1200% Growth in Visibility in 5 Months | SEO Expansion to Slovakia & Romania
See how we improved a client’s visibility in Romania and Slovakia within 5 months, overcoming website optimization and domain migration challenges.
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The client, a recruitment firm from Finland, desired a stable flow of job applicants from Romania and Slovakia.
Facing zero visibility in these markets, a non-optimized website, and a complex domain migration plan, the task took a lot of work.
However, within five months, we turned the tables.
growth culminated in a significant boost in visibility across Slovakia and Romania.
keyword visibility increase, propelling the website from a mere three keywords to a notable 241.
increase in daily clicks, jumping from just 50 to over 600 clicks per day.
quality publications in English, Slovak, and Romanian
The client was keen on expanding their reach to Romania and Slovakia. However, they were practically invisible in these countries. With our extensive SEO strategies and execution, the aim was to increase the client's digital footprint across these regions and make them a recognized name in the local job markets.
The client's primary objective was not just about attracting traffic, but converting them into potential job applicants. With no constant application influx from these countries, they struggled to achieve their goal. Our mission was to engage the target audience with relevant, high-quality content and improve the conversion rate, establishing a stable flow of well-targeted applications.
The client had an existing website that was not fully optimized for SEO. The goal was to implement necessary changes and updates on their website, ensuring seamless navigation, improved page speeds, and better user experience, which could enhance their search engine rankings.
The client wanted to keep their old domain during the migration process. This presented a challenge since migration processes could potentially impact the website’s existing SEO efforts. Our objective was to assist in the migration while preserving the previous domain’s SEO value – a delicate process that involved creating a robust migration plan with strategic mapping and swift re-auditing after migration.
Entering Romania and Slovakia required implementing strategies unique to these markets. The client's initial strategy was insufficient, resulting in virtually no traffic from these countries. Navigating a new market comes with its own set of challenges as the countries' culture, local norms, job market, behaviors, and digital traits must be understood and incorporated into the campaign.
The client set a rather unique goal of seeking potential workers for companies in Finland from Romania and Slovakia, instead of the usual increase in sales or traffic growth objectives. This required a tailored SEO strategy targeted towards the work/education sector. This added to the already specific challenges of SEO, requiring us to extensively research keyword trends in this niche in both countries to ensure we were targeting potential applicants effectively.
From the outset, the client's website had minimal keyword visibility – it was ranking for only three keywords, far from significant in terms of digital marketing efforts. Improving keyword visibility in these two markets was a major task, as it involved extensive research, execution, and optimization to ensure effective reach and enhance page ranking.
The project's time constraints posed a significant challenge. Achieving notable SEO results typically takes time. The process involves thorough research, planning, execution, monitoring, and optimizing based on results. This project required a quick turnaround, with the client looking to see a considerable increase in online visibility and application flow within just five months.
Conducted a comprehensive technical and SEO audit of the client's existing site. We identified the technical issues, took note of on-site optimization needs, and provided strategic recommendations to improve site performance. This comprehensive audit laid down the roadmap for all the subsequent strategies and efforts.
We conducted a detailed market analysis for Slovakia and Romania, researched potential opportunities and challenges in these markets, and formulated a tailored content and link strategy. This research also helped us understand local language nuances and employment trends specific to these countries, positioning the client effectively among the competition.
Keyword research is a core component of a successful SEO strategy. By conducting a detailed keyword analysis, we identified high-traffic targeted keywords to reach potential job applicants from Slovakia and Romania. Our approach indicated what job-seekers were looking for, and implemented this understanding into the client’s content strategy, significantly enhancing their search engine visibility.
Our team executed a successful SEO expansion strategy across Slovakia and Romania. We successfully improved the client's digital visibility in new markets by implementing effective link-building campaigns, developing keyword-optimized content, and enforcing technical SEO modifications. Apart from the visible website improvements, this also boosted the client's online credibility. It became an authority figure in the job market, attracting a significantly higher number of job applications and directly helping achieve their unique business goal.
Targeting potential markets like Slovakia and Romania is a smart business strategy in today’s tech-driven world. These countries, rich in competent talent yet with less competition, presented new opportunities for expansion.
However, breaking into these markets isn’t an easy feat. It requires a solid strategy and seamless execution.
That’s where we came into the picture. But before diving into the nitty-gritty of our SEO strategy and execution, let’s shed some light on our client.
The Client
Based in tech-fueled Finland, the client is a familiar name that provides top-notch recruitment solutions. With the primary objective of connecting workers to Finnish organizations, they have established themselves as trustworthy partners for firms expanding or relocating to Finland.
Despite their local success, they encountered roadblocks while stepping into foreign territories of Romania and Slovakia. The challenging aspects they grappled with were lower visibility in these countries and a stale flow of applications.
However, the client held an unwavering belief that these challenges could be transformed into opportunities, a perspective that formed the foundation of our partnership.
The goal was straightforward: to increase visibility and establish a stable applicant flow within five months.
Project Timeline: How NoN Agency Boosted the Client’s Expansion into a New Market
Our work with the client started on May 1, 2023, and wrapped up on December 1, 2023.
In the beginning, we worked closely with them to get a clear picture of their challenges – site optimization, zero visibility in target markets, and the task of domain migration.
Phase I: SEO Discovery & New Markets
Our initial step was to conduct a detailed website audit and competitive analysis for Slovakia and Romania.
This evaluation provided insight into where the client stood competitively and helped us understand the issues holding the site back from achieving top-notch SEO performance.
We then dug through the website and got into the tiniest details. From page load time to meta descriptions, we left no stone unturned.
Utilizing the audit discoveries alongside our competitive analysis, we crafted the perfect keyword strategy for the client’s website.
We know that a well-planned keyword strategy has a significant role in building site visibility. So, we opted for a fine mixture of ToFu and MoFu keywords that potential applicants in Romania and Slovakia would likely search for.
This first step of our strategy wasn’t just about keywords, though.
We wanted to attract more viewers and spark their interest. Thus, we developed an extensive link-building strategy that involved creating high-quality and relevant inbound links.
We also constructed a razor-sharp content plan that was engaging yet informative and aimed to boost the site’s authority.
Another critical feature of this phase was outlining the audit implementations that were necessary to take the client’s website performance from good to great.
We presented the client’s team with a detailed report underlining the changes required for optimal results. Once the client’s team implemented the recommendations, we reviewed them for quality assurance.
Phase II: Execution and Action
As important as planning and strategizing are, their impact is negligible if they aren’t put into action effectively. We took charge of seamlessly executing the groundwork laid out in Phase I.
client had an existing domain that they wanted to keep during the migration process. Keeping this preference in mind, we got to work and developed a solid plan that preserved the previous domain. The process was complex, which involved swift URL mapping and re-auditing after migration, and the final step was improving site indexing.
The PDCA Cycle: How We Keep Developing For You
We developed these tasks with one crucial aspect in mind: the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) framework. We are strong advocates of this method, as it encourages a cycle of constant improvement.
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- In the Plan stage, we mapped out the entire process in detail, setting clear and achievable goals.
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- The Do stage saw us springing into action. We cooperated with the client’s internal team on tasks devised from the audit.
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- Once completed, the Check phase took center stage – we gathered performance data, analyzed the results of our actions, and compared them with our goals. We monitored everything from page speeds to traffic flow.
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- Lastly, in the Act stage, based on our observations and data analysis, we made necessary adjustments. We tweaked our strategy where required and reviewed what was working well and what needed improvements. This approach ensures a cycle of continuous improvements, keeping our strategies effective, up-to-date, and high-performing.
Raf ChomskyThe Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle is highly important in SEO because it enables continuous improvement. Through planning, executing, evaluating, and adjusting strategies based on results, SEO efforts can be refined, ensuring optimal performance. SEO = PDCA
CEO of NoN Agency and Sustainable Growth Advocate
The Expansion Continued
Opening to the new market was only the beginning. In the following months, we made sure to maintain the momentum and continue expanding the client’s digital presence in Romania and Slovakia.
Throughout the project, we crafted over 80 high-quality publications primarily in English, Slovak, and Romanian languages.
Knowing that audiences trust content from homegrown platforms, we pushed these publications to relevant local publishers to further expand our reach – and build links.
Driving traffic to the site was just part of the plan. We wanted the visitors to convert into prospective job applicants. Therefore, we invested our time and resources into optimizing landing pages.
With carefully curated content and strategically placed call-to-actions on these pages, we managed to boost applications dramatically, contributing to a healthy and steady applicant flow.
In terms of technical improvements, the website structure was significantly bettered, and our efforts saw the Core Web Vitals (CWV) score hit a remarkable score of 95%.
All those efforts made the website shine in its new market, transforming the path into an opportunity ripe for success.
The website’s traffic started growing right off the bat!
Why Slovakia and Romania?
Expanding to Slovakia and Romania wasn’t just a random choice.
Many companies in this niche prefer outsourcing to countries with lower operational costs and an abundant pool of talent. Both Slovakia and Romania fit this requirement perfectly – but, at the same time, are not as saturated as other more common outsourcing destinations.
Plus, both countries have a promising educational landscape – they have schools that specialize in tech and ICT education. These graduates provide a fresh pool of talent, which is ideal for recruitment.
| Slovakia 🇸🇰 | Romania 🇷🇴 | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 5.73 million [1] | 19.7 million [2] |
| Median age | 39.8 years [1] | 41.8 years [2] |
| Internet penetration | 91.2% [3] | 88.9% [4] |
| E-commerce market value | €2.3 billion [3] | €6.8 billion [4] |
| E-commerce growth rate | 10.3% [5] | 10.4% [6] |
| Most popular online marketplaces | bazos.sk, heureka.sk, modrykonik.sk [7] | emag.ro, olx.ro, publi24.ro [8] |
| Average monthly wage | €1,403 [9] | €1,670 [10] |
NoN Agency SEO Expansion: Results
After eight months of continuous SEO efforts, strategic planning, and flawless execution, we began to see growth. The visibility of the client’s website was beginning to increase across Slovakia and Romania.
From almost zero visibility to being a recognized organization in these markets, the results were truly rewarding. All these were achieved with a considerate understanding of business needs, well-structured planning, and a highly effective SEO strategy.
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- A 1200% boost in overall site visibility across Romania and Slovakia.
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- Increased keyword visibility by over 598%, jumping from 3 to a considerable 241 keywords.
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- An impressive rise in daily clicks on the website, increasing from 50 to 600.
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- A stable flow of job applications, accomplishing the primary goal.
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- Published more than 80 quality articles tailored for the target audience in English, Slovak, and Romanian languages.
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- Completed the migration from the old domain without any hitches.
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- Significantly improved the website structure, resulting in a high CWV score of 95%.
See how we managed to grow the site’s keywords – after a long time of no hits, the website flourished in just a few months!
Case study created by:
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) & Co-Founder
Content Coordinator & Social Media Specialist
Our successful SEO strategy helped client bridge a gap in their business by expanding their reach into Romania and Slovakia.
We leveraged our expertise to hit their goals, fueling a 1200% increase in visibility, a stable stream of job applicants, and a much-improved website structure.
It’s safe to say that the client’s expansion to Slovakia and Romania is a great success.
If you’re looking for a similar transformation or want to tap into undiscovered markets, don’t hesitate to reach out! Our digital expertise can help you make the most of your online presence, just as we did for the client.
Let’s jump on a call and discuss your business goals right away!
