Achieving 276% y-o-y Blog Traffic Growth with Topical Authority [Case Study]

14. 08. 2024 Autor Nicklas Zehner

This case study explores how we helped one of our clients to transform their German blog section to establish themselves as a trusted authority. This strategic change substantially improved their online visibility and user engagement. The last 3 months (year-over-year) saw an impressive increase in blog traffic of 276%.

Clicks and Impressions in the last 16 months. Source: Google Search Console

In this case study we will cover: 

• Initial Situation and Challenges
• Strategy Development 
• Execution
• Results

Disclaimer: This case study of one of our clients has been anonymized. The client works within the German automotive industry.

Initial Situation and Challenges

Our client operates within a highly competitive niche: the German car industry. It is an industry with significant financial potential, and therefore, numerous players try to gain traffic for related search terms. It is difficult to break into this niche and rank at the top of Google.

Despite our clients’ expertise, the German blog section initially had only fifteen blog articles that were not driving significant traffic. This was due to the fact that these articles lacked in-depth content, did not target relevant keywords and were missing content clusters. This altogether led to poor visibility in search engine results.

The primary goal for the blog section was clear: creating authoritative and business-relevant content that would drive high SEO traffic.

Strategy Development

steps to gain Topical Authority

Keyword Research and Analysis

With the SEO-tool Ahrefs, we conducted a comprehensive analysis to identify content gaps and opportunities including detailed keyword research and competitive analysis. The content strategy was designed to address the most pressing questions and needs of potential customers. Topics were prioritized based on their relevance to our clients’ business, search volume, and the potential to drive traffic. 

example for a keyword analysis on the topic “car loan”

Keyword Clustering

Similar keywords were clustered together based on their thematic or semantic relationships. This helped in understanding how various keywords interrelate, which guided the content creation to target multiple related terms. This targeted approach ensured that each piece of content would contribute to building a comprehensive topical map.

Topical Map

Based on the clustering a topical map was created which helped to organize and link related content visually. A key component of this strategy involved creating pillar content and supporting content. Pillar content is comprehensive, authoritative, and covers a broad topic in depth. Supporting content consists of narrower, related articles that link back to the pillar content, creating a robust internal linking structure that signals topical authority to search engines.

Below you can see a simplified version of a topical map: 

(simplified) visualization of a topical map

• Each circle is one distinct blog article. 
• The arrows symbolize internal links between the blog articles. 
• SV stands for monthly Search Volume on Google (within Germany) 

In this example, the pillar content is an in-depth article on “Car loan”, which provides a detailed overview of the processes, regulations, and considerations involved.

Supporting content articles include specific articles like “How to calculate car loans” “Car loan comparison,” and similar topics related to the pillar content. Each of these supporting articles links back to the main pillar article. This strengthens the topical cluster and improves internal linking.

The benefits of this approach are: 

1. This topic cluster helps the core content to rank higher (core topic keywords are more competitive, so it is challenging, to get to the top most of the time)
2. Internal links in clusters are spreading the SEO value between each other. If one article starts to rank high, the others in the cluster get a boost. 
3. It is easier for search engine crawlers to understand and crawl the website structure. 
4. Furthermore, it shows that the website has covered a topic in its whole depth which is crucial in order to gain topical authority.  

The final goal of this strategy was to position our client as a topical authority in his niche. 

💡 Topical authority on Google means that a website is seen as a trusted expert on a specific subject. This happens when the website provides detailed and high-quality information about that topic, which can help it show up higher in the search results of Google.

Execution

Expert Copywriter

The car industry in Germany is highly competitive and this requires a nuanced approach in order to stand out. An expert copywriter was selected who writes regularly about car-related topics and possesses deep industry knowledge. This ensured that the content would be authentic as well as covering all technical details which would resonate well with the target audience.

Content Plan and Creation

Based on the keyword analysis, clustering, and topical map a content- and publishing plan was developed. For each blog article, the copywriter received an in-depth briefing which included the topic, keywords, structure, and a list of internal links that should be implemented within the article. 

We furthermore decided on an article length of min. 750 words which would ensure that the topic was covered in depth but would not be too extensive for readers. We also included all best practices to make the articles easily readable such as the implementation of bullet-points and short paragraphs. 

Each piece of content underwent thorough review and SEO optimization, including keyword integration, meta tag refinement, and internal linking strategies, before publication.

Results

1. Result: Traffic to the blog section increased by 276% (year-over-year)

Clicks and Impressions in the last 16 months. Source: Google Search Console

The publishing of blog articles started in May 2023 and since then we have noticed a substantial increase in organic traffic. 

The year-over-year comparison of the past 3 months shows: 

276% increase in clicks from Google Search (GSS)
124% increase in impressions from Google Search (GSC)

2. Result: Significant increase of keywords in the top 10 of Google

Organic keywords of the blog section in the last 2 years. Source: Ahrefs.com

Since June 2023 our clients’ blog section has seen a substantial increase in keywords in the top 10 of Google. 

June 2023 compared to June 2024:

Keywords in TOP 3: 28 → 279

Keywords in TOP 10: 70 → 468

Key Learnings and Takeaways

Lessons Learned:

• Expertise Matters: A copywriter with deep industry knowledge can produce superior content that resonates with the target audience and search engines.
• Quality Over Backlinks: High-quality content can achieve top rankings without extensive backlink building. This is true, especially for niche areas.
• Internal Linking: Strategic internal linking is crucial for building topical clusters and signaling topical authority to Google.
• Content-Length: Articles do not need to be excessively long. We noticed that articles with a length of 700-850 words are often enough to achieve high positions.

One of the key insights from this case study is the critical role of quality content. High-quality, well-researched content that addresses user intent can rank well even in competitive niches. Strategic internal linking and regular content updates are also essential practices for maintaining topical authority.

Conclusion

Our client successfully achieved high traffic and stable rankings by focusing on building topical authority through quality content and strategic SEO practices. This case study demonstrates that with the right approach, even in highly competitive industries, significant SEO improvements are possible without relying heavily on backlinks.