Then again, is this really what happended? There seem to be plenty of real-world examples where EMDs still dominate the search results.

So, are they still an SEO loophole, or has Google actually closed the door on this ranking hack?

To find out, we conducted a small study, looking at 500 individual search results, uncovering whether EMDs still hold an unfair advantage or if they no longer provide a competitive edge.

TL;DR

• EMDs still rank well: They appear disproportionately often in Google’s top 10 results.

• Lower authority needed: EMDs require 60% lower Domain Rating than other domains to rank in the top 10.

• Limited keyword reach: 70% of EMDs rank only for their exact-match keyword, missing out on broader search potential.

• Without strong content, EMDs fall short: A domain name isn’t enough. Quality content is the deciding factor.

Study Methodology

We selected 51 keywords with at least 10 monthly searches in Switzerland, focusing on terms well-suited for EMDs, such as occupations and service categories. These were divided into:

• 26 local keywords (e.g., “Driving School Zurich”)

• 25 generic keywords (e.g., “Moving Service”)

Then, we analyzed the top 10 search results for each keyword to identify patterns in ranking performance, domain authority, and keyword coverage of EMDs compared to other domains.

Findings: Do EMDs Still Have an Edge?

1. EMDs appear more often in top search results

Our analysis shows that EMDs are strongly represented in Google’s top 3 results, making up 25% of the top spots. But beyond position 3, their presence drops sharply to under 10%. This pattern suggests that Google may still favor domains that match search queries exactly.

2. EMDs rank with significantly lower authority

Another key finding: EMDs require far less authority to compete:

• For local keywords: EMDs in the top 10 had an average Domain Rating of just 7.7, while non-EMDs needed 30.9 to rank.

• For generic keywords: EMDs ranked with an average Domain Rating of 20.6, compared to 43.6 for non-EMDs.

This suggests that an EMD can partially compensate for a weaker backlink profile.

3. EMDs struggle beyond their main keyword

While EMDs can help rank for a specific term, most fail to gain visibility beyond their exact match. Our data shows that 70% of analyzed EMDs ranked only for their primary keyword and struggled to perform for related search terms. This suggests that while an EMD might provide an initial ranking boost, it does not necessarily help a site build broader topical authority in search.

4. Content quality remains crucial

Our findings confirm that an EMD alone is not enough to secure sustainable rankings. While some EMDs benefit from their domain name, those that consistently rank well do so because they also invest in high-quality, user-centric content. For example, top-ranking EMDs in our study had not only keyword relevance, but also high-quality content that directly addressed user needs.

In summary

Exact Match Domains still provide a ranking edge, but they are far from a guaranteed success. While they can help secure quick wins for specific keywords, their impact is limited without content quality, a strong backlink profile, and an overall SEO strategy.

For businesses with plans for long-term growth and diversification, a more flexible domain strategy may offer better opportunities for broader search visibility.

These findings were also supported by a survey we conducted with SEO experts. Most agreed that EMDs can still offer a ranking advantage—but only when supported by high-quality content and part of a solid SEO strategy.

How to Make the Most of EMDs

If you’re considering using an EMD, here’s how to maximize its benefits:

1. Niche businesses can kickstart their performance with EMDs: If you operate in a highly specialized industry or a local market, an EMD can help you gain an initial ranking edge and increase user trust.

2. Combine it with strong content: An EMD can help you rank faster, but without valuable content and a solid SEO strategy, it won’t sustain its position.

3. Think long-term: If you plan to expand your business, an EMD could limit your ability to rank for additional keywords. A brand domain provides more flexibility.

We got backlinks, mentions in a podcast, and even landed a quality sales lead.

The process took a lot of trial and error though.

To figure out a better approach, I reached out to Alex Horsman, who specializes in passive link building. He shared his process and pointed out common pitfalls to avoid. Here we go!

Data studies: How to earn backlinks in your sleep

Our goal is simple - create content that pulls in backlinks on its own. We're not talking about getting links from random sites either, but links from the world’s largest publications such as WSJ, NY Times, and Harvard.

From my experience, data studies are the best way to earn these links without actively chasing them. Alex confirmed this.

Here's why: Millions of news stories are published every single day. The Washington Post alone publishes approximately 1,200 stories, graphics, and videos per day, with about 500 of those produced by their editorial staff.

The New York Times publishes around 230 pieces of content daily, including articles, graphics, and blog posts.

Mail Online, the UK's most prolific news website, publishes an average of 1,490 stories each day, with up to 1,640 stories on weekdays.

And guess what? They all need data and sources to back up their claims and arguments made within their stories (just as I did above with that external link).

This right here is your opportunity. Most of the time, journalists will just Google what they need and grab the first good source they find.

But how do you become that source?

Give journalists exactly what they’re looking for

One of Alex’s favorite examples: An article about cybercrime statistics that gained 65 referring domains within the last 30 days. With no manual outreach being done!

Hold on a second, though. Before you rush off to start working on your next statistics page, let us share something important.

Most people fail at these data studies because the keywords they want to rank for are too vague:

• Cybercrime statistics

• Cybersecurity statistics

• And other general statistic-related terms

Journalists, however, aren’t interested in general statistics. They are looking for one or two main data points to support the article they are writing.

Offering the right data points

You find the right data point by looking at a page’s anchor text. What data point did the journalist quote when they linked back to the article?

Looking at the article above, we see the main data point journalists are interested in is “10.5 trillion”. Over 300 websites have quoted this specific statistic when linking to this article.

If we take a look at the article by Cybersecurity Ventures, we see this data point is related to the global cost of cybercrime.

Cybersecurity Ventures expects global cybercrime costs to grow by 15 percent per year over the next five years, reaching $10.5 trillion USD annually by 2025.

Based on this information, you want to write an article dedicated to these keywords:

• how much does cybercrime cost the global economy each year

• how much money is lost to cybercrime every year

• how much has cybercrime increased

We do NOT want to write an article around “cybercrime statistics”.

Those keywords are too hard to rank for and too vague to bring in backlinks.

Find out what data journalists want and give it to them.

Once you have the data points in mind, you create very direct question to answer articles.

Typically the keywords are:

• "How" - how much does cybercrime cost the global economic

• "Average" - average student loan debt

• "Cost" - cost of gas overtime

• "Number of" - number of active users on Telegram

• "Demographic" - demographics of remote workers

• "Median" - median price of home in Missouri

Addressing specific questions around data is easier to rank for and has a higher link intent than generic statistic content.

Also, you don’t always need to rank number one to get links. Journalists are grabbing multiple sources to again, enhance their argument/claim.

How I’d replicate this

1. Stop wasting money on sketchy link building services or extensive outreach.

2. Conduct data studies yourself or summarize existing statistical data related to your business.

3. Write and optimize one or multiple articles in a way that they naturally attract high-authority backlinks by focussing on a specific number, cost, etc. that journalists might be interested in.

Want to learn the entire strategy?

Check out Alex’s put together a free 5-day email course going over all the details.

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And that’s precisely who I was up against, when creating an SEO strategy for the Swiss SaaS startup, Textshuttle.

Since 2017, Textshuttle has provided AI-translation technology to major Swiss and international companies.

In 2023, they decided to move downmarket to also serve small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and made their translation tool available to the public.

The result was an instant surge in organic visibility. However, without a proper SEO strategy behind the launch, organic traffic numbers remained low—leaving significant potential untapped.

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The issue: Banking everything on the homepage

After a short analysis, I had the problem identified: Textshuttle tried to rank with their homepage for practically everything.

And while the homepage is almost always the strongest page from an SEO perspective, there are limitations to what can be achieved by optimizing it.

Although the Textshuttle tool on the homepage translates between dozens of languages, Google wasn't ranking the homepage for these combinations because it lacked individual, indexable URLs with matching content.

The solution: Creating fragmented programmatic pages

So instead of trying to optimize the homepage to target a number of different queries, I fragmented everything into specific subtopics and clusters by following this process:

1. I gathered all search console data and doubled down on competitor research

   Receiving a lot of impressions and just a few clicks might be an indicator that the targeting or the content on a specific page might need to be adapted. I took this as a basis and completed further research by looking at competitors and related search queries to find attractive niche topics that either had high traffic and/or conversion potential.

2. I clustered everything

   What I suspected seemed to be true: After clustering hundreds of long tail keywords in German and English, I found high impressions but low clicks for language pairings such as “deutsch zu englisch”, “english to german” etc.

   Even though Textshuttle offers these language pairings on their homepage, the content covering these was sparse, and the website just didn’t have enough relevancy to rank for these terms.

3. I created a new page for each language pairing

   Each language pairing then received its own page, which was a slight variation of the homepage. At the core of the new template was again the translation tool, but already configured for the respective language pairing and enhanced with content blocks that could be easily adapted to a programmatic approach.

After launching these pages, most of them immediately started ranking in search results, and traffic gradually shifted from the homepage to the new programmatic pages. While the initial results were promising, I didn’t just want to sit around and wait to see what our programmatic pages could achieve.

Using local relevance to gather high-authority backlinks

With DeepL as one of their main competitors, Textshuttle faced a David vs. Goliath situation. I needed to find new ways to catch up quickly, if wanted to be able to compete.

My secret weapon wasn’t a slingshot, but rather a link building tactic that both built on DeepL's success and used their size to their advantage.

The tactic is simple: I identified which Swiss websites linked to DeepL but not to Textshuttle.

Since Textshuttle is a Swiss startup, spun out off of a Swiss university and covering uniquely Swiss languages such as Swiss German and Romansh, Textshuttle had immediate success contacting Swiss universities and media outlets. All they had to do, was point out the local relevance and uniquely Swiss languages they cover - and they received many backlinks, free of charge.

The result

The joint initiatives of new pages and new links got real traction and the organic traffic doubled in a short period of time! Traffic numbers have stayed up ever since, with the most performant language pairings being Swiss languages, followed by the German - English language pairing.

How I’d replicate this

1. Look for topic opportunities with existing content

   Let’s say you’ve got a page covering “accounting software” and then realize you also receive impressions for subtopics such as “accounting software for smes”, “accounting software for freelancers” etc. If you don’t rank well for these subtopics, it might be because your current page doesn’t fully match the search intent. The solution: Create specific pages covering these edge cases in a holistic way.

2. Use your competitive advantage to build links and authority

   Links still matter. Having only a few high quality backlinks to your website might hurt you, if you’re up against strong competitors. That’s why I make link building and digital PR a stable in many startup and scaleup projects.

   Interested in more link building tactics? Check out our other examples using stock photos or unanswered demand to attract high quality links through passive link building.

Still, when Bronislaw, a local veterinarian in Zurich, knocked on our door looking for support, we didn’t hesitate to take on his project.

I am a dog parent myself and a huge fan of Bronislaw’s.

Taking on this project was a no-brainer.

1. Understanding his unique business model

In early 2022, Bronislaw took the leap into self-employment, launching “HausVet” as a mobile veterinarian service in Zurich.

HausVet's business model offered a clear competitive edge:

He is the only mobile veterinarian in Zurich.

But he lacked visibility and wasn't showcasing this unique advantage effectively.

This presented our first clear opportunity.

2. Exploiting existing optimization potential

Homepage

Many businesses fail to leverage their homepage's potential to rank for competitive keywords—missing a significant opportunity. HausVet was no exception, ranking almost exclusively for brand keywords.

We immediately optimized the homepage for the keyword cluster „mobile vet in zurich" and took over the top spot within weeks, as no one else claimed this service for themselves in the region. This improvement quickly led to more clicks and customer inquiries.

Google Business Profile

Since the keyword "mobile veterinarian" shows strong local search intent and typically triggers a Local Pack in the search results, optimizing HausVet's Google Business Profile for this keyword was essential.

Here's what we did:

1. Keyword in profile name: We added the keyword "mobile veterinarian in Zurich" to the profile name. Google doesn't always allow such additions. But the potential benefit was worth trying. I admit: It feels a bit like old-school SEO, but it still works.

2. Description optimized: We crafted the profile text to highlight that HausVet operates as a mobile veterinarian directly in the city of Zurich. This strengthens local relevance for users.

3. Business data added: We included all essential details: name, address, phone number (NAP), social media links, and operating hours to build a complete and trustworthy profile.

4. Google Business Category set: We selected the category "veterinarian" to ensure proper classification in Google's system.

Although the homepage and business profile generated new traffic, we soon realized this wasn't enough to achieve HausVet's long-term goals.

With only 200 monthly searches, the keyword cluster “mobile veterinarian” had too little search volume to generate the desired reach and demand.

3. Making value visible

As a one-man operation, Bronislaw had limited time and money to invest.

We had one shot at getting this right and generating relevant clicks and inquiries.

Our goal was to find alternative topics that would resonate with the target audience and create a steady stream of new clients.

Working with Bronislaw, we identified two core services:

1. Emergency services

2. Pet euthanasia

Why choose these two? Because this is where he provides most value.

Unlike traditional veterinary practices, HausVet offers stress-free treatment of animals in their familiar environment—a particularly valuable aspect for both emergencies and end-of-life situations.

And we got lucky: Our keyword research revealed significant search volume for queries related to these two topics.

4. Creating customer-focused service pages

To increase HausVet's visibility for emergency services and euthanasia, we created two specialized service pages and placed them right in the navigation to give them the best chances to rank quickly.

When writing the content, rather than just focusing on SEO, we put ourselves in the target audience's shoes, directly addressing their concerns and needs.

Emergency service: No, we didn't start with definitions or lengthy paragraphs just to rank. Instead, we structured the content on the landing page to answer critical questions about emergency veterinary care. This way, website visitors understand what to expect and how to act during stressful situations.

Euthanasia: We speak to pet owners with compassion and clarity on the subject of euthanasia. The landing page emphasizes HausVet's unique value as a mobile veterinarian—allowing the owners to say goodbye to their pet in familiar surroundings. The content was carefully crafted to offer both practical information and emotional support.

The new pages worked even better than expected. In early 2024, we further enhanced these pages by optimizing metadata and refining the content.

The results: HausVet doubled its revenue within a year

Our measures quickly led to tangible results that

1. significantly increased the organic visibility,

2. drove traffic, and

3. increased customer inquiries for hausvet.ch.

The new service pages achieved top rankings for relevant search queries like "veterinary emergency service" and "cat euthanasia zurich" within no time. This led to a significant increase in organic visibility.

The improved visibility in turn had a positive effect on organic traffic: Organic clicks for the keywords we targeted rose significantly. In fact, the Emergency Service and Euthanasia pages now account for about two-thirds of the website's total organic traffic!

Finally, we're happy to say, our SEO strategy impacted not just visibility or traffic but had a clear impact on Bronislaw’s business and customer inquiries, allowing him to double the revenue he made before our collaboration.

How would I replicate this (again)?

1. Clear positioning as a competitive advantage: The positioning of HausVet as a mobile veterinarian in Zurich was key to success and something that many other businesses lack. If you’re a small business just starting out, think first about how you can stand out and where you provide the most value before investing in SEO. Examples:

   • An optician focusing on sports glasses

   • A vegan bakery

   • A psychotherapist focusing on patients with ADHD
     

2. Focus on conversion-oriented keywords: By targeting keywords with clear intent such as "pet emergency zurich," we directly addressed the specific needs of our local target audience, leading to a high probability of conversions and revenue.

   Use one of the many free or low-cost keyword tools to figure out which topics to focus on and which content and pages to create. If we continue with the examples from above, it would mean:

   • “prescription sports glasses”

   • “vegan bakery”

   • “adhd coaching”
     

3. Strengthening local presence: For locally oriented businesses like Hausvet, visibility in the surrounding area is crucial. To boost your local visibility, make sure to optimize your Google Business Profile for a specific keyword and align your content with your target region.

   We also recommend adding the name of your city or region to the keywords you are targeting (e.g. “vegan bakery zurich”), whether that be on your website or in your Google Business Profile.

EnableMe, operated by the MyHandicap Foundation, already offers a wealth of resources: informative articles, genuine stories from people with disabilities, and direct access to a large, supportive community.

Their content aims not just for clicks, but rather to further EnableMe's mission:

To enhance the quality of life for people with visible and invisible disabilities, as well as chronic conditions, and foster inclusion across all life spheres.

Therefore, dry SEO content or AI-generated fluff had no place in our shared project.

To our and EnableMe’s surprise, our strategy proved far more successful than we had ever imagined possible.

We didn't just meet our original traffic goal—we shattered it, exceeding it by 16 times.

Let me walk you through the process that led our strategy to this success, using a practical example.

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1. Understanding the patient journey to uncover relevant topics

To identify the biggest lever for EnableMe, we looked beyond traditional SEO metrics, focusing instead on understanding the patient journey. Working closely with our client, we gained insights that would be almost impossible to gather otherwise, uncovering relevant and sometimes unexpected topics that truly matter to their audience.

A particularly important discovery was the topic "Grad der Behinderung" (disability rating scale). With a monthly search volume of 10,900, this keyword alone indicated a high level of interest among users, making it a priority for content creation.

2. Going beyond a single keyword to find content gaps

Yet, we wanted to dig deeper. Since the topic "Grad der Behinderung" (disability rating scale) is already widely covered, we aimed to find an angle where our content could stand out.

We therefore sought to create more comprehensive content than basic definitions—content that would provide concrete guidance to the audience. Targeting related long-tail keywords allowed us to zero in on niche areas where we could address a specific search intent that broader keywords often miss.

Even without sophisticated SEO tools, there's an effective method for uncovering variations and related search terms: using Google autocomplete.

Typically, head terms have higher search volumes than related long-tail keywords. However, in this case, we discovered something unusual: the long-tail keyword “grad der behinderung tabelle” (disability rating table) showed a higher search volume, proving that users seek detailed, organized information.

Driven by what we found, we further analyzed top-ranking competitor pages. Once again, we wanted to uncover niche opportunities that serve a clear intent and face less competition.

In examining other sites, we found that while some pages ranked for hundreds of keywords, they often failed to consistently appear on the first page. This presented a significant opportunity for us to target relevant long-tail keywords with lower competition and for which no one had yet provided matching content.

For instance, we noticed that the page ranking #1 for “grad der behinderung" (disability rating scale) only ranked #10 for "welcher grad der behinderung bei welcher krankheit tabelle" (disability rating table by illness). This finding literally cried out to be explored further!

As we delved deeper, we realized we'd struck gold. Many competitors only partially addressed users' search intent: people were specifically looking for a table detailing disability ratings by illness—a valuable resource that didn't yet exist.

3. Building on keyword clusters that align with business and audience goals

Being the Sherlocks we are, we uncovered thousands of relevant keywords but needed to narrow down our focus. Using clustering tools, we organized high-potential keywords into groups that tackled various aspects of the disability rating scale, all aligned with the same search intent.

With these keyword clusters in hand, we set priorities based on a blend of SEO potential, audience relevance, and business fit.

• SEO fit: Which keyword clusters have high search volume and relatively low competition?

• Audience fit: Do these keywords match the interests of EnableMe’s target audience?

• Business fit: Can EnableMe create content on this topic that genuinely reflects their expertise and mission?

Only keywords that met all three criteria—SEO, audience, and business fit—were chosen for content development. This ensured each piece aligned with EnableMe’s goals, met user intent, and held the potential to drive substantial traffic.

Clusters like “gdb tabelle” (disability rating table) then guided our content roadmap.

4. Going the extra mile by delivering information gain

As mentioned, many users were searching for a disability rating table by illness—something no other resource offered.

We made it our mission to fill that gap, creating a resource that met users’ exact needs. Our goal was to provide something unique and genuinely helpful—a concept known in the SEO industry as information gain.

This wasn’t easy; gathering unique data took hours of research and close collaboration with EnableMe’s team. But in the end, we succeeded in producing a “never-before-seen” table with real value.

Finally, EnableMe’s experts reviewed and validated the content to ensure accuracy, adding a final layer of credibility and setting it apart as a high-quality, trustworthy resource.

Result: surpassing all expectations

Our efforts paid off! Since the release of the article at the end of 2023, it has seen a rapid rise in both visibility and traffic.

In just 12 months, enableme.de gained over 1 million users through this content piece alone!

Currently, the article generates over 95,000 organic clicks per month—more than the entire project's original annual goal.

In addition, the article gained 7 backlinks without any extra outreach. These links not only boosted its ranking, but also strengthened the authority of the entire domain.

How I'd replicate this

1. Topic discovery: Critical, user-centered thinking beats SEO metrics. Listen to people who know your audience well, dig deep, and challenge the status quo. Try to act as the audience would, and you’ll find the magic ingredient to your SEO success.

2. Topic prioritization: Don't just go by search volume or difficulty—focus on topics that align with your audience and business goals. If it doesn't meet both criteria, it's not worth pursuing in most cases.

3. Content angle: Don't just copy what's already ranking. Find the gaps in current content, and think about how you can fill them with something truly valuable. You don't have to reinvent the wheel; it's enough to inquire a question that hasn’t been answered yet.

4. Writing style: Keep it simple but engaging. Match your audience's tone and level of knowledge. Write as if you were talking to them directly, in a way they'll understand and connect with.

A user asked:

"If someone in Korea searches in Korean, does a .kr domain rank better than a .com domain?"

Gary Illyes replied:

"In general, local domain names, in this case, .kr, perform better because Google prefers content that is locally relevant to the user."

Is Gary right?

We wanted to find out for sure.

Follow us, as we deep dive into our data study to find out if country-specific domains like .ch actually have an advantage in local markets.

TL;DR

• Non-local domains dominate local search results: Covering 40% of the top 10 results, .com domains are the most represented domain type. This shows that global TLDs can perform well in Switzerland and other local markets.

• Non-local domains dominate informational search queries: For knowledge-based keywords, non-local domains show up more often than local domains.

• Local domains dominate transactional search queries: For purchase-intent keywords, .ch domains secure 55% of the top 10 positions.

• Local domains perform well despite lower domain ratings: Local domains require on average 25% lower domain ratings than TLDs to rank well for the same keywords.

  Like our findings? Support studies like these, by sharing it online.

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The methodology

We analyzed 3’200 German search results in Switzerland and focused on keywords in the IT and software industry, as we work with many clients in this space. The keywords we have chosen represent different stages of the search journey to cover both informational and transactional search queries. This should help us reduce distortions from too broad a keyword set, ensuring that the analysis provides realistic insights. For the full break down of our methodology and analysis, please visit digitalleverage.ch (in German).

Our findings

1. International domains dominate Switzerland's top 10 search results

In Switzerland's top 10 search results, .com domains are dominating with a 40% share. .ch and .de domains are equally represented, each making up 23% of the results. This means .ch domains account for just under a quarter of the results.

2. Local domains excel even with lower domain ratings

Interestingly, despite their lower presence in the top 10 search results, .ch domains on average have a domain rating that is 16 points or 25% lower than .com domains. This may indicate that Google places more weight on geographic relevance for Swiss content than on domain rating.

.com domains, on the other hand, tend to rank well in Switzerland only if they have high domain ratings.

However, for almost 80% of all analyzed keywords, international domains dominate.

This suggests that for queries without a clear local relevance, a strong domain rating and high-quality content are more important than locality!

However, a closer look at the results shows that the composition of the SERP varies significantly depending on the topic area.

3. For transactional keywords, local relevance matters

For transactional keywords with a clear purchase intent, such as "web design agency zurich" or "crm consulting," .ch domains dominate and occupy 55% of the top 10 results. One possible reason for this is that Google favors local providers for these types of search queries.

This trend aligns with Google’s increasing focus on local search results, which has become more apparent in recent years through the stronger integration of Local Packs and regional search results.

4. For informational keywords, content is king and beats local relevance

For informational keywords, international domains dominate the top 10 search results, while .ch domains are less frequent and appear lower in the rankings. This is especially true for keywords in the How-to, Wiki, and Listicle categories.

This suggests that for informative content, the quality of the content outweighs geographic relevance.

It’s also interesting to note that .de domains often rank well for informational keywords, even when they have relatively low domain ratings. This further confirms that Google prioritizes content quality and meeting user intent over geographic relevance.

Disclaimer: The underrepresentation of .ch domains in the top 10 results could also be due to the fact that there are simply fewer Swiss pages available. This could skew the results in favor of international domains. However, we did not investigate this assumption further in our study.

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How I’d use this to my advantage

If you are a local service provider looking to maximize organic visibility, traffic and conversions, we recommend the following actions:

1) Use ccTLDs for local markets: A local domain strengthens your local presence and increases your chances of good rankings in your local market, even with a lower domain rating. Leverage this advantage to secure your local relevance and top rankings.

2) Optimize for transactional keywords: Make sure to cover transactional keywords such as "it service provider" as you’ll have a clear advantage over international competitors, allowing you to capture valuable clicks and conversions.

3) Fill gaps in search results with quality content: If many international domains rank for informational keywords, it may indicate that there is currently a lack of high-quality content from local domains. This presents a valuable opportunity to create your own high-quality content and dominate the rankings in your country.

4) Use .com domains for international markets: Opt for generic TLDs like .com if you already have or plan to gain international reach. These offer global flexibility and are well-established in various markets. Although small disadvantages may occur with transactional keywords, the consolidated domain rating provides additional benefits for strong rankings.

Being the SEO nerd I am, I was curious how they did it and just had to take a look under the hood. And I found out that Digitale Neuordnung (DNO) clearly knows what they're doing.

Here are some of their top rankings in Germany:

What surprised me most wasn’t the rankings, though.

It was the realization that there's just a single person behind it all: Andreas Diehl.

So I wondered: How does a single consultant run a high-performing website that outperforms big consulting agencies with ten or even a hundred times the headcount?

Luckily, I got an hour of Andreas’ precious time, and we deep-dived together into the DNO universe. The following SEO example is split up into three sections, which outline Andreas’ unconventional approach to creating content and running the website: Educating, Studying, and Marketing.

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1. Educating

One of his primary motivations for creating content is educating clients.

As a one-person business, he has limited time. Therefore, he wants to use it wisely, and answering the same questions over and over again was not something that fit into that vision.

To address this, he leverages his written content to create alignment and define a common language in order to make face-to-face sessions even more productive.

Therefore, his articles need to do more than just make sense to him—they have to answer clients' most pressing questions in a clear, concise, and easily digestible manner.

The published content became a powerful tool—not only to explain concepts to existing clients but also to give prospective customers a glimpse of what it might be like to work with him.

Why is this relevant for SEO?

Talking to customers helps him find relevant topics and keywords

What Andreas got right, without having to invest time into market segmentation, customer personas, or keyword research, was creating the right content for the right audience. His day to day consulting work creates a steady stream of new, relevant ideas.

The mistake many junior SEO experts make is to spend too much time in tools, and too little interacting with the actual audience. Keyword tools will tell you how often a certain phrase is searched for in Google, but not who is actually entering it. And they unknowingly assume that all traffic is equal.

If you’re running a consulting business, having a couple of CEOs or managers read your article will definitely create more opportunities than having hundreds of students do the same.

Andreas' commitment to educating clients drives him to only create content that delivers real value. There is simply no point in creating carbon copies of what’s already out there.

This means going beyond simple definitions and answering the hard questions. Andreas has learned over the years what these questions are and has found ways to answer them.

How exactly? This is what we look at next.

2. Studying

In order to answer the hard questions, Andreas told us, that he first had to better understand what he knows and doesn’t know. To him, writing is thinking.

One of his favorite quotes stems from Bertrand Russell:

“Everything is vague to a degree you do not realize till you have tried to make it precise.”

Being a very structured thinker is, according to him, one of his biggest assets as a consultant and the reason why he is able to deliver so much value to clients in the first place.

To really understand and then explain things, he likes to break them down into their fundamental parts and rearrange them. This is also where the name of his company stems from. Initially coined by a good friend of Andreas, “Digitale Neuordnung” loosely translates to “Digital Reorganization” and describes exactly what Andreas likes to do most.

Why is this relevant for SEO?

Taking topics apart helps him nail keyword targeting

Breaking things down into their most elementary parts helps Andreas nail keyword targeting without needing to spend time in keyword tools.

When researching and writing, he might start with a topic, just to discover that there are actually two ideas hidden inside it. This discovery inevitably leads him to write two separate articles instead of just one.

Therefore, no two articles are covering the same topic. All of them aim to be mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive (also known as “MECE” in the consulting world): instead of competing for the same keyword, they actually complement each other.

Going down the rabbit hole helps him build topical authority

While content around a certain topic can never be truly exhaustive, as there is always one more article to write, going down the rabbit hole and writing down everything that he knows helps Andreas stand out.

He might have started with writing a single article first, but he didn’t stop there.

So far, he has written 21 content pieces around OKRs. The introduction article explains the OKR method, while all the following content pieces highlight specific aspects that readers find interesting or might be struggling with as they try to apply the framework to their business.

Thus, he has built what SEO experts call topical authority: a website showcasing a high level of expertise around a certain topic that is rewarded by Google with better rankings for all related content.

3. Marketing

Usually, it's a problem when marketing comes last. Not for DNO. Andreas has decided who to write for, what to write about, what's in and out of scope, and which questions need to be answered—all without thinking about marketing specifically.

Contrary to the opinions of many marketers, he doesn't believe in forcing prospects down an artificial marketing funnel and is convinced that prospects convert when they're ready.

Why is this relevant for SEO?

Using content to guide customers toward the right solution

Rather than trying to turn as many people into an MQL via e-book downloads as quickly as possible and bombarding them with sales calls and drip campaigns, Andreas offers a universe of high-quality content that anyone can access, at any time.

(He actually lets you download the OKR e-book without having to enter your e-mail. Crazy!)

A closer look at Andreas' OKR content reveals that he has covered the entire customer journey, from unaware to most aware, offering help whenever someone needs it. Moreover, he offers content for various levels, from beginner to expert.

This ensures that regardless of where you are on your journey, DNO has the right content to help you make the next step.

Once someone is interested in working with him, he again intuitively follows current best practices (that, for example, are echoed in April Dunford’s new book Sales Pitch). Andreas’ content does the selling for him and guides customers to the right solution by helping them make sense of their options (e.g., OKR consulting vs OKR coaching, see below) and showcasing which services might be suited to their individual needs.

While his approach to marketing might be counterintuitive at first, we should not forget that he also invests a lot in web design, development, and UX. Matter of fact, he just relaunched his website a couple of weeks ago, constantly improving the user experience and making it as easy as possible for readers to find new content and take the next steps.

How I’d replicate this

1. Stay close to your customers

   Instead of brainstorming and coming up with fictional personas, we encourage you to talk directly to your customers. I still work on customer projects to this day and additionally run multiple customer interviews every year. If you currently lack direct client contact, interview client-facing colleagues to collect insights or ask them to make an introduction. If you pay close attention, you’ll find out exactly what kind of questions keep customers up at night and what content formats they prefer.

2. Apply critical thinking

   Once you know what to write about, start by getting to know your audience’s language, the hard questions and pain points. Think about what message you want to convey with each content piece and how you intend to structure your story or argument. Again, reach out to subject-matter experts in your company if you’re unsure how to go about this. Too often, marketers find a relevant topic but resort to letting AI write the content. This is lazy thinking and if you’re in the professional service industry like Andreas, your ability to think critically, develop your own point of view and solve hard problems is exactly what clients pay you for.

3. Help people move along the customer journey

   Many customers might initially be interested in solving just a single problem. This is your foot in the door. Andreas has written 21 articles about OKRs. The more finely woven the net of subtopics you cover, the better your chances of being visible with your content and attracting, engaging and converting them. When investing in content, we always advise starting at the end of the customer journey or bottom of the funnel. Even the biggest content hub will not generate any leads if your prospects can’t make sense of the products or services you are offering and how they compare to similar offerings or alternatives.

Special thanks go out to Andreas Diehl, who transparently shared his thinking and processes with me, and Joeline Fruchi, who helped me write and edit this example.

They receive approximately 3.4 million clicks per month and dominate many search results for highly competitive topics such as checking accounts, credit cards, and interest rates.

The value of which one can’t ignore:

Want to know how they built it? I interviewed Robert Senf, Senior Online Marketing Manager at Finanztip, who unveiled their winning formula and highlighted where they zigged while others zagged.

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1. It all started with a clear point of view

The Finanztip story doesn’t start with keyword research.

But with a clear point of view that helped them attract media coverage, topical authority, and gain backlinks. And millions of readers as a consequence of that.

Their POV: When they started in 2014, there wasn’t a lot of accessible, high-quality finance content for consumers available online. Financial content was mostly dry, academic writing. People without a degree or keen interest in finance had nowhere to turn when they needed guidance the most.

Finanztip’s mission became clear: To make financial advice available to the general public. They knew they would only succeed, if they were able to make finance appealing to the masses.

But how did they do this?

2. Shaping their brand with personality

Their first significant chess move was getting Hermann Josef Tenhagen on board, then editor-in-chief at Finanztest, a well-known consumer magazine. Tenhagen was highly respected for his unbiased and thorough analysis of financial products.

He didn’t just bring a unique editorial style and years of experience to Finanztip, but also his reputation and network.

His name opened a lot of doors with existing media houses and publications. He was interviewed frequently and also wrote columns for prestigious publications such as Spiegel and Süddeutsche.

Almost a decade before Google would formulate its E-E-A-T guidelines, Tenhagen and Finanztip zero’d in on building experience, expertise, authority, and trust for their website. And ticking all the boxes for Y-M-Y-L content.

With all the media coverage came hundreds of high-quality backlinks, which significantly increased Finanztip’s domain authority and paved the way to rank for competitive topics later on.

3. Building trust through expertise

Of course, Tenhagen couldn’t have scaled Finanztip just by himself.

Like every major publication, Finanztip needed a team of writers. However, they didn’t leave it up to chance who was writing for them. They exclusively hired people with backgrounds in both journalism and finance. This strategic decision later proved to be crucial for their success.

It might look trivial now, but back in 2014, many companies were following the HubSpot playbook and getting freelancers or guest writers to churn out over-optimized long-form articles to rank for competitive keywords.

The problem with such content: Even though it might rank well, no one wants to read it because it’s just regurgitating what’s already out there. And this definitely wasn’t a viable strategy for a company that wanted to change how the general public makes financial decisions.

So Finanztip doubled down on quality to build trust with their audience.

One of their most-read content pieces is written not by a freelancer but by an expert in banking and stock markets:

4. Leveraging the power of first-hand experience

To be clear: Finanztip was able to set itself apart not just by hiring expert journalists, but because these journalists write about things they know from first-hand experience, not from a university book or a competitor's blog post.

Everything they recommend, whether it's saving tactics or tax software, they have tested themselves. And they break it down into actionable points, so everyone can understand, follow, and apply it to their lives.

Doing so for them didn’t just mean writing long paragraphs. They further added images, tables, and embedded audio and video:

Tenhagen writes on LinkedIn:

“Last year, millions of people were required to submit a property tax return for the first time. However, no one really understood how to do it. In a guide, my colleague Jörg Leine described exactly how to proceed. The result: hundreds of thousands stopped complaining and were able to complete the return themselves.”

There are two SEO lessons hidden in this message:

1. Finding the right topic is not just about search volumes: Unlike many competitors, Finanztip doesn’t solely focus on keywords with the highest search volumes. Instead, they are in tune with the market, understand their target audience, and have an intuitive sense for their questions and pain points.

2. Creating information gain happens when you answer hard questions: In SEO, we consider a content piece to provide information gain when it adds something new to the conversation and differs from what’s already out there. Finanztip addresses real problems, that haven’t been solved before. Their approach leads to higher engagement and better rankings, as they continually attract more readers and backlinks.

Finanztip intuitively made the right decisions by being consumer-focused all the way. So when Robert Senf took over SEO as his responsibility, a lot of content only needed slight optimization to fulfill its SEO potential.

Top ranking articles on Finanztip according to the Ahrefs Tool:

What stands out here is that single articles rank for thousands of keywords and generate hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of traffic each month!

5. Helping users make progress on their journey

An important decision Finanztip made that enabled the rankings we saw above, was adding tools and calculators directly into existing articles. Let’s look at a screenshot of their top-performing page about Tagesgeld:

By integrating a comparison tool into existing content instead of creating a separate page for each tool or calculator, Finanztip now ranks for head terms such as “tagesgeld” as well as more transactional queries such as “tagesgeldkonto” with the same page.

They achieved this by satisfying the informational search intent of what Tagesgeld is and how it works, but also the transactional intent of comparing different offers and providers right there.

Overall, this single page about Tagesgeld now ranks for roughly 2,700 keywords, bringing in over 240,000 clicks and $129k in monetary value each month!

Top keyword rankings of the Tagesgeld page:

Not only did they succeed in satisfying multiple search intents. They also perfectly bridge the gap between informational content and transaction. This is key for a business like Finanztip that financially supports itself with commissions made from affiliate links. By incorporating their recommendations into the content, they minimize the drop-off rate that usually occurs when readers are sent from editorial content to a transactional page.

How I’d replicate this

1. Start with a clear point of view

   Ideally, your POV aligns with how you provide value to customers. If you’re unsure about the value you create, conduct customer interviews. People that bought from you, will best be able to tell you what they valued the most.

2. Shape your brand with personality

   People trust people more than brands. It can definitely pay off to give your brand a face. So, if you'd rather not appear front and center yourself, you need to find someone who wants to take over this part. Often it’s the CEO or founder who takes on this job. In expertise-based businesses, it might also be an industry expert.

3. Build trust through expertise

   Without investing in content, you are unlikely to make SEO a key traffic channel. Here, it’s crucial to get the right writers on board to build trust and connect with your target audience. Invest enough time in finding writers (either in your company or communities online), onboarding them properly, and including them in everything you do. Only when there is a shared vision will writers perform to their full ability.

4. Leverage the power of first-hand experiences

   Ask yourself: What’s out there? What can you add to the discussion? Is it a unique POV? Or repackaging your know-how into a new format that doesn't exist yet? Make your content stand out by providing information gain and at the same time delivering exactly what your audience needs. E.g. I am writing these SEO examples because my clients told me they enjoy reading case studies instead of boring SEO theory.

5. Help users make progress on their journey

   Never lose sight of the final goal. Yes, it’s important to attract an audience first. But if you can’t convert them later, all SEO efforts are wasted. The art of content design lies in recognizing the target audience's next need and guiding them toward it, allowing them to progress on their journey. When in doubt, map the customer journey based on your customer interviews.

   Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

   Special thanks go out to Robert Senf, for sharing his strategies in SEO so openly and providing valuable insights into how Finanztip works.

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Epic Gardening is a niche business that has a very strong YouTube following.

Their YouTube channel features 614 videos and 3.22M subscribers, generating millions of views.

Little did I know that they also heavily invest in SEO. But in hindsight, it makes a lot of sense.

So when I first read about their performance on Shitty SEO Advice, I had to dig deeper.

Steep traffic growth for epicgardening.com

After a period of strong growth, the organic traffic of epicgardening.com reached an all-time high in May 2024.

The website now gets almost three times the organic traffic it did one and a half years ago.

But why exactly? I started digging into Ahrefs.

My goal: Finding out which pages and keywords did well and why – so I could use some of these learnings for my own projects.

Let’s have a look at the top pages by traffic:

One big traffic driver seem to be listicles that cover different types of flowers.

These are set up in almost a “programmatic” way, meaning they follow a specific template structure that can easily be replicated.

The best performing listicles are the ones focusing on color: “white flowers”, “purple flowers”, “blue flowers”… you get it.

But also “hawaiian flowers”, “small flowers”, “winter blooming flowers” etc. are pages that rake up thousands of clicks each month.

Having a closer look at these flower pages, we can see that all this content appears to have been recently published. And was added in one big launch in October 2023 that immediately resulted in a surge of organic traffic.

From the graph above, we can tell that roughly 60 pages were published in one day.

So I immediately wondered if they used AI to create that much content in such a short amount of time.

The acquisition play

While researching, I found this LinkedIn post by the founder, Kevin Espiritu:

That explains the sudden jump in thousands of pages.

And nope. It wasn’t AI content.

Espiritu adds: “[Jason Wilson] built a gardening blog to an impressive scale in a short period of time, and most importantly to me - he did it the right way.”

My interpretation of the right way: It’s sustainable traffic that also converts.

Espiritu confirms this by stating that doubling their blog traffic also led to double the revenue from that site section. This clearly demonstrates that integrating SEO and content can significantly boost revenue.

Follow me, as I break down their strategy and how you can apply it to your own business:

How would I replicate this?

Let’s say you don’t have the budget to acquire a new website, and need to start from scratch.

How would you go about it?

You can set up yourself for success by:

1. Picking the right keywords

2. Covering the right search intent

3. Creating helpful content

4. Building a bridge to your product

1. Picking the right keywords

What Epic Gardening does well:

They speak the language of their customers.

People are looking to buy flower seeds for their garden, but are unsure which strain to pick.

And since most of them probably don’t know the names of the flowers they like, they just search by attribute like color, size, etc.

Here we see keywords, monthly search volumes, cost per click and difficulties for PPC and SEO respectively:

In short: Your customers might search in ways for your product that don’t align with how you talk about it internally. But it’s your job to uncover this.

2. Covering the right search intent

Epic gardening not only went for the right keywords.

They also nailed the search intent, meaning they understood what information people typing in “blue flowers” were looking for, namely pictures of flowers and basic information around how to grow these. And they choose the right content format accordingly.

Since Google tracks how people click and interact with content, only websites that do a good job at satisfying that search intent will effectively be able to rank.

Sounds complicated?

The good news is, getting this right is as simple as googling what ranks and identifying what people want.

In this case, it’s fairly easy. All the best ranking posts are listicles with pictures and information about each plant variety.

And the more flowers you can list, the more likely people are to click and the longer they engage with your content, which are important signals to Google.

But more is not necessarily always better.

3. Creating helpful content

When it comes to the content, I actually believe the Epic Gardening website could be improved:

Once landing on the listicle, the experience of scrolling through these flowers is not ideal. It might take a long time to find your best match.

This is because they are no clear evaluation or comparison criteria apart from what the flowers look like. While visual appearance might be one of the most important criteria, when deciding which flowers to grow, I would propose to add the functionality to sort flowers by climate, level of gardening experience, purchasing price etc. for better browsing and finding the desired flower quicker.

I called this step “creating helpful content” rather than “writing helpful content” to put an emphasis on the fact that content design is just as important as the final wording.

(Also, the amount of banner ads that are shown in between the content is shocking, deferring from the main content. Here I would try to reduce the amount and/or placement of these ads.)

4. Building a bridge to your product

What Epic Gardening is also excellent at, is moving potential customers along in their customer journey.

Whenever someone has found the flower they like, Epic Gardening links directly to a “How to” page that provides all information about how to grow this specific strain of flower.

However, I still see some potential for further content optimization when it comes to boosting conversions.

Because, while the shop is easily accessible through the main navigation when reading editorial content, there are no links pointing to specific products that could help me with my first attempt at growing balloon flowers.

For example, to seedling trays: They mention seedling trays in the how-to-article and also offer them in their shop. But there is no link from the editorial article to the shop and readers need to search for these products by themselves, should they decide they want to buy some.

This is unfortunate, as first-time growers might feel overwhelmed when choosing the right products.

And while I am unaware of how much product sales (versus banner ads) contribute to Epic Gardening’s bottom line, the fact that the founder himself stated that “Epic Gardening is primarily a product company” leads me to think that tying content and products together even more closely, might generate even more revenue for them.

Many websites are experiencing something similar: often, larger websites accumulate numerous low-value pages. In turn, this makes it harder for Google and users to find the pages that actually provide valuable content. This is especially true today, with the web being flooded by AI-generated content.

Recently, I came across a talk by David Lewis, Trainline’s Senior Tech SEO Manager, detailing Trainline’s multi-year project to declutter their website. By deleting 130 million pages, they managed to significantly increase their average position on Google.

Faulty language setup caused an overflow of low-value pages

Trainline is a popular online platform that allows users to book train and bus tickets across Europe.

The platform is available in multiple languages. In the past, whenever someone searched for a specific connection on the website, the corresponding page would be created in 5 languages.

However, this setup was causing one problem: they had not anticipated the demand for local train and bus connections. For instance, if someone in Germany wanted to take a bus from Freiburg to Crailsheim (a small town in Germany), a page with the route would be created in German, French, English, Spanish, and Italian.

These pages didn’t provide any value. For example, no Spanish users were looking for that connection. As a result, Trainline’s website soon overflowed with numerous low-value pages.

Can too many pages cause issues?

David Lewis, the head of SEO at Trainline, suspected that this setup might lead to crawling issues.

After looking at the crawl data, it was clear that the bloat of low-value pages was causing big issues. Google was crawling valuable pages too infrequently, typically once every 1 to 3 weeks. 36% of all monthly crawls were conducted on pages that held no value for users – a massive waste of crawl budget.

Inadequate internal linking made the problem even worse. Only 36% of pages were covered, leaving 46% as orphaned pages.

Trainline's 2-step strategy to enhance SEO performance

After discovering the severity of the issue, Trainline's team set 3 clear goals:

• Every page should be accessible through internal links.

• 90% of the pages crawled by Google should offer valuable content.

• The average position of the optimized* URLs should be improved.

*Optimized URLs refer to URLs that were not previously included in the internal linking architecture but are now being integrated into it as part of the project.

To achieve these goals, Trainline proceeded in two steps.

Step 1: Optimization of the internal linking structure and decluttering of some pages

To achieve 100% internal link coverage, Trainline built a new internal linking architecture. The “Looking for more ideas?” component was created to implement this new structure.

The first two columns direct authority to the most critical train connections, improving Trainline’s ranking potential for the most relevant keywords. The last column displays random routes, serving to finalize internal linking and ensure that all pages are interconnected.

At the same time, 1.5 million low-value pages were orphaned, hoping that these will no longer be crawled and indexed by Google in the future.

After 6 months and an additional 5 million deleted pages, an improvement in crawl performance could be observed. But it wasn’t enough.

Step 2: Removal of another 125 million pages

During the project, the Google crawl stats report was launched, and even more low-value pages were discovered. Trainline’s website had a duplicate version of every single UK train times page, across 6 subdomains.

These legacy pages were created before a migration but forgotten afterward. Once Trainline discovered the huge amount of crawl requests going to these subdomains, they decided to delete the affected 125 million pages straight away.

The outcome: the average position on Google improved significantly

After a total of 15 months, cleaning up the website, selecting useful content, and improving internal linking have led to the following results:

• The percentage of valuable pages crawled by Googlebot has increased significantly from 64% to 87%.

• 3x more URLs are now crawled by both Googlebot and Botify every month.

  This means that the valuable pages are linked to within the website (crawled by Botify) and are actually found by Google (crawled by Google).

• The average crawl depth has decreased from 7 to 5.

• Most importantly: Orphaned URLs, which were internally linked for the first time, have experienced an average position improvement of 2, leaping from Position 8 to 6.

This project was conducted a while ago. Looking back, however, it is evident that the boost in the average position of the pages helped generate more organic traffic in the long term. According to Ahrefs, organic traffic has been steadily rising since April 2020.

How would I replicate this?

If you’re in charge of a website that features thousands or even millions of URLs, I suggest going about pruning it the following way:

1. Identify potential

   Use the Google Search Console and tools like Botify, JetOctopus, or Screaming Frog to assess the problem's scope. Discuss this internally with other stakeholders. Remember, SEO is just one channel; others need consideration too.

2. Prioritize ruthlessly

   Taking everything above into consideration - you might want to cut any page that hasn't recorded any organic sessions in the last month. This is because any page that gets crawled but doesn't generate traffic can negatively affect the performance of other pages.

3. Follow a strict logic

   When making cuts, make sure you follow a clear logic. You don’t want to start deindexing pages randomly. There should be specific rules to keep order and to make it easy for anyone else working on the website to understand your decisions.

4. Monitor your performance

   When making major changes to how Google crawls your website, it's important to closely monitor the impact and react quickly if things don't go as expected.

We can’t be certain how well Canva is converting their traffic, but they must do it at a reasonable rate.

While search may be just one of their marketing channels, the 162 million monthly organic clicks surely had a significant impact on growing their user base to approx. 135 million users in 2023.

Today, we will analyse Canva's SEO strategy using the example of “resumes” to understand how they target customers throughout the search journey.

Know your audience

The people Canva is targeting have clearly identified their problem (”I need to design a professional resume”), experience certain pain points (”I don’t have design skills / software is complicated”), and have a common goal (”landing the next job”) that they want to achieve.

If we break it down according to the jobs-to-be-done (JTBD) framework, it might look something like this:

📦 Product: Design software

🔧 Job: Design a professional resume

😊 Done: Land my dream job

Canva specifically targets people without extensive design knowledge. In this way, they've filled a gap in the market. Of course, there are still many alternatives, including Photoshop, Figma, Word, PowerPoint, and other design software.

However, by creating the following pages, Canva doesn't wait for users to start comparing software solutions. Instead, they engage them earlier in the customer journey, significantly increasing their chances of becoming the preferred solution.

Most of these content formats sit within the "solution aware" phase of the customer journey:

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Canva uses the following content formats (among others):

• Templates

• Tools

• How To’s

• Converters

Templates

Why design something from scratch if it has already been done by someone else?

Moreover, individuals with limited design skills may not know where to start. Many searching for "resume templates" will be seeking inspiration before proceeding to the next step. The template page type directly addresses this search intent.

Canva has optimized these pages not only for search engines but also for users. They clearly address the goal or desired outcome ("land your dream job"). Sure, that's basic copywriting for the pros out there, but it's often disregarded, so I'm glad they paid attention to this.

Also, Canva didn’t just create one resume template page, but subpages for:

• simple resumes

• modern resumes

• professional resumes

• teacher resumes

• college resumes

• academic resumes

• tech resumes

• etc.

And of course, they didn’t stop at resumes but also created templates for presentations, invitations, business cards etc.

By multiplying the number of template types with the number of subcategories, we can estimate that there are well over a thousand different template landing pages!

This pays off big time for Canva. According to ahrefs.com, across all languages, the website generates 11 million organic clicks a month with templates alone!

Tools

Of course, some people just want to jump right in and design themselves instead of browsing templates first. Canva has a resume builder for that.

Moreover, for certain design deliverables, such as logos or avatars, a creator tool might make more sense than a template.

Here again, the long tail of design deliverables reigns supreme.

And it’s really this long tail of design applications that helps users complete a wide variety of jobs-to-be-done, therefore creating a continuous stream of high-quality traffic.

How-tos

Further away from actually using a design software, but still solution-aware, are people looking for general instructions on how to create a resume.

The how-to article answers this search intent, and Canva does an impressive job at ranking in Google:

Since we don’t just want to attract, but also engage and convert customers, how-to articles should be written and designed in a product-led way and always incorporate the existing tools and templates as much as possible.

Canva again does a good job at this (even though the links didn’t work for me at the time of this writing).

Converters

What about people who have already designed their resumes?

Even if part of the audience is not actively looking for design software, we can still catch their attention and cater to their immediate needs. Converters are a viable tool for this.

Users with existing resumes might need to convert their files into a different format. By providing an easy-to-use converter, Canva still gets to introduce them to their platform.

(Technically speaking, converters are tools too. Since they don't directly aid with the completion of the JTBD, I have made this distinction here. Through converters, Canva can target people who may still be unaware or not actively seeking alternative solutions yet.)

Opinion: I believe Canva could potentially be more aggressive here by directly linking to templates and tools, making you rethink your current design and want more.

How would I replicate this?

1. Cater to your audience

   Canva's content strategy is tailored towards individuals with limited design skills, filling a market gap. They’ve done their homework and know exactly what their audience wants to achieve. Without clear knowledge of your users’ needs, goals, and abilities, your search traffic won’t convert. Just last month, we’ve completed five customer interviews at our agency that unearthed nuggets that we might not have found with traditional keyword research.

2. Work your way backward in the search journey

   Canva ranks #1 or #2 for “design tool” (right next to Figma) in large markets like the UK and US. Determine your own head terms but understand, at the same time, that ranking for these head terms doesn’t mean the work is done. By creating product-led templates, tools, how-tos, and converters, Canva continuously provide value to users at various stages of the search journey. Often, it's exactly this supporting content that creates high topical authority and allows websites to rank for these head terms in the first place.

3. Pay attention to the long tail

   Canva effectively targets a long tail of search queries by creating specific subpages and templates for various niches and design deliverables. Like Canva, we advise going after the long tail of queries, catering to a wide range of needs and capturing high-quality traffic. Because in general, the more specific the query, the bigger the pain or buying intent.

In early 2020, the no-code movement was just gaining traction, and Daniel knew that he wanted to be at the forefront of it. A key part of this meant being visible for important keywords around no-code to become a thought leader in the space.

The challenge: Most SEO tools only showed very little search volume for queries around no-code. It was confusing to both of us how everyone on social media and in online communities was talking about no-code, but keyword tools showed only a few hundred searches at most.

Instead of waiting for a better opportunity, we decided that we couldn’t just rely on keyword tools, but had to take a leap of faith. We made a bet that the search volume was already present, but it was not accurately reflected in these tools.

So we got started by pairing his customer insights with general trends on social media platforms like LinkedIn and X (then Twitter) and online communities like Reddit to get a deeper understanding of what content people were looking for.

Daniel’s target audience consisted of solopreneurs and small startup teams that just started out and wanted to build a first prototype. And while they were definitely interested in tools, templates, and how-tos, many were also looking for inspiration. Specifically, they were seeking case studies and examples of successful companies that had done before what they were about to do.

There weren't many good resources at that time, so we conducted some more research, reached out to Daniel’s network, and compiled a list of interesting no-code startups. We then turned this information into a listicle, named the 10 most impressive startups built with no-code.

No one had done this properly before.

And so the article quickly picked up traffic.

More importantly: It got 64 organic backlinks from 29 different domains.

And this is the great thing about being first: We didn't have to invest much into promotions or manual outreach. It was all about capturing unanswered demand.

Sure, it was a gamble to some extent — but it paid off.

And of course, this wasn’t the only article we published, but our most successful one. And the beauty of it was that all other articles benefited from the links that this one listicle got.

How would I replicate this (again)?

1. Find alternative sources of inspiration
   Don’t just rely on search volumes provided by SEO tools. The data might not be accurate and/or lagging. Use as many internal and external sources to guide your decisions, brainstorm together, and find new topic ideas. Just last month, we’ve completed five customer interviews that unearthed nuggets which we might not have found with traditional keyword research.

2. Make strategic bets
   Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket. But at the same time, don’t just play it safe either. Create content that you know will be effective, but also go after some riskier opportunities with the potential for significant rewards if you succeed. We advise laying out your content calendar for the next six months and picking a split between high- and low-risk formats that works for you.

3. Create something new
   A lot of SEO content just regurgitates what’s already out there. By creating copycat content, you won’t attract links, and you generally will have a hard time driving traffic. Because everything you say has already been said before. Always look for gaps and provide value (information gain) when you can. Usually, this means, creating content which no competitor has created before. Brainstorm with your team on how to take a content piece to the next level, and also look at successful companies in different industries or countries for inspiration.

PS: The initial article was moved from no-code.ch to huggystudio.com as part of a larger website relaunch and consolidation effort (see 301 redirect in screenshot) but still creates value for Daniel and his agency, HuggyStudio, to this day.

PPS: Want to achieve similar results? Book a free consultation now.

To our surprise, we found a significant discrepancy between Google's recommended best practices and real-world observations.

Here's what we discovered.

The power of accordions

Accordions are an essential tool for enhancing website usability, especially for interfaces with a lot of information. However, they not only improve user experience but also benefit SEO. By using accordions thoughtfully, you can direct user attention, provide additional information, and create a dynamic interaction that aligns well with SEO goals.

Navigating SEO considerations

Although accordions can enhance the user experience, they can also introduce SEO complexities. Technical issues related to JavaScript usage might impact search engine crawlers' ability to access hidden content. It is also critical to maintain mobile responsiveness, as Google highly values mobile-friendly design for ranking. Additionally, ensuring accessibility for users with disabilities is not only good practice, but also indirectly influences SEO performance.

Decoding Google's perspective on accordion content

Google's approach to accordions has evolved over time. While they initially favored visible content, they later acknowledged the importance of hidden content for indexing and ranking purposes. As early as 2016, Gary Illyes from Google stressed that collapsed content carries the same weight as visible content in rankings.

This stance was reaffirmed by John Mueller during a Google Webmaster Central session in 2020. He clarified that hidden content, including fold-out text, on mobile pages is considered for indexing as long as it exists within the HTML and may become visible to users after expanding the elements. This underscores Google's commitment to valuing all content equally for search visibility.

Practical insights from case studies

Now, let's shift our focus from theories to actual results. While theoretical discussions provide valuable insights, practical experiments often paint a more accurate picture of how things work in the real world.

Case study 1: impact of unveiling hidden text on SEO performance

SearchPilot recently conducted a case study on Iceland Groceries' website. The study aimed to test the impact of revealing content that was previously hidden behind tabs or accordions. This concealed content included essential information like product details and nutritional facts.

The results of this study were quite intriguing. When the previously hidden information was made visible immediately, the number of organic sessions increased by 12%.

This surprising result challenges Google's claims that hidden content carries equal weight in terms of rankings. It indicates that, in practice, making information visible on the webpage can significantly enhance the visibility of the site in search engine results.

Case study 2: deciphering google's algorithm for hidden text

Another study from rebootonline.com arrived at a similar conclusion. The case study examined how Google's ranking algorithms treat hidden text on webpages, with a focus on various methods of hiding text for design purposes.

The experiment involved creating twenty new domains, each with a slightly different website design, and testing four scenarios:

• Scenario 1: Text is fully visible

• Scenario 2: Text is hidden within a <textarea> element in the HTML

• Scenario 3: Text is hidden via CSS

• Scenario 4: Text is hidden via JavaScript

The experiment lasted six months and produced significant results. Google's algorithms consistently favored fully visible text.

The study found that text hidden through CSS or JavaScript had significantly lower rankings compared to other methods. This highlights the importance of visible text in Google's algorithms and emphasizes the need for practical experimentation when developing SEO strategies.

Note: It was brought to our attention, that the <textarea> element which should hide content wasn't implemented correctly in this study. The findings regarding CSS and JS remain valid however. See the comments of this article for more context.

How would I use this know-how today?

Wondering if it's time to say goodbye to accordions? Not quite. Accordions are a fantastic tool for streamlining information on your website and keeping things neat. However, before using hidden text elements, there are a couple of considerations to keep in mind.

1. Prioritize content elements
   Be careful of hiding important content from users and Google. Example: It’s usually okay to use accordions for FAQ content at the end of a product page, but we wouldn’t advise you to hide product descriptions. When in doubt, we recommend implementing critical text components as visible text.

2. Understand users and Google alike
   Implement accordions thoughtfully and only where they truly provide added value for users and enhance the UX. Google's algorithms prioritize visible text over content hidden with CSS or JavaScript. Balance UX and SEO wisely, when choosing to implement accordions.

3. Experiment and validate
   Search engines often behave inconsistently and treat different use cases differently. To determine what works best for you, we recommend conducting your own experiments to measure the impact of revealing or hiding content on search visibility.

4. Balance theory and practice
   Real-world outcomes may not always align with theoretical expectations in SEO. Striking the right balance between theory and practical experimentation is crucial for making informed decisions in this ever-evolving landscape.

RTINGS.com is an affiliate website that started by reviewing televisions.

This is something that continues to have a great effect today. Its “tv” subfolder, has over 2.5K pages and is responsible for 22% of the website’s total organic traffic. It generates almost 2 million clicks per month.

Let’s dive into how this works!

1. Understanding consumers’ search behaviour

Product reviews are at the center of everything RTINGS.com does.

And product review content does in fact drive a lot of traffic. But that’s not the full story.

The staff at RTINGS.com really understand how people search. And how to match the underlying search behaviour with the right content.

In general, they identified four categories of search queries. People usually look for:

1. Reviews of individual products

   • e.g. LG B8 OLED Review

2. Best of products

   • e.g. 6 best gaming TVs in summer 2023

3. Comparison of products

   • e.g. LG C2 OLED vs LG C3 OLED

4. Educational articles

   • e.g. What is Input Lag

Each one of these content types answers a specific search intent or search behaviour in the customer journey.

Often people first search for the best product within a category e.g. “best gaming TV”, then look at specific products that were recommended and finally compare the preferred product against its nearest competitors, before making a final decision.

Where RTINGS.com really differentiated itself, is by recognizing that people looking for similar products can have wildly different search criteria.

So they haven’t just created content around the cheapest or best TV.

They created content around TVs by:

• Price

• Size

• Features

• Type

• Usage

• Resolution

They even created a page for “best TVs for bright rooms”…

2. Combining a clear site architecture with clever internal linking

Covering a variety of content types can quickly become chaotic.

However, RTINGS.com maintains a clear site architecture that keeps everything in its proper place.

This is accomplished by directly mirroring the search behavior of their audience.

Here’s an overview of the TV hub’s information architecture:

A site structure shouldn’t just look nice on paper. You also need to make sure it works in reality.

That’s where your internal linking strategy comes into play.

Internal links not only pass link equity but also improve discoverability and create a delightful experience for the reader.

This screenshot shows, that even product pages deep within the site structure receive thousands of internal links.

RTINGS.com achieves this with the following tactics:

• Linking from category to product pages and vice versa

• Linking to related articles and products

3. Creating the content your customers want

Of course, all of this is useless if your content is poor.

But not to worry, RTINGS.com has this covered.

Helpful

RTINGS.com does some of the most thorough product testing of all review sites. Even the famous Wirecutter cannot keep up when it comes to their R&D Lab! They have a specific testing methodology for each product type and are very committed to their testing standards.

Big Advantage: By following a clear methodology for every product review, all products within a specific category become directly comparable. This enables RTINGS.com to target thousands of comparison keywords without having to create any additional content. Now, that's programmatic SEO at its finest.

Up-to-date

All of their content is regularly reviewed, and this activity is logged in detail. Again, they seem to really care to get it right.

They also feature the current date or season in their title tag, H1, etc.

Even more important: They are often the first ones to conduct a review and launch product pages, even when the products are not fully tested yet. As a result, they will have their content indexed by Google first, receive more clicks, and likely gather more backlinks than their competition.

Authoritative

In 2023, E-E-A-T signals are crucial, particularly for YMYL topics like expensive consumer goods.

Transparently declaring who is behind the review builds trust with Google and consumers.

To be fair, their tester profiles could probably use an update, but that is a high-level complaint.

How would I replicate this?

Whether you run an affiliate site or are simply looking to gain a competitive advantage, you can apply the following learnings to boost the SEO performance of almost any website.

1. Research
   Determine the various methods people use to search for your products and services. Don't hesitate to conduct customer interviews, investigate and dive deep, even into niche areas.

2. Architecture
   Your site structure should ideally reflect how people search. This is often best for both Google and users. Utilize internal links to drive link equity to important pages.

3. Content
   Knowing how people search allows you to create better content that is tailored to consumers' needs. RTINGS.com uses that know-how to create the most thorough review content available, and always goes the extra mile. They are proud of what they do, and you can feel it when reading their content. Even though they are an affiliate website, they take no shortcuts. Ever.

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A big thank you goes out to Himanshu Gupta who first wrote about RTINGS.com and heavily inspired this SEO example.

In the US, that’s a trillion-dollar industry!

Companies rarely gain significant SEO market share in such spaces.

However, this didn’t stop the people behind progressive.com.

Here is an example of how the company made it to the top of the SERPs!

(This was inspired by Kevin Indig’s article about the same company. After reading through his findings, I wanted to learn more and started my own deep dive.)

Progressive used three tactics that built on each other:

1. They decluttered their website and stopped content decay

2. They built topical authority around car insurance

3. They heavily invested in brand awareness to build trust

1. Prune and declutter your website

The following chart shows how Progressive gained more traffic over time, while the number of indexed pages dropped dramatically.

Progressive implemented several measures to declutter their website. It is unclear whether this decision was made for technical reasons or to focus only on topically relevant pages on the domain, but it certainly helped the company's SEO efforts.

Why is this important? I believe that each website will have less crawl budget and rendering resources available in the future, as the volume of content explodes with new capabilties AI tools offer. Google stated a while back that “having many low-value-add URLs can negatively affect a site's crawling and indexing.” Progressive has embraced this idea.

My learnings: Make sure to prune your content on a regular basis:

• Remove content that doesn’t provide value-added for the users.

• Remove content that doesn’t generate traffic.

• Remove content with poor engagement from users.

• Remove duplicated content.

• Remove or update outdated content.

2. Build topical authority

When it comes to content strategy, Progressive seems to do a few things right.

For one, they heavily invested in building topical authority around “car insurance”.

Currently, the company has a dozen landing pages and a few hundred answer pages all focusing on car insurance and therefore covering the whole customer journey.

If we look at the estimates on ahrefs.com, we can see that Progressive created 1155 answer pages that drive around 2.7 million organic clicks a month with topics such as:

• Does temporary car insurance exist?

• Do I need rental car insurance?

• Why is your check engine light on?

This is what we would call "problem aware" content. Progressive targets people who have issues with their car or are unsure if they need insurance down the road.

What stands out to me is that they don’t just create bland FAQ content. Instead, all answers try to genuinely help readers and guide them along their journey to find the right solution.

Very interesting: Progressive covers one overarching topic with one page and stacks multiple related Q&A on top of each other instead of generating one URL per question. This seems to work well for them.

They also created 21 landing pages that drive 1 million organic clicks a month around topics such as:

• Compare car insurance rates

• Cheap car insurance

• Types of car insurance

One of my favourite landing pages is the one targeting the keyword “cheap car insurance”.

Having worked with insurance and finance companies in the past, I am aware that many want to avoid using words such as "cheap" on landing pages or even websites entirely. Progressive doesn’t and gives potential customers exactly what they are looking for.

I love it!

My learnings: When creating landing pages, don't just focus on what you offer. Instead, put yourself in your customers' shoes and understand what they are asking for, e.g. “cheap car insurance”. When writing the content, figure out what information or reassurance they need so they can advance in their customer journey.

3. Invest in brand awareness

Progressive also invested in Google ads in the last few months.

Even though the budget has decreased significantly since April 2023, Progressive still outspends its nearest rivals by a factor of 10!

It seems to me that Progressive is looking to increase their brand awareness in search.

Why is this important? Because you probably wouldn’t buy car insurance from a brand that you’ve never heard of before.

This is where the “mere exposure effect” comes into play.

The mere exposure effect is a psychological phenomenon where people tend to like things more if they have been exposed to them before.

Studies have shown that…

• CTR will be higher if people recognize you,

• and people tend to like brands more, if they see them more often.

My learnings: Even though Progressive was in a David vs. Goliath scenario, they still had millions of advertising dollars at their disposal to create brand awareness. In highly competitive industries such as car insurance, you cannot approach SEO with blinders on. You need cross-functional teams that can think outside the box and look at search and related channels holistically to drive clicks and revenue.

The first thing we did was look for alternatives.

People always compare, and solutions rarely exist in isolation.

This is something we can leverage in SEO and content marketing.

By creating content around keywords such as "google slides alternative," competitors of Google Slides can be present when we are most frustrated and likely to consider switching.

And even if the search volume of “google slides alternative” isn’t that high, it's still one of the best keywords to rank for because there is a real intent to purchase.

A competitor's alternative page that receives 100 clicks a month most likely converts more users than a blog post that targets thousands of clicks.

Podia, a platform for online courses, nails this strategy.

We first came across this example from Harry Dry, so shoutout to him!

The podia example

Most SaaS businesses create three to five “alternative” pages.

However, Podia has built a total of 45 alternative pages.

They are going after each individual competitor.

But that doesn’t mean that all their content is copy paste. Far from it.

All pages do, however, follow a similar template, which we’ll break down in the next paragraphs.

Follow us as we show how Podia cleverly guides its audience through the customer journey from searching for alternatives to direct comparison and, ultimately, migration.

Step 1: Bring the pain

Alternative pages can help you present yourself as the solution to your competitors' problems. Podia takes advantage of this opportunity in every way possible.

Each headline focuses on the reasons why a person might consider migrating away:

How did Podia uncover it?

According to Annie Maguire, who wrote the initial copy for these pages, they “started speaking with Podia customers who had switched from a competitor platform to us”. Instead of simply comparing prices or features that anyone could look up online, she emphasized tangible differences based on real user experiences.

Step 2: Establish yourself as the first choice

Once we are ready for it, Podia establishes itself as the top choice for those seeking an alternative to a competitor's product.

This is nothing out of the ordinary. However, Podia stands out by providing a direct link to a comparison page that discusses the two solutions in more detail.

This is a smart move that narrows down the number of choices significantly.

Rather than comparing Kajabi to 12 other alternatives, it's now a duel between Kajabi and Podia.

Step 3: Highlight the benefits

Upon landing on the comparison page, Podia doesn’t hesitate to highlight the pain points and respective benefits of switching to their new solution.

Step 4: Build trust with testimonials

Even their testimonials are specific. For example, the Kajabi comparison page features a customer who previously migrated from Kajabi to Podia.

Step 5: Face the last objections

This is the final piece of the puzzle. Podia created a specific page, that demonstrates how easy a migration can be and addresses any remaining objections their audience may have before making the final switch. They even offer to take care of everything for you!

Results

Does Podia's strategy actually work? Well, according to Annie Maguire “they're converting visitors to trial accounts at over 10%.” So the answer is a resounding yes!

Last week, we talked to Ryan, who runs Content Lift, about how he helped Rewind double its installs.

Initial Situation/Business Problem

Rewind had just acquired a new app that backs up and restores GitHub repositories.

The executive team at Rewind was expecting big things after buying this new software.

Despite high expectations, revenue didn't hit the forecasted targets.

Insight

When Ryan talked to the team, he found out that something was off, as the sales team was struggling to convert new leads into customers.

So, Rewind asked Ryan to conduct customer research to better understand the actual buying journey.

When he got to work, one of the biggest discoveries he made right away, was that Rewind was focusing on the wrong buyer!

So far their marketing was targeting software developers – but it was really people in dev ops that experienced the biggest pain.

A small detail that turned out to be a very important finding.

“When you invest in content marketing, you want to be sure your target audience really needs your product, but that there is friction on the journey, which you can remove. If people complete the customer journey but do not make a purchase, it is likely that you have a targeting or positioning problem.”

– Marco Schlauri (Digital Leverage)

How and Why It Works

Ryan further realized that the target audience was using custom made solutions to back up GitHub data.

However, when GitHub made changes to the API, these custom scripts stopped working.

This was an obvious pain. One that Rewind decided to solve by creating helpful content.

“In SaaS, it’s well known that new apps often replace patched systems of custom code, sheets, or plugins customers have been using to get by. And often, these people search online for help if they run into issues with their current solution. A great opportunity for SEOs.”

– Marco Schlauri (Digital Leverage)

By identifying these pain points, a long list of long-tail keywords around problems with GitHub emerged.

And Rewind created blog content around these issues like “how to make a git backup” or “how to write a github backup script”.

The advantage of such product-led content is that it also provides an excellent opportunity to showcase your own solution.

Not only is it easier to reach the right audience, but it’s also easier to convert them, by making your product the most appealing solution.

A blog article on rewind.com about customer challenges:

Results

By focusing on the right buyer persona and creating content initiatives around the problems the dev ops teams were facing, Rewind was able to increase traffic and conversions.

As per data from ahrefs.com, 8 of the top 10 pages that generate organic traffic run on the blog:

By refocusing on the right audience and then creating pain-point driven content along the customer journey, Rewind was able to double the number of product installs.

“What I love about this case, is how refocusing yourself on your ideal customer and conducting interviews can unearth their biggest pain points, which not only drive traffic, but tend also to convert at a much higher rate”.

– Marco Schlauri (Digital Leverage)

More about Content Lift and the case study can be found here: https://www.contentlift.io/my-one-case-study

Reaching out and writing guest articles can be really time-consuming. Acquiring backlinks manually, one by one, can cost you countless hours.

However, organic link building is not much easier. To attract links from relevant sources, you need to have something novel, newsworthy, and original.

The stock photo backlink tactic

Luckily, I came across the following method on marketingexamples.com that provides an alternative route around building links:

The subject of this mini case is Tower Paddle Boards - you guessed it, a manufacturer of paddle boards.

After a photoshoot, Max, who was in charge of marketing, uploaded some of the images to Unsplash, a platform that helps people find free-to-use stock photos.

Months later, the images have millions of views and thousands of downloads!

This may sound great. but how does this help with building links?

Let me explain:

Max realized that if people were downloading the images, they might also be using them on their websites.

To track down all the sites featuring Tower Paddle Board photos, he used reverse image search tools like the one from Google.

Find backlink targets through reverse image search

The photo below alone has 1,437,642 views and 6,655 downloads!

And it was used on countless websites.

Now, Unsplash images are free to use, and there’s no obligation to link.

However, if you dare to reach out and ask, most people are happy to help.

So, Max sent an email to each website, asking for a photo credit AND a link back to their website, towerpaddleboards.com.

Results: Doubling the amount of referring domains

When first deploying this tactic, he “only” received four links.

Over time, the number of referring domains has constantly grown.

Of course, not all of the growth can be attributed to this one tactic, but it certainly made a difference.

How can you use this tactic yourself?

We thought about how we could utilize this technique at Digital Leverage.

Now, we are an SEO-focused content marketing agency, not a paddleboard company.

So it wasn't clear to me how to proceed since we don't have any physical products to showcase.

However, when I searched for “SEO” on Unsplash, it quickly became obvious!

Currently, there are a lot of very generic, old-school stock photo-like images that show up.

It’s just waiting to be disrupted.

And people seem to be searching for it because the following simple picture was viewed 8 million times and downloaded 131 thousand times!

Our take: We could show SEO consultants in their natural environment, working on tech audits, content initiatives, and information architectures among other things.

And just maybe, other companies that write about SEO will link to us in the future - especially after we’ve sent them a friendly email.