4 Hard Lessons Learned in SEO Growing a Site from 0 to 20k Traffic

SEO today is challenging. Unlike the early 2000s, when keyword stuffing could easily land a page on Google’s first page, the landscape has drastically changed. While many SEOs focus on technical, local, and on-page optimization, what truly drives results is clear: links, links, and more links — according to Marcus from Three Little Pigs agency.

His agency once took a site from 0 to 20k global traffic:

Here are the key lessons Marcus learned:

Lesson 1: Links, Links, and More Links Matter

Research indicates that 96.55% of websites receive no traffic, mainly because their pages, although indexed, are buried deep in Google’s search results. One of the most significant factors in driving traffic from search engines is backlinks. Despite years spent refining technical SEO aspects like alt tags, no traffic was achieved without backlinks.

Studies consistently show that backlinks are the most crucial ranking factor. Google’s ranking algorithm, PageRank, heavily relies on backlinks. An independent study of a million pages demonstrated a strong correlation between the number of backlinks and organic traffic.

The two most critical factors for high-quality backlinks are:

Relevance:

For a Singaporean SEO services agency, backlinks from other digital marketing sites or relevant sources are essential. Local publishers linking to the site are also ideal. One may find outsourcing SEO growth to a consultant who acquires links from non-relevant sites only increases domain authority without improving rankings.

Authority:

Getting published in mainstream media and high-authority sites can significantly boost link authority. Local news and publisher sites that feature and link to the site can pass substantial link authority.

Lesson 2: Keyword Research Matters

Keyword research is essential. Identifying less competitive keywords that are realistic to rank for is crucial. This involves analyzing competitors to understand what they are ranking for and gaining insight into the competition. Targeting heavily competitive keywords like “insurance” as a first attempt is futile because ranking for such terms is nearly impossible.

However, even the best-researched keywords won’t generate traffic without backlinks. Backlinks are necessary.

Lesson 3: People and Processes Matter

Writing all the articles and content oneself is possible, but unless there is a deep passion for the subject, burnout is inevitable. Writing extensively about SEO can lead to exhaustion. The professionals, however, have teams, processes, and people in place when building sites from the ground up.

Link building, for the most part, is scalable only through people and processes, including:

• SEO Prospectors
• Outreach Managers
• Content Writers (for guest article writing)
• SEO Leads (to manage the entire team)

Outreach for backlinks manually on one project is challenging. Scaling up while managing multiple SEO clients requires processes and people. It’s nearly impossible to execute SEO and manual white hat link building at scale without them.

Lesson 4: Project Management Matters

Once people and processes are in place, the next challenge is ensuring they work together effectively. Coordinating a team can be a significant challenge, but it is essential for successful SEO campaigns. This is where project management becomes crucial.

Google Sheets is used to manage almost everything. It’s a free, inexpensive, and highly adaptable tool that can be customized for various project management needs. Google Sheets allows for task tracking, deadline management, and ensuring everyone is aligned.

Scaling a site’s traffic to 20k was accomplished using only Google Sheets for project management. The key was getting multiple people to communicate and work together on one sheet.

• Task Tracking: Create a task tracker where each team member’s responsibilities are clearly defined. Include columns for task descriptions, assigned personnel, deadlines, and current status to provide a comprehensive view of what needs to be done and who is responsible.
• Communication: Ensure that the sheet is regularly updated and accessible to all team members. This transparency helps maintain clear communication and prevents misunderstandings about task assignments and deadlines.
• Collaboration: Google Sheets supports real-time collaboration, which is crucial for a team spread across different locations. Team members can simultaneously work on the same document, leave comments, and make edits visible to everyone instantly.

Pro tip: Mastering VLOOKUP and other advanced Google Sheets commands can be extremely beneficial. By effectively leveraging Google Sheets, project management processes can be streamlined, ensuring smooth team collaboration and maintaining a clear overview of SEO campaigns. This organized approach is vital for managing complex SEO projects and achieving significant traffic growth.

Conclusion

On-page and technical SEO were not emphasized as hard lessons because years were spent fiddling with title tags and trying to optimize page speed without significant results. Ultimately, backlinks matter the most, along with keyword research and targeting realistic keywords. Scaling up link building with an offshore team is essential for success.