I shall discuss two SEO case studies. I started both sites from ground zero. No page nor domain authority. They were started in my Singaporean HDB bedroom.
The first site was built on passion, in the dating advice niche, and I eventually got it to around 20k global readers and sold it off. The second site is ThreeLittlePigs.Pro, this site! Nonetheless, I am attempting to rank for law firm marketing, digital marketing related keywords in Singapore.
This two case studies are different because the former focused on global search engine results and the second one is localised to Singapore.
Singapore SEO Case Study 1: MarcusNeo.Com (Sold to BeyondAges.Com)
I started a dating advice business blog for Singaporean men as my first business. That’s how I got involved in SEO. I wanted to rank on page one on the search results and get clients. SEO was also how I generated my first business.
The money keyword “dating coaching Singapore” also only had 20 searches a month.
Nonetheless, it put me on a sprint to learn more about SEO. I attended two Singaporean local SEO programs. Even though I would disagree with their methods of ranking today, I did manage to rank “dating coach Singapore’ to the top of Google.Com.Sg search engine results.
The niche isn’t that competitive and I was able to do it through a combination of internal linking and a couple of backlinks from local publishers.
However, I quickly realised I didn’t have enough clients from SEO alone and pivoted to Facebook advertising. One and a half years after advertising on Facebook, I got hit by multiple bans from Meta. I tried all sorts of tactics such as changing credit cards and making multiple accounts. The bans only got worse. Yes, I believe Meta tracks your account on a computer ID level.
Looking for a replacement traffic source, that’s where I turned to global SEO.
The idea was to monetize my content globally. That was where I learned about Skyscraper SEO, guest post link building and other more advanced methods of link building.
Initially, I hired a link builder freelancer on Upwork to build links to my Skyscraper articles. However, I felt that the links were lacking in relevance and decided to take link building in my own hands.
I learned outreach based link building and low behold, the benefits kicked in after six months of link building, hitting 20000 readers globally in around 8-12 months.
The process took some manual work initially.
However I built the link building system system to:
- Ensure the links coming in were from legitimate websites, with traffic and not link farms
- Ensure the links were coming from websites with relevance
Here are our link building results:
High number of backlinks but poor organic traffic?
Even though my website had majority traffic from US and UK audidences. I couldn’t convert the traffic from US and the UK. That is where I learned about the concept of product market fit. The site’s domain was my name and I wrote content under my own name. Long story short: trying to sell dating advice to Western countries written in an Asian/ Singaporean context wasn’t possible. I had a lack of experience living in Western cultures and a lack of case studies.
An American company eventually approached me to buy the site and I agreed.
Targeted Keywords for MarcusNeo.Com
I obsessed over the keywords “dating coach” and “dating coach Singapore” in Singapore’s local search results. Eventually, I achieved page one, rank one for those keywords. The SEO traffic led to interviews on national TV and a couple of articles written for Channel News Asia.
However, these keywords only added up to 20-30 searches a month. (inspite of this, I generated more than 100k of revenue in this business). In hindsight, it was quite a feat.
I focused on a lot of dubious local SEO methods up till the pandemic came and the local market dried up. I then had the idea of making it into an international blog using SEO.
MarcusNeo.Com Link Building Track Records
I understood the importance of link building and hired a link building agency on Upwork that specialized in the Skyscraper method. Yes, links were coming in, but they weren’t very targeted.
If I remembered correctly, I paid around 2.5k USD for two – three months of link building efforts. Yes, and $500 for a setup fee.
That’s around 10 links per month for September 2019 and October 2019, totalling 20 links.
However, the links came from sites that weren’t very niche-relevant. I decided to stop working with the agency after a couple of months, as there was no noticeable improvement. In hindsight, my site might have just been in the sandbox phase.
Our Own Internal Link Building Efforts
I then took it upon myself to learn link building and studied more from SEO experts and thought leaders.
I signed up for online SEO courses and started managing everything myself, from research to outreach. I hired virtual assistants on Upwork to help, and focused on building links from sites that were more relevant to my niche.
For example, if my site was about dating advice, I aimed for links from dating, relationship, or men’s self-improvement websites. From December 2019 to June 2020, I focused on building links aggressively. Traffic skyrocketed, and in early 2022, the site even crashed from the surge in visitors.
Tabulation of Link Building
| Month | Links Built |
|---|---|
| January 2021 | 2 |
| February 2021 | 2 |
| March 2021 | 7 |
| May 2021 | 1 |
| June 2021 | 7 |
| July 2021 | 4 |
| Total | 23 |
Traffic Growth on Google Analytics
Our link-building efforts began as early as September 2019, but the site only started gaining significant traffic in July 2020. This is only after solid 6 to 9 months of consistent work.
On the content’s end, I also streamlined blog articles, combining them and making articles more solid. I also targeted lower-competition, long-tail keywords for each article.
These combined strategies played a key role in driving a steady increase in traffic.
Conclusion
In conclusion, my SEO process has been one of trial, error, and persistence. Starting with a niche local site and transitioning to an international blog taught me that success in SEO is hugely reliant on high quality link building.
Pillar Three) Link Acquisition and Manual Outreach
No matter what SEOs tell you: white hat backlinks are going to move the needle.
There is no debate about it.
I’ve spent years finagling around site architecture, on-page SEO, keyword research, keyword density, and all the technical SEO you can think of. The variable that exploded my site from 1K to 20K traffic are white hat backlinks.
Link acquisition is the hardest part on SEO because they don’t break it down into processes. Most SEOs find link building overwhelming.
The key here is to hire an offshore team to execute your campaigns without doing everything on your own. Our email outreach campaigns for link building is managed by my offshore team.
Pillar Four) Link Documentation, Analysis and Reporting
Link documentation, analysis, and reporting form the fourth pillar because you need to track link quality. My team and I audit every single link that comes through. This creates transparency and allows progress tracking.
Effective link building requires strong data management skills. For example, our team regularly validates outreach databases using email verification tools to confirm addresses are deliverable. This includes ensuring data accuracy, managing different databases on Google sheets, and segmenting different portions of your lead base effectively.
Secondly, you’ll want to document every single link built, the cost of content, and each task through this SEO project management process.
Note: our SEO agency uses transparent client-agency relationship management with detailed monthly reports, keyword traffic analysis, and documented link acquisition costs. Then there is a clear and systematic approach to tackle new keywords, content creation month on month and year on year.
Singapore SEO Case Study 2: ThreeLittlePigs.Pro
I purchased the site in July 2021. I did a little bit of link building but life got in the way. If you looked at the data, Google does give fresh sites a boost as opposed to inactive sites.
The site was registered and purchased in 2021. I did link building from September 2021 to March 2022. I left the site inactive for a couple of years. I only restarted activity in June 2024.
I guess you aren’t really in Google’s good books if you are inactive for years.
Link building Efforts in 2021 and 2022:
| Month | Number of Backlinks |
|---|---|
| September 2021 | 4 |
| October 2021 | 1 |
| December 2021 | 8 |
| January 2022 | 1 |
| February 2022 | 2 |
| March 2022 | 2 |
| Total | 18 |
Link building Efforts in 2023:
Life got in the way. So nil.
Link building Efforts in 2024:
So much has changed in just a couple of years. I learned to implementing AI in my content creation, prospecting and link vetting processes. Google also implemented the Helpful Content Update that killed many small and independent publishers.
I started link building again from June 2024:
| Month | Number of Backlinks |
|---|---|
| June 2024 | 2 |
| July 2024 | 6 |
| August 2024 | 8 |
| September 2024 | 6 |
| October | To be Confirmed! |
| November 2024 | To be Confirmed! |
| Total Year to Date | To be Confirmed! |
Link building Results in 2024:
Our site ranked on pages 3 to 5 within 4 months of link building efforts by Google. We were beyond page 100 before that! I also want to point out that our domain is ThreeLittlePig.Pro, not ThreeLittlePigs.sg, which might have given us an extra localized ranking signal boost. The goal is to demonstrate ranking for brands and not to abuse loopholes in Google’s current algorithm that may prioritize exact match domains.
Less than half a year in, our agency even got our first ever SEO lead!
Google’s Helpful Content Update
Google’s helpful content algorithm updates also affected many small to big publishers. Recently, Forbes received a manual penalty for site reputation abuse.
An article published by Moz argued that Google has “cranked up” the authority weightage on “branded terms” in their Helpful Content Update. They argued that update isn’t solely about content quality but rather about the ratio of brand search volume to link signals.
This also means that doing SEO (and link building) in isolation and not having your brand mentioned in other areas of the internet may negatively affect your “brand” ranking signals.
This means that SEO can be more effective when done together with paid channels like search engine marketing or Meta advertising. If your brand name is out there through paid channels, it may translate to better traditional SEO results.
ThreeLittlePigs.Pro Local SEO Results
Our agency got ranked for ‘law firm marketing’ in the local maps pack, a keyword with around 100+ search volume. Law firm marketing” has a search volume of 170 and a Semrush keyword difficulty score of 30. (data: as of February 2025)
Traditional Search Engine Rankings
Our site is ranked for “marketing agency for lawyers” on Google.Com.Sg
Conclusion
The SEO agency industry in Singapore is dominated with incumbents dominating the top search results. Huge digital marketing agencies such as First Page Digital and OOM are long time dominators of Singapore’s search engine results.
Then again, you should still look out for any agency that over promise results. The difficulty in every niche is different. My friend hires an India based SEO consultant who charges $150 a month. He is ranked on page one, rank one on Google for an industry with zero SEO competition. However, that doesn’t mean he is a good SEO.
Today, traditional SEO search results are quickly losing their appeal. They are deemed unstable and unreliable by many SEO experts. On the contrary, the maps pack and local SEO have been gaining relevance. Yes, I do recommend ranking on the local maps pack (outranking traditional SEO results).
Traditional SEO is a marathon. It takes up to 8-12 months. It is a long term investment. If you are looking for lead generation, then I propose looking at paid channels. You can’t just rely on traditional SEO anymore.
