Here’s how I lead content to drive serious traffic at Captain Compliance… with a shoestring budget.
Sample articles:
Captain Compliance is a compliance consultancy and software company that offers help to business to navigate complex privacy regulations, including the GDPR, CPRA, and LGPD.
At Captain Compliance, I was in contact with Richart Ruddie, the founder of Captain Compliance and an eight-figure-exit entrepreneur who recently sold The Reputation Management company.
The website had no content and no SEO authority. It also had to compete with big companies in the compliance industry that were way ahead in both content and SEO.
The starting budget was so low for the results that Richart wanted that many other content agencies and content managers said it wasn’t possible to do. This money was for creating content, doing keyword research, and planning SEO for six months. The goal was to get a lot of organic traffic to the site and build a strong base for future growth.
I said it was possible to do and I was going to do it.
To make the most of the budget, I crafted a data-driven strategy focused on topical, low-competition keywords that were conversion-driven, building topical authority, and optimizing already ranking content for better performance.
I managed a team of affordable writers at Captain Compliance, ensuring the content was high-quality yet cost-effective.
By targeting keywords that aligned with user intent and conversion goals, we attracted traffic that was more likely to convert, while also strengthening the site’s authority in the data privacy niche. This approach allowed us to maximize impact, even with limited resources.
To find low-competition, conversion-driven keywords, I used Ahrefs to spot areas where Captain Compliance could easily rank. I focused on keywords with good search volume but less competition, especially those related to privacy compliance solutions that matched what we offered.
By targeting these gaps, I created content that drew in the right audience at different stages of their buying journey, which led to better engagement and conversions.
For example, keywords like:
To build topical authority, I created content clusters around major data privacy regulations, such as LGPD, GDPR, and CCPA.
Here’s an example of a subpages under the LGPD content cluster:
Each article was carefully designed to cover distinct but related subtopics. These posts were internally linked to strengthen the site’s overall structure and to create a network of high-value, interrelated content.
This approach signaled expertise to search engines, improving keyword rankings across multiple topics, while also offering a comprehensive resource hub for users navigating complex data privacy laws.
Over time, this strategy elevated Captain Compliance’s domain authority and improved its search visibility across various SERPs.
After these topic clusters were created, a few keywords started ranking well, like PII vs PI for example. It broke into the second page after just one month. So, I optimized it and now it’s performing extremely well. I did this for 16 other pages as well, increasing overall traffic dramatically.
What did the optimization process include? Well, here are just a few things I did for that article (click here to view the article):
I used SurferSEO to strategically identify content and keyword gaps. With SurferSEO, I add could see with clear data what the competitors were doing and how I could have Wrapbook beat them.
With SurferSEO, I used their suggestion feature to add data-backed LSI keywords based off key gaps, along with headings and additional sections based off content gaps analyzed.
The LSI keywords, which are words related to the main topic helped the article get more coverage for the primary keyword, making it much more likely to rank well.
I added about 700 words on average to each article to fully satisfy user intent with an average of 350 words going to including a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section. This helped answer more specific questions, which can bring in more readers. Google likes longer articles that cover different topics well.
A goal I had for all the articles was to reduce the grade-level difficulty from an average of 13th grade to an average of 9th grade, as the average American has an 8th grade reading level.
I made complex sections easier to understand and rearranged some sentences to improve reading flow, along with splitting long paragraphs.
Well-organized content keeps readers interested, which helps them stay on the page longer.
I included quotes from experts to make the article more trustworthy. I used Qwoted (an expert-sourcing platform) for this. Articles with reliable sources are seen as more credible and usually get more links from other sites.
I added links to other relevant pages on the site. This helps both search engines and readers find more related content. Studies show that linking to other pages can help people stay on the site longer.
The key takeaway section gave a quick summary of the main points, making it easier for readers to remember. Summaries help keep people engaged and reduce the chance of them leaving the page quickly.
I bolded important words and phrases so the article was easier to read. Making key information stand out helps readers find what they need quickly.
These changes made the content better, helping it rank higher in search results and bringing in more readers. I was able to drive a lot of traffic while sticking to a tight budget, making sure the content helped Captain Compliance meet its goals.
Within six months, I achieved significant success despite the minimal budget, and now one year from working together, here is the data as of October 2024: