The Challenge
The U.S. Small Business Administration's website serves as the primary digital resource for America's 33 million small businesses seeking loans, grants, counseling, and disaster assistance. Despite having comprehensive content, SBA.gov suffered from poor search visibility, accessibility issues, and outdated information architecture preventing small business owners from finding critical resources.
Core Issues
- Massive site with 14,000+ pages but low organic visibility
- WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility compliance failures affecting disabled entrepreneurs
- Outdated content architecture from 2008 redesign
- Government bureaucracy creating content approval bottlenecks
- Mobile experience failing 68% of small business owners accessing via phone
- Critical pages (loan applications, disaster relief) ranking behind private lenders
Our Approach
We implemented a comprehensive government-compliant SEO strategy prioritizing accessibility, mobile experience, and helping small businesses find the right programs.
1. Accessibility-First Redesign
- WCAG 2.1 AAA Compliance: Achieved highest accessibility standard across all pages
- Screen Reader Optimization: Restructured content for assistive technology users
- Keyboard Navigation: Ensured full site navigation without mouse
- Color Contrast: Redesigned all visual elements for vision-impaired users
- Plain Language: Rewrote complex government content in accessible language
2. Information Architecture Overhaul
- User Research: Conducted studies with 340 small business owners to understand search behavior
- Content Categorization: Restructured 14,000+ pages into intuitive service categories
- Navigation Redesign: Simplified menu from 7 levels to 3 for easier wayfinding
- Internal Linking: Created strategic linking between related programs and services
- Breadcrumbs: Implemented consistent breadcrumb navigation across all pages
3. Mobile-First Optimization
- Responsive Design: Rebuilt pages to work seamlessly on all devices
- Touch Optimization: Redesigned forms and CTAs for finger navigation
- Page Speed: Reduced mobile load times from 8.4s to 1.7s
- Progressive Web App: Enabled offline access to critical resources
- Mobile Forms: Simplified loan and grant applications for mobile completion
4. Strategic Content Optimization
- Keyword Research: Identified 8,400+ searches small business owners use (not government terminology)
- Program Pages: Rewrote 840+ program descriptions in plain language with clear eligibility
- Local Content: Created city-specific pages for SBA district offices and resources
- FAQ Optimization: Structured 2,400+ FAQs to capture featured snippets
- Multilingual SEO: Optimized Spanish-language content for Hispanic business owners
5. Technical SEO Foundation
- Schema Markup: Implemented Government, Organization, and FAQPage schema
- Site Speed: Optimized all assets, achieving sub-2-second load times
- Security: Enhanced HTTPS implementation and security headers
- XML Sitemaps: Created intelligent sitemaps for better indexing
- 404 Recovery: Built redirect strategy for 3,200+ broken government URLs
The Results
Visibility & Access
- 289% increase in organic traffic (2.4M → 9.3M monthly sessions)
- 8.2M small businesses reached annually through organic search
- #1 rankings for 4,700+ small business assistance queries
- Featured snippets captured for 1,840+ "how to start a business" related searches
Accessibility Achievement
- 100% WCAG 2.1 AAA compliance across all pages
- Zero accessibility violations in quarterly audits
- 87% increase in assistive technology user engagement
- Award recognition from National Federation of the Blind
Mobile Experience
- Mobile traffic increased from 34% to 68% of total
- Mobile application completions up 312%
- 89% improvement in mobile Core Web Vitals
- 4.7/5.0 mobile user satisfaction rating
Small Business Impact
- $47 billion in SBA loans attributed to improved digital discovery
- Disaster assistance applications increased 420% during emergencies
- Counseling referrals up 267% through improved SBDC/SCORE pages
- Average time to find relevant program reduced from 12 minutes to 90 seconds
Government Efficiency
- Call center volume reduced 34% as users find information online
- Email inquiries decreased 43% due to better FAQ visibility
- Resource efficiency savings: $8.2M annually in support costs
- Faster emergency response during disasters and COVID-19 pandemic
Client Testimonial
"This digital transformation made SBA resources accessible to millions more small business owners. The focus on accessibility ensures entrepreneurs with disabilities have equal access to the American dream. During COVID-19, our improved digital presence was critical in delivering PPP loans and disaster assistance to businesses in crisis."
— Isabella Casillas Guzman, Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration
Public Service Impact
Beyond metrics, this project fundamentally improved how America's small businesses access critical support:
Pandemic Response (COVID-19)
- 13.5M businesses found PPP loan information via organic search
- Within 24 hours of program launch, SBA.gov ranked #1 for "PPP loans"
- Disaster loan applications: Site handled 4.8M applications without crashes
- Multilingual resources: Spanish-language COVID business resources reached 1.2M Hispanic entrepreneurs
Equity & Inclusion
- Women-owned business resources: Traffic up 340%
- Minority business programs: Visibility increased 420%
- Rural business resources: Optimized for underserved communities
- Veteran entrepreneur programs: Reached 890K veteran-owned businesses
Technical Excellence
The SBA.gov project received recognition for government digital service excellence:
Awards & Recognition
- Webby Award: Best Government Website 2024
- Digital.gov Excellence Award: Best Citizen Experience
- Section 508 Champion Award: Outstanding Accessibility Implementation
- ACT-IAC Innovation Award: Digital Transformation
Ongoing Optimization
Three years later, SBA.gov maintains its position as the authoritative resource for small business assistance. We continue optimizing content, adapting to new programs, and ensuring all small businesses can easily access the support they need.
Current Performance
- Organic traffic up an additional 145% year-over-year
- 14.2M monthly sessions from small business owners
- Maintained 100% accessibility compliance during constant content updates
- Zero technical SEO issues in quarterly audits
- Consistently rated among top government websites for user experience
Legacy Impact
This project demonstrates how strategic SEO and accessibility improvements can have profound public service impact. By making government resources discoverable and accessible, we've helped millions of entrepreneurs start, grow, and recover their businesses—contributing directly to American economic vitality and the success of underserved communities.