Case Study: 30 → 200 Monthly Leads for a Scuba Diving Company
Project: Full SEO Strategy (Technical, Content, Local)
Client: Sierra Madre Divers – Panglao, Philippines
Role: SEO Strategist (Remote)
Timeline: 2024-2025
Background
Sierra Madre Divers is a well-known scuba diving center in Panglao, serving both international travelers and newly arrived tourists.
Before I joined, the website suffered from weak content structure, outdated technical foundations, inconsistent on-page optimization, and minimal visibility for high-intent diving keywords.
The business was heavily dependent on referrals and walk-ins. Organic inquiries were low and inconsistent—around 30 per month. They needed a strategy that could attract both “planning to visit” tourists (international) and “already landed” tourists searching locally.
Objectives
- Increase high-intent leads through organic search
- Rank for international + local travel & diving keywords
- Improve technical SEO, site structure, and content
- Build a keyword strategy aligned with commercial intent
- Strengthen map visibility and local findability
Actions Taken
1. Hybrid SEO Strategy for Two User Groups
Designed a dual approach targeting both:
- International tourists planning trips (informational + commercial blogs)
- Local tourists already in Panglao (service pages + local intent pages)
This included restructuring existing pages and creating new content clusters.
2. Technical SEO & On-Page Optimization
Fixed performance issues, improved Core Web Vitals, enhanced schema markup, optimized internal linking, cleaned URL structure, and improved headings and metadata.
3. Google Business Profile Optimization
Optimized categories, service descriptions, posts, photos, Q&A, and branded search visibility. Implemented a review response system to boost engagement.
4. Content Strategy Execution
Created a keyword framework around diving certifications, fun dives, beginner courses, island names, and local diving spots.
Added FAQ content targeting search behaviors of new divers.
5. A/B Testing & Iteration
Continuously tested metadata, CTA placements, page layouts, and content angles to improve conversions and engagement.
Results (3–6 Months)
- 30 → nearly 200 monthly leads (emails, calls, WhatsApp inquiries)
- Top rankings for major scuba diving & certification queries
- Significant increase in international discovery traffic
- Improved visibility in local map pack + SERP features
- Higher engagement and stronger conversion rates via page restructuring
Why This Case Matters
This project showcases my ability to build a complete SEO strategy from research to execution—balancing technical fixes, content architecture, and local intent optimization.
It reflects real business impact: consistent, measurable growth through organic channels in a competitive travel niche.
Summary
- Full-funnel SEO strategy
- Travel/tourism niche optimization
- Technical SEO
- Content restructuring
- Google Business Profile management
- A/B testing & conversion-focused improvements
