How We Took a Personal Chef’s Website From Scratch to 600+ Monthly Clicks…And Helped Build a Fully Booked, Search-Driven Business

A Brief Project Overview (for TLDR folks)

LivegreensPDX, a personal chef service based in Portland, Oregon, came to us with a clear vision: launch a user-friendly website, generate leads independently, and get found by clients searching on Google, not Thumbtack.

Fast-forward 1.5 years (July 2025):

We built a high-converting website, developed a powerful SEO content strategy, ranked the client for top keywords like “personal chef Portland”, and delivered steady, qualified leads through organic search. 

The results were game-changing, so much so that we later helped the client transition to GoHighLevel funnels to manage the high lead volume.

Today, LivegreensPDX runs a fully booked personal chef business, has expanded its team, and receives consistent inbound traffic and leads, all powered by a system we built from scratch.

This case study highlights the strategies and results that empowered LivegreensPDX to achieve its business goals.

About the Client

LivegreensPDX is a Portland-based personal chef service offering luxury in-home dining, event catering, weekly chef services, and Texas BBQ experiences. What makes their brand stand out is the personalized attention to detail, ingredient quality, and client-first culinary experiences.

Before working with us, the client had no website, no digital marketing funnel, and relied solely on third-party platforms like Thumbtack, paying high commissions for low-quality leads.

They needed a strong online presence that could attract local traffic and help them control their lead flow and business growth.

Objectives and Goals

LivegreensPDX approached us with three clear goals:

  1. Build a Professional, Conversion-Driven Website:

Design a smooth, mobile-optimized website that reflects their brand and makes it easy for users to explore and book services.

  1. Drive Organic Traffic via SEO:

Rank for intent-based local keywords like “personal chef Portland” and related services, using high-quality content and local SEO.

  1. Break Free from Third-Party Platforms:

Build a self-reliant inbound system to eliminate reliance on Thumbtack and retain full control over their bookings, revenue, and branding.

Challenges

We faced three primary challenges at the start:

  1. No Online Presence at All:

The client didn’t have a website or even a basic landing page — there was no digital foundation to build on.

  1. Low Visibility in Local Search:

Without a Google presence or local SEO, LivegreensPDX was invisible in Portland search results and missing out on valuable local traffic.

  1. Unqualified Leads and Commission Drain:

Thumbtack leads were generic, unfiltered, and came with high platform fees. There was no control over who reached out, how they were onboarded, or what experience they had..

Strategy and Solutions

  1. Discovery Phase

🔍 Discovery Phase

We kicked things off with 5+ in-depth discovery sessions to understand the client’s vision, audience, and service structure. We mapped out their offerings into four primary categories:

  • Weekly Chef Services
  • In-Home Dining Experiences
  • Event Catering
  • Texas BBQ Services

These sessions helped us develop a content and website architecture that was not just SEO-aligned, but conversion-first and user-friendly.

  1. Website Development and Content Creation

We built a sleek, modern, and mobile-optimized website that:

  • Highlighted the brand’s luxury and personal touch.
  • Made it easy for users to navigate services and inquire.
  • Included persuasive service pages, embedded reviews, and structured CTAs.

We also set up an initial lead funnel using Keap (Kedance) to automate the contact process, though this later had to evolve due to rapid lead growth.

  1. Blog Strategy and Technical SEO

We implemented a strong SEO strategy from day one, including:

  • Publishing 10+ blog posts targeting long-tail, high-intent queries.
  • Creating keyword-rich service pages that now rank on Page 1.
  • Winning featured snippets (e.g., “benefits of hiring a personal chef”).
  • The top blog post like “Texas BBQ Menu” now gets nearly 200 clicks on its own.

A few highlights:

Top pages include:

  • Homepage: 176 clicks/month
  • Blog: The Perfect Menu for Texas BBQ: 197 clicks/month
  • Target keywords like “personal chef Portland”, “weekly chef service portland”, and “event catering Portland” now rank in the top 3 positions.
  • Conducted a technical SEO audit to identify and resolve performance issues, improving the website’s crawlability and indexing.
  • Performed detailed keyword research to guide both blog content and service page optimizations.
  1.  On-Page and Local SEO Optimization

We embedded live Google reviews and optimized the client’s GMB profile with:

  • Accurate service categories
  • Targeted descriptions and geo-tagged photos
  • Consistent NAP across the website

This boosted their visibility for local queries and reinforced trust with searchers, leading to a notable increase in local conversions.

We also strategically highlighted the client’s USP throughout the copy so the prospects get the message compellingly and persuasively.

  1. Funnel Upgrade for Lead Management

As leads started to grow beyond Keap’s (Kedance’s) management capacity, we helped the client transition to GoHighLevel (GHL) funnels.
This move enabled:

  • Centralized tracking of all leads
  • Automated follow-ups and booking flows
  • Scalable systems as the team and services expanded

This was complete operational transformation.

Results and Achievements

In just under 18 months, here’s how we helped transform LivegreensPDX:

Website Growth

  • From 0 to 600+ organic clicks per month — now a consistent inbound funnel.
  • Homepage + top blogs drive most traffic.
  • Site indexed within 30 days of launch.

SEO Performance

Top 3 rankings for primary service keywords, including:

  • “personal chef Portland”
  • “weekly chef services Portland”
  • “event catering Portland”

Won featured snippets and AIOs snippets for multiple keywords.

Blog content ranks for long-tail keywords with high buyer intent.

Lead Flow & Business Growth

High-quality leads from organic search — no longer dependent on Thumbtack or any third-party

The business is now fully booked months in advance.

Expanded the chef team to handle the growing demand

Funnel powered by GoHighLevel automates everything from inquiry to booking

This is no longer just a side hustle. It’s now a full-stack, search-powered chef business.

These achievements allowed the client to:

  • Eliminate reliance on third-party platforms like Thumbtack.
  • Save on commission fees, increasing profitability.
  • Build a strong online presence, reinforcing their brand as a trusted personal chef in Portland.

These results demonstrated the effectiveness of our strategy. 

Client’s Feedback 

We Can Help You Scale Your Business, too.

This is one of over 50 businesses we’ve helped scale through SEO-first content and web design. Whether you’re a solo service provider or an established brand, we build end-to-end solutions that attract leads, close sales, and grow revenue.

👉 Want to build a full-stack business like this one?