How we used something called “Agile SEO” to rank our tools

Since first launching it in 2020, we’re excited to see that our SERP Analysis Tool is currently ranking #1 for “SERP Analysis Tools”

And this is a SERP where ahrefs, semrush, and moz are also on the first page.

So, how did we get here?

With something we like to call "Agile SEO"

Traditionally, "Agile" is a software development approach popular in the Product Management world.

Instead of waiting to launch a product until it's perfect, you go to market with a very rough product. One that is just good enough to not be embarrassing.

This is known as an MVP, "Minimum Viable Product"

Why would you launch something that's half baked?

To get user feedback as early as possible, validate assumptions, and avoid building code without user value.

And once you get this feedback, the next step is simple- you iterate like mad, launching updates at a high frequency. And you continue the feedback process throughout.

So, how does Agile apply to SEO ?

We launched our 1st feature, the site speed comparison tool, in a very rough, MVP state.

We launched with bugs.

We launched with some UX quirks.

We launched before we built the killer schema feature that we knew was going to drive subscriptions. In fact, we had about 10 feature ideas we wanted to add.

We launched with a thoughtful H1 and a title tag and a few short paragraphs, and that was it for copy.

Then, we started the "feedback" process

-We reached out to fellow SEOs for their critique and feedback. In addition to valuable feedback, this process also drove press and backlinks.

-We started to collect data to inform SEO copy. We used GSC to find impressions with no clicks. We used keyword tools to find semantically related terms we hadn't considered.

-Once we started to rank, we came to understand our competitors. We used SEMRush to find keywords that our competitor's tools were ranking for.

This process drove new features like our SERP checker. It also led us to pivot our branding from "Site Speed Comparison Tool" to "SERP Analysis Tool".

This allowed us to compete on higher volume SEO terms and it gave context to a broader set of features.

Since our initial launch, we've deployed 86 launches and we're still collecting feedback and iterating.

So now you know. Agile is not just for software development. It works with SEO (and many other applications as well).