HR Collarborative
How we helped an HR consulting firm rank for 70% more keywords by writing in the language their customers actually search with.
Since the start of 2024. Organic search only, tracked through their CRM.
An HR firm with broad expertise and no clear way to say it
HR Collaborative is a network of HR professionals that helps businesses invest in their people by augmenting or building their HR function, for a fraction of the time and money it costs to do it alone.
They came to Avalanche at the start of 2024 with two audiences to reach: businesses that need HR support but aren't ready for a full department, and talented HR professionals to join the network.
✓ A year later, 101 deals from search.
What was broken, and what we did about it
HR Collaborative knew HR inside and out. The site just didn't use the words customers type into Google. Here's the audit, line by line.
Before — the problem
- ✕Speaking a different language. The site described services in HR terms, not the terms customers search with.
- ✕Too much expertise, no priority. Broad HR knowledge, but no clear sense of which services or messaging to lead with.
- ✕No content schedule. Nothing to guide website content.
- ✕Weak keyword footprint. 226 ranking keywords, only 16 in the top ten, average position 50.6.
- ✕ Low domain authority. Hard to compete in a crowded HR consulting market without it.
After — the fix
- ✓Service pages redesigned around customer language. Users can now tell in seconds what HR Collaborative does and for whom.
- ✓Content plan built on HR consulting topics. Informational pieces that also steer speaking engagements and social media.
- ✓Backlink campaign. Domain authority up, referral traffic from other sites, rankings lifted.
- ✓386 keywords, 30 in the top ten. Average position improved from 50.6 to 35.
- ✓ Site rebuilt with custom post types and clean redirects. Improved technical health score, old sitemap fully redirected.
Twelve months, four major moves
Learn the customer's language first, then rebuild the site around it, then publish and earn the authority to rank.
Find the right words
Keyword research to map HR Collaborative’s expertise to what customers actually search for, and decide which services lead.
Rebuild the site
Service pages redesigned, custom post types developed, and every URL from the old sitemap redirected.
Publish and earn links
SEO-driven content on HR consulting topics, plus a backlink campaign to build domain authority.
Compound the gains
Organic conversions up 183% year over year. Users up 60.2%. 101+ deals attributed to organic search.
Nearly twice as many keywords on page one
Ranking for more keywords matters less than ranking where people click. Top-ten positions went from 16 to 30, and the average position across every ranking keyword climbed from 50.6 to 35.
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What this took, in plain terms
How long before the numbers moved?
About a year for the full picture.
Work started at the beginning of 2024. By the end of the year organic conversions were up 183% over 2023, and organic users were up 60.2% for December through February.
Where did this growth come from?
Organic search.
Every figure on this page is organic. The 101+ deals are tracked in their CRM and attributed to organic search as the source.
Why did the language matter so much?
Because expertise you can’t find doesn’t sell.
HR Collaborative described services the way HR professionals talk. Buyers search the way business owners talk. Closing that gap is most of what moved the rankings.
What actually drove success?
Four moves, in this order:
- •Keyword research to match services to customer search language
- •Website redesign with reworked service pages, custom post types, and clean redirects
- •SEO-driven content on HR consulting topics, plus a backlink campaign
- •Monthly SEO audits and on-page optimization to keep compounding
Would a consulting firm in another field see the same numbers?
Not identical ones.
Competition, how specialized your services are, and your starting authority all change the math. What transfers is the sequence: learn the customer’s language, rebuild around it, publish, earn links.
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