Summary
This case study outlines a comprehensive approach to significantly increasing page views for a client’s website through targeted content strategies and SEO optimization.
Beginning in October 2021, the client’s site initially averaged 120,000 page views per month without a clear content plan, often featuring low-quality content produced by various freelancers. The turning point came after the site was affected by a Google core update, which demonstrated the superior performance of the articles written by the case study’s author compared to those of other freelancers. Consequently, all content writing responsibilities were shifted to the author’s team.
Key interventions included developing a detailed content plan focused on the client’s digital product offerings and optimizing existing content to meet quality standards. This strategic overhaul led to a dramatic increase of 308,000 monthly page views within 16 months.
The strategy comprised a brand audit to understand the client’s positioning, audience, and competition, followed by the development of content objectives using SMART goals, aiming for a significant increase in unique page views. A comprehensive content strategy utilizing topic clusters, keyword research with tools like Ahrefs and SurferSEO, and manual checks was implemented. The content was not only optimized for SEO but also aligned with the brand’s target audience and product offerings. This approach was complemented by ongoing analysis and optimization of published content to ensure maximum impact.
The case study underscores the effectiveness of a well-crafted content strategy and SEO practices in driving significant growth in website traffic and engagement.
Introduction
We started working with this client in October 2021.
The site was averaging 120,000 pageviews per month but did not have a clear content plan, and content was low quality on some occasions (written by other freelancers)
I started writing only one article per week for this site for the first 6 months as they were also working with other 2 freelancers. After getting hit by a Google core update and seeing how my articles performed (not impacted), they delegated all the content writing to us.
Solution overview
We created a comprehensive content plan to cover all the topics related to the client’s main digital products.
After the site got hit by the Google core update, I also started optimizing and updating the currently published articles (written by other freelancers) to bring them to my quality standards. After 16 months, the site is getting +308,000 pageviews per month and growing.
Skills and deliverables
- Web Content Strategy
- SEO Writing
- SEO Keyword Research
- Content Writing
- Blog Content
The strategy implemented
To create content that will address the identified issues and opportunities, we worked closely with the client to understand their unique needs and goals and developed a customized content marketing plan.
Here is a detailed breakdown of the process…
Step 1: Brand audit
To help the brand achieve its goals, we conducted a brand audit to gain insights into its target audience, competitors, and industry landscape.
The brand audit process included the following steps:
- We defined the brand, understanding its values, mission, and target audience of fashion-conscious women.
- We analyzed the brand’s current position, identifying its strengths (unique and high-quality jewelry designs) and opportunities (expanding into new markets).
- We conducted a brand audit to identify the company’s unique value proposition and key messages. After evaluating the brand and auditing its website, we discovered that it had a lot of potential but needed to build a strong foundation in showcasing the quality of its products.
- We identified the brand’s target audience by gathering data about the demographics, interests, and behaviors and their preferences and needs. We used this information to create a detailed profile of the target audience and develop a strategy that resonates with them.
- We researched the brand’s competitors, including direct competitors in the jewelry industry and indirect competitors in the fashion industry.
- We identified key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the success of the content strategy, including website traffic and sales.
Based on the insights gained through the brand audit, we created a plan for the content strategy that aligned with the brand’s values, mission, and target audience.
Step 2: Development of content objectives
To establish a clear and achievable long-term vision for the e-commerce jewelry brand’s website, we implemented the use of SMART goals.
SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound, and it is a widely-used method for setting and achieving goals.
Our objective was to increase the website’s unique page views to 10,000 per month within the next 12 months.
This was a challenging but realistic target that could be achieved through targeted SEO strategies and high-quality content creation.
To track progress and ensure that we were on track to meet our goal, we established a series of benchmarks and metrics that we could use to measure our performance over time.
This included tracking website traffic, engagement with content, and conversions.
By setting SMART goals and tracking our progress, we created a roadmap for success and worked towards achieving the client’s desired results.
This helped us stay focused on our objectives and make the necessary adjustments to ensure we were on track to meet our target.
Step 3: Content strategy
To create a content strategy for the ecommerce jewelry brand, we used a combination of topic clusters and premium tools like ahrefs and surferseo, as well as manual checks.
Keyword research and finding topics
To find topics for the ecommerce jewelry brand’s content strategy, we used various methods, including tools like ahrefs and answerthepublic.
Ahrefs is a powerful SEO tool that helps users research and analyzes their competitors’ keywords and content.
We used ahrefs to identify the most popular keywords in the jewelry industry and determine which ones had the highest search volume and lowest competition. These popular keywords served as seed keywords that we could use to generate additional content ideas.
Once we had identified the list of seed keywords, we imported them onto answerthepublic, a tool that helps users find all the questions asked around a specific topic.
This allowed us to identify a range of underserved topics relevant to the ecommerce jewelry brand’s target audience but may have been skipped by Ahrefs.
In addition to using tools like ahrefs and answerthepublic, we also conducted manual research to identify potential topics. This involved researching industry trends and customer needs and wants, analyzing the brand’s product offerings and identifying areas where there was a gap in the market.
Once we had identified a range of potential topics, we organized them into topic clusters based on their relevance to the brand’s target audience and alignment with their products and offerings.
Writing the articles and onpage SEO optimization
Once we had identified and organized the topic clusters, we began the process of writing high-quality, relevant content that aligned with the brand’s target audience and key messages.
We optimized the content for on-page SEO using surferseo, an SEO tool that helps users understand the factors contributing to a page/blog ranking in search results.
By analyzing the top-ranking content for the keywords we had identified, we could identify patterns and trends that we could use to optimize our own content.
The secret sauce: Using topic clusters
Topic clusters are important for SEO because they help search engines understand the relationship between different pieces of content on a website.
Organizing your content into clusters can signal to search engines that your content is relevant and well-organized. Most importantly, you are an authority around a specific topic category, which helps improve your overall ranking in search results.
In addition, topic clusters can also make it easier for users to find and navigate your content, which can improve the user experience and increase engagement.
The use of topic clusters was an essential part of the content strategy for the ecommerce jewelry brand, helping them improve their search engine ranking and drive organic traffic to their website.
Step 4: Analyzing and optimize the content
To increase the efficiency of the content marketing strategy designed for the client, we revisited previously published posts to spot performance optimization opportunities.
We also tracked and analyzed the results of our content efforts to measure the effectiveness of the strategy to make any necessary adjustments.
