In the world of SEO, not every agency delivers what they promise. Unfortunately, many businesses only realize this after spending months (or years) on ineffective campaigns that drain budgets and stall growth, every wholesale business needs wholesale business website SEO.
This is a story about what happens when SEO is treated as a strategic discipline, not a checkbox exercise. It’s also a lesson for business owners: always measure results in context — not just with surface-level reports.
We were approached by a UK based international wholesale company whose previous SEO agency had just completed their contract. What followed was a journey of diagnosis, transformation, resilience, and ultimately, performance-driven success.
Let me take you through the case step-by-step — and show you what really moves the needle in modern SEO.
Table of Contents
- Phase 1: The Discovery – What We Inherited Was Concerning
- Phase 2: The Turnaround – Building a New Foundation for Growth
- Phase 3: The Unexpected Challenge – The Old Agency Strikes Back
- Phase 4: Responding with Data — The Power of Real Reporting
- Client Response: Confidence Restored
- Lessons for Business Owners and SEO Professionals
- Final Thoughts: Evolve or Be Replaced
Phase 1: The Discovery – What We Inherited Was Concerning
Once we signed the contract and gained access to the website and reporting dashboards, we did what any serious agency would do: conducted a full SEO audit.
And what we found was… shocking:
❌ Off-Page Issues:
- Domain Authority (DA), Page Authority (PA), and Domain Rating (DR) were critically low.
- The backlink profile included dozens of spammy, irrelevant domains — no authority, no relevance.
- No backlink diversity or strategy in place.
❌ On-Page & Content Gaps:
- The website had multiple thin content pages and lacked internal linking.
- Metadata was either duplicated or non-optimized.
- Keyword usage was outdated, targeting low-volume or obsolete search terms.
- Product and category pages were not optimized for search or user intent.
❌ Technical SEO Flaws:
- Slow page load speeds and poor Core Web Vitals.
- No structured data/schema implementation.
- Multiple canonicalization issues and crawl traps.
- XML sitemap missing or improperly configured.
❌ Strategic Oversights:
- No local SEO presence.
- No integration with Google Merchant Center.
- No structured content calendar.
- No competitive keyword mapping.
Frankly, it was clear the previous agency treated SEO like a series of generic tasks rather than a tailored growth strategy.
Phase 2: The Turnaround – Building a New Foundation for Growth
We had two choices:
- Patch the existing structure and make minor improvements.
- Burn the broken SEO foundation to the ground and rebuild it strategically.
We chose the second — and the results proved it was the right call.
✅ Step 1: Redefining the Keyword Strategy
We started by conducting comprehensive keyword research — not just by volume, but by:
- Intent (transactional, informational, navigational)
- Funnel stage (TOFU, MOFU, BOFU)
- Search trends (using Google Trends and Semrush)
- Competitor gap analysis
We ditched irrelevant legacy keywords and built a keyword map of high-potential targets:
→ Product-level terms
→ Category-level queries
→ Local + transactional combinations
→ Long-tail commercial queries with buyer intent
This gave us a clear content and optimization roadmap.
✅ Step 2: Technical & On-Page SEO Overhaul
- Optimized site speed using CDN, image compression, and lazy loading.
- Cleaned up canonical tags and removed unnecessary crawlable URLs.
- Structured headings (H1–H6) and built internal linking architecture.
- Fixed mobile usability and accessibility issues.
- Added schema markup for product, breadcrumbs, and business info.
- Submitted a clean sitemap and robots.txt file for Googlebot optimization.
✅ Step 3: Content Creation with Purpose
We created:
- Rich, keyword-optimized product and category descriptions.
- Blog content focused on industry-specific buying intent, not just fluff.
- Location pages to capture hyper-local search traffic.
- Topical clusters to signal authority in Google’s EEAT framework.
Every piece of content had a target keyword, CTA, and interlinking plan.
We shifted the off-page SEO model from quantity to quality.
Our focus:
- Earning contextual backlinks from industry-relevant blogs and directories.
- Registering the business in Google Merchant Center, niche business listings, and local citation sources.
- Avoided PBNs, spammy forums, or “quick win” links that do more harm than good.
This started to lift our DA/PA/DR steadily — with measurable credibility in Google’s eyes.
Phase 3: The Unexpected Challenge – The Old Agency Strikes Back
Just when we were gaining traction, something strange happened.
The client forwarded us a PDF from their previous agency, claiming that our SEO efforts were causing a drop in search rankings.
It was a clear attempt to create confusion, frustration, and fear. The agency had cherry-picked a few keywords — many of them irrelevant or outdated — and claimed we had “lost positions” on them.
The client, understandably, was alarmed. They asked us to explain.
Phase 4: Responding with Data — The Power of Real Reporting
Instead of reacting emotionally, we responded strategically.
Within 48 hours, we compiled:
- A full keyword comparison of 850+ terms
- Side-by-side data of:
- Average ranking position
- Impressions
- Clicks
- CTR
- Conversion value
- From both the previous agency’s tenure and ours
Here’s What the Data Said:
- ✅ 722 keywords had better impressions under our campaign
- ✅ 591 keywords were ranking in better positions than before
- ✅ CTR had improved by 38%
- ✅ Overall traffic was up by 61%
- ✅ Bounce rate had dropped by 23%
- ✅ Revenue from organic traffic had increased
More importantly, we were ranking for relevant, commercial, intent-rich keywords — not fluff terms used to inflate vanity metrics.
Client Response: Confidence Restored
The client carefully reviewed our breakdown and sent us a short but powerful message:
“This is what we expected from a real SEO team. Strategy, honesty, and results. Thank you!”
We not only earned their trust — we deepened it.
They extended the contract for 12 more months and have since referred us to two other international clients.
Lessons for Business Owners and SEO Professionals
1. Don’t Let Reports Fool You
PDF charts with downward arrows mean nothing without context.
Ask: “Which keywords? What’s their value? What’s the intent?”
2. SEO Is Not a Quick Fix
It’s a strategic, layered discipline. You must align with:
- User intent
- Search engine signals
- Technical foundations
- Conversion flow
3. Focus on What Matters
Ranking #1 for irrelevant keywords means nothing.
Ranking on Page 1 for high-intent keywords that convert? That’s everything.
4. Be Transparent, Always
Whether you’re an agency or consultant, let data and results speak. Clients respect honesty — especially in moments of uncertainty.
5. Track the Right KPIs
Don’t obsess over keyword count alone.
Measure:
- Revenue
- Impressions
- Leads
- Time on site
- Page-level engagement
- And DA/PA/DR trends over time
Final Thoughts: Evolve or Be Replaced
SEO isn’t what it was 5 years ago. Or even last year.
Search engines are evolving, users are more informed, and AI is changing how content is created, discovered, and consumed.
But one thing remains true:
👉 Those who combine technical precision, strategic thinking, and transparent execution — will win.
That’s what we aim for at Ninja Softs.
If you’re a business owner struggling to make sense of SEO or wondering if your current agency is delivering real value — let’s talk.
Need a second opinion on your website’s SEO health? Check Our SEO Services Packages
Book a free strategy call with our team and get a transparent performance audit — no fluff.
