over the engagement
Over the engagement: 44.9K clicks, 2.63M impressions, average position 24.9.
02.

A full semantic core (~3,000 keywords) and content plan

Next, we assembled a large semantic core around services, locations and topical queries. The hypothesis was simple: the wider and more precise the demand coverage, the more relevant traffic the site can capture.

  • Collected and clustered ~3,000 keywords across commercial, local and informational queries.
  • Mapped keywords to pages and blog clusters so each page had one clear SEO role.
  • Prioritized clusters by demand, competition and traffic potential — with a transparent model where every decision can be explained with numbers.

A fragment of the semantic core: ~3,000 keywords in clusters

Maze Rooms semantic core: escape rooms keywords grouped into topical clusters and sub-clusters with search volumes
Keywords grouped into clusters by topic and location; each got its own SEO role in the structure.
03.

UI/UX audit and redesign recommendations → higher conversion

In parallel, we looked at the user journey. Working hypothesis: some traffic doesn’t reach booking, and the cause is in the conversion elements rather than the number of visits.

  • Ran a UI/UX audit of the homepage and key pages.
  • Prepared redesign recommendations: a “Book Your Escape” hero, booking-focused emphasis, promo blocks, room cards.
  • By our estimate, the updated interface — in its share of the impact — drove about ×3.5 growth in leads.

Site’s technical health after the fixes: Health Score 98/100

Technical audit of the Maze Rooms site: Health Score 98/100, distribution of crawled URLs and crawl status of found links
After fixing the technical errors, the Health Score reached 98/100 — the base the other tracks relied on.
04.

Rewritten meta tags for CTR and search intent

We updated the Title, Description and H1 of key pages — for priority queries and for clickability in the SERPs.

  • Rewrote the metadata for search intent and SERP CTR.
  • Added structure and result-highlighting accents to the snippets: location addresses, USP, call to action.
  • The CTR uplift from snippets is, for us, a hypothesis that was confirmed on this project.
05.

Schema markup (Schema.org) for better snippets

We implemented structured data so search engines understand the site more precisely and show rich snippets.

  • Marked up the key entities: EntertainmentBusiness, Organization, Product, SiteNavigationElement, hentry.
  • Passed Schema.org validation with no errors or warnings.
  • The goal wasn’t the markup itself, but a better SERP appearance and higher CTR.
06.

Blog content: up to 10 SEO articles per month

Based on the semantics and search intent, we published up to 10 pieces per month that closed topical clusters.

  • Prepared articles for priority clusters: scenarios, occasions (birthdays, dates), themed rooms, “top-…” roundups.
  • Each piece had a clear SEO role in the structure and internal links.
  • Content expanded organic visibility beyond the commercial pages.
07.

Off-page SEO and local visibility

 

We grew the link profile in a targeted way — for high-volume commercial queries; and worked separately on the local profile.

  • Placed PR and guest posts on high-DR / high-traffic US outlets — nationwide and local LA media.
  • Directed links to priority URLs to lift them into the TOP-10 — a working model that was confirmed on this project.
  • Optimized the Google Maps profile — a separate channel that added up to ~1,000 visits/mo.
Results: 2023–2025
29 → 112/mo
SEO leads
+1,000
Visits/mo from Google Maps
98/100
Technical Health Score
2.4K
Keywords ranking organically (Ahrefs)
Organic traffic
955 → 4,000 visits/mo
TOP-3
"escape rooms near me" (52K searches/mo)

Logbook

Entry 001

«Thank you to Iryna and the team for your work, recommendations, reports you prepared, and the changes implemented thanks to you. The results of the adjustments appeared quite quickly — we moved up to the first page in search results for massage in most cities, for which I’m very grateful! It’s a pleasure to work with you!»

Serhii Mykytiuk
Serhii Mykytiuk
CMO | IvRoxe
Entry 002

«It’s a pleasure to work with Iryna! Competent and responsible work, genuine interest in the project and the client’s needs, organization, and consistency — these are her defining qualities.»

Oleksandr Pysarenko
Oleksandr Pysarenko
Founder | Pysarenko Attorneys, Fides
Entry 003

«We are more than satisfied with your work and efforts.»

Filip
Filip
Scale Capital Business Loans
Entry 004

«After several months of working together on SEO, the results from the first quarter of 2025 could be compared in effectiveness to the entire year of 2024.»

Diana
Diana
CMO | NovaTalks, NovaIT
Entry 005

«I want to express my sincere gratitude for the professionalism and, most importantly, the full 100% dedication to the project from the Be Visible team. I would especially like to highlight Iryna, who has been and remains in touch during complex and unclear cases. This is extremely important, especially if at the initial stages you don’t fully understand what SEO optimization is — as it was in my case. Iryna carefully explained each step taken during the meetings after every mini-sprint and was also responsible for preparing all the documentation.»

Yaroslav Tymofiiv
Yaroslav Tymofiiv
Entrepreneur | Take Your Time
Entry 006

«Iryna has extensive experience and a unique approach to SEO website optimization. I highly recommend her as an expert and as a very knowledgeable and pleasant person to communicate with. 👍»

Serhii Rodinov
Serhii Rodinov
Educational Project Producer
Entry 007

«Iryna is an outstanding specialist. She finds masterful solutions in complex situations, which proves her deep expertise in the field. You can feel that your project is safe with her. Additionally, communication with her is fast and easy.»

Volodymyr Kopenyak
Volodymyr Kopenyak
Entrepreneur, Info Product Producer
Entry 008

«Iryna is an excellent specialist, and we have been working together for a long time. She has extensive experience in the international market and perfectly finds effective approaches to solving various tasks across different fields. I am always confident in the results when recommending Iryna’s services to my clients!»

Paul
Paul
Entrepreneur | DevolaTech
Entry 009

«I met Iryna when I invited her for an interview. During our conversation, it became clear that Iryna has an excellent understanding of webpage analysis and SEO optimization, has achieved remarkable success in building her own agency, and collaborates with major brands. I was pleasantly surprised by her expertise in the domain field, communicativeness, and openness to new challenges. We are currently working together.»

Yulia Ankudinova
Yulia Ankudinova
Project Manager | BusinessMatch
Entry 010

«I had the opportunity to have a consultation call with Iryna, an SEO specialist, and I was impressed by her professionalism and deep knowledge in this field. She demonstrated a clear understanding of modern SEO strategies and a readiness to offer effective solutions for our collaboration. The communication was open and valuable.»

Yurii
Yurii
Entrepreneur | Best Start