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Let me guess… you’ve read the SEO blogs, sat through the webinars, maybe even dabbled in a few tools. And still, your site traffic feels like a flatline.
You’re expected to drive organic growth, but SEO advice either feels too vague (“just create valuable content!”) or too technical to act on without an agency or a full-time specialist.
Here’s the good news: you don’t need to become an SEO wizard or wait six months to get moving. You just need a clear, simple plan you can actually follow and results that build over time.
That’s what this article is for.
You’ll walk away with a straightforward, proven 3-step roadmap you can start this week. No fluff. Just the essential moves to help your site start climbing Google’s rankings with the resources you already have.
The great part about this is that you’re about to learn, we’ve used not only for ourselves, but for other brands as well, achieving up to and more than 5x improvements in organic traffic.
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In fact, here’s another example of how we’ve seen organic traffic increase by utilising these strategies:
If you follow this guide, you could achieve the same results.
Step 1: Publish Three Helpful Articles Weekly
Let’s get one thing straight: Google doesn’t care how clever your content sounds. It cares about how helpful it is.
Since it’s Helpful Content Update, Google has doubled down on rewarding content that genuinely answers the questions your buyers are asking.
That means the path to better rankings isn’t about tricking algorithms, it’s about becoming a trusted source of answers.
So, what does “helpful” actually look like?
It looks like this:
- Answering the exact questions your buyers are Googling
- Using clear, non-fluffy language
- Being honest, even if the answer isn’t always “your product is the best”
- Creating content that’s actually written for people, not to rank, but to help
And here’s the thing… you need to do this consistently.
Aim to publish three quality articles every week. Why three? Because it creates momentum. It gives Google more to crawl. And more importantly, it gives your buyers more reasons to trust you.
But what should you write about?
Start with your sales team. What questions do buyers ask on discovery calls, in emails, or during demos? Write detailed answers to those questions.
Here’s some examples of the questions that you might find coming up:
- “How much does [your service] cost?”
- “Is [your service] better than [competitor]?”
- “What’s the process like if I sign up?”
These might seem too simple, but they’re gold. Your buyers are already searching for this. And when you answer before your competitors do, you win the click, and the trust.
Step 2: Do Strategic Keyword Research
The right keywords tell you exactly what your buyers are thinking, feeling, and needing at each stage of their journey. And when you target those keywords, your content becomes a magnet… not just for clicks, but for qualified leads.
Here’s how to do Keyword Research, without getting buried in data:
1. Start with a seed list of keywords
Begin by brainstorming a list of keywords that are directly related to your business. These are called “seed” keywords and they serve as the foundation of your research.
For instance, if you’re an RTO, keywords to consider might include “online course nsw” or “Certificate III in Business.”
2. Use keyword research tools
There are several tools that can help you expand your seed list and find the most relevant keywords for your business:
- Google Keyword Planner (Free): Provides keyword ideas and shows search volume and competition levels
- SEMrush (Paid): More advanced tools that offer in-depth keyword research, including competitor analysis, keyword difficulty, and traffic potential
Here is how you can go about keyword research in SEMrush.
- Navigate to the Magic Keyword Tool to search for phrases your audience is looking for and add your seed keyword in, making sure to select the country your business operates in.
- Then, click on the ‘Questions’ tab. This will change all the keyword searches and filter them by the questions that users are asking related to this keyword.
This gives you a grasp of what questions your buyers have. Use the volume column and KD% column to determine which are worth answering first. Generally, you’ll aim for topics that have a higher volume and a lower KD% (which indicates a lower difficulty for ranking).
These keywords then become a part of your list, and just like that, you have a list of keywords to use which are relevant for your business.
Pro Tip: Look for Long-Tail Keywords. These are longer, more specific keyword phrases that typically have lower search volume but higher intent. While “cupcakes” might be difficult to rank for due to high competition, something like “best gluten-free cupcakes in Sydney” is more targeted and may have less competition. Targeting long-tail keywords can drive more relevant traffic to your site and improve conversion rates.
You can also extend on this process by spying on your competition to see what keywords they’re ranking for (or not ranking for).
Go to “Domain Overview” and enter the company domain. Select your country and then hit the search button.
Explore the “Organic Search Traffic” and “Keywords” sections to discover the top keywords driving organic traffic to your competitor’s site and the content that’s ranking for those keywords.
This information helps you gauge the split between branded and unbranded search traffic and identify the content topics delivering significant traffic.
With this knowledge, you can:
- Find organic keyword search opportunities
- Find keywords they’re not ranking well for
You can access this information from the same Domain Overview section. Simply scroll down until you see the below tables:
This table shows the top organic keywords that the competitor is ranking for, revealing potential keyword opportunities for your brand. If you click ‘View Details’ you’ll be able to see a full list of these, as you can see in the below image.
With this data, you can filter to view the keywords with the most traffic, highest or lowest ranking, date range, country and so on. This gives you an overarching, detailed perspective of your competitors’ organic keyword ranking.
Now with this information, you’ll have a strong list of topics to start producing content around… or to build service pillar pages.
Step 3: Build Service Pillar Pages
Think of your website like a library. Blog posts are like helpful books answering specific questions. But your service pillar pages? Those are the sections that organise everything and show Google (and your buyers) what you actually do.
A pillar page is a central, in-depth page that covers a core service you offer. It links out to related blog posts and supporting content, creating a web of authority that Google loves.
Here’s how to build a service pillar page that ranks:
- Structure It Around One Core Keyword: This should be a high-intent term like “video marketing services” or “HR software for small businesses.” Use this as your page’s foundation and build from there.
- Include the Essentials: Your pillar page should clearly cover:
- What the service is
- Who it’s for
- Why it matters
- How your version of it works
- Common questions or objections buyers might have
- Strong internal links to blog posts that go deeper on specific points
- Optimise for Humans First, Google Second: Use plain language. Break up content with headers, bullet points, and visuals. Include calls to action that make sense based on where the buyer is in their journey.
- Link It All Together: Your blog posts should link back to this pillar page, and vice versa. This shows Google the relationship between your content and helps both your articles and your main pages rank better.
Pillar pages aren’t just SEO assets, they’re also sales tools. Done right, they’ll rank for your top keywords and convert the traffic into leads who already understand what you offer.
Here’s an example of a Pillar Page we’ve created which continues to drive traffic, leads and sales.
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SEO Doesn’t Have to Be a Guessing Game
SEO doesn’t have to be a guessing game or a never-ending list of complicated tasks. If you want to start ranking on Google, it comes down to doing three things consistently and well:
Answer your buyers’ questions with helpful content, week in, week out.
Use keyword research to understand what they’re actually searching for.
Build service pillar pages that position your site as the go-to authority in your space.
That’s it. No tricks. No fluff. Just smart content that earns trust and rankings.
You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to start. Pick one article topic today. Do some light keyword research. Build your first pillar page over the next two weeks.
If you do that, you won’t just show up in search, you’ll become the brand buyers choose when they find you.
And when you’re ready to take things to the next level, check out our step by step complete SEO Guide to take things up a notch.
The Ultimate Guide to SEO (Step by Step Guide)
