Getting out of the Google sandbox for new websites often involves building traffic for longtail keywords and demonstrating competence in the niche by building content clusters. Often this requires thinking outside the box and outdoing competitors by finding just the right opportunities.
Viral SEO case study
Here’s an interesting SEO case study that depicts how SEO doesn’t have to be slow and gruelling. Yes, rankings often take time, but that’s because of competition. What if here was no competition?
This is a brand-new article that I posted – in less than 1 month this single post accumulated over 2.85k clicks and 82.8k impressions, and is set to grow further as it’s optimised for keywords based on rolling query data. A few months in and it has accumulated almost 6 thousand clicks.
This is what’s possible when you exploit virality in SEO. You can have an insane amount of free and highly relevant traffic flood your site with properly timed opportunities. Usually, such opportunities are based on some kind of novel event or industry phenomenon. The key here is low competition and high volume – the 2 things an SEO can only dream of. Almost always if something is high volume that also usually means its high competition and vice-versa.
Yes, this won’t work on well established keywords, as these have been targeted by your competitors. Viral keywords may be less relevant than those related to your primary business services and products. However, it’s important to think outside the box.
How to find viral SEO opportunities for fast growth
Opportunities don’t just come knocking on your door, you need to create them. Yes, maybe the keywords aren’t exactly targeting your primary money keywords, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t the possibility of a high degree of relevancy. Think outside the box.
Maybe there’s a new TV show or movie that’s super relevant to your brand. Maybe there’s a bodybuilding competition or fitness expo near you. Find something super relevant to your brand, where just like with Facebook’s interest targeting settings, you can hone in on people that are likely also interested in your business.
The key here is to get in before the competition. There’s a massive amount of first movers’ advantage in SEO. It can be super difficult to get ahead of other sites if they’ve been solidified in the first position. Often for new queries, there are more rearrangements that occur, but still – you’ll be in a better place – especially if your site is about a similar topic and you have high domain authority.
Steps for viral SEO
1. Get in before the competition. Leverage search queries relevant to novel topics or even competitor brands – hell, all of the advertisement is done for you here, make use of it!
2. Build a page that is genuinely helpful, and then embed subtle banners and funnel your visitors to where you want them to go.
3. Imagine if you’d paid for that kind of exposure in Google Ads – you’d be kicking yourself!
