Using Local SEO to rank for high-competition Terms

The Client:

Notjust is a barbers in Manchester, and a complete transformation (and quite frankly breath of fresh air) to the landscape of barbers in Manchester. Based in the artistic nirvana of the northern quarter, the team knew that getting the notjust site ranking for locality-focused terms would be a difficult one. Competition comes in the form of other barbers, salons in Manchester and even blogs/sites who write about barbering news in Manchester. This task was a little bit different, and one the team jumped on immediately.

The Process:

We started with understanding what made notjust different. Speaking to Tommy and Nathan, the collective made sure their approach to barbering reflected everything that the Manchester scene lacked. By offering unique haircuts to both men and women in an intimate, creative environment, the collective gave the Dispense Digital team an angle to begin spreading the notjust word online, in the SERP’s, and across the city. The process first involved ensuring all on-page SEO was as prepared as it could be the site, focusing on local terms where possible. Schema, maps and AMP pages were also added to the site, as we knew the majority of visits would be from mobile users.

Weekly blogs were actioned to ensure that the site was constantly refreshed by Google, whilst also focusing on outreach to local blogs and sites which both identify with the notjust ethos and love the work which the collective are doing.

Page Speed was always a primary focus, specifically for mobile users, therefore we made sure the site was kept clean, with compressed images and clear CTA’s at every point of the user journey.

The Results:

Simply put, the strategy worked. Below is a snippet of data highlighting the growth of the site. This is an ongoing project, and one the team look forward to seeing grow over the coming months.

Organic Keyword Growth:

Organic Keyword Growth