What is an SEO project?
An SEO project is the work carried out by an SEO agency or independent professional (supplier) for a company in any sector (client) to position their website on Google within the market of their interest.
Although initially an SEO project is designed to only optimize the client’s website, other platforms that work as search engines, such as YouTube or an e-commerce, can also be optimized.
How long does an SEO project last?
An SEO project must last at least a year to see favorable results.
Once the SEO project begins to run, the results can be seen as follows:
- Initial Results: Increased impressions and number of inquiries that attract visibility – 3 months onwards.
- Important results: increase in clicks (visits) – 6 months onwards.
- Expected final results according to the project: for example, positioning in a particular query or receiving organic prospects from Google – 12 months onwards.
You can also visit: How long does it take to position a website?
Phases of an SEO project
Throughout the year that the SEO project must last, several stages are fulfilled. Each of them has its objectives, duration and particular tasks.
Each one also includes its own deliverables and meetings between the client and the supplier so that they are aligned throughout the entire project.
Which are?
SEO analysis
It is the current diagnosis of the website. With this information, decisions will be made and strategies developed throughout the project.
This analysis will help to know those aspects that prevent climbing positions in the ranking of Google or any other search engine.
Estimated time: 20 business days.
Phases:
Phase I: lifting
- Input request: website credentials, associated emails and manuals.
- Previous market studies (if any).
Phase II: carrying out the analysis
- Website tracking.
- search traffic.
- Keyword research.
- Site packing.
- Load speed.
- Competition evaluation.
Phase III: presentation of the report and strategic advances.
On Page SEO
In the on page , modifications are made in order to optimize the web page:
- Changes in the layout.
- Changes to optimize the conversion funnel if necessary, once the percentage of loss of users who stay on the “path” is known, who do not achieve the proposed objective (sale or registration).
- New titles and descriptions of the web.
Estimated time: 20 business days.
Phases:
Phase I: presentation of proposed recommendations and reception of approval or feedback from the client.
Phase II: implementation of adjustments. Modifications of:
- Titles and descriptions.
- Information architecture.
- Load speed.
- Important errors.
- Plugins or special functionalities.
Content marketing
The creation of articles is one of the most important phases of the SEO project.
It is the moment where quality content is created to feed the website or the existing ones are optimized, as the case may be.
In this way, the number of searches in which the client has a presence is expanded, and the visibility (impressions) and visits (clicks) eventually begin to rise.
Creating SEO content that truly answers the questions and solves the problems of the customer audience is essential for a website to succeed.
Estimated time: monthly, periodic.
Phases:
Phase I: survey and creation of the content plan
- Selection of specific topics to write.
- Approximation of possible users and clicks to receive.
- Content creation (articles).
- Objectives (KPIs).
Phase II: content publication
- Monthly launch of the pieces proposed in the content plan.
SEO maintenance
In SEO maintenance , the performance of executed changes and previously published articles is monitored.
On the Internet, few things are written. That is why it is vital, after making a decision, to evaluate it to see if it gives the expected results.
In addition to keeping track of progress and adjusting as necessary, this stage also promotes the articles with a link building campaign .
This is a technique to generate links from external domains to the client’s, which helps improve your domain authority and, therefore, the positioning of your website.
It may interest you: How to make a link building campaign?
Depending on the SEO provider and the client’s needs, this phase may also include training workshops to teach the client’s team how to refine their web writing process.
Estimated time: 6 months.
Phases:
Phase I: preparation of the report
- The Pencil Speech team will prepare the report with all the corresponding recommendations for the current month.
Phase II: presentation of recommendations
- We recommend a monthly or bi-monthly call between both teams to discuss the recommendations and talk about the results obtained.
SEO project case studies
SEO is a digital marketing strategy that guarantees long-term success, but requires perseverance and patience.
Google’s algorithm is designed to accommodate the needs of users.
However, like everything on the web, it constantly evolves to stay current.
Therefore, a content that one day is in the first position of results the next day can be dethroned by other material that Google considered, according to new parameters, that it was more suitable for that place.
This results in SEO being a service that cannot be dispensed with if the positioning gained is to be maintained.
To find out how an SEO project works in different industries, with different objectives and scenarios, here we present 3 case studies, with figures and real times.
Case Study 1: Study Abroad Agency
This company offers academic proposals for international students. It includes languages, online courses, high schools, higher education and summer camps.
What were the objectives of the project?
- Increase organic website traffic.
- Position a product for a specific query (for the purposes of this article, “English courses Toronto”).
- Increase the traffic of the study agency subdomain in Colombia.
- Increase the visibility of previously shared content on YouTube.
What was the timeline of the first period* of the project?
- Start of the project: 10/28/2020.
- SEO Analysis Presentation: 11/19/2020.
- SEO OnPage presentation: 12/2/2020. End of changes: 12/17/2020.
- Presentation of the Content Plan: 01/20/2021.
- Completion of content plan article optimization: 04/06/2021. In this case, content marketing consisted of refreshing with SEO best practices the vast content that the client already had published on his blog. A training workshop was also included for its writing team so that future articles would be prepared to rank in Google.
- Start of tracking conversion goals in Google Analytics, publication of relevant category page and changes in article URLs (to make them more user-friendly): 04/12/2021.
- Presentation of YouTube analysis and best practices: 05/19/2021. YouTube changes end: 06/04/2021.
- Presentation of the status of the project, executive summary and next steps: 07/08/2021.
This client renewed its contract with Pencil Speech after the results obtained with the first period of the project.
What were the results obtained?
| Month | clicks | Impressions | middle position |
| November 2020 | 2,443 | 80,390 | 23.6 |
| April 2021 | 6,537 | 221,900 | 18.5 |
- Domain Authority raised from 15/100 to 16/100. This figure is considered in an SEO project since it indicates to Google the degree of reliability of a website.
- 5 variations of the query “English courses Toronto” were positioned between the first and second place in Google.
- Views on YouTube increased 34% compared to the previous period.
Case Study 2: Pharmaceutical Company
This pharmaceutical laboratory is a company authorized by the competent administration of your country to manufacture and distribute medicines industrially.
What were the objectives of the project?
- Increase the visibility of a cardiometabolic product.
- Improve its positioning for consultations as “Venezuelan pharmaceutical laboratory”.
- Increase your overall organic visits.
What was the timeline of the first period* of the project?
- Start of the project: 11/11/2020.
- SEO analysis presentation: 11/20/2020.
- Presentation of SEO On Page: 01/14/2021.
- Optimization of titles and descriptions (SEO On Page application): 02/05/2021.
- Refreshment of +40 items: from 03/30/2021 to the end of the period.
- Closing presentation and next steps: 04/15/2021.
*This client renewed his contract with Pencil Speech after the results obtained with the first period of the project.
What were the results obtained?
| Month | clicks | Impressions | Average position of query of interest |
| November 2020 | 32,467 | 843,268 | 4.2 |
| April 2021 | 44,146 | 1,370,658 | 1.2 |
- Monthly visits went up 35%.
- The user experience has been significantly improved with easier navigation and faster loading speeds.
Case study 3: online store and tool distributor
This American company produces electric and manual tools for Latin America and the United States, with a market in Spanish for distribution of its products and in English for retail sales.
Being a project in two languages, it was necessary to separate them, since literally translating keywords, titles and descriptions is not efficient to position a multilingual website in Google :
A site with versions in different languages deserves an individual analysis for each one of them, as well as its construction of titles and descriptions in the corresponding native language.
What were the objectives of the project?
- Increase the traffic of your website and your e-commerce (English).
- Position yourself as a tool distributor (Spanish).
What was the timeline of the first period* of the project?
Project in English:
- Start of the project: 07/29/2020.
- Presentation of the SEO analysis: 08/19/2020.
- Presentation and launch of SEO OnPage: 09/02-16/2020.
- Submission and publication of articles. Edition of 312 products from the company’s catalog: 10/15-11/19/2020.
- Publication of new articles on the website: March 2021.
- Packaging refreshment: 07/29/2021.
- Start of the linkbuilding campaign: 08/23/2021.
Project in Spanish:
- Start of the project: 05/01/2021.
- Presentation of the SEO analysis: 05/31/2021.
- Presentation of SEO On Page: 06/17/2021.
- Start of the linkbuilding campaign; 07/23/2021.
- FAQ page refresh: 08/06/2021.
- SEO maintenance, web design, publication of new articles and packaging refresh: 09/16/2021.
*This client renewed his contract with Pencil Speech after the results obtained with the first period of the project.
What were the results obtained?
For the project in English:
| Months | clicks | Impressions | middle position |
| April – July 2020 | 222 | 6.97 thousand | 18.2 |
| September – December 2020 | 259 | 11.7 thousand | 25.5 |
- The company’s individual products increased their visibility on Google by almost 100%.
- Product and article pages are the ones that attract the most traffic. It is important to highlight that these pages have a high purchase intention.
- The average position in Google decreased (it moved further away from the first position), because it began to compete in dozens of queries that previously did not bring impressions or visits to the web.
For the project in Spanish:
| Months | clicks | Impressions | middle position |
| November 2020 – May 2021 | 4.85 thousand | 110 thousand | 12.5 |
| May 2021 – November 2021 | 5.93 thousand | 154 thousand | 10.6 |
- Increased website traffic by 30%.
- Most users are from Central American countries (ideal audience for the company).
- +65% of users come from search engines organically.
Requirements for an SEO project to work
For the SEO project to end with the satisfaction of both the supplier and the client, harmony between the SEO agency and the company is essential.
Fluid communication is essential to know the philosophy of the company, who its competitors are and, above all, its expectations about the SEO project.
Some conditions that must be met for the success of the project are:
- The agency must be transparent, that is, share with the client each step taken and the reasoning behind them.
- The client must collaborate with the SEO provider to provide access and information when required. For example, the credentials of your website to apply the changes of the SEO On Page or detailed information of your services to have the raw material of the articles of the content plan.
- The client must be open to suggestions. If the client is not willing to apply the modifications proposed by the SEO agency, the project may not be as successful as it could be.
- If the client chooses not to share access to their website, they must commit to applying the changes in an agreed time so that the project timeline is not affected.
- In general, the client must be committed and involved in the project. Having their feedback, ideas and opinions nourishes the project and maximizes the performance of the SEO agency team or service provider.
Conclusions
An SEO project, despite the fact that it has some standard phases common to any website, is a tailor-made suit according to the needs of each client.
This makes it a tool with the potential to favor websites in any industry, and even be effective on other platforms that function as search engines, such as Amazon or YouTube.
The biggest traffic gain of the projects is in the content part, either creating or modifying it. This means that the most significant victories are visible from the sixth or seventh month onwards.
For the same reason, the experience in these case studies corroborates that SEO must last for at least a year to be successful.
Thanks to the expertise, time and effort dedicated to optimizing and positioning a web page, an agency specializing in SEO is a key player in the growth of a company, industry or business.
