In this SEO case study  I will provide insights into the SEO strategy undertaken and the results from the strategy over a relatively short (SEO) time frame: August 2016 through to June 2017 (<10 Months).

This particular client was looking to improve their organic search results, as they had used an SEO service in the past, but was not happy with the results they were getting as it had been 6 months of spending $800+ pm and was not getting to Page one of Google.com.au for their target keywords.

It was safe to say the client was very skeptical and really needed some re-assurance to move forward with one of our campaigns, at the same amount they were spending before.

What I find quite surprising, is that a high percentage of prospective clients who come to me are not even aware of their best keywords to focus on.

Either that or they want to be on page one for e.g. green car, but their webpage is optimised for pink car.

Refer to our informative video on the ‘Basics of Keyword Selection’.

As a small business owner you may also find our article on “24 On-Page SEO Tips for Small Business Owners” an interesting read.

So we start out looking at an SEO Health Report.

This shows us how Google is reading the website: Are there any errors and what areas can be improved.

This is followed up with Keyword Analysis, to find the best keywords to focus upon and how competitive they are.

Once we know the industry target keywords, we can set about providing the SEO Onsite Instructions.

• This makes the page more relevant, addresses any errors and meta weaknesses.
• We also bolster the pages’ relevance to the topic by providing a CDS (Content Development Section, some 2,000+ word copy) which boosts the pages Text/Html Ratio with the best keywords within the copy.
• As you can see in (Image 1) this is where we began the campaign in August 2016.

So, once the Onsite Recommendations were implemented, we can saw a positive effect on the rankings.

Purely because we are now clearly saying to Google what the page is all about with;

• A clear structure,
• Headings and
• Content.

Rather than what most business have, which is extremely high html and very low text on the page.

As part of the SEO strategy we also need to have other people (websites) linking to us.

We do this via various backlink methods, such as;

• Contextual Themed Links (Do Follow),
• Video Links (No Follow),
• Image Links (Do & No Follow)
• Plus various forms of relevant information via Business Citations.

This is done from month one, but I always explain that it is not like pressing a button.

This type of content takes time to be;

1. Produced – Written, Designed, Created,
2. Submitted for Publishing
3. Published

This takes time and then not to mention the time it takes for Google to cache said websites and pass the ranking movement to the clients website.

We can see in (Image 2), January 2017, this is really starting to kick in now with six (6) out of the ten (10) target keywords on Page one (1) of Google.com.au.

Unfortunately, at the start of February 2017, the client sold the business and the new owners having no previous experience with SEO could not see any value in the campaign.

Therefore, they decided to stop the SEO.

The negative effect could be seen, (Image 3), by April 2017.

Because of the competitive nature of the target keywords, meaning that the amount of indexed pages for said target keywords is highly competitive.

It was not long at all before we see a decline in the rankings.

There are other competing businesses doing SEO, so it is important to maintain a consistent SEO strategy.

Regrettably, today, the rankings are back to where they where before we started work, (Image 4) June 2017.

The conclusion here is that making the page relevant for your target keywords and having a monthly consistent quality link building strategy will get results over time, but as soon as you stop, the rankings will soon fall back as the competition catches up and overtakes you.

Campaign Manager: Nic Hughes, nic@havocdigital.co