Category: Case Study

How Important Are Backlinks To SEO? It Depends.
How Important Are Backlinks To SEO? Yes, it depends.

In this detailed case study, we explore the actual impact of backlinks on search engine rankings and visibility on Google. The conventional wisdom in SEO circles suggests that more backlinks equate to higher rankings, but is this really the case.
The Challenge
Consider a scenario where your website has seen a consistent decline in both the number of referring domains and backlinks over the past year. This trend poses a fundamental question: Do the number and quality of backlinks significantly impact your site’s SEO performance?
Does it matter?
This Ahrefs graph above shows the referring domains or websites that linked to a page on the client’s website (could have given them one backlink or a number of it).
Some SEO specialists when they see this would rather focus on getting backlinks for your site and charge you greatly. It’s reasonable because backlinks are definitely hard to acquire and requires extra effort to get. But, the truth is, a quality backlink (could be one or two) would be a great investment rather than getting a thousand of it for a fraction of the price.

Now this brings us to this dilemma.
(1) How can we say that the backlinks acquired are of good quality? And,
(2) is it all that there is and needed for SEO to work?
Let’s get back to these later in this case study
The Solution
I first audited on this website last Feb 2024 and what I proposed was content creation, keyword realignment on the pages and monthly on-page and technical optimizations for the website.
You might be wondering why I did not include off-page optimizations. Below is the reason why
The Result
Results are below, and this also shows the reason why, keyword realignment, keyword-guided content creation and relevant on page and technical SEO optimizations were recommended more than just going for off page SEO (or acquiring backlinks)
As you can see even though the website had a number of backlinks for years, it did not drive the website to gain keywords and help it show up on Google Searches. While we cannot discard the importance of backlinks, it should be a second level strategy after consistently ranking on Google Search.
As an SEO specialist working for 4 years now, I know that while backlinks are important, content should be the first priority since content is like the backbone that amplify the effect of the backlinks.
THROUGH THIS CASE STUDY, ONCE AGAIN, WE PROVED THAT QUALITY CONTENT IS A GREAT DRIVER OF TRAFFIC AND ONLINE VISIBILITY THAN BACKLINKS.
The lessons from this case study are clear: while backlinks are still a vital part of SEO, they shouldn’t overshadow the importance of content. Adopting a content-first strategy not only amplifies the benefits of backlinks but also builds a strong foundation for sustained SEO success and better user engagement.
Why Prioritizing Content Over Backlinks Makes Sense
Content as the Foundation: Think of content as the bedrock upon which all SEO strategies stand. Without content that’s informative, engaging, and valuable, even the most robust backlinks will only get you so far. Search engines love content that meets what users are looking for, as it leads to better user engagement and higher rankings.
Content Draws Natural Backlinks: Great content pulls in backlinks effortlessly. When your site offers real value and credibility, other sites are naturally inclined to link to you. By focusing on crafting high-quality content, you’re more likely to engage in organic link-building. This kind of natural linking is not only more sustainable but also less likely to get you in trouble with search engines compared to forced link-building strategies.
Ensuring Long-term SEO Health: Google and other search engines are continually refining their algorithms to favor relevant and high-quality content. If your site consistently offers fresh and engaging content, it’s more equipped to handle changes in SEO algorithms and maintain or even boost its ranking.
Boosting User Experience and Engagement: Content directly impacts how visitors interact with your site. High-quality content keeps them around longer, lowers the rate at which they leave (bounce rate), and increases the likelihood of them taking the action you want (conversion rate). These are all crucial factors that search engines take into account when ranking sites.
So let’s circle back.
How important are backlinks to SEO?
It depends on whether you already have ranking content. Without content content/pages, getting more backlinks can only give you a small push to show up for the keywords you are targeting.

But if you already have ranking content and up to beating up the others ranking above your content, then you need quality backlinks.
But what are considered as quality backlinks?
Quality backlinks are vital for effective SEO as they improve a website’s search rankings and enhance its credibility.
Essential characteristics of quality backlinks include: a high domain authority, relevance to the website’s niche, contextual integration within content, and “dofollow” attributes which allow for the passing of link equity. Additionally, valuable backlinks should come from websites with significant traffic, use relevant anchor text, and originate from trustworthy and diverse domains with low spam scores.
The process of acquiring such backlinks typically involves creating compelling content that naturally attracts these links, alongside targeted outreach and public relations efforts. This strategic approach ensures the backlinks not only boost SEO but also contribute to the website’s long-term online authority and trustworthiness.
Frequently Asked Questions

Can you do the same for my website?
Yes I can create a strategy for you that is customized for your website need and target outcome. Implementation time may vary in time depending on your budget and results are also variable due to the different competitiveness of different business niches.

You can set up a call/email exchange with me for a free consultation.
What did you actually do on this project?
I did everything from initial audit, monitoring, on page, and technical SEO optimizations on WordPress , keyword research, and content strategy.

The content creation was done by their writer and I only guided them with my keyword research.
Which package did they get?
They chose the Custom package since they have their own writer and they plan to implement an SEO strategy for one year.
Read more case studies or articles about on-page SEO and technical SEO. You can also check out my available services:
August 8, 2024
Why blogs are important for your website
In this case study we look at why blogs are important for your website. You could be thinking that having a website is enough, especially if your SEO specialist is impressing you with lots of backlinks.
But does the backlinks really help? Truth is, backlinks help but it’s effect is negligible without content and a content strategy guided by keyword research.
The Challenge
This website was created July last year and they were keen on improving their website’s visibility.
This Ahrefs graph above shows the backlinks (blue line) and organic keywords (orange line) that the website is ranking for before I started working for them.
On the graph below is the Google Search Console metric of the website.
- Blue line represents the organic clicks of the website (means the website showed up as a search result and a user clicked on the result)
- Violet line represent impressions (or when the website shows as a search result but no use clicked on it).
These website metrics show that the website built backlinks (blue line from Ahrefs) from the very start (July 2023), and it produced great impressions (violet line in GSC) but it didn’t help getting clicks for the website and thus the website found it hard to rank for keywords (orange line in Ahrefs).

While it does show that the website had a spike of organic keywords in Ahrefs last September 2023, the Google Search Console shows no spike in clicks and impressions on that date range.
The Solution
I first audited on their website last March 2024 and what I proposed was a keyword realignment, content creation guided by my keyword research, technical SEO fixes and on-page SEO optimizations.
The Result
The first few days of optimization involved keyword realignment which at first created a dip as it shook off keywords that are non-relevant to our targeted terms.
Technical and on-page SEO optimizations were done on the next month and it was on April 29 that their first article was published.

In a span of three months their website had a great improvement.
As of June 15, 2024, they have already published 5 articles and you can see from the graph below that after consistent publishing of keyword research guided content, their clicks and impressions simultaneously trended upwards which also means that they were able to create content that were relevant for their target market.
This is a clear example of how backlinks can definitely create visibility for your website but creating blogs guided by keyword research can create more traffic and relevant clicks from your target market.
If you’re thinking that maybe the website just drove clicks and impression due to increase of backlinks, see below and you might be surprised to know that backlinks are not that powerful.
You can see from the above Ahrefs graph that the website’s backlinks were definitely not the driver of clicks and impressions. It was the organic keywords that drove those, which also is a great example how having quality content is the best way to get traffic for your website than just having backlinks.
THROUGH THIS CASE STUDY, ONCE AGAIN, WE PROVED THAT QUALITY CONTENT IS A GREAT DRIVER OF TRAFFIC AND ONLINE VISIBILITY THAN BACKLINKS.
More Reasons Why Blogs Are Important For Your Website
Here are additional reasons why blogs are important for your website:
1. Engages Visitors: Blogs create opportunities for engagement through comments, shares, and discussions, fostering a community around your brand.
2. Showcases Expertise: Detailed and insightful blog posts demonstrate your knowledge and expertise, positioning you as a thought leader in your field.
3. Supports Social Media: Blogs provide content that can be shared across social media platforms, driving traffic from those channels back to your website.
4. Improves Conversion Rates: By addressing common questions and concerns through blog posts, you can guide visitors through the buyer’s journey, improving the likelihood of conversions.
5. Builds Internal Linking Structure: Blogs allow for internal linking, which can help distribute page authority and enhance the SEO of your entire site.
6. Provides Value to Customers: High-quality blog content offers valuable information to your customers, helping them make informed decisions and improving customer satisfaction.
7. Generates Leads: Blogs can be used to capture leads by including calls-to-action (CTAs) that encourage visitors to subscribe to newsletters, download resources, or contact your business.
8. Supports Long-Tail Keywords: Blogging allows you to target long-tail keywords, which are specific phrases with lower search volumes but higher conversion rates.
9. Keeps Your Audience Informed: Regularly updated blogs keep your audience informed about industry trends, company news, and new products or services.
10. Enhances Brand Voice: Blogs help in developing and maintaining a consistent brand voice, strengthening your brand identity.
11. Offers Evergreen Content: Some blog posts remain relevant and valuable over time, continuously attracting traffic long after they are published.
12. Improves User Experience: Well-structured and informative blog posts enhance the overall user experience by providing helpful and engaging content.
13. Supports Link Building: High-quality blog posts are more likely to be linked to by other websites, improving your backlink profile and domain authority.
14. Increases Dwell Time: Engaging and relevant blog content can increase the amount of time visitors spend on your site, which can positively impact SEO.
15. Provides Shareable Content: Blogs create shareable content that can increase your website’s visibility and reach when shared by readers across social networks.
16. Facilitates Personal Connections: Blogging offers a platform to share personal stories, insights, and experiences, fostering a deeper connection with your audience.
17. Enables Content Repurposing: Blog posts can be repurposed into other formats like videos, podcasts, infographics, and e-books, maximizing the value of your content.
18. Supports Customer Service: Blogs can address common customer questions and issues, providing a resource that supports customer service efforts.
19. Strengthens Email Marketing: Blog content can be used to enhance email marketing campaigns by providing subscribers with valuable information and updates.
20. Offers Analytics Insights: Analyzing blog performance through metrics such as page views, time on page, and conversion rates provides insights into your audience’s preferences and behavior.
21. Enhances Credibility: Consistent, high-quality content can enhance your website’s credibility and reputation in the eyes of your audience.
Frequently Asked Questions

Can you do the same for my website?
Yes I can create a strategy for you that is customized for your website need and target outcome. Implementation time may vary in time depending on your budget and results are also variable due to the different competitiveness of different business niches.

You can set up a call/email exchange with me for a free consultation.
What did you actually do on this project?
I did everything from initial audit, monitoring, on page, and technical SEO optimizations on WordPress , keyword research, and content strategy.

The content creation was done by their writer and I only guided them with my keyword research.
Which package did they get?
They chose the Custom package since they have their own writer and they plan to implement an SEO strategy for one year.
Read more case studies or articles about on-page SEO and technical SEO. You can also check out my available services:
June 15, 2024
Simple Reason You’re Not Getting More Traffic To Your Website
So you’re not getting more traffic to your website?

We’ve all been there. You’ve got a shiny new website, and you’re excited to fill it with amazing content. You’re writing blog posts, maybe even doing a bit of social media, but the traffic just isn’t coming. What gives?
Well, let me share a little secret with you: the problem might be that you’re writing content without a strategy.
Let’s look at one of my client’s progress and see what difference having a strategy in place helps.
The Challenge
This case study features an old service-based website created last 2019 with a few content that seems to be ranking some of its pages already , but seems to be getting little to no clicks on most days for years now.
The following are the website’s metrics before the optimization.
For 5 years, they never created a Google Search Console profile so it was the first thing I did while doing the website audit.
The client came to me to ask for help on getting traffic for their business objective and to create an ebook for them and help them on their planned email campaign.

Their primary objective is to show up for location and a specific niche keyword.
Why a Having a Content Strategy is a Game-Changer
Think of a content strategy as your roadmap. It’s not just about writing for the sake of writing; it’s about creating and sharing content that your audience actually cares about. Here’s why having a strategy matters:
Knowing Your Audience: A strategy helps you pinpoint who you’re talking to. It’s like having a conversation with a friend rather than shouting into a void.
SEO Love: Good content strategy means your stuff is optimized for search engines, making it easier for people to find you when they’re looking for what you offer.
Consistency is Key: A solid strategy ensures you’re posting regularly, which keeps your audience coming back for more.
Aligning with Goals: Whether you’re looking to drive sales, gather leads, or just get your name out there, a strategy keeps your content aligned with these goals.
The Risks of Wingin’ It
When you’re writing without a strategy, a few things can go wrong:
Missing the Mark: Without knowing your audience, you might end up writing about things they don’t care about. Result? Low engagement.
Posting When You Remember: Inconsistency can confuse your audience and make them lose interest.
SEO Fails: If you’re not optimizing your content, don’t expect search engines to help people find you.
No Clear Direction: Without a strategy, your content might feel all over the place, making it hard to build a loyal following.
The Solution
A website audit showed needed technical and on-page optimizations.
It also showed that it needed keyword realignment for most of its pages.
Ranking articles needed an update to make it more helpful and relevant.
Intensive keyword research was done to find the best strategy to show up for future blog pages, location pages, and for the ebook.
The Results
In a span of 4 months, the website was able to get more keywords (graph below) from Feb 15-June 3, 2024 exceeding their previous performance.

This rise in keywords shown in the Ahrefs tools shows a rise in organic traffic and pages (graph above), but a more accurate picture would be to look at its performance in the Google Search Console shown below.
Current stats (June 2024)
Imagine having a content strategy in place for your website… how much traffic do you think your website will get in 5 years?
Writing content without a strategy is like trying to get somewhere without a map. You might move, but you’re not likely to get where you want to go.
By taking the time to develop and implement a good content strategy, you can attract more visitors, engage your audience, and hit your business goals. So, start planning your content strategy today, and watch your website traffic take off.
Here’s to Getting More Traffic To Your Website

So the what can we take from this… well, I guess today is never too late to start getting a plan for your website.
Getting more traffic to your website should not only rely on links shared on your social media. The key to make it sustainable is to have organic traffic that you can only get when you have a solid technical structure, on page SEO optimization every now and then, and creating helpful content guided by a keyword strategy.
Frequently Asked Questions

Can you do the same for my website?
Yes your website could rank with my strategy, but not every website could get the same result in 4 months as my content strategy is not just about creating content but also includes optimizing the website to have a web structure with a good technical SEO and keyword map in mind and sometimes it takes longer specially when there are a lot of pages and fixes needed.

You can set up a call/email exchange with me for a free consultation.
What did you actually do on this project?
I did everything from initial audit, monitoring, on page, and technical SEO optimizations on WordPress , keyword research, content creation and content strategy.

My campaign for them is not over yet since ranking the website is just the first phase of it there are more to be done for their campaign.
Which package did they get?
They chose the Custom package since they were only willing to work on a budget and had other goals than just SEO. Since this is the case, the implementation timeline was beyond 6 months and inclusions of the project varies.

For example, they did not include Offpage SEO, but eventually with the quality content produced they were able to get organic backlinks from relevant websites from their niche.
Home » Case Study
Check out all the other SEO case studies and Audits here >>
Related Reads
Read more case studies or articles about on-page SEO and technical SEO. You can also check out my available services:
June 8, 2024
“Do I need a sitemap?” Yes don’t skip it.
Have you recently created a website and has set it live? Did you know that you need to create a sitemap and put it on Google Search Console to make it visible for searchers?
Having no sitemap/the wrong sitemap can have a great impact on your newly created website. A sitemap is needed for search engines to find you website and fully crawl your new pages, posts and images and have you a go at actually popping up as a result on Google searches.
Submitting a sitemap to search engines like Google is like giving them a map of your website. This map shows all the pages and what’s on them. It helps search engines find and list all your pages in their results. So, when someone searches for something related to your site, it’s more likely to show up.
Think of it as putting your website on the search engine’s radar, which can help bring more visitors to your site.
The Problem
The website first went live July of 2023, but when I checked on November of that year here’s the current state of their sitemap on Google Search Console:
It had the wrong sitemap since it went live (July 2023), which is one the most important steps post- publishing that is commonly missed by small businesses when a new website goes live.
Now the thing with new websites is that it has a “sandbox phase” which goes from 3-9 months (varies). This sandbox phase is the best time for a new website to put up a good SEO foundation as these months can serve as a baseline of how effective your SEO strategy is.
This means, that if your website was not able to improve in clicks and impressions after the sandbox period then there must be something that you’re not doing right yet.
Below is the website’s clicks and impressions from when it first went live up to the first week of October.
Now this would be our baseline and see if things will improve after the supposed sandbox period (February 2024). The best scenario that we’re looking at will be increased clicks and impressions.
When starting a new website; It’s more important to focus on getting noticed in search results rather than worrying about getting lots of traffic quickly and ranking for specific terms.
The main aim should be to publish content regularly to address what your audience wants to know. You should also keep an eye on whether Google is finding and listing your content, and how often it shows up in search results. Tracking clicks and impressions can help you see how well you’re doing.
The Solution
The website has 11-12k pages and this means that Google Search Console needs more than one sitemap to accommodate all the pages of the website. So this is what I did on the first day after a baseline audit last November.
What they asked from me was to create a strategy that they could implement on their own. It included mostly on-page optimizations (like which H1s should be on each page) and an internal linking strategy.

They were able to implement the H1s and internal linking as I have suggested, but the rest were not followed. But here’s what happened next after their implementation
The Result
While there are a lot of backend issues that needed a fix for this website, and they have only implemented 2 of my recommendations here’s how having the right sitemap and how a bit of application of my strategy has impacted the website, especially as it has helped their content be recognized.
You can see that even before the supposed end of their sandbox period (February 2024), the site was able veer away from 0 clicks in a day and continues to increase their total impressions in a day. While the website still has a lot to improve on its SEO, you can see how a simple submission of the right sitemap and a few tweaks can have a great impact on your website.
Below is their current progress this June 2024. I believe that if they only followed everything on the strategy I made for them, they could do better but this result is still impressive for a website that is not fully optimized.
Screenshot
“Do I need a sitemap?“
Of course! You need to submit your sitemap to search engines so your pages and content will be discovered and start showing up on the searches.
But this also goes to say that just having a sitemap is not enough to guarantee to have your website showing up on Google for the searches.
You still need a
- good keyword research foundation
- quality content
- solid technical SEO foundation
- on page implementations
…for you to guarantee getting out of the sandbox period because without those… you might become the example website below that was created last September 2022-January 2023 (different from our website sample above)
Imagine: You have a sitemap submitted correctly but you don’t have consistent quality publishing, no keyword research for articles, no technical and on page optimization… this is what it will look like in about a year…
Would you rather be never getting out of the sandbox?
Check out all the other SEO case studies and Audits here >>
Frequently Asked Questions

Can you do the same for my website?
I can help you set up your newly created website on Google Search Console, but it should also include keyword research, technical and on page optimizations.

You can set up a call/email exchange with me for a free consultation.
What did you actually do on this project?
I was responsible for the initial audit, strategic plan for 6 months, on page and technical optimization planning as they have a different team for execution.

They only wanted me to create a strategy for them.
Were you in charge of the setup of their Google Search Console account?
No, they already have set up their GSC account, I only added the right sitemaps. But I also do GSC setup for my clients if needed.
Related Reads
January 30, 2024
Programmatic SEO Case Study: An Example of How to Dominate Your Niche’s Keywords
Below is the current metrics of the website that I handled a year ago. While I no longer have access to their Google Search Console, here is an overview of what I did for them.
This is the current Ahrefs metrics of the website
All time performance of the website until June 2024
Programmatic SEO and UGC can yield tremendous benefits for brands seeking to optimize a business’s online presence. Both strategies rely heavily on high-quality content and engaging visuals.
I was wrapped in a project that used them in tandem and it was majestic! IT DEFINITELY created momentum and keyword domination and simultaenously developed a more intricate yet personalized narratives around the product.
The Challenge
Baseline stats (January 2022) from the first few audits before the optimization
The social brand started as a blog in Squarespace in 2020 then it added two subdomains (both on a Firebase server and host) to cater to the social platform (mobile app) and a niche-specific database that they put up to help their brand grow. (You can click images to expand)

The brand was a great programmatic SEO example of a strategic implementation as they were about to bulk create new content and did not get a penalization by the then rolled out, Helpful Content Update by Google (September 2023).

Their blog and subdomains has decent traffic when it was first crawled for audit (2022) but are not organically ranking for their niche’s important keywords and both subdomains has potential keyword accommodation due to the amount of keyword-rich content produced everyday on their social feed + their niche-related database.
The Solution
A website audit showed needed technical and on-page optimizations.
Rearchitecture of their pages and subfolders to maximize the use of their user-generated content.
A number of quality content after keyword research were created using long-tail keywords to gain traffic and rank them on the first page.
Intensive keyword research was also done to rank low-hanging keywords and monopolize ranking for their database content.
Framework was created for programmatic content creation for their database.
The Results
This is the current Ahrefs metrics of the website – getting from 13.6K to 1.4 M organic traffic in 2 years!
SEO optimizations, folder restructuring and web migration helped take advantage of their user-generated content to rake in traffic and rank for their niche’s keywords. Currently they get an estimate of a little less than 1M Traffic for the 1 million+ pages that they have.
Stats from Ahrefs (January 2024)
Below is the all-time performance of the website up until June 2024, just to compare on its January performance. This is an importance comparison since Google rolled out a Core Update last March and 2 other updates after it, but the website has continued to rise in keywords and pages indexed.
All time performance of the website until June 2024
The programmatic content creation framework continued to create more pages for their database that also continued to help them gain traffic and dominate keywords that they have intended to do for their brand. You can notice from the graph above that there was a great increase in crawled pages from May to August that signals the indexing of their newly created content using the content creation framework.
You might be wondering.. “so what’s in that framework?“
While they have a great team of developers and people on the back end to implement content creation at scale, the great backbone of its implementation is having a solid keyword research, a simple content outline and great technical SEO in place. You might even be surprised that one can use a Google sheet to batch create the content!
Major Takeaways from this Programmatic SEO Case Study

So the what can we take from this?
The key to their success lay in the meticulous planning and execution of SEO optimizations, including technical and on-page adjustments, and the innovative use of UGC to bolster content richness and diversity. This synergy between Programmatic SEO and UGC not only facilitated the brand’s growth but also set a new standard for digital marketing strategies aimed at enhancing online visibility and user engagement.
Frequently Asked Questions

Can you do the same for my website?
Every website has a different need and while programmatic SEO can be really helpful, I would still need to do an initial audit of the site to determine if this strategy is what you need.

You can set up a call/email exchange with me for a free consultation.
What did you actually do on this project?
I did the initial audit, monitoring, on page, and technical SEO optimizations before the migration and bulk content creation.

I was in charge of the keyword research and creation of the content template for bulk content creation. I also created a working demo consisting of a google sheet sample for the database for content. The developers and back end engineers rolled the process out on their own with the Google Sheet’s tables and output as a guide.
Were you in charge of the web migration?
No, the developer and back-end engineer were the ones responsible for the migration. If you have migration concerns, do connect with me for further information.
Check out all the other SEO case studies and Audits here >>
Related Reads
Read more case studies or articles about on-page SEO and technical SEO. You can also check out my available services:
Squarespace and WordPress SEO
Keyword Research Service
Blog Writing Service
January 24, 2024