The client, an IT consulting and web development company based in a German-speaking country, faced significant challenges in establishing an online presence and attracting their target audience. Their website had little to no organic traffic, and its structure was not optimized for their primary market, German-speaking businesses. The website’s default language was English, and it contained technical blog posts irrelevant to the client’s ideal customer base.
The key challenges included:
The Process
To address these challenges, a comprehensive SEO strategy was implemented. The strategy focused on optimizing the website for the target market, improving content relevance, and enhancing the site’s overall authority.
Website Restructuring and Internationalization
- Switched the default language to German and moved the English version to a subdomain.
- Reorganized URLs and implemented proper hreflang tags to ensure search engines correctly understood the site’s language targeting.
Content Optimization and Strategy
- Identified and removed irrelevant blog posts (using 410 errors for posts without backlinks).
- Redirected posts with backlinks to the homepage to preserve link equity.
- Optimized service pages for target keywords, including local versions of “IT Beratung” (IT consulting) and “individuelle Software Entwicklung” (custom software development).
- Created blog posts targeting informational keywords to build topical authority, such as “IT security,” “IT security risks,” “Standard software vs. custom software,” and “software modernization.”
- Implemented internal linking to connect blog posts with relevant service pages.
Conversion Optimization
- Optimized content sections to improve conversions.
- Integrated a Calendly appointment scheduling tool with custom tracking via Google Analytics 4 and Google Tag Manager.
E-E-A-T Enhancement
- Optimized the client’s “About Us” page, highlighting certifications, affiliations, awards, and specific skills and technologies.
- Strategically added case studies and listed well-known client companies to demonstrate credibility.
- Implemented schema markup (Organization, LocalBusiness, and About) to provide search engines with additional context.
First-Page Rankings in a New Market
Although the website (72.services) is no longer live, as the owner decided to switch his business focus elsewhere, the SEO efforts resulted in significant improvements in organic visibility and rankings during the project’s duration.
- Significant increase in organic rankings and traffic
- Increased visibility for target keywords in the local market
- Improved website structure and language targeting
- Enhanced E-E-A-T and credibility
- More conversions
- A strong content strategy that attracted the target audience in different stages of the buying journey
Important note: The client’s website discussed in this case study is no longer active. The owner decided to rebrand and pursue a different business direction. Consequently, access to Google Search Console data is no longer available, limiting the ability to provide more detailed long-term performance metrics.
“Sonja is a true professional. She is fast-responding and has excellent communication skills. I will hire her for sure in the future.”
Simon Martinelli, Owner of Martinelli GmbH
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Sonja Marinkovic, Founder of Digital Search Hero