SEO and Content Marketing Growth
An ICP-led content engine that took Google Page 1 rankings from 103 to 205 keywords and grew organic sessions 47 percent in a year.
- Company
-
- Role
- Set SEO and content strategy as VP of Marketing, led the team executing it, and wrote and edited content hands-on
- Timeframe
- 2023 to 2024
- Surfaces
- SEO, thought leadership content, technical SEO, and marketing analytics
from 463
810
Keywords ranking on Google.
from 103
205
Keywords ranking on Google Page 1.
from 27,416
40,388
Organic sessions in 2024.
47%
Year-over-year increase in organic sessions.
The situation
Strong tech service lines, with no search presence to match them.
CEI had grown into a real multi-line technology business, with offerings spanning cybersecurity, AI, data and analytics, managed IT services, and ERP and CRM implementation. But its organic search presence hadn’t grown with their delivery capabilities. The site ranked for a small, scattered set of keywords, and only a fraction of those cracked Google’s first page, so the people searching for exactly what CEI did were finding competitors first.
There also wasn’t a system connecting what CEI said about itself to what its buyers were actually typing into Google. Content got published when someone had time to write it, not because a real gap in the keyword landscape called for it.
The approach
Messaging → ICP → keyword gap → content.
Define company messaging and positioning
Before writing anything aimed at a keyword, CEI’s own positioning needed to be current. The question driving that work was simple. What does CEI want to be known for, and does that match what it actually delivers across cybersecurity, AI, data and analytics, managed IT, and ERP and CRM.
Define the ICP and what it’s searching for
With positioning settled, the next question was who is actually buying, and what they type into Google before they ever talk to sales. IT directors and business leaders evaluating a technology partner search in specific, practical language, not marketing language, so this work translated CEI’s five service lines into the real questions and comparisons its buyers were running.
Find the keyword gap with SEMrush
SEMrush’s gap analysis compared what CEI already ranked for against what its ICP was searching for and what competitors already owned. That comparison produced a working backlog of real search terms, with real volume and real competitive difficulty, organized under the five service lines instead of scattered across a generic blog calendar.
Build a content engine around five service pillars
Every piece of content published from that point forward mapped back to one of five pillars, so the site’s authority compounded in the areas that mattered instead of spreading thin across unrelated topics.
Cybersecurity
Threat protection and risk management for growing IT environments.
Artificial Intelligence
AI adoption and AI-powered services for practical business use cases.
Data and Analytics
Customer data platforms and the reporting built to act on them.
Managed IT Services
Outsourced IT operations, support, and IT talent solutions.
ERP and CRM
Implementation and support for the systems running the business.
The proof is in where those pillars now sit on Google. Cybersecurity content took the top spot outright, and the rest moved from nowhere on the map to real, findable positions.
Cybersecurity
CEI | Consulting. Solutions. Results.
ceiamerica.com › insights
Top 11 Trends in Cybersecurity For 2024
Zero Trust Segmentation averts five cyber disasters a year. Attacks against cloud services, the rise in IoT devices, and the integration of AI and machine learning round out the list.
Also ranks #1 for “cybersecurity in 2024.”
Artificial Intelligence and Data
CEI | Consulting. Solutions. Results.
ceiamerica.com › insights
9 Essential Elements of a CDP (Customer Data Platform)
Data integration, data cleansing, data storage, data analytics, and personalization are among the requirements a CDP needs to meet.
CEI | Consulting. Solutions. Results.
ceiamerica.com › insights
What is AI-Powered Managed Services?
AI services are a type of managed service that leverages artificial intelligence to help businesses optimize their operations.
CEI | Consulting. Solutions. Results.
ceiamerica.com › insights
7 Essential Steps for Successful AI Implementation in Your Business
Clearly define your goals and objectives, identify the right data sources, and choose the right approach before rolling AI into daily operations.
IT Talent Solutions and Managed Services
CEI | Consulting. Solutions. Results.
ceiamerica.com › services
IT Talent Solutions
Talent solutions focused on finding high-quality, high-performance candidates that increase and improve client productivity.
CEI | Consulting. Solutions. Results.
ceiamerica.com › practices › managed-serv...
Managed Services
We provide cloud and on-prem infrastructure management, managed cybersecurity, application maintenance and support, as well as QA and testing automation.
The results
What the content engine returned.
Total keywords ranking on Google
Start vs. end of the program.
Keywords ranking on Google Page 1
Start vs. end of the program.
Organic sessions, month by month
Full calendar year, 2023 vs. 2024.
View the numbers
| Month | 2023 | 2024 | YoY growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2,050 | 2,686 | +31.0% |
| February | 2,200 | 2,946 | +33.9% |
| March | 2,120 | 2,826 | +33.3% |
| April | 2,340 | 3,146 | +34.4% |
| May | 2,180 | 3,416 | +56.7% |
| June | 2,425 | 3,216 | +32.6% |
| July | 2,300 | 3,546 | +54.2% |
| August | 2,470 | 3,666 | +48.4% |
| September | 2,290 | 3,506 | +53.1% |
| October | 2,490 | 3,846 | +54.5% |
| November | 2,101 | 3,626 | +72.6% |
| December | 2,450 | 3,962 | +61.7% |
| Total | 27,416 | 40,388 | +47.3% |
-
810
Total keywords ranking on Google, up from 463.
-
205
Keywords ranking on Google Page 1, up from 103.
-
75%
Increase in total keyword coverage.
-
99%
Increase in Page 1 rankings, effectively doubling.
-
40,388
Organic sessions in 2024.
-
47%
Year-over-year increase in organic sessions.
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