From 0 to TOP 1 in a competitive niche

The team interaction process 

The client had its own development department, with which we interacted directly. We followed the principle of building competent communication. It was very essential for us to have it right at the beginning of cooperation, so that the developers understood how the promotion of the site was performed.

In pursuit of these goals, we developed the following structure:

• Regular calls and a discussion of which tasks have been completed, what we encountered along the way, and how to move forward;
• A specially created chat in the messenger where quick questions can be addressed as soon as they come in;
• Prompt correction of published materials and a detailed description of how we work with them and a plan for the future;
• Discussion and verification of software changes on a test domain before release on the main website.

Stage 1

The process of website promotion

Before we began working with our client, the site was not optimized, there were no external links. Our team has completed internal optimization and website’s audit.

Firstly, a full semantic core we prepared, next created content writing tasks. Since the volume of the site was not small, the content had been created in stages. We also distributed content to landing pages according to search queries and wrote titles and metadata (title and description).

Conducted internal optimization processes:

Our main efforts in the area of internal site optimization included:  

• A robust audit (with permissions) and checking the proper tuning of:
  
  1. Sitemaps, redirect;
  2. Meta tags, headers;
  3. Micro-markup;
  4. Download speed checks;
  5. 4xx and 5xx error code checks;
  6. Site content analysis, namely uniqueness, duplication, spam, and text size;
  7. Site’s main mirror;
  8. Monitoring page speed metrics (site loading time, server response time, etc.);
  9. h1, h2, and h3 header monitoring and correcting if necessary;
  10. Metric monitoring for site visits;
  11. Duplicate Title and Description metadata check and critical error elimination;
  12. Server response code 200 check for site’s main sections.
      
      • Defining terms of reference for programmers following the results of the complete SEO site audit;
      • Monitoring of all technical edits by programmers;
      • Adding a sitemap to the dashboard for webmasters;
      • Building a semantic core and it’s approval;
      • Utilizing clustering and balanced keyword distribution across site pages;
      • Checking keyword agreement, getting into the TOP 10, generating a month-end report. Queries are selected from the compiled semantic core;
      • Formation of new meta tags based on the established semantic core (title, descriptions). They are created right away for approved website categories and their agreement;
      • Working with meta tags and writing and correcting tags for site’s main pages;
      • Products were divided into appropriate categories, after which the traffic began to be distributed across website, the relevance of the pages improved significantly, after which the positions began to grow rapidly.
      • Working with duplicate titles and meta tags;
      • Detailed file verification for robots.txt and tuning when needed;
      • Setting technical specifications for proper implementation of hreflang tag for different versions of the site;
      • Checking canonical tags and drafting technical specifications for their implementation, if necessary;
      • Scanning site pages, determining weight, and comparing them with traffic and promotion priority. Based on the results – developing a plan for linking site pages;
      • Organization of project manager’s work – Coordination (communicating with client monthly, coordinating workflow, proofreading and approving additional agreements, invoicing);
      • Defining terms of reference for landing page and/or blog section text;
      • Monthly report.

Stage 2

From the second month we connect the following work activities:

Site monitoring – tracking indicators and ensuring they are normal after setting and optimization in the first month:

1. Analyzing site content (uniqueness, duplication, spam, and text size);
2. Ensuring proper configuration of the site’s main mirror;
3. Monitoring page speed metrics (site load time, server response time, etc.);
4. h1, h2, and h3 header monitoring and correcting if necessary;
5. Metric monitoring for site visits;
6. Identification and closure of leaking and hidden links;
7. Checking site for duplicate title and description metadata and eliminating critical errors;
8. Checking site’s main sections for server response code 200;
9. Monitoring for the appearance of affiliates and, if detected, providing instructions and support for their closure;
10. Monitoring previously optimized pages and, if necessary, updating them to better meet relevant search result conditions. For example, say the relevance of some  кey queries has changed because of a behavioral factor. In this instance, we change phrases, edit SEO texts, and   tune the optimization;
11. Analyzing site semantic core and adjusting it if necessary;
12. When errors are detected, either terms of reference are compiled for programmers or a proposal drafted for overcoming the highlighted difficulties;
13. Optimizing the site’s main landing pages;
14. Validating site through the W3C service.
    
    • Internal site linking;
    • Working with meta tags and writing or generating Descriptions for pages with blank descriptions;
    • Working with micro-markup and defining technical specifications for addressing errors;
    • Working with incoming domains, including the rejection of “toxic” ones with a disallow tool;
    • Monitoring site positions and promotion dynamics;
    • Defining terms of reference for landing page and/or blog section text;
      
      
      

The technical optimization has performed accurately, website quickly began to be indexed, the traffic went up and the visibility in the Google search engine increased.

External website optimization

After that, the team has started working website’s link profile and its improvement. The first stage is an audit of competitors. The most successful were selected, an analysis of their sites, content, links, relinking and well-implemented solutions was carried out.

The second stage – the compilation of an algorithm of store sales promotion links.

We used thematic platforms with a high rating where the target audience remained to place the content.  Increased growth by means of the best resources, which brought the maximum target traffic.

This type of strategy turned out to be successful.  Website have been increasing traffic indicators for all 2 years of cooperation.

The stages are completed for the external optimization of the site:

• client niche and its analysis,
• competitors’ links and their audit,
• developed a promotion strategy, based on the best selected links,
• choosing a platform for work,
• links placement to multiply profile links (directories, forums);
• placement of SEO articles on external blogs and other sites;
• ordering and placing a press release if requested.

Result:

A highly competitive niche where there were spam attacks due to low quality links, spam traffic, attempts to hack the site, create duplicates, etc.
All this was successfully displayed and organic traffic was always the most profitable.

Google’s key word’s positions for Kyiv region

As a result, the site has increased visibility and traffic. 

Many positions received TOP 1-3. It took more than 12 months to get to the top.

Screenshots showing the achieved and maintained result:

Note:

The promotion success has largely determined the competitor audit result. It was important to create the website functionality, content and design which would be better than on the websites that appeared on the first search page.

We have adapted and implemented all that was useful for the client’s website; moreover, this process lasted throughout the works and has continued on an ongoing basis. The website has been improving as much as possible.

Content plays a major role. We have selected traffic generating topics. In particular, we have worked on text formatting. We place texts on the website pages that include headings, subheadings; the texts are divided into easy-to-read paragraphs, so that the articles contain high-quality images. Also, the articles are relinked in such a way that the user stays on the website as long as possible.

If you already know what kind of online business you want to open, plan to create an online store and don’t know where to start, contact us! We will analyze the potential market and your competitors and help you launch your project from scratch to first sale!