case study

How a Melbourne CNC Manufacturer Turned Their Website Into Their #1 Lead Generation Channel

Southside Engineering needed more than a new website. They needed a digital presence that matched the precision of their work. Within 30 days, inbound leads increased by 45 times.

client

Southside Engineering

Industry

CNC Machining

Location

Victoria, Australia

Service Provided

Figma Design

Webflow Dev

Copywriting

Ongoing SEO & Local SEO

+172%

Organic Traffic Growth

+210%

Website Sessions

+122%

Engaged Sessions

45x

Increase in Leads

What the Client Says

“Pinecone Agency did a great job. Was very responsive to our communication and worked well with us around our evolving business needs and requirements. We're very happy with the end result and look forward to working together in the future.”
– Southside Engineering • Melbourne, Australia

The Challenge

Southside Engineering has built a strong reputation in Melbourne's CNC machining industry. They deliver high-quality components for manufacturing, automotive, and industrial clients.

But their website told a completely different story.

The site was outdated and hard to navigate. It didn't communicate the precision and professionalism of their work. And it wasn't helping them win new business.

When prospects searched for CNC machining services in Melbourne, they were finding competitors instead. The site had four clear problems:

Slow load times on both desktop and mobile
Not optimised for mobile devices
Lacked the technical content engineering buyers expect
Generating almost no inbound leads

Referral work kept the workshop busy. But the website wasn't pulling its weight. For a business built on precision, the online presence was anything but.

Southside needed a website that would attract clients through search, communicate their capabilities clearly, and convert visitors into enquiries.

The Approach

/ Strategy

Before opening Figma, we audited Southside's competitive landscape. We studied how engineering and manufacturing companies in Melbourne were positioning themselves online. We looked for gaps — and found several.

The strategy was built around three pillars:

Showcase technical capabilities through detailed service pages
Build trust through professional visual design
Implement an SEO foundation that would grow in value over time

/ Design

The design needed to feel industrial and modern at the same time. It had to reflect the precision of CNC machining. It also had to be clear for non-technical procurement managers.

In Figma, we developed a design system using clean typography and high-contrast imagery. Every page was built mobile-first. Procurement professionals often browse suppliers on their phones between meetings.

We restructured the site around three core user journeys:

Capability exploration — what can Southside make?
Quote requests — how do I get a price?
Trust-building — certifications, case studies, and team

/ Development

The site was built in Webflow. The CMS lets Southside's team update content without a developer. That's a big improvement over their previous static site.

SEO was built in from the very first line of code:

Semantic HTML across every page
Proper heading hierarchy throughout
Optimised image delivery using WebP
Structured data markup for local business and services
Clean URL architecture designed for long-term search growth

Technical Deep-Dive

Webflow CMS Architecture

The CMS was built to make Southside's services easy to browse and easy to find in search.

Each CNC machining service has its own page. Each page has structured content fields for capabilities, materials, tolerances, and typical applications. This means every page is genuinely useful — not just a placeholder.

SEO Implementation

SEO was treated as a core deliverable, not an afterthought. The full implementation included:

Schema markup for local business and service offerings
XML sitemap generation and canonical URLs
Optimised meta descriptions on every page
Internal linking to connect services, capabilities, and project types

Performance Optimisation

Speed was a priority. Lighthouse scores were used as a benchmark throughout the build.

Images were converted to WebP with responsive sizing. CSS and JavaScript were minimised. Font loading was optimised to remove render-blocking delays.

The result is a fast site on any connection. This matters for users in industrial environments where connectivity can be unreliable.

Ongoing SEO & Local SEO

The website launch was just the beginning. Southside also engaged Pinecone Agency for ongoing monthly SEO and local SEO services.

The returns from SEO compound over time. Each month builds on the last.

Monthly SEO Strategy

The ongoing programme focuses on high-intent search traffic — procurement managers and engineers actively looking for a machining partner. Each month includes:

Content optimisation on existing pages
New landing pages for specific service capabilities
Technical SEO monitoring and fixes
Backlink development
Regular performance reporting

Local SEO for Melbourne

For a manufacturing business serving a regional market, local SEO is critical. The local strategy includes:

Google Business Profile optimisation and ongoing management
Local citation building across industry directories
Location-specific content targeting Melbourne and surrounding areas
Review generation strategies

The goal is straightforward. When someone searches for services Southside offers, Southside Engineering shows up.

No items found.

Results and Impact

The numbers tell the story. The combination of a strategically built website and ongoing SEO transformed Southside's digital presence from a cost centre into a lead generation engine.

A 45x increase in qualified leads

+172% organic traffic

+210% sessions

+122% engaged sessions

From almost zero inbound leads to a full pipeline of qualified enquiries — within 30 days.

Website Performance Metrics

Metric	Growth	Business Impact
Organic Traffic	+171.94%	Nearly 3x more potential customers discovering Southside through search engines
Total Sessions	+209.98%	More than double the website visitors, indicating both new and returning interest
New Users	+61.16%	Significant growth in first-time visitors — new prospects entering the pipeline
Organic Users	+184.43%	Nearly triple the users arriving through unpaid search results
Engaged Sessions	+122.22%	Visitors are staying longer and interacting more with service content
Engagement Rate	+61.03%	Higher percentage of visitors taking meaningful actions on the site

These numbers reflect a real change in how the business grows.

A 172% increase in organic traffic means Southside is now being found by procurement managers and engineers actively searching for their services. The 210% session growth shows the site is compelling enough to bring visitors back. And the 122% improvement in engaged sessions means people are exploring capabilities, reading case studies, and converting.

Before the rebuild, the website was generating almost no enquiries. Within the first month, leads increased by 45 times. The website went from an afterthought to the most effective lead generation channel in the business.

Key Takeaway

A website isn't just a digital brochure. It's a 24/7 sales team.

For manufacturing businesses that rely on referrals and trade relationships, the shift to organic digital lead generation can be transformative. A 45x increase in qualified leads isn't an incremental improvement. It's a fundamental change in how the business acquires customers.

Strategic design, a flexible Webflow CMS, and a ground-up SEO approach created a compounding asset. With ongoing monthly SEO and local SEO in place, the results keep improving. Every month, the site's authority grows. Organic visibility expands. More potential clients find Southside Engineering.

The first month's results are just the beginning. As rankings mature and local search presence strengthens, these numbers will keep climbing. It's exactly why we build SEO into the foundation — and invest in it as a long-term growth channel.