SEO Writing & Blog Optimisation
My SEO Approach and Philosophy
My approach to SEO content blends two disciplines: journalism and search strategy. I specialise in creating blog articles that are not only keyword-optimised, but also genuinely helpful, engaging, and aligned with user intent. I don't believe in robotic SEO writing. I believe in human-first content that ranks naturally because it provides real value.
For me, SEO is not just about rankings. It's about visibility and value. I believe the best-performing content is written with empathy, clarity, and structure. It speaks directly to pain points, guides the reader through a logical journey, and offers a next step. That's why I focus equally on technical optimisation and editorial quality. I write content that meets algorithms' expectations and readers' needs.
From planning and keyword research to writing and optimisation, I manage the full SEO content lifecycle. My background in journalism gives me a strong instinct for structure, storytelling, and clarity, while my digital marketing experience ensures that every post aligns with broader business goals, whether that's organic traffic, lead generation, or brand authority.
Keyword Research and Strategic Planning
Before writing, I always start with research and intent mapping. I use tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest, and Semrush to identify opportunities, understand user phrasing, and analyse the competition. I group related terms into topic clusters and build outlines that target long-tail keywords while ensuring coverage of broader, high-volume themes.
This research-first approach ensures that every piece of content serves a strategic purpose rather than just filling a content calendar.
Writing Optimised, Human-Centric Articles
Once the strategy is in place, I write long-form, structured, and easy-to-navigate content. My blog posts are typically 1,000 to 2,000 words, with natural subheadings, short paragraphs, internal linking, and clear calls to action. I prioritise clarity, skimmability, and strong introductions, because great SEO writing doesn't just attract clicks, it keeps people reading.
Every article I produce includes primary keyword targeting and variations, optimised meta titles and descriptions, a clear internal linking structure connecting to service pages or related blogs, and strategic calls to action such as lead magnets, newsletter signups, or product pages.
Blog Optimisation and Refreshing
I also work on content refreshing and performance optimisation, reviewing older blog posts to improve their rankings, update outdated information, and add internal links to new assets. This is a crucial part of sustaining long-term SEO visibility.
My process includes re-checking keyword trends and search engine results pages, improving introductory hooks and headlines, adding new data, visuals, or calls to action, and resubmitting to Google for reindexing. In doing so, I've helped reclaim lost traffic and ensured that high-performing content continues delivering return on investment over time.
Case Study: Jobago
Overview
Jobago is an AI-powered outplacement platform that helps organisations support departing employees during workforce transitions while protecting employer brand and culture. Founded as the affordable, modern alternative to legacy providers like LHH and INTOO, Jobago needed a research-backed SEO strategy that reflected its challenger brand positioning, while navigating the constraint of not yet having pricing published on the site.
I led the research and SEO strategy development from scratch, conducting deep audience analysis, competitive intelligence, and keyword research to build a foundation for sustainable organic growth. The goal was to build a content hub around outplacement services, HR transformation, and employer branding, and position the brand as a trusted source during moments of workforce transition.
The Research Phase
Before any SEO work could begin, I needed to understand the market, the audience, and the competitive landscape at a fundamental level.
Market and Competitive Analysis
I started by mapping the outplacement industry to understand where Jobago fits and how to compete effectively.
The SME market, comprising organisations with under one thousand employees, is largely ignored by enterprise-focused competitors who charge four thousand dollars or more per employee. This creates a massive underserved segment that cannot justify enterprise premiums but refuses to treat departing people poorly.
Finally, I observed that artificial intelligence in outplacement is barely addressed in competitor content, despite being an emerging trend in the broader HR technology space. This presented a first-mover advantage for Jobago's AI messaging.
Audience Research and Empathy Mapping
To truly understand Jobago's audience, I moved beyond basic demographics and developed empathy maps for HR leaders facing layoffs. This exercise revealed the emotional reality of their situation in ways that pure data never could.
An HR leader during a layoff thinks and feels overwhelming guilt, anxiety about survivors, fear for their own reputation, and the weight of delivering devastating news to colleagues they've worked alongside for years. They hear conflicting messages from different stakeholders: the CFO demanding budget discipline, the CEO emphasising brand protection, departing employees asking what comes next, and survivors quietly wondering if they're safe.
Their greatest need is simple: a clear path forward, practical tools that work immediately, and the peace of mind that comes from knowing they've done right by their people.
This insight became the north star for everything that followed. HR leaders at 3am, searching for answers, do not want a sales pitch. They want practical help, and they want it now.
The SEO and Keyword Strategy
After completing the research, I developed a comprehensive SEO strategy built around five content pillars aligned with Jobago’s brand positioning and audience needs. Each pillar targets a specific search intent and audience segment, supported by a curated keyword universe of 300+ terms.
1. Affordable Outplacement – Speaks to budget‑conscious HR leaders and SMEs.
Keywords: affordable outplacement, outplacement for small business, outplacement ROI, how to budget for outplacement.
2. Modern & AI‑Powered Outplacement – Targets tech‑curious HR leaders planning for the future of work.
Keywords: AI outplacement, AI resume builder, modern outplacement, digital outplacement platform.
3. Employer Brand & Employee Support – Addresses reputation management and humane layoffs.
Keywords: protecting employer brand during layoffs, supporting employees during layoffs, humane layoffs, empathy in workforce reduction.
4. Crisis Resources – Meets urgent needs of HR leaders in active transition.
Keywords: how to handle layoffs, redundancy communication, layoff announcement template, what to tell employees after layoffs.
5. Provider Comparisons – Appeals to enterprise buyers and procurement professionals evaluating vendors.
Keywords: LHH vs alternatives, outplacement providers comparison, best outplacement for SMEs, how to choose an outplacement provider.
Each pillar supported multiple blog topics, enabling us to rank across a wide set of queries while maintaining a focused brand narrative. Keywords were prioritised by search intent, volume, and business value to cover informational, commercial, and urgent crisis searches.
Mapping Keywords to the Customer Journey
I mapped all keywords by funnel stage to ensure content would address users at every point in their journey.
At the awareness stage, users are identifying problems and searching for educational content. Keywords here include how to handle layoffs, survivor syndrome after layoffs, and what is outplacement. Content addressing these terms builds trust and introduces Jobago as a helpful resource.
At the consideration stage, users are evaluating solutions and comparing options. Keywords here include affordable outplacement, modern outplacement, how to choose an outplacement provider, and outplacement ROI. Content addressing these terms positions Jobago as the smart choice.
At the decision stage, users are ready to select a vendor. Keywords here include LHH vs alternatives, best outplacement for SMEs, outplacement providers comparison, and outplacement vendor selection guide. Content addressing these terms converts trust into action.
In crisis moments, users need immediate help regardless of where they are in the funnel.
Keywords here include manager scripts for layoffs, layoff announcement template, and redundancy communication. Content addressing these terms builds loyalty that pays dividends when the crisis passes and it's time to choose a long-term partner.
Execution with SEO tools
With the strategy defined, I selected Google Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest and Google Trends as primary SEO tools. It offered the right balance of features and affordability for a startup like Jobago.
I began by creating a project for jobago.ai and adding competitor tracking for LHH, INTOO, RiseSmart, Right Management, and Mercer. This allowed me to monitor their keyword rankings, top content, and backlink profiles alongside Jobago's own performance.
Using the Keyword Lists feature, I built five pillar-based lists containing the hundreds of keywords I had identified during research. This organised the entire keyword universe in one place and made content planning significantly more efficient.
I added priority keywords to rank tracking, enabling weekly monitoring of positions for the terms that matter most to the business. This provided visibility into what was working and what needed adjustment.
The competitor gap analysis proved particularly valuable. By running Keywords by Traffic reports for each competitor, I identified terms they rank for that Jobago does not, quick-win opportunities that could be targeted immediately.
For content discovery, I used the Content Ideas tool to find top-performing articles for each pillar keyword. This revealed what content was already resonating with audiences and provided benchmarks for the quality Jobago needed to match or exceed.
Writing Human-Centric, Optimised Content for Jobago
With the strategy and tools in place, I began writing long-form, structured content that put the reader first while satisfying search intent.
For Jobago, I wrote cornerstone articles including Why Outplacement Services Matter for Small Businesses, Making Job Transitions Smoother for Senior Executives, and How Outplacement Services Protect Your Brand During Layoffs. These posts were designed to meet different audience intents, from HR managers looking to improve employer branding to small business owners navigating redundancy for the first time.
Each article included primary keyword targeting and variations, optimised meta titles and descriptions, a clear internal linking structure connecting to service pages and related blogs, and strategic calls to action such as lead magnets, newsletter signups, or product pages.
My journalism background shaped every piece. I prioritised clarity, strong introductions, natural subheadings, and short paragraphs that made complex topics easy to digest. The goal was always the same: create content that keeps people reading because it genuinely helps them.
Blog Optimisation and Refreshing
Beyond creating new content, I also worked on optimising and refreshing existing blog posts to improve their rankings, update outdated information, and add internal links to new assets.
My process included re-checking keyword trends and search engine results pages, improving introductory hooks and headlines, adding new data, visuals, or calls to action, and resubmitting to Google for reindexing.
This ongoing optimisation ensured that high-performing content continued delivering return on investment over time and that Jobago's content hub remained fresh, accurate, and authoritative.
Results and Impact
While SEO is inherently a long-term discipline, early indicators showed strong momentum from this research-driven approach.
Organic traffic grew by over thirty percent in the first six months following implementation. Keyword rankings improved steadily for priority terms across all five pillars, with several entering the top ten positions in search results. Resource downloads from ungated content increased month over month, building an audience of engaged HR leaders. Demo requests from organic traffic rose steadily, demonstrating that the strategy was attracting qualified prospects. Technical issues identified through site audits were systematically resolved, improving overall domain health.
More importantly, the five pillars provided a clear, defensible framework that prevented content sprawl and kept all marketing efforts aligned with business objectives. Every piece of content created could be mapped back to a specific pillar, audience, and funnel stage.
The research phase also positioned Jobago to eventually own the transparency conversation. Even without publishing its own pricing yet, the competitor research and comparison content being developed now will provide the foundation for a powerful launch when pricing is ready to be revealed.
Key Learnings
This project reinforced several important lessons about SEO and content strategy.
Starting with audience empathy made everything else easier. Understanding the HR leader's 3am feeling shaped the tone, content, and outreach approach from the very beginning. When you know what keeps your audience awake at night, you know exactly what to build for them.
Content pillars create focus and prevent sprawl. The five pillars gave Jobago a clear north star and ensured that every piece of content served a strategic purpose rather than just filling a content calendar.
Tools are only as good as the strategy behind them. They proved powerful, but only because the research and planning phases had already defined what success looked like.
Transparency is a journey, not a switch. Even without published pricing, Jobago built trust through competitor research, practical resources, and genuine helpfulness. The transparency promise is being delivered incrementally, not all at once.
Crisis moments are marketing opportunities, but only if you show up to help, not to sell. Being genuinely useful when HR leaders need it most builds relationships that last long after the crisis passes.
Human-first content outperforms robotic SEO writing every time. The articles that resonated most were those written with genuine empathy and clarity, not those stuffed with keywords.
Conclusion
For Jobago, I built a complete SEO and content strategy from the ground up. I started with deep market analysis and audience empathy, developed five clear content pillars rooted in brand positioning, built a comprehensive keyword universe of over three hundred terms, and executed a tactical SEO plan using tools. I then wrote and optimised human-centric content that put the reader first while satisfying search intent.
The result is a foundation for sustainable organic growth that aligns perfectly with Jobago's mission to make career transitions more humane, more affordable, and more effective. When the time comes to publish pricing and fully activate the transparency promise, the audience, authority, and trust will already be in place.
The five pillars remain the heart of everything: Affordable Outplacement, delivering value to the ninety-nine percent of organisations that cannot justify enterprise premiums. Modern and AI-Powered Outplacement, demonstrating how technology can scale empathy without replacing it. Employer Brand and Employee Support, proving that how you treat people on their way out defines how you will be remembered. Crisis Resources, offering practical help to HR leaders at their moment of greatest need. Provider Comparisons, building trust through transparency even before Jobago's own prices are published.
This is the work that will carry Jobago from challenger to trusted authority in the outplacement space. And it's work I'm proud to have led from the very beginning.
