How Mattress Advisory Fixed 300+ Broken URLs and Cleaned Up 11,000+ Internal Links

CiteWorks Studio helped Mattress Advisory overhaul the technical foundations of its website, resolving hundreds of broken URLs, cleaning up thousands of inefficient internal links, and improving performance across key page types.

The work went beyond a conventional SEO audit. We identified issues affecting site speed, crawlability, URL consistency, internal linking, indexation, and page structure, then implemented the fixes across the site.

Case Study Snapshot

Client: Mattress Advisory Category: Mattress reviews, comparisons, and buying guides Market: United States Campaign period: July 2026 – August 2026 Focus: Technical SEO, page-speed optimisation, internal linking, indexation, and supporting on-page improvements Measurement: Technical SEO audit findings and page-performance testing

Key Outcomes

• 300+ broken URLs fixed
• 11,000+ internal links pointing to redirected URLs corrected
• Homepage PageSpeed performance score increased from 55 to 74
• Ranking-page performance score increased from 62 to 87
• Category-page performance score increased from 62 to 89
• 500+ pages containing links to broken URLs corrected
• 70+ pages with double-slash URL issues fixed
• 100+ overly long title tags corrected
• 200+ overly long meta descriptions corrected

The Challenge

Mattress Advisory had built up technical issues across several areas of the site.

The problems were not limited to one template or one type of SEO issue. The audit identified opportunities across site performance, crawlability, redirects, internal linking, indexation, metadata, image delivery, content structure, and the XML sitemap.

Individually, many of these issues looked manageable. At site scale, however, they created unnecessary friction for both users and search engines.

Hundreds of URLs were returning 404 errors. More than 500 pages contained links to broken URLs. Thousands of internal links were sending users and crawlers through redirects instead of pointing directly to the final destination.

At the same time, key templates had opportunities for substantial performance improvement.

CiteWorks Studio's objective was to clean up that technical debt and create a faster, more consistent foundation for organic visibility.

What We Did

1. Improved Performance Across Key Page Templates

We started by reviewing how important page types were loading and identifying opportunities to reduce unnecessary work in the browser.

The homepage initially recorded a desktop PageSpeed Insights performance score of 55.

Following optimisation, that score increased to 74 — a 19-point improvement.

The gains were also visible beyond the homepage. A ranking page improved from 62 to 87, a 25-point increase.

A category page improved from 62 to 89, a 27-point increase.

Rather than relying on one isolated change, we addressed several elements of the site's performance stack.

Optimising Avada's Performance Configuration

We reviewed and adjusted the theme's built-in performance settings to improve caching, asset delivery, and image handling.

Reducing CSS and JavaScript Overhead

CSS and JavaScript assets were minified and pre-cached to reduce file sizes and improve delivery for both first-time and returning visitors.

We also reviewed how resources were being loaded so that important page content could be prioritised while less critical assets were delayed until needed.

Improving Image Delivery

Images were converted to WebP where appropriate to reduce file size while maintaining visual quality.

One particularly important improvement involved the homepage hero. A slow-loading background image was replaced with a properly loaded WebP asset so the main visual content could be delivered more efficiently.

Featured images were also standardised around consistent dimensions and aspect ratios, with a fallback introduced for posts without suitable imagery.

Reducing Layout Movement

We made changes designed to reduce content movement as pages loaded across desktop and mobile, creating a more stable experience for visitors.

Replacing Heavy Page Elements

Resource-heavy post carousels were replaced with simpler responsive grids.

Videos and other below-the-fold media were also prevented from competing with essential above-the-fold content during the initial page load.

Together, these changes improved performance across multiple representative page types rather than concentrating solely on the homepage.

2. Cleaned Up Crawlability, Redirects, and Internal Links

The next priority was removing technical friction from the site's URL and internal-linking structure.

Our audit identified hundreds of broken URLs alongside a much larger number of internal links pointing to URLs that redirected elsewhere.

CiteWorks Studio:

• Fixed 300+ 404 URLs
• Corrected issues across 500+ pages linking to broken URLs
• Resolved multiple broken redirects
• Reviewed existing 301 redirects to confirm they were intentional
• Fixed double-slash URL issues across 70+ pages
• Reviewed noindex and nofollow pages to identify unintended exclusions
• Addressed multiple orphan pages by adding relevant internal links
• Corrected the site's www redirect
• Added image-compression functionality
• Corrected 11,000+ internal links pointing to redirected URLs

The scale of the internal-link cleanup was particularly important.

A redirect can be perfectly valid when an old URL has moved. But when thousands of links within the website continue pointing to the old location, every click and crawl unnecessarily passes through that redirect.

We updated those links so they pointed directly to the correct final URLs instead.

That created a cleaner internal structure and reduced unnecessary redirect hops for both users and search-engine crawlers.

3. Strengthened Site Architecture and Indexation

Technical SEO is not only about speed and status codes. Search engines also need a clear understanding of which pages matter and how different sections of a site relate to one another.

We therefore extended the cleanup into internal architecture, indexation, and priority-page structure.

Relevant internal links were added from stronger pages to strategically important pages across the site.

Priority pages were also connected more clearly with relevant reviews, comparisons, and buying guides, helping create stronger relationships between related content.

The work included:

• Adding internal links from relevant high-authority pages to priority pages
• Strengthening connections between related reviews, comparisons, guides, and category pages
• Fixing orphan pages
• Reviewing keyword targeting and search intent across priority URLs
• Populating previously empty priority category pages
• Reviewing content groups for duplication and consolidation opportunities
• Ensuring the XML sitemap contained only relevant, indexable pages

We also identified 100+ pages where content could be strengthened, consolidated, or differentiated to reduce unnecessary overlap.

In some cases, supporting articles could potentially be merged into stronger primary review pages rather than continuing to compete with closely related content.

Supporting On-Page Cleanup

Alongside the core technical SEO work, the audit identified a number of site-wide on-page inconsistencies.

CiteWorks Studio:

• Fixed 100+ overly long title tags
• Fixed 200+ overly long meta descriptions
• Added and corrected the homepage H1
• Added Open Graph images across 300+ pages
• Added missing image alt text
• Improved metadata consistency
• Reviewed keyword targeting across priority pages
• Added clear and relevant calls to action across 70+ priority pages

These changes supported the wider technical work by improving consistency across important page elements and addressing issues identified during the audit.

The Outcome

Mattress Advisory emerged from the project with a faster, cleaner, and more technically consistent website.

The homepage PageSpeed performance score moved from 55 to 74, while representative ranking and category pages improved from 62 to 87 and 62 to 89 respectively.

At the same time, CiteWorks Studio addressed technical debt at scale:

• 300+ broken URLs fixed
• 11,000+ redirected internal links corrected
• 500+ pages containing broken links addressed
• 70+ pages with malformed double-slash URLs fixed
• 100+ title tags improved
• 200+ meta descriptions improved
• 300+ pages given Open Graph images
• 70+ priority pages given clearer calls to action

The result was not a single isolated SEO improvement.

It was a broader technical reset designed to make the site easier to crawl, faster to load, more consistent to navigate, and easier to maintain as its content library continues to grow.

With that foundation in place, future SEO work can focus less on accumulated technical debt and more on expanding the site's visibility across traditional search and emerging AI-driven discovery environments.

Frequently Asked Questions

What technical SEO work did CiteWorks Studio complete for Mattress Advisory?

CiteWorks Studio worked across site speed, crawlability, redirects, URL consistency, internal linking, indexation, site architecture, and XML sitemap quality.

The project included fixing broken URLs and redirects, cleaning up thousands of redirected internal links, resolving orphan pages, reviewing noindex and nofollow directives, improving page performance, and strengthening connections between priority content.

How many broken pages were fixed?

CiteWorks Studio fixed more than 300 URLs returning 404 errors.

We also corrected broken-link issues across more than 500 pages that were linking to URLs that no longer resolved correctly.

Why did CiteWorks Studio change 11,000+ internal links?

More than 11,000 internal links were pointing to URLs that redirected to another destination.

Although redirects are sometimes necessary, internal links should generally point directly to the correct final URL where possible.

Updating these links removed unnecessary redirect hops and created a cleaner internal linking structure for users and search engines.

How much did page performance improve?

The homepage desktop PageSpeed Insights performance score increased from 55 to 74, a 19-point improvement.

A representative ranking page improved from 62 to 87, while a category page increased from 62 to 89.

These represented gains of 25 and 27 PageSpeed points respectively.

Did CiteWorks Studio also complete on-page SEO work?

Yes.

Supporting on-page work included correcting more than 100 overly long title tags and 200 overly long meta descriptions, improving the homepage H1, adding Open Graph images across 300+ pages, adding missing image alt text, reviewing keyword targeting, and improving calls to action across 70+ priority pages.

Build a Stronger Foundation for Search and AI Discovery

Technical SEO determines whether important pages can be crawled, understood, and efficiently delivered.

But today's discovery journey increasingly extends beyond conventional search results into AI-generated answers and recommendations.

CiteWorks Studio helps brands strengthen both sides of that equation: the technical foundations that support organic visibility and the wider citation and source ecosystem influencing how brands appear in AI-driven discovery.

Request a Search & AI Visibility Audit