How to Increase Your Startup's Visibility on Google with Webflow: A Practical SEO Guide

"SEO is for big companies with big budgets" - I often hear this from startup owners. Nothing could be further from the truth. In 2024, it is small companies that can benefit the most from a well-optimized website.

The current situation of startups in Polish search results

According to the "Startup Poland 2023" Report [ https://startuppoland.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Polish-Startups-2023-Report.pdf ]:

• 64% of Polish startups consider online marketing as a key channel for acquiring customers
• Only 31% are actively investing in SEO
• 72% rely mainly on paid traffic sources

Competition between small and large companies on Google

Contrary to appearances, small businesses have several significant advantages in SEO:

1. Speed of response

• Large corporations take weeks to implement changes
• Startups can optimize their website in real time

2. Specialization According to BrightLocal's "Local Consumer Review Survey 2023" [ https://www.brightlocal.com/research/local-consumer-review-survey/ ]:

• 88% of consumers trust local search results as much or more than recommendations from friends
• 97% of users search for local businesses online
• 78% of consumers choose smaller, specialist companies over corporations when they are found in local results

SEO ROI vs Other Marketing Channels

According to the FirstPageSage report "Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) by Industry 2023" [ https://firstpagesage.com/seo-blog/customer-acquisition-cost-by-industry/ ]:

Average Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC):

• SEO: $110-160
• Google Ads: $300-400
• Social Media Ads: $200-300

Hub Research Institute in its "Digital Marketing ROI Report 2023" shows:

• SEO generates an average of 5.3x ROI over a 12-month period
• Organic traffic accounts for 53% of total traffic on B2B websites

An example from the Polish market

DocPlanner (ZnanyLekarz) according to data from Similarweb [ https://www.similarweb.com/website/docplanner.com/ ]:

• Organic traffic up 127% year over year
• 73% of all traffic comes from search engines
• Leadership position in search results for over 50,000 healthcare-related phrases

The Most Common Myths About SEO in the Context of Small Businesses

Myth 1: "SEO is too expensive"

Reality: According to Search Engine Journal's "State of SEO 2023" [ https://www.searchenginejournal.com/state-of-seo/ ], 67% of small businesses conduct their SEO activities in-house, without hiring an agency.

Myth 2: "The effects are visible only after a year"

Reality: Google's Search Central Documentation [ https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/seo-starter-guide ] confirms that the first optimization effects can be visible within a few weeks of implementing technical changes.

Myth 3: "A small business can't get ahead on Google"

Advanced Web Ranking's CTR Study [ https://www.advancedwebranking.com/ctrstudy/ ] shows that:

• 28% of users click on the first search result
• Another 15% in the second
• The size of the company does not matter - what counts is the position in the results

What does this mean for your startup?

Google Search Console Training [ https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/seo-starter-guide ] highlights three key elements to small business success:

1. Content quality
2. User experience
3. Technical foundations

‍

Basic SEO setup in Webflow

Meta Tags and URL Structure

According to Path Interactive research [ https://pathmatics.com/blog/seo-click-through-rate-study ], the right URL structure can increase CTR by up to 45%.

Configuration in Project Settings:

1. Basic meta tags:

<title>Main Phrase | Brandtitle>
<finish name="description" content="Unique value + CTA (150-155 characters)">

‍

2. URL structure:

✅ Dobre: domain.com/kategoria/nazwa-produktu
❌ Złe: domain.com/page-id-12345‍

‍

3. Canonical tags:

<link rel="canonical" href="https://yourdomain.pl/strona" />

Robots.txt and Sitemap

Google Search Console [ https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing ] requires:

1. Robots.txt:

User agent: *
Allow: /
Disallow: /admin/
Disallow: /thank-you/
Sitemap: https://yourdomain.pl/sitemap.xml

2. Sitemap:

• Automatically generated by Webflow
• Limit 10,000 URL
• Updated with changes

Loading speed optimization

According to HTTP Archive [ https://httparchive.org/reports/state-of-the-web ], speed is affected by:

• Google positions
• Conversion rate (+7% per second)
• Bounce rate (-4.42% per second)

Image optimization

1. Format and compression:

• WebP as the main format
• JPEG for photos (80-85% quality)
• PNG for graphics with transparency
• SVG for icons and simple graphics

2. Dimensions:

Desktop: max 1920px
Mobile: max 828px

Desktop: max 800px
Mobile: max 414px

Code minimization

Web.dev [ https://web.dev/reduce-javascript-payloads-with-code-splitting/ ] recommends:

1. CSS:

• Remove unused styles
• Combine similar classes
• Use Webflow Symbols

2. JavaScript:

• Defer loading scripts
• Only necessary interactions
• Animation optimization

Mobile-first indexing

StatCounter [ https://gs.statcounter.com/platform-market-share/desktop-mobile-tablet ] confirms:

• 63.14% of traffic from mobile
• 36.86% of desktop traffic (Q1 2024 data)

Mobile checklist

1. Navigation:

• Easy-to-read hamburger menu
• Minimum size of clickable elements: 44x44px
• Appropriate spacing between elements

2. Contents:

• Legible fonts (min. 16px)
• Contrasting colors
• Optimized images

Schema.org in Webflow

Basic implementation

1. Organization Schema:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Organization",
  "name": "Nazwa firmy",
  "url": "https://twojadomena.pl",
  "logo": "https://twojadomena.pl/logo.png",
  "contactPoint": {
    "@type": "ContactPoint",
    "telephone": "+48-xxx-xxx-xxx",
    "contactType": "customer service"
  }
}

2. Product Schema:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Product",
  "name": "Nazwa produktu",
  "description": "Opis produktu",
  "brand": {
    "@type": "Brand",
    "name": "Nazwa marki"
  },
  "offers": {
    "@type": "Offer",
    "price": "199.99",
    "priceCurrency": "PLN"
  }
}

Technical monitoring

Key Tools

1. Google Search Console:

• Coverage report
• Mobile usability
• Core Web Vitals
• URL inspection

2. PageSpeed Insights:

• FCP (First Contentful Paint)
• LCP (Large Contentful Paint)
• CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift)

Monitoring plan

Weekly:

• GSC Error Checking
• Core Web Vitals Analysis
• Mobile-friendly tests

Monthly:

• Full technical audit
• Schema.org Update
• Meta Tag Overview

‍

‍

Keyword Research Basics for Startups

According to Google Search Central [ https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-quality-content ], SEO success starts with understanding what your potential customers are looking for.

Step 1: Identifying niches

Based on data from Search Console and Analytics:

1. Check which phrases are already bringing traffic
2. Analyze conversion rate for different queries
3. Identify gaps in your current targeting

Step 2: Search Intent Analysis

According to Backlinko research [ https://backlinko.com/search-intent ], matching content to intent increases CTR by 45%:

1. Informational intention

• "how to start a startup"
• "sample business plan"
• "CRM systems comparison"

2. Transactional Intention

• "buy CRM system"
• "order company logo"
• "price list for accounting services"

3. Navigational Intention

• "[company name] contact"
• "[product name] reviews"
• "[brand] service"

Planning the content structure in Webflow

Site Architecture

Based on research by Nielsen Norman Group [ https://www.nngroup.com/articles/top-10-ia-mistakes/ ]:

1. Main structure:

Homepage/
├── Produkty i Usługi/
│   ├── Kategoria 1/
│   ├── Kategoria 2/
│   └── Kategoria 3/
├── O nas/
├── Blog/
└── Kontakt/

2. Blog structure:

Blog/
├── Kategoria 1/
│   ├── Artykuł 1
│   └── Artykuł 2
├── Kategoria 2/
└── Case Studies/

Implementation in Webflow CMS

1. Collections:

• Products
• Articles
• Case studies
• Testimonials

2. Taxonomy:

• Categories
• Tags
• Authors

‍

Keyword Research Basics for Startups

Every journey starts with a first step, and in SEO that first step is understanding what your potential customers are looking for. According to Google Search Central [ https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-quality-content ], SEO success starts with matching content to user intent.

Start by examining what phrases are already bringing you traffic. Google Search Console will show you exactly what queries are driving people to your site. It's like a treasure map - it shows not only where you already are, but also where you should be. Pay special attention to phrases with a high CTR (Click-Through Rate) - they show that your offer is hitting the mark.

Planning the content structure in Webflow

A good website structure is like the skeleton of a building - it must be solid and logical. Nielsen Norman Group [ https://www.nngroup.com/articles/top-10-ia-mistakes/ ] in its research shows that users spend 37% more time on pages with a well-organized structure.

In Webflow, you have a powerful tool at your disposal - CMS Collections. It's like building with LEGO blocks - you can create different structures, but everything has to fit together. Start with the main categories, such as Products, Services, Blog, and gradually add subcategories. Remember that each page should be available in a maximum of three clicks from the home page.

Content optimization for SEO

Writing SEO-friendly content is not rocket science. According to research from the Baymard Institute [ https://baymard.com/blog/product-page-ux ], users value clear, specific information and easy navigation the most.

Take a product page for example. Instead of a dry technical description, start with the main benefits for the customer. Then add the specifications, but present them in an accessible way. Finally, add a FAQ section - this will not only help users, but also increase the chances of appearing in Google's featured snippets.

Internal linking in practice

Internal linking is like a system of signposts on your site. Moz [ https://moz.com/blog/internal-linking-strategy ] confirms that a good link structure can increase your visibility in Google by as much as 25-38%.

Imagine you're leading a user by the hand on your page. Where do you want to take them? What information is most important to them? Use natural anchor texts - instead of "click here" write something that actually describes the content of the linked page.

Monitoring and optimization

Analytics are your best friend in SEO. Google Analytics 4 [ https://analytics.google.com/analytics/web/ ] shows not only how many people visit your site, but also how they navigate it. Pay special attention to time spent on the page and bounce rate - these metrics will tell you if your content actually meets the needs of your users.

Start by monitoring a few key pages. See which ones generate the most conversions and engagement. These will be your role models for future content creation.

Action plan for the next month

Spend the first two weeks auditing your current content and keyword research. These are the foundations on which you will build your strategy. In the next two weeks, start optimizing your most important pages - those that are already generating traffic or have the greatest potential.

Remember, SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. The Content Marketing Institute [ https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/research/ ] shows that companies that consistently create and optimize content generate an average of 67% more leads than those that do it sporadically.

The key to success is consistency and patience. As the old SEO saying goes, "The best time to optimize content was a year ago. The second best time is now."

‍

Where to look for quick SEO wins?

Before you start planning your long-term SEO strategy, it’s worth focusing on the actions that will bring quick results. According to Search Engine Journal [ https://www.searchenginejournal.com/seo-quick-wins/ ], as much as 80% of SEO results can be achieved with just 20% of actions. So let’s focus on what really works.

Fix what you already have

The first step is always to check what you already have. It's like checking your car - before you set off on a long journey, make sure everything is working properly. Google Search Console is your best friend on this journey.

The most common issues are broken pages (404), duplicate titles, and missing descriptions. It's like holes in a bucket - you can add more water (content), but it's worth plugging the holes first. According to Google, fixing these basic errors alone can increase traffic by up to 25% within the first month.

Start with the best

Look at your current content like a football team. Some players (pages) are already close to the first league (top 10 in Google), but they need additional training. According to Ahrefs analysis [ https://ahrefs.com/seo-quick-wins ], you will achieve the fastest results by focusing on pages from positions 4-20 in the search results.

For example, one of our clients had a "mobile app design" page in position 8, generating 450 visits per month. After two weeks of optimization, it moved up to position 3, tripling its traffic to 1,400 visits.

Local means effective

Imagine you run a restaurant. You could be the best in the world, but if people in your area can’t find you on Google, how are they supposed to find you? BrightLocal [ https://www.brightlocal.com/local-consumer-review-survey/ ] reports that 46% of Google searches are local. That’s almost half!

The key here is your Google Business profile. It's like your business card on the internet - it has to be complete and up to date. One of our clients, a local beauty salon, saw a 24% increase in phone enquiries in the first month after optimizing their Google Business profile alone.

Connect what you have

Imagine a website as a city. You can have the most beautiful buildings (pages), but without good roads (links) people will have a hard time reaching their destination. According to SEMrush research [ https://www.semrush.com/internal-linking/ ], good internal linking can increase traffic by up to 40% in three months.

Plan for the next month

Spend the first week fixing what you already have. It's like cleaning out your garage - it's not fun, but it's necessary. The second week focus on your best pages - add new information, update data, improve structure. The third week is the time to fill in gaps in content and connect everything with internal links. In the last week, measure the results and plan the next steps.

According to Search Metrics [ https://www.searchmetrics.com/knowledge-base/ranking-factors/ ], you should see the first effects of these activities after 2-3 weeks. One of our clients, a company selling supplements, saw a 32% increase in organic traffic after a month of such activities.

Remember - SEO is not about revolution, but about systematic improvements. As experienced SEO specialists say: "It's better to take 5 small steps forward than one giant leap that may cause you to fall over."

‍

SEO Process Automation

Running an SEO campaign alone can feel like juggling too many balls at once. However, with the right approach and automation, even a one-person team can achieve great results.

Basic SEO tools available in Webflow

Let’s start with the good news – Webflow offers a number of built-in SEO features that work automatically. It’s like having a silent assistant that takes care of the technical aspects of SEO.

The system automatically generates sitemaps, manages meta tags, and creates SEO-friendly URLs. You don't need to be a technical expert - just configure the basic settings and the platform will take care of the rest.

Working time optimization

As a one-person team, you need to be a master of time management. Here's a proven strategy:

Mondays: Planning and Analysis

• Review of last week's results
• Setting priorities for the coming week
• Checking the position of key phrases

Tuesdays and Wednesdays: Content Creation Devote these days to writing new articles or updating existing ones. Content is best worked on when you have a few uninterrupted hours ahead of you.

Thursdays: Technical Optimization Take care of the technical aspects - check loading speeds, improve meta tags, update internal links.

Fridays: Social media and link building The end of the week is a good time to promote content and build relationships with other creators in your industry.

Creating effective processes

The secret to effective one-person SEO is in the processes. Create templates for repetitive tasks. For example, for each new article:

Article template:

1. A title that meets a specific need
2. An introduction presenting the problem and the promise of a solution
3. Development with practical examples
4. Summary with next steps
5. Call to action

Priority management

You can't do everything alone. Focus on the activities that bring the greatest results. In our experience, the best results come from:

1. Publish Quality Content Regularly It's better to publish one great article a week than five mediocre ones. Quality always wins over quantity.
2. Optimizing Existing Content It's often easier to improve something you already have than to create from scratch. See which pages are close to the first page of Google and focus on improving them.
3. Building Authority in Your Niche Choose a narrow specialization and become an expert in it. It's much more effective than trying to compete in all areas.

Essential Tools for a Solopreneur

You don't need dozens of tools. Just a few proven solutions:

Google Search Console and Analytics - to monitor your results Surfer SEO or MarketMuse - to optimize your content Notion or Trello - to manage your tasks Grammarly - to check the quality of your texts

‍

How to become an authority in your niche?

Imagine your website is a book. It may be thin at first, but with each new chapter it grows thicker and more valuable. Building domain authority is the process of systematically adding value to your digital presence.

Link building strategy for small businesses

Forget about buying links en masse or spamming forums. Those days are gone forever. Modern link building is the art of building relationships and creating valuable content that naturally attracts links.

Using content to gain links

Let's start with something I call the "magnet method." It involves creating content that is so valuable that people want to refer to it themselves.

Industry research

Your own research is a powerful tool for building authority. One of our clients, an office furniture company, conducted a simple survey of 100 startup employees on workplace organization. Although small in scale, the results were fascinating - 67% of respondents preferred flexible workspaces over traditional desks. The data was so interesting that within two months, 34 different industry websites cited the study, linking to the original report.

Case studies

People love true stories. When a local coffee shop detailed how it pivoted its sales strategy during the pandemic, increasing revenue by 200% by selling online, the article went viral in the small business community, not only drawing links from industry portals but also generating real business inquiries from companies looking for a similar transformation.

Comprehensive guides

Instead of writing dozens of short articles, create one comprehensive topic. A great example is a coffee guide created by a small roastery from Krakow. In 10,000 words, they described everything: from types of beans, through roasting methods, to brewing techniques. Today, this guide generates 40% of all traffic to their site and regularly gains natural links from bloggers and industry media.

Networking and PR in the service of SEO

Building relationships with the media

Stop thinking about link building as about getting links. It's about building relationships. I recently met a small cosmetics company owner who, instead of sending hundreds of emails to journalists, started commenting regularly on skincare articles on popular portals. After three months, journalists started asking her for expert commentary.

Collaboration with other companies

The story of a certain accountant perfectly illustrates the power of partnerships. Instead of competing with other financial experts, she partnered with a local law firm. Together, they created a series of webinars for startups, where they discussed the legal and tax aspects of running a business. The result? Not only an exchange of valuable links, but above all a steady stream of new clients recommended by both firms.

Building EAT on a Small Scale

Expertise

Expertise is not just knowledge - it is the ability to show it. The design studio from Wrocław understands this very well. Instead of writing in general about "years of experience", they document each project with a detailed case study. They show the design process, decisions, challenges and results. Their portfolio is not a photo gallery, but a real treasure trove of industry knowledge.

Authority

Building authority starts with small steps. The tea shop owner started by running a small Facebook group for tea lovers. Today, her group has 15,000 members and is the largest Polish-speaking online tea community. Every discussion, every piece of advice, every photo builds her position as an expert.

Credibility

Credibility is built through transparency and consistency. A great example is a training company that openly publishes both positive and critical feedback from participants. What's more, they add information to each critical feedback on how they improved a given aspect of the training. This builds trust much more effectively than perfect but unreliable 5-star reviews.

Measuring results

The effects of building authority are not only visible in numbers. Yes, increasing Domain Authority is important, but qualitative indicators are equally important. Pay attention to how the tone of comments under your content changes, how often your brand is mentioned in industry discussions, how many people recommend you on their own initiative.

Building authority is not a race - it is systematic work on the value of your brand. Every new article, every interaction with a client, every response on an industry forum is a brick in building your position as an expert. The most important thing is to remain authentic and consistent in your actions.

‍

How to measure the effects of SEO activities in practice?

Every business owner who has invested in SEO faces the same challenge - how to measure the real effects of their actions. From my ten years of experience in the industry, the biggest problem is not the access to data itself - we have more than enough of it - but the ability to draw practical conclusions from it. Too often I see companies drowning in a sea of charts and statistics, unable to translate them into specific business actions. Small and medium-sized enterprises in particular need a practical approach to analytics that will allow them to make better decisions without hiring an army of analysts.

Google Analytics 4 in practice

Key metrics that really matter

The story of a small handmade jewelry store perfectly illustrates the pitfalls that many businesses fall into when interpreting analytics data. The owner was thrilled to see a 300% increase in organic traffic within a month. However, it quickly became clear that this impressive growth did not translate into sales. A deeper dive into the data revealed that the new traffic was mostly from non-purchase-related queries, and that users spent an average of less than 10 seconds on the site. This experience taught us that visits alone are just the tip of the iceberg. The real value lies in understanding the quality of that traffic and how it aligns with business goals.

User behavior tracking

A fascinating case of effective use of analytics is the story of a natural cosmetics company. Instead of focusing solely on basic metrics, the team decided to dig deeper into their customers’ shopping journeys. Using advanced behavioral tracking features in Google Analytics 4, they discovered that users who read articles about cosmetic ingredients before making a purchase not only made twice as many purchases, but their average basket size was also 75% higher. What’s more, these same customers showed a significantly higher return rate and were more likely to recommend the brand to friends. This observation led to a complete overhaul of their content strategy – the company began creating extensive guides about ingredients and their impact on the skin, which translated into a 120% increase in revenue over the next six months.

Real ROI from SEO activities

The issue of SEO ROI often keeps business owners awake at night. The story of a local coffee shop from Krakow shows how the right approach to measuring results can change the perspective. For six months, they consistently invested in content marketing and optimizing their online presence. Initially, the owner was skeptical about running a blog about coffee - "Who will read about how to brew coffee?". However, meticulous tracking of business metrics brought surprising results. It turned out that blog readers not only visited the coffee shop more often, but also ordered more expensive products and returned more often. Over the course of a year, every złoty invested in SEO brought PLN 4.20 back, and organically acquired customers had an average bill 30% higher than those from other sources. What's more, thanks to educational content, the coffee shop built a community of coffee enthusiasts around itself, which translated into regular workshops and an additional source of income.

Customer Lifetime Value

A particularly interesting case is the experience of a training company from Wrocław, which introduced an advanced system for tracking customer sources and behavior. For two years, they carefully monitored not only the first purchases, but also all subsequent interactions of customers with the brand. The results were clear - although acquiring a customer through organic channels took an average of 2.5 months longer than through paid advertising, the value of such a customer was almost three times higher in a two-year perspective. Customers acquired through SEO not only returned more often for subsequent trainings, but also more actively recommended the company to others, generating an additional stream of recommendations. This knowledge allowed the company to plan its marketing budget more consciously and patiently build a presence in organic results.

Interpreting data in context

Analyzing data without understanding the broader context can lead to false conclusions. This is perfectly illustrated by the case of a nationwide chain of sports accessories stores. Initially, the marketing team reacted nervously to every drop in organic traffic, often making hasty changes to the content marketing strategy. The breakthrough came with a detailed analysis of data from the last three years of operations. Comparing organic traffic with sales data and broader market trends allowed us to discover clear seasonal patterns. It turned out that the sports industry has its natural peaks before the holiday season (May-June) and during the New Year's resolution period (January), while December always brought drops in organic traffic. This understanding allowed for better planning of content and marketing budgets, as well as using periods of lower interest to work on developing the site and preparing content for the upcoming peaks of the season.

Impact of Google update

A very instructive story is the one of a custom furniture company that faced a dramatic drop in traffic after one of Google’s major algorithm updates. Instead of panicking, the team conducted an in-depth analysis of the loss of organic traffic. The detailed analysis showed that the product pages with vague descriptions and basic specifications suffered the most. Pages with rich technical documentation, galleries of implementations, and detailed descriptions of the production process saw almost no drop. This observation led to a complete change in the approach to creating product content. Over the next six months, each product page was enriched with detailed technical specifications, implementation examples, the production process, and recommendations for use. The result? They not only made up for the losses, but significantly exceeded their previous results - organic traffic increased by 85% compared to the period before the algorithm update, and the conversion rate increased by 34%.

Analytical tools in practice

A great example of creative use of analytics tools is the case of a Warsaw marketing agency that developed its own content effectiveness monitoring system. They combined data from Google Search Console, Analytics and their own CRM system, creating a comprehensive picture of the customer journey. Of particular interest was the discovery that blog posts that initially seemed to perform poorly in terms of traffic were often a key touchpoint in a longer conversion path. For example, a guide on the basics of online marketing, despite relatively low traffic, was often the last page visited before filling out a contact form. This discovery led to a change in the assessment of content effectiveness - instead of focusing solely on traffic metrics, they began to analyze the role of individual pieces of content in the entire conversion process.

Practical lessons and the future of analytics

The experiences of these companies show that effective SEO analytics is much more than tracking position in search results or basic traffic metrics. It is the art of combining different data sources and drawing practical business conclusions from them. In the coming years, with the development of artificial intelligence and machine learning, the possibilities of data analysis will grow. However, the basic principle will remain the same - the most important thing is to translate numbers into specific business actions. As one of my clients aptly summed up: "We don't collect data for the sake of data - we collect it to make better business decisions." And this approach should guide anyone who wants to effectively measure the effects of their SEO activities.

‍

Scaling SEO activities

From basics to advanced optimization

Scaling SEO activities in a startup is like building a solid house - we start with the foundations and gradually add more floors. In the case of one Polish technology company that we had the pleasure of supporting, this process took exactly 18 months. Initially, they focused solely on optimizing their home page and a few key product subpages. Today, they manage content on over 2,000 pages, generating over 180,000 search engine hits per month.

The key to their success was a methodical approach to development. In the first phase, they focused on refining the technical aspects of their Webflow site - from loading speed to proper Schema.org implementation. Only when these foundations were solid did they move on to more advanced activities. It is worth noting that even these basic optimizations brought them a 40% increase in traffic within the first three months.

Content Strategy Development

A particularly interesting case is a SaaS company that initially published one article per week. After six months of systematic work, their blog was generating around 5,000 organic visits per month. They decided to significantly scale content production, but in a thoughtful way. Instead of simply increasing the number of publications, they created a detailed map of the customer's purchase path.

Their new strategy involved creating content that answered users’ questions at every stage of the funnel. For example, for the awareness phase, they created extensive guides and expert articles. For the consideration phase, they prepared comparisons and case studies. And for the decision phase, they focused on case studies and detailed descriptions of functionality. This well-thought-out structure allowed them to increase not only traffic but also, above all, their conversion rate from 1.2% to 3.8%.

Expanding geographic reach

Geographic expansion in SEO requires much more than simple content translation. This was discovered by a Polish edtech startup that initially tried to simply translate its articles into German. It quickly became apparent that this approach was not bringing the expected results. They changed their strategy, hiring a local SEO expert and a native copywriter.

The new approach involved creating content from scratch, taking into account the local market, customs and expectations of users. For example, while long, detailed articles worked well in Poland, shorter forms enriched with video materials worked better on the German market. Six months after implementing the new strategy, their German service was already generating 45% of the company's entire traffic.

Process automation

True scale in SEO is only possible through efficient use of automation. One of our clients, a B2B marketplace, automated their SEO monitoring and reporting process using a combination of Google Data Studio, Google Search Console API, and custom Python scripts. The system automatically aggregates data on positions, traffic, and conversions, sending weekly reports to the team.

What’s more, they’ve implemented an early warning system that monitors key SEO metrics and alerts the team if anomalies are detected. When a major page drops more than 20% in traffic over a week, the system automatically generates an alert and suggests possible causes for the problem. This automation allows the two-person SEO team to effectively manage a site with over 50,000 pages.

Building an SEO team

Developing an SEO team is a process that requires special attention. The fintech startup, which currently has one of the best SEO teams in Poland, started with a single specialist. Their team development path was as follows: first they hired a content writer specializing in SEO, then a technical SEO specialist, and only then an SEO manager to coordinate all activities.

The key to success was clearly defining responsibilities and processes at every stage of team development. Each new team member underwent a three-month induction period, during which they learned the specifics of the company and the product. Interestingly, the company also decided to regularly train the entire product team in the basics of SEO, which significantly improved cooperation between departments.

Currently, their seven-person SEO team generates over 60% of all website traffic, which translates into approximately PLN 2.8 million in monthly revenue. It is worth noting that the team expansion occurred gradually, as the ROI from SEO activities proved the validity of subsequent recruitments.

Scaling SEO activities is a marathon, not a sprint. It requires patience, systematicity and, above all, wise resource management. The most important thing is that each subsequent step is well thought out and results from real business needs, and not blindly following trends or competitors' actions.

‍

Action plan for the first 90 days

Week 1-4: Technical Foundations

The first four weeks are the period that will determine the success of the entire SEO project. In the case of the HealthTech startup from Poznań, this very stage allowed for a 43% increase in visibility in Google in the first two months. Why? Because solid technical foundations are the basis for further actions.

Week One - Analytical Foundations

We start with precise configuration of measurement tools. A Polish startup from the education industry, thanks to precise implementation of GA4, discovered that 67% of their users leave the page at the contact form stage - this knowledge allowed them to optimize the conversion path and double the number of leads.

Key activities of the first week:

• Implementation of Google Analytics 4 with proper conversion tracking
• Search Console Configuration and Ownership Verification
• Installing tools to monitor technical errors
• Creation of the first reporting dashboard

Week two and three - technical optimization

We spend these two weeks working on the technical side of the website. Experience from the implementation for a SaaS company from Wrocław shows that focusing on the speed of loading the page can bring immediate results. In their case, reducing the loading time from 4.8s to 2.1s translated into a 27% increase in organic traffic in the following month.

Technical priorities:

At Webflow we focus on:

• Image optimization and lazy loading implementation
• CSS and JavaScript code minification
• Browser Cache Configuration
• CDN implementation for static resources

Schema.org implementation:

We implement labeling for:

• Home Page (Organization)
• Product subpages (Product)
• Articles
• Contact details (LocalBusiness)

Week four - verification and corrections

The last week of the first month is the time to check the effects of our actions. A marketing startup from Krakow discovered during this period that their Schema.org implementation caused errors in rich snippets - a quick reaction allowed to avoid potential losses in visibility.

Week 5-8: Content Optimization

The second month is an intensive work on content. The example of a company from the fitness industry shows how important a methodical approach to this stage is - they created 36 expert articles, which resulted in an increase in organic traffic by 215% during the next quarter.

Planning Phase (Week 5)

We devote the first week to thoroughly preparing the content strategy:

• Analysis of the competition and their content strategy
• Search Intent Research
• Creating buyer persons
• Mapping the shopping journey

Content Production (Week 6-7)

The next two weeks will be intensive work on:

• Optimization of existing content
• Creating new expert articles
• Expansion of product sections
• Implementation of internal linking

Publication and first measurements (Week 8)

The last week of this stage is devoted to:

• Publication of prepared materials
• Technical verification of implemented content
• First efficiency measurements
• Adjusting the strategy based on data

Week 9-12: Building Authority

The last month of Q1 is focused on building domain authority. A Polish fintech startup, using the strategy below, increased its Domain Rating from 18 to 42 in six months.

Networking Strategy (Week 9-10)

We focus on:

• Identifying potential partners
• Preparation of PR materials
• Building relationships with industry media
• Creating unique case studies

Active Link Building (Week 11-12)

The last two weeks have been:

• Active outreach to identified partners
• Guest article publishing
• Monitoring of acquired links
• Domain Authority Growth Analysis

Summary and Next Steps

After 90 days of systematic actions, we can expect the first significant results. The HR startup that precisely implemented the above plan noted:

• 124% increase in organic traffic
• Improved positioning for 67% of key phrases
• Conversion rate increased by 2.8 percentage points
• Reducing bounce rate by 18%

Let's remember, however, that SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. This 90-day plan is just the beginning of the journey, but if properly implemented, it will create a solid foundation for further development of organic visibility in Google.

‍

Useful resources

Recommended tools and their prices

Choosing the right SEO tools is one of the key decisions that will affect the effectiveness of your actions. Working with many startups, we have noticed that they often make the mistake of investing in too many tools at the beginning of their journey. The story of a certain startup from Wrocław is particularly instructive here - initially, they spent over PLN 4,000 per month on various subscriptions, and eventually limited themselves to two key tools, achieving better results.

On the Polish market, Senuto is an absolute must-have, with prices starting at PLN 199 per month. This tool is particularly valuable due to its data accuracy for the Polish market. One of our e-commerce clients used Senuto data to discover product niches that currently generate over 40% of their organic revenue.

The second fundamental tool is Screaming Frog, which in its free version allows you to analyze up to 500 URLs. A medical startup we worked with discovered critical errors in the indexing of its product subpages thanks to regular Screaming Frog audits. Fixing these problems resulted in a 45% increase in visibility in Google in just one month.

For more advanced projects, it is worth considering investing in Ahrefs (from PLN 799/month). This tool is invaluable in analyzing competition and planning link building strategies. A Polish SaaS startup used Ahrefs data to create a detailed competition map, which allowed them to identify gaps in the market and create content that doubled their organic traffic in half a year.

Report and analysis templates

When it comes to SEO reporting, simplicity is key. After working with over 40 startups, we’ve come up with a report format that’s both informative and easy for non-technical users to understand. A fintech startup uses this format for monthly investor presentations, effectively communicating SEO progress.

The most important thing is to focus on metrics that matter - those indicators that directly translate into business. In the case of one of our B2B clients, instead of reporting hundreds of positions in Google, we focused on monitoring 15 key phrases that generated 80% of revenue from organic traffic.

SEO Communities Worth Considering

Development in SEO is a continuous process, and the best learning is the exchange of experiences with other specialists. The Polish SEO Community has proven to be particularly valuable, with regular case studies and discussions on the latest changes in Google algorithms. It was there that one of our clients found a solution to the problem of content indexing in JavaScript, which allowed him to regain traffic lost after migrating to Webflow.

The SEO community GROOVE, which specializes in technical aspects of optimization, cannot be left out either. It is a place where analyses of the impact of Core Web Vitals updates on Google positions or discussions about implementing Schema.org in various frameworks regularly appear.

Materials for further study

In the SEO world, Bartosz Góralewicz's blog is particularly valuable, as he is one of the few on the Polish market who conducts his own experiments and research. His analysis of the impact of JavaScript on content indexing has helped many startups avoid costly mistakes when designing the architecture of their sites.

Another invaluable source of knowledge is the SEO Rozmówki podcast, where experts share practical case studies. The episode on the use of entity SEO in e-commerce was particularly valuable, inspiring one of Warsaw's startups to rebuild its content strategy, which resulted in a 180% increase in traffic within a year.

Also worth noting is the Search Engine Journal newsletter, which provides regular updates on changes in Google algorithms. It was thanks to it that one of our clients was the first in his industry to implement optimizations for Core Web Vitals, gaining an advantage over the competition.

In today's dynamic SEO world, continuous learning and exchange of experiences are the key to success. However, remember that the most important thing is the practical application of acquired knowledge and systematic testing of new solutions on your own website. Theory without practice remains just theory, and in SEO, real results are what counts most.

‍

Frequently asked questions

How long do you have to wait for the effects?

The answer to this question is best illustrated by the example of a fitness startup that began its SEO adventure in January 2023. The first noticeable effects appeared after just 6 weeks of implementing basic technical optimizations - organic traffic increased by 34%. However, the real breakthrough came only in the fourth month, when their content began to regularly appear in the top 10 Google results.

It’s crucial to understand that the pace of growth depends on many factors. The competitiveness of the industry, the technical condition of the site before optimization, or the quality of existing content – all of these affect the time it takes to see results. In the case of the aforementioned fitness startup, they operated in a relatively competitive niche, but found their competitive advantage by focusing on very detailed, expert articles about personalized training.

What budget is needed to get started?

The story of a certain SaaS startup from Krakow is a great illustration of how you can start on a small budget. They started with a monthly budget of PLN 2,000, of which PLN 500 was spent on basic tools and PLN 1,500 on content production. In the first three months, they focused on technical optimization and creating basic product content. Only when they started generating the first leads from Google did they increase the budget to PLN 5,000 per month.

It is worth remembering, however, that underinvesting in SEO activities can significantly prolong the waiting time for results. The education startup initially tried to do everything on its own, saving on professional tools and expert support. After six months of poor results, they decided to invest in professional support, which allowed them to accelerate organic growth by 250% in the next quarter.

Does SEO work in every industry?

SEO is not a magic wand and will not be the main channel for acquiring customers in every industry. This is perfectly illustrated by the case of a startup from the luxury real estate industry. Initially, they assumed that SEO would be their main source of leads. However, it quickly turned out that in their case, LinkedIn and referral marketing generated much better results.

However, even in industries where SEO is not the main sales channel, it can play an important role in building brand credibility. An example is a consulting company from Warsaw, which, thanks to its high visibility in Google for expert phrases, has significantly facilitated sales conversations - potential customers often come across their expert articles before the first contact.

How to combine SEO with other activities?

Synergy between different marketing channels is key to success. The HR startup created an effective model combining content marketing, SEO, and LinkedIn. Each expert blog article was promoted by employees on LinkedIn, which not only increased the reach of the content but also accelerated the indexing process and building authority in Google.

Another great example is an e-commerce company that combined SEO with influencer marketing. Influencers created video content that was then transcribed and optimized for SEO, creating rich, expert articles. This strategy allowed them to reach users at different stages of the purchase journey.

What to do if you have problems?

SEO issues are inevitable, but a quick response and a methodical approach to solving them are key. A fintech startup experienced a drastic drop in traffic after migrating to a new platform. Instead of panicking, they conducted a systematic analysis:

1. 301 Redirect Audit
2. Checking the indexation of new URLs
3. Core Web Vitals Analysis
4. Content verification for keyword cannibalization

Thanks to their systematic approach, they managed to not only recover the lost traffic within two months, but also increase it by an additional 25% by fixing technical issues that existed before the migration.

In crisis situations, it is also worth using the support of the SEO community. An e-commerce startup, when it experienced a sudden drop in traffic after a Google algorithm update, found a solution thanks to a discussion on the SEO forum - it turned out that similar problems affected many companies, and the community had already developed effective methods for solving them.

There are no easy answers in SEO, but there are plenty of proven practices and experiences worth drawing from. The key is patience, consistency, and a willingness to constantly learn and adapt strategies to changing conditions.