SEO Case Study
Case Study:
inlingua
How a local language training institute grew from 570 rankings to over 18,500 in just two years of targeted SEO.
1,202%
Traffic Growth
3,148%
Total Rankings
1,647%
Top-3 Rankings
01 / Challenge
The Starting Point
On a daily basis we talk to dozens of business owners from many different verticals with different needs. Our thought leadership has always been to put the needs of the client first. While in some cases you may have budgetary or site conflicts that don't always lead to a partnership, the bright side is that when you are able to meet the minimum requirements for both on a local campaign that only encompasses a particular city or county, the results can be powerful.
Such was the case for our client Inlinguautah.com. A language training institute competing in a local market with many established competitors, they needed a sustainable path to search visibility that wouldn't rely entirely on expensive pay-per-click campaigns.
March 2015 - Baseline Metrics
570
Total Rankings
36
Top-3 Rankings
2,255
Monthly Traffic
Many local businesses pay as much as $3,000-$5,000 per month on AdWords campaigns. Having the means to substitute a per-click cost with a long-term organic placement makes the long view an easy decision when building your marketing budget.
02 / Approach
NYC-Proven Techniques in a Local Market
Having spent many years working in the highly competitive NYC Real Estate Market means targeting highly valuable key phrases and executing top rankings is a necessity if you are going to retain clients. Having invested in the process for a little over a decade, using these same techniques in a less competitive market has by and large led us to a 95% retainer for multiple years and in many cases a lifelong partnership.
- Comprehensive local keyword research targeting city and county-level intent
- On-page SEO optimization aligned to language training search queries
- Authority link building and citation consistency for local trust signals
- Content strategy targeting language-specific and program-based searches
- Ongoing rank monitoring and competitor defense to protect positions gained
03 / Results
Results Delivered
Two years of consistent SEO investment produced compounding returns that no single PPC campaign could match at this cost.
March 2015
570
Total Rankings
36
Top-3 Rankings
2,255
Monthly Traffic
May 2017
18,524
Total Rankings
629
Top-3 Rankings
29,376
Monthly Traffic
+3,148%
Total Rankings Growth
+1,647%
Top-3 Rankings Growth
+1,202%
Organic Traffic Growth
04 / Lessons Learned
What This Campaign Teaches Every Business Owner
Many of our hyper local partners enjoy leaving PPC in some cases, though we personally believe that a diversified marketing mixture is generally best in 90% of these cases. But one thing our staff will always stress by this example is that once you have a reliable SEO partner, this is not the type of relationship that is short term.
SEO is a Long-Term Asset, Not a Short-Term Tactic
Once you start down the path of gaining rankings and traffic, you will have to defend those positions against other competitors. That makes SEO an ever-expanding campaign while our costs remain fixed.
Fixed Costs Beat Variable Pay-Per-Click at Scale
Local businesses paying $3,000-$5,000 per month in AdWords can redirect that budget into a fixed SEO investment that compounds over time with no per-click cost exposure.
Competitive Market Experience Transfers Powerfully
Techniques refined in the hyper-competitive NYC Real Estate market translate into dominant results when applied to less competitive local markets like language training services.
We Seek Multi-Year Partners, Not One-Off Clients
We rarely take aboard clients who don't express a multiple-year desire to retain our services once they are proven. This commitment is what enables us to maintain a 95% retainer rate.
Key Insight
"Once you have a reliable SEO partner, this is not the type of relationship that is short term."
Stillwater Media Group
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