Competed for leads with paid advertising

The team interaction process

It is very important to build the right communication for the work at the very beginning of cooperation, so that everyone, from the client to the developers, understand how the website progresses.

Upon discussing the next steps, we have established the following processes:

• Weekly calls where we discussed which items from the plan were completed 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, if necessary, daily discussions of the reasons for the necessary changes and how to work with similar ones in 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

The website was launched a few months before the start of work. There was a fairly large number of spam links to the website. Before starting the work, we conducted an in-depth audit and internal optimization of the website and developed a strategy for the website promotion.

Internal site optimization

As part of internal SEO, we have developed a recommended website structure, taking into account the large number of categories and a significant number of catalog pages, optimized the pages with the introduction of internal relinking. Canonical links have been prescribed, pages were optimized with the necessary content and structure. Before writing the content, we collected a complete semantic core and drew up a technical task for creating the required content. Given the website volume, the content has been created in stages. We distributed the content to landing pages according to search queries. We wrote metadata (Title and Description) and headers. Every month we add new positions with the development of content for them and the creation of new pages.

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 site audit;
      • Monitoring of all technical edits by programmers;
      • Adding a sitemap to the dashboard for webmasters;
      • Building a semantic core that best represents the website;
      • 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 (title, descriptions) based on the established semantic core. 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;
      • Resolving duplicate headers 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 – monitoring the indicators so that they are normal after their optimization and adjustments in the first month:

1. Search for errors with code 4xx and 5xx;
2. Analyzing site content (uniqueness, duplication, spam, and text size);
3. Monitoring page speed metrics (site load time, server response time, etc.); Control is required, as editing on the website, changes in Google algorithms work affect these indicators.
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 key queries has changed because of a behavioral factor. In this instance, we change phrases, edit SEO texts, and tune the optimization;
11. From the second month of work and onwards, 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, which are developed in the current month;
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;
    • 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;
    • Creation of TK for writing texts on landing pages on the website or in the blog section;
    • Placement of crowd links (directories, forums);
    • Posting articles on external blogs;
    • Ordering and placement of a press release if necessary.
      
      

The technical optimization has been done correctly and the website began to be indexed quickly, the traffic started moving and the visibility in the Google search engine began growing.

External website optimization

All existing external links have been checked by a specialist for compliance with our requirements. A large number of them were rejected. Then, we conducted an in-depth competitor audit. We selected the most successful competitors, analyzed their sites, content, links, relinking and successfully implemented solutions for websites.

After that, we made our own link algorithm for the website promotion. We chose the strategy of building a link profile with placing articles and crowd links of a fairly large volume. This was necessary, as competitors already had a large number of links.

To place the content, we used the most popular thematic sites with high rating and resources with the most similar topics. Thus, a growth was achieved at the expense of high-quality link placement sites.

This strategy turned out to be very successful. During our work, the website demonstrated constant growth in terms of positions and traffic for 2 years.

The main works performed for the external website optimization:

• Client’s market has been analyzed;
• A full audit of competitors and their links has been performed;
• Based on quality links, a promotion strategy has been built;
• Sites for work have been selected;
• The store has been promoted using SEO articles;
• Internal optimization and relinking has been prioritized.

Additional work on internal and external optimization:

In addition, the general plan implementation, we performed additional work on improving the output display (snippets) and increasing behavioral factors on the site:

• The menu structure of competitors (in the website header and footer) has been analyzed;
• The existing menu and navigation on the client’s website have been improved (by adding headings, Table of Content);
• Competitors’ priority pages (meta tags, micro-markup, content) have been analyzed;
• We constantly expand the semantics by adding new cities in the service area, thus increasing the client base;
• The client’s content plan has been supplemented with thematic articles, which are interesting for users;
• Snippet CTR has been analyzed and low-performing snippets have been improved.

SEO results:  

We have worked on the project from scratch. At the beginning of the work, there was no organic site on the website. At the moment, the target traffic has reached 2000 users per month.

Filling the website with unique content has significantly affected the visibility of search queries, increased the domain rating, and also increased the website citation by several times.

Screenshots showing the steady growth of organic traffic to the site:

Keywords by Ahrefs.

External links:

Total site traffic at the time of work:

Keywords by Ahrefs:

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.

All this is very important in such projects. The cost of a lead in contextual advertising reaches 200 dollars. And this creates a lot of competition, which forces you to make websites better than competitors in order to get higher positions in the search engine.

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.

In order for the website to provide a greater number of orders through the website, we continue working on the blog development. We analyze trends and competitors to identify the opportunities for growth and implement them in our work. This makes it possible to cover the audience as widely as possible and take on the organic traffic in the niche.

If you are working in a similar area and need help in developing your project, contact us! We will analyze the potential market and your competitors and help you launch your project from scratch to first sale!