How I scaled my SEO traffic globally to 20k readers in 6 months without a huge team

Marcus Neo // April 29 // 0 Comments

Here is a dive into how we exploded one of our site from 1K traffic to 20K global SEO traffic within a period of eight months.

This is done without huge overheads:

  • Using processes to scale SEO traffic in a methodical and documented manner
  • Utilizing an online offshore team to manage moving parts
  • White Hat SEO backlinks building

These are methods not practiced by most local Singaporean SEO agencies (as far as I know of).

This case studies is based off MarcusNeoCom (sold to BeyondAges.Com), one one the port folio sites I owned. It’s a dating advice site for men. It started off as a local projected and I made the decision to scale globally, target U.S. and U.K. international traffic.

This led to SEO link building systems: figuring out how to methodically execute it at scale, and how to really step by step break down each and every process so that we don’t get lost in the process.

SEO is a complicated subject; there are so many moving parts.

The key here is to be transparent and documented in our process so that clients understand that our digital marketing agency is working hard for you. Each and every link is documented and it goes into helping you and your website traffic and revenue goals.

How Did I get from 1K Traffic to 20K SEO traffic?

SEO is a complicated process, and the way to do it is to break it down into a step-by-step process and segment the different pillars of SEO and hire out the right people on your team to do it right.

I couldn’t do everything in SEO because that would just be an inefficient use of my time.

Hence, I created processes around the four pillars framework: I could hire offshore and get more cost efficiency.

You want to segment SEO into four different pillars so that you can have different staff, local and offshore to execute these processes together.

1st: Technical Site Audit, Content Audit, and Keyword Research.
2nd: Customer Research, Content Strategy
3rd: Outreach Handling, Backlink Acquisition Scale
4th: Transparent Link Documentation Analysis.

Without this framework, you won’t be able to execute SEO in an efficient and documented manner.

Pillar One) Site Audit, Content Audit, Keyword Research

Site audits are making sure your site functions healthily when it comes to Sitemaps, servers, site speed, links, HTTPS hosting issues, UI/UX issues. They keep your website healthy and fully functional.

Technical SEO is crucial because there is no point building backlinks and traffic to a site that isn’t working properly. This is why technical SEO audits are important. I’ve managed SEO projects where the site had broken themes and plugins. These will indirectly disrupt your SEO efforts. You want your website to be technically sound before doing any changes or driving traffic to it.

Our site grew to over 20K global traffic. The old hosts couldn’t handle the increase of traffic, and I had to switch hosts midway to an American international host.

The basics, to name a few are: site find-ability/ index-ability checks, URL friendliness, On-Page SEO, and internal linking and backlink audits. SEO tools used can be as simple as Ahrefs Site Audit and Screaming Frog.

Secondly, you want to be ranking for the right keywords. It is a no-brainer. This is where keyword research comes in.

You take a look at competitors and you can map out keywords to your site’s content. You can also take a look at your current keyword rankings from Google Search Console.

Pillar Two) Content Pillars, Customer Research and Architecture

There is HUGEEE misconception when it comes to SEO that all you have to do is publish content and you’ll automatically convert SEO traffic into customers.

Ultimately, customers searching for your content have hopes, dreams, pain points, they’re looking for solutions, and they have their own skepticism when it comes to content on the internet. For example, content audits overlap with SEO principle of auditing if the your content matches the user query (keyword phrase).

This is why you have to do customer research and a content audit.

Customer research and a content audit helps map out your site’s architecture, and how it’s going to the built. This may require more content pillars, removal of thin content and rewriting existing content to optimize it for leads, sales and revenue.

Pillar Three) Link Acquisition and Manual Outreach

No matter what SEO agencies or consultants 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 MOST marketers don’t break it down into processes.

Hence they find link building overwhelming.

The key here is to hire an offshore team to execute your campaigns without doing everything on your own.

Our team audits every single link that comes through. Our team pays attention to every anchor text and document each and every link. This way it is transparent and you can track progress. Our custom email outreach campaigns for link building is also managed by my offshore team.

Pillar Four) Link Documentation, Analysis and Reporting

Most SEO agencies, SEO consultants, and marketing consultants just send you monthly reports. You don’t know the quality of your links, you don’t know what’s going on behind the links and behind the processes.

That is why the fourth pillar is link documentation, analysis, and reporting.

You’ll want to document every single link built, the cost of content, and each and every task. Hence we are transparent in this process alongside custom reports such as keyword rankings tracked using Google Analytics, Google Search Console and etc.

Ending Words on Project Management and Processes

Through this SEO project management process. There is a possibility for transparent client-agency relationship management, transparent reports, transparent monthly keyword traffic reports and transparent documented link acquisition costs.

Through this, it allows both parties to achieve a clear client-agency relationship and a compilation of tasks done for the client.

There is a clear and systematic approach to tackle new keywords, content creation month on month and year on year. Lastly, project management offers my SEO team or our agency working for you to attain increased economies of scale in the specialised tasks that each team member performs.

In conclusion, SEO is one of the best ways to grow your revenue and traffic. This is complimentary to paid Facebook advertising and funnel building. Google has one of the best platforms in the world, and the more you invest in SEO, the more the website becomes an asset for you and your business.

About the Author 

Marcus is a SEO specialist and ROI focused digital marketer specialising in paid customer acquisition. Marcus's SEO expertise is in white hat SEO link building. He has managed digital marketing campaigns on both an SME and enterprise level in Singapore

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