Gente
Gente is a trusted HR consulting and payroll services provider in Johannesburg. Since 2016, they have been on a mission to make it easier for businesses to find, hire, onboard, pay, and retain the talent that they need.
Whether you’re a B2B or B2C company in need of an experienced and reliable partner for recruitment, payroll, or HR advice, Gente is the business to call.
Locally, they are known. Problem was that recognition wasn’t translating online. The website was 2+ years old and for as long as anyone could remember, organic traffic was practically non-existent and search visibility… next to none.
After realizing that SEO would be a key piece of their growth puzzle, Gente got in touch with EcoSEO, eager to freshen things up, rank well, and begin winning in the high-intent and high-value client space.
Lead Time: 8 months
Sector: HR Services and Recruitment
Target Type: B2C & B2B (businesses and individuals seeking HR and payroll services)
Demographic: Business owners, HR managers, and individuals aged 25–55 in South Africa, primarily in urban areas.
Website Goal: Increase organic traffic, improve search engine rankings, and drive relevant traffic to high-priority pages (e.g., homepage, pricing, bookkeeping services).
Services: On-Page SEO, Technical SEO, Content Strategy, Link Building, Local SEO, EEAT Optimization
Technologies: Google Analytics, SEMrush, Ahrefs, Google Search Console
5X Growth
In SEO Results with EcoSEO
The Challenge
Site had been live for a couple of years, but simply wasn’t doing the job it needed to.
There were many contributing factors, but one thing was clear. Offline, they were one of the go-to’s in the space, but online, there was simply no way of telling.
It was a series of layers. Basic on-page and technical SEO was severely lacking. Meta titles, descriptions, headers, and slugs weren’t written with an understanding of Google (nor a target client) in mind.
The content itself was years old and didn’t necessarily address what people were searching for, or how they were searching for it.
The lowdown:
- Technical SEO: Site architecture was sub-optimal, pages were sluggish to load and there was practically no use of structured data to help Google crawl, understand, and subsequently rank the site.
- On-Page SEO: Titles, descriptions, headers, and slugs were under-optimized for relevant (read: high-value) HR, recruitment, and payroll keywords. Google had no clear indication of what content was the most important.
- Content: The actual content itself wasn’t indexed well and was ultimately not in line with user intent. Visitors would drop, engagement was low, and ranking opportunities were being lost.
- Backlink profile: Few, if any authoritative sources were linking back to the site, meaning that domain authority (and thus competitiveness) was low.
- EEAT Compliance: Expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness signals were effectively non-existent, and for YMYL categories such as HR and payroll, it’s essential.
- Local SEO: Searches specific to Johannesburg were not targeted well, resulting in the potential loss of local clients who’d been ideal leads.
If the site was the evidence, it was clear that Gente had what it takes to be a market leader, it simply didn’t have the digital backbone to demonstrate it.
EcoSEO’s Solution
Diagnosing and addressing Gente’s SEO pain points: an action plan in three phases
Phase 1: On-Page and Technical SEO Audit
The first order of business was to perform a comprehensive website audit to identify and address all fundamental technical and on-page SEO issues. This included optimizing meta titles, meta descriptions, and header tags to be more relevant and aligned with target HR and payroll-related keywords.
From a technical SEO perspective, EcoSEO enhanced site speed, mobile-friendliness, and implemented structured data markup. The latter might seem tedious but it is how search engines interpret your site, and how those rich snippets are displayed to your users in search results, both extremely important in SERPs.
Phase 2: Content Audit and Strategy
Phase 2 focused on auditing and upgrading the website’s content. We performed a complete content audit to identify which pages required updates or complete rewrites. Existing pages were enhanced with keyword-rich, user-focused content, and new service pages and blog articles were created, targeting high-intent search queries.
Concurrently, we emphasized EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) principles. Optimizing for EEAT was especially important given the YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) nature of the HR and payroll industry.
Phase 3: Strategic Backlink Acquisition
Finally, we took care of enhancing the authority of Gente’s domain by building high-quality backlinks from relevant and authoritative sources. This involved curating and executing a targeted guest posting strategy on reputable HR and business-related websites, in combination with manual outreach efforts. Every link was checked to make sure they were relevant and contextual, pointing to the website’s most important service pages.
By the end of this phase, Gente’s website was not just optimized, but it was strategically positioned as a trustworthy and authoritative figure in the HR domain across South Africa.
Technical SEO
Gente’s website presented a few low-level technical issues. Pages had slow load speeds, mobile layouts weren’t optimized, and there was a complete lack of structured data.
All these things were invisibly bottlenecking the site, and preventing Google from indexing the site to its fullest potential, which in turn kept search visibility low.
The first step was a technical audit to understand what issues were present, and the priority in which they needed to be fixed.
The objective here was not just to solve those problems but to create a better, faster, and more crawlable website, resulting in a better experience for the people coming to Gente’s site.
Tools:
- Screaming Frog SEO Spider: Crawled the site to identify broken links, 404 errors, and other structural issues. Think of it as a fine-toothed comb for websites.
- Google Search Console: Monitored for crawl errors, indexing issues, and reported back on other site performance metrics.
- Google PageSpeed Insights: Used to extract the most speed from Gente’s website, using image compression and code minification. Nobody wants to wait, especially on mobile.
- Structured Data Testing Tool (Google): Identified any missing or incorrect schema markup. By adding the correct structured data, Gente was now able to appear in rich snippets, which directly helps with click-throughs from SERPs.
- Mobile-Friendly Test (Google): Evaluated the site’s layouts, touch elements, and general mobile usability. By fixing these, visitors to the site via phones or tablets had a much smoother experience, and the website in turn was better optimized for Google’s mobile-first indexing.
With the help of these tools, the technical side of Gente’s site was untangled and given a noticeable boost in performance, mobile responsiveness, and search visibility.
On-Page SEO
The technical issues were only half the story. The on-page elements that make pages “findable” to Google also needed optimization.
Meta titles, descriptions, headers, and the copy itself wasn’t optimized for the keywords that were actually being searched.
For example, it was difficult for Gente to rank for high-value keywords such as “HR consulting Johannesburg” or “payroll services South Africa” without proper on-page SEO.
Solution: We rewrote meta titles and descriptions, fine-tuned headers, and reworked content on the most critical pages to align with search intent and high-value keywords.
Tools:
- Yoast SEO: Adjusted metadata and on-page content for WordPress pages.
- SEMrush: Used to conduct deeper keyword research to identify high-intent HR and payroll terms that we could specifically target.
- Surfer SEO: Optimized the content itself for keyword density and on-page SEO best practices in general.
- Ahrefs Keywords Explorer: Helped understand competitor strategies, search volumes, and see which keywords were actually worth prioritizing.
- Rank Math: Provided an in-depth on-page audit and suggested schema markup, as well as keyword and page optimizations for headers and content, which then made metadata adjustments faster and more accurate.
In combination with the right tools and a little elbow grease, Gente’s pages became significantly more relevant to their target keywords and were able to climb higher in rankings and search visibility as a result.
Content and Blog Writing (Intent)
Gente’s content wasn’t exactly living up to its potential. The majority of it felt dated, and it didn’t align with what their audience was actually searching for.
Engagement was low, and their competitive keywords were miles away.
We began by performing a content audit, identifying gaps and areas where user intent was going unmet.
The goal wasn’t just to write content—it was to write content that answered questions, solved problems, and aligned with search intent.
Based on this, we developed a content strategy around high-intent topics. Blog posts addressed things like “What is Payroll Outsourcing?” and “In-House vs. Outsourced HR: Which One Is Right for Your Business?”—the types of questions actual decision-makers were entering into Google.
We refreshed service pages as well, with copy that was clear, compelling, and designed to guide visitors toward conversion.
Tools that helped this process included:
- SEMrush: For identifying high-volume keywords and gaps in existing content that we could cover in our blog.
- AnswerThePublic: For getting directly into the questions that real users were searching for.
- Grammarly: Errors and poor grammar ruin good content. We made sure the copy was professional and polished.
Aligning content with user intent allowed Gente to finally start ranking for meaningful searches, and engaging visitors in a way that was helpful rather than just promotional.
Link Building (Profiles and High DA Links)
And another issue? Gente’s backlink profile was quite weak. Without quality links pointing to their site, domain authority remained low, and competitiveness was still an issue.
We addressed this with a targeted approach to link building. On average, we were able to place four high-quality guest posts per month from HR- and business-focused websites with a DA 50+, optimized with evergreen content that was genuinely useful, rather than just “link fodder.”
Manual outreach was the name of the game, with a focus on niche-relevant blogs, and careful contextual placement of every link to the most important service pages.
We also optimized and updated Gente’s business profiles on LinkedIn and industry-specific directories, adding yet another layer of authority.
Tools that helped us keep this organized and effective included:
- Ahrefs: For backlink profile analysis and identifying high-DA sites to target.
- BuzzStream: For managing outreach campaigns, tracking conversations, and guest post placements.
- Majestic: For link quality verification and monitoring link growth to ensure the effort was yielding results.
Mixing a serious approach to thoughtful, helpful content with deliberate, manual link building efforts was the trick that finally made Gente’s online presence feel authoritative, helpful, and credible; the kinds of things that make both users and Google take notice.
EEAT Analysis and Implementation
At Gente, trust is not just a nice-to-have—it’s a must-have. As an HR and payroll business, the credibility of its online content would be a top concern for potential clients.
But this requires meeting EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) standards, which Google values highly for YMYL content. So it was clear from the get-go that the Gente website would need to stand up to that test.
The first step was a comprehensive EEAT audit, which identified the site’s current limitations in conveying author expertise and content trustworthiness.
It quickly became clear that the site needed to not just have great content—but to be able to demonstrate the real-world experts behind that content.
To this end, we implemented author bios on service pages and blog posts, emphasizing their qualifications and experience.
We also made strategic additions of trust signals throughout the site, such as client testimonials and certifications, along with SSL certificates (HTTPS protocol) to assure visitors and search engines of the site’s legitimacy and security.
Some of the tools used to help in this process were:
- Google Analytics: Used to track user engagement with content and evaluate whether the changes made would instill the confidence needed to complete a desired action.
- Schema App: To implement author and organization markup, which can help search engines understand the site’s expertise.
- Trustpilot: For integrating client reviews on the website.
In the end, the site was a much more credible resource. Not only could visitors clearly see who was providing expert advice, but Google was also able to recognize it.
Local SEO
The problem with Gente, was that it wasn’t showing up where its clients were looking: in Johannesburg. Client’s local SEO was basically nil, so this was priority number 1.
We began by optimizing their Google My Business profile with updated business details, professional photos, and a consistent review response and management process.
Then we set up location-specific pages, optimized for long-tail keywords like “HR services Johannesburg”. Our aim was to leave no doubt in Google’s (or potential clients’) mind that Gente was not just a business—but a local authority.
Tools we used to make this happen include:
- Google My Business Dashboard: This helped us update business details, photos and reviews, as well as increase click-through rates for local searches.
- BrightLocal: Used to audit the NAP (Name, Address, Phone) consistency of local listings, and fix discrepancies that could be affecting rankings.
- Moz Local: Synced local listings across various directories, ensuring that Gente’s information was accurate everywhere.
- Whitespark: Leveraged to find local citation opportunities, and earn high-quality backlinks from Johannesburg-specific directories.
- SEMrush Local SEO: Used to assess local keyword performance and competitor strategies, to inform the creation of location-specific landing pages aligned with Johannesburg search queries.
The result: Gente has become much more visible to people in the city.
When people are searching for HR or payroll services in Johannesburg, they are now finally getting results. This means real engagement and, most importantly, inquiries.
The Results
SEO by EcoSEO started to bear fruit in only four months for Gente.
First, there was organic traffic. The number of visits didn’t just increase – it skyrocketed, going from a mere 329 in August 2023 to almost 1,900 by January 2024. To put that into perspective, that’s almost a fivefold increase. Best of all, visitors were finding the content they actually wanted and needed.
Then, there was user engagement. Pages with fresh, targeted content were experiencing lower bounce rates and higher time on site, indicating users were finding what they were searching for.
Keyword rankings also experienced a significant boost, with the Homepage, HR Payroll Services, and Pricing pages now ranking for high-intent searches. It meant the company now appeared on the SERPs precisely where they wanted.
Visits to high-intent pages increased, showing Gente’s refined targeting and keyword efforts were paying off. What’s more, the website’s domain authority was improving under the hood, thanks to high-quality backlinks from relevant HR and business platforms.
In short, there were real, measurable improvements for the business, not just improvements that Gente would have liked to see. The visibility, in a crowded and competitive space, would translate into growth for the business, too, sustainable and concrete growth, this time.
Technical Tools:
Screaming Frog SEO Spider, Google Search Console, Google PageSpeed Insights, Structured Data Testing Tool (Google), Mobile-Friendly Test (Google), Yoast SEO, SEMrush, Surfer SEO, Ahrefs Keywords Explorer, Rank Math, Google My Business Dashboard, BrightLocal, Moz Local, Whitespark, SEMrush Local SEO
SEO Services
On-Page SEO, Technical SEO, Content Strategy, Link Building, Local SEO, EEAT Optimization
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