Today, we're pulling back the curtain on NBA Blast, a basketball-focused platform that experienced a growth of 3000% in organic traffic in just 60 days using Surfer AI generated content.
This case study was put together by Chillifruit, an SEO consulting agency who started NBA Blast as an experiment of their own. Chillifruit crafted the SEO and content strategy, wrote articles with the help of Surfer AI, and built links to NBAblast.com. The screenshots and data in this article have been provided by them and were verified.
What is NBA Blast?
NBA Blast emerged from a vision to create a trusted and authoritative domain in the realm of basketball and the NBA. Its mission is to deliver reliable information on NBA players and the latest news that NBA enthusiasts across the globe crave.
Although NBA Blast is still a work in progress, it has already made significant strides in its content journey. The website, even in its developmental stage, used AI content to experience an extraordinary surge in traffic.
NBA Blast's initial state
Before using Surfer AI, NBA Blast's keyword performance was lackluster at best.
Their keywords were rarely seen within the top 20 search results.
After using Surfer AI to create content, the same keywords started climbing the SERPs, and now, over 100 of them rank in the top 3!
This remarkable shift in keyword performance has had a clear and direct correlation with their increased traffic.
The higher they rose in the SERP rankings, the more visibility they gained, leading to a significant boost in the number of visitors to the site.
Simultaneously, their focus on building high-quality links added more fuel to this growth, creating a potent combination that propelled the site's organic popularity.
NBA Blast's SEO strategy
Despite hosting a significant amount of content dedicated to NBA and basketball enthusiasts, daily visits to the site hovered between 0 and 10, far from the website's goals.
Even more puzzling was the fact that even NBA Blast articles that made it to the top 20 search results weren't generating a lot of traffic.
Even though their articles were receiving impressions, they were not being clicked through.
The site was just not capturing the attention and engagement of its targeted audience, resulting in a persistent stagnation that NBA Blast was eager to overturn.
Implementation of Surfer AI
Recognizing the need to draw traffic with more content, NBA Blast took the decision to implement Surfer AI into its content strategy.
The team undertook an exhaustive hunt for long-tail keywords and questions most commonly searched by their target audience.
They used tools like Surfer Keyword Research tool, Answer The Public, and AlsoAsked in their keyword research process, helping identify niche-specific phrases and queries among NBA and basketball fans.
Armed with these insights, Surfer AI was set to work, diligently generating content centered around these new topics and keywords.
This long-tail keyword strategy proved exceptionally effective in resonating with NBA Blast's audience, and it continues to form the backbone of their content marketing strategy.
Surfer AI's articles balanced readability, relevance, and keyword optimization, which would give their blog posts the best chance of climbing SERP rankings.
Link Building Strategy
While on-page optimizations using Surfer AI were reaping results, the team behind NBA Blast understood the importance of strengthening off-page SEO as well.
They knew that to enhance the authority of NBA Blast, they needed a strong portfolio of high-quality backlinks.
Thus, a robust link-building strategy was simultaneously set in motion to complement the content creation efforts.
Here is one of their links on Ranktracker.
The SEO team employed a mix of diverse link-building methods to achieve this objective, including editorial placements, utilizing the Help A Reporter Out (HARO) service, link exchanges with SaaS websites, participating in expert round-ups, and investing in sponsored placements.
These approaches were tactically chosen to diversify their backlink profile, thereby maximizing the impact of their SEO efforts.
The strategy has been steady yet fruitful, resulting in around 5 new links each month.
To date, they have been able to successfully build 60 high authority backlinks, substantially boosting their domain authority and organic visibility.
Some websites where they successfully managed to create link partnerships are well-known company blogs like blog.powr.io, ranktracker.com, mention.com, and databox.com.
Even though these aren’t relevant to their niche, the editorial placements gave them a solid boost through a steady stream of link juice coming from powerful domains.
By combining traditional SEO strategies with unique, creative tactics, NBA Blast has been able to build a network of valuable backlinks, propelling the website further into the digital limelight.
Results
The dramatic impact of implementing Surfer AI on NBA Blast was clear.
A 3000% surge in traffic in just 60 days was beyond their most optimistic expectations.
But the real benefit is that this isn't a one-time spike; the traffic growth rate is continuously strong, charting an upward trend.
This demonstrates that the content, created with careful attention to long-tail keywords and backlinks, is resonating with their audience.
As for high-performing content, certain articles have become standout stars.
Generated using Surfer AI, these revolve around trending NBA topics such as player statistics, records, and trivia.
In just a short time, NBA Blast was able to evolve from a fledgling newcomer to a formidable player in the sports niche, all thanks to a well-executed content strategy that puts long-tail keyword optimization front and center.
Key takeaways
NBA Blast identified the power of the long-tail keyword approach in content creation.
This strategy, made possible by Surfer AI, combined with ink-building efforts, significantly improved traffic and search rankings.
NBABlast.com now enjoys a prominent spot in search results, making it a valuable resource for basketball enthusiasts.
- Implementing Surfer AI dramatically increased NBABlast.com's traffic by 3000%, with a consistently strong growth rate.
- Utilization of long-tail keywords identified through tools like Surfer Keyword Research Tool, Answer The Public and People Also Ask proved to be highly effective.
- Over 100 of their keywords, crafted and optimized using Surfer AI, now rank within the top 3 of SERPs, a significant leap from previously barely scraping the top 20.
- Alongside Surfer AI, a dedicated link-building strategy also contributed significantly to the boost in traffic and SERP rankings.
- The journey of NBA Blast proves the immense potential of AI content and demonstrates the effectiveness of a well-planned SEO strategy.
- Even with these great strides, they recognize the need for continuous adaptation and improvement to cater to the dynamic nature of SEO and their audience's evolving preferences.
This case study serves as a powerful testament to the potential of AI-based SEO tools and strategies, demonstrating that, with the right approach, a significant increase in organic traffic is attainable.
From languishing in obscurity with minimal daily visits, the NBA Blast website saw an astounding 3000% increase in traffic, continuing to grow steadily.
More than 100 of their keywords now rank within the top 3 of SERPs, a remarkable leap from barely scraping the top 20.
These extraordinary results can be attributed to Surfer AI's content creation, a long-tail keyword strategy and building backlinks.
Moving forward, the NBA Blast team plans to experiment with additional tools to further understand their audience and refine their content strategy to cater to changing preferences.
They also aim to explore more ways to enhance link-building efforts, ensuring that they not only maintain their current momentum but also pave the way for even greater growth in the future.
Surfer AI offers websites, regardless of their stage of development or niche, the chance to attract the right kind of traffic, engage with their audience, and stand out in a crowded online space.
Let us know what your thoughts are on using AI content for your website.
