From zero web presence to page 1 rankings in 90 days

The Problem

Donnel Leon is one of the best boxing coaches in Mesa, Arizona, certified by ISSA and NASM, with 50+ five-star reviews and a reputation for turning complete beginners into confident fighters. But his entire business ran on word of mouth, Groupon, and TikTok. No website. No Google presence. No way for someone searching "boxing gym near me" at 9pm on their phone to find him, learn about his classes, and book a session without sending a DM and waiting for a reply.

TikTok was working well enough to keep him busy, but it's a rented platform. No control over the algorithm, no ability to capture search intent, and no owned channel to convert interest into bookings. Every potential client who Googled "boxing classes Mesa AZ" was finding his competitors instead.

The mandate: build a complete digital foundation from scratch. A fast, conversion-focused website. A booking system that removes friction. Payments that work. And a local SEO and AEO strategy that gets Mesa Boxing ranking for the terms people actually search when they're ready to sign up.

The Approach

First: build the website in Framer, then rebuild it as a custom Next.js app. Framer got a fast, mobile-first (88% of Mesa Boxing's traffic comes from mobile) site live in days, which mattered for a coach who'd never had a website before. But once the booking flow, Stripe integration, and structured SEO markup needed to work together as one system instead of stitched-together widgets, Next.js gave the control a page builder couldn't: hand-built schema markup on every page, faster load times, and a booking and payments stack wired directly into the app instead of bolted on. The result is a site that loads fast, looks sharp, and turns visitors into bookings.

The Mesa Boxing homepage: Framer build and Next.js rebuild

BeforeAfter

Drag the divider to compare

Second: set up the full booking and payments stack. Integrated a calendar-based booking system so clients could self-schedule intro classes, group sessions, and private coaching without back-and-forth with Donnel. Connected Stripe for direct membership and package purchases. The friction between "I want to train" and "I'm booked in" dropped to near zero.

Third: build the local SEO foundation. Set up and optimized Google Business Profile and Apple Business Connect, configured Google Search Console, and implemented structured data schemas: LocalBusiness, SportsActivityLocation, and FAQ, to maximize eligibility for rich results and local pack rankings. Targeted high-intent keywords like "boxing gym near me," "boxing classes Mesa AZ," and "boxing gym Mesa."

Fourth: optimize for AEO, AI-powered search. As more searches happen through AI assistants and Google's AI Overviews, structured data and clear entity signals matter more than ever. Implemented schema markup specifically designed to make Mesa Boxing eligible for AI-generated summaries, "People Also Ask" features, and voice search results. A local business that shows up in AI answers has a real edge over competitors who don't.

The Results

• Page 1 rankings in 90 days. Average position 5.7 for 'boxing gym near me', one of the most competitive local search terms in the fitness category. Mesa Boxing also ranks for 'boxing near me', 'boxing gym Mesa AZ', and 'boxing classes near me', all from a standing start.
• 4,160 impressions, 271 clicks, 6.5% CTR. Strong click-through rate signals highly relevant listings. People searching for boxing gyms are seeing Mesa Boxing and clicking through at well above average rates for local search.
• 2,959 Google Business Profile views. 973 search appearances and 457 direct profile interactions in the first few months, including calls, direction requests, and booking clicks. 88% of all discovery came from mobile.
• 1,500+ users, 150+ booking actions. Over 1,500 unique users visited the site with 150+ tracked booking-related actions, all organic. Users actively explored class pages, the schedule, and the intro class booking flow.
• Zero paid ads. Every session, every ranking, every booking action came from organic search and direct traffic, not a dollar spent on ads. The SEO foundation is built to compound as the domain ages and content expands.