Today, in the life of Digital Scientists, Max explains the importance of an SEO strategy based on actual user data and not simply making guesses, or going with your gut.
When it comes to user searches, you’d be surprised that for every one keyword, there will be potentially hundreds of variations; these could be phrase variations, misspellings, synonyms, and even simply longer-tail searches. Understanding what these are is vital to developing a contextually authoritative site that performs solidly online.
Our client, a commercial cleaning company based in the South-East, needed to expand their operations and secure larger commercial contracts. With many lucrative opportunities coming up for renewal every 1, 3, or 5 years, being highly visible online was essential, especially as they didn’t have a high-cost sales team to focus on tender applications. Their inbound enquiries needed to bridge this gap, but their existing website wasn’t delivering.
The landing pages for their services were poorly optimised, a result of substandard work from a previous SEO agency. The issues were extensive:
Unresearched keywords: The previous agency hired by our client had relied on guesses rather than real user query data, resulting in irrelevant keywords that were stuffed unnaturally into sparse, low-value content.
Poor copy and design: Basic elements like consistent content flow, alignment, and professional presentation were lacking, making the site feel unpolished and unprofessional.
Bad linking practices: Irrelevant internal links created an imbalanced site structure, confusing users and search engines alike.
The client had invested £10-12K in work that not only failed to deliver results but actively harmed the site’s performance. Over a five-month period, the contracted agency had delegated critical SEO tasks to web designers rather than experienced SEO specialists and web developers. This approach caused a significant downward trend in performance, undoing the gains that had previously been achieved by a highly experienced, data-driven agency.
Our solution was a strategy rooted in real data. We started with a complete overhaul of the client’s SEO strategy, basing every decision on actual user query data from reliable sources. For sites with significant indexation issues, we address those first to ensure pages can be found and crawled effectively. Once a solid baseline of indexed pages is achieved, we refine the strategy further using real-world user behaviour data.
This approach gave us a clear understanding of what users were searching for, how to align service pages with those queries, and how to create meaningful, user-focused content.
With a solid foundation of keyword and linking strategies in place, we focused on improving each service page’s value in search engine indexes. This included optimised copy, imagery, and functionality, along with recommendations for video and other engaging formats to enhance user experience.
Simultaneously, we conducted technical audits and competitor analysis to identify further opportunities and improve less weighted ranking factors, such as site speed and overall performance, which can tip the scales in competitive rankings.
We replaced spammy, keyword-stuffed copy with well-researched, naturally integrated content. Instead of awkward, repetitive phrases, we created informative, engaging pages that highlighted the client’s expertise and made it clear why they were the right choice for commercial cleaning services, in line with the big contracts they wanted to acquire.
Irrelevant internal links and random anchor texts were removed in favour of a logical, topical linking strategy that helped search engines and users navigate the site with ease.
Imagine landing on a website with clunky, repetitive keywords and no clear information about the services offered. That was the impression the client’s site had been giving potential customers - and we completely turned it around.
The results? Significant improvements in indexation and impressions, as can be seen in the image above. One of the most telling metrics of success in our SEO auditing service is impressions, which indicate how often a page appears in search results. After implementing our new strategy, the site saw a substantial increase in impressions: proof that the updated pages were being properly indexed and ranked for relevant queries.
Here is a typical document we would send to a client at the end of a quarter to show them how the keywords we were tracking were helping their website to climb higher in search engine rankings, edging out competitors to become a dominant force in their sector.
As the site continues to improve its rankings across thousands of user queries, impressions will convert into clicks, and clicks into valuable inbound enquiries. This upward trajectory has already started, with a clear trend of increasing visitors and engagement.
These results confirm the power of a well-executed, data-driven SEO strategy and provide the foundation for further growth, enabling the client to attract the big contracts they’ve been targeting.
Is your website struggling to attract clients? Is it not even something you’d considered your site could be useful for? If your site isn’t delivering results, it’s time for a fresh approach. At Digital Scientists, we specialise in transforming underperforming websites into powerful tools for growth. Message us on LinkedIn, or contact us today to find out how we can help.
