They went from close to ~7M to ~2M organic visits per month, which is odd:
1) Their reviews stem from UGC, which occasionally may be incentivized (by the SaaS companies asking for them), but it’s still better than most commercially-focused content out there.
2) Their brand extends far beyond their website, and they’re generally a trustworthy business and a well-known entity in their space.
3) As far as I’m concerned, their SEO team sits under product, which means an army of people focuses on their organic growth and maintaining its alignment with the product.
At the same time, though, the last 2 years were characterized by several changes beyond their control:
1) Forum-and-community-like websites like Reddit took a prominent position in search results (despite the quality or freshness of the results).
2) Competition for commercially-focused terms has significantly increased, with many more brands competing for the same terms in a zero-sum game.
3) Search results expanded beyond the ten blue links, with features like videos earning more real estate, visibility, and traffic.
That’s why G2’s organic growth strategy needs to change. A few unsolicited suggestions:
*Forum*
G2 should launch a forum-like section where software users can start threads, discuss topics, raise questions, and share their expertise.
The section could live under a subdomain (similar to the Learning Hub) like:
forum.
threads.
“Yes,” there will be a lot of spam, and the need for moderation is non-negotiable.
However, G2 should be the 'Reddit of software reviews,' and to achieve that, you need a forum-like section.
It's a lot of work, and it may require a significant investment
But given where things are heading and the significance of organic search in their growth strategy, they should at least consider it.
*Software Testers Network*
Guest posters adhering to the Learning Hub’s editorial guidelines are okay but belong to the old organic growth playbook.
G2 needs to build the largest network of software testers online, not the largest network of guest posters.
Simply put:
They need to partner with people who will create content (in various formats) for G2 based on actual product experience.
The content can live on the website and be distributed on channels like social media.
*Video*
G2 needs to build the most extensive video library in the world on all things software buyers are interested in.
This means video on:
- solutions (e.g., online streaming platforms)
- alternatives (e.g., wise alternatives)
- comparisons (asana vs Monday)
- job to be done (how to cancel loom)
- pricing, features, etc.
And, of course, the content needs to be mainly published on YouTube and distributed on other social media.
This way, they’ll earn not just from YouTube (organic) searches but also from Google searches as more videos from YouTube are featured on search.
What would you add?
This post was originally shared by George Chasiotis on Linkedin.