SEOZoom Case Study: the rise of Dogsportal

It had been some time since we had the pleasure of hosting an external contribution on our blog, but thanks to Rocco Voto we can once again publish a nice practical case study on the use of SEOZoom for website optimization! As emerged during his interesting webinar with Serena Cara, focused on ways to “create the WOW effect for the blog”, Rocco had his story to tell and share with our readers. So let’s hand over the “floor” and the text to him, and dive straight into his personal experience!

Case study: how Dogsportal.it recovered its positioning and traffic thanks to SEOZoom

When I launched Dogsportal.it between 2016 and 2017, I didn’t have a precise strategy or a goal related to SEO positioning. The blog site was born completely spontaneously, like many other similar projects, simply driven by passion and the desire to create an authoritative space dedicated to the world of dogs. Over time, however, it has acquired a well-defined personality, becoming a point of reference for the dog sector and earning a concrete and pragmatic reputation for the dog sector and the world of dogs.

What happened next is a story familiar to many bloggers: without any particular optimization at the beginning, the site started to rank naturally on Google and, as it grew in authority, the need to manage the SEO side in a more conscious way became increasingly evident.

And this is where SEOZoom comes in, which has proven to be an essential ally for the analysis and optimization of the project.

The moments of growth and sudden collapse

From 2017 onwards, Dogsportal has experienced periods of exponential growth, with very significant traffic peaks. At times it has even reached 100,000 in a day with a strong presence on both Google Discover and Google News. The golden period from this point of view was between 2019 and 2022, especially during the pandemic, when traffic to the site literally exploded thanks to a rich daily editorial plan with articles and live streams to inform and keep the morale of the many professionals in the sector high.

Then 2023 arrived and, as with many other blogs, the core updates from Google changed the game.

Organic traffic dropped drastically, a clear sign that some SEO dynamics needed to be revised. However, what made the difference compared to other blogs in difficulty was that the authority of the project was never questioned: Dogsportal.it continued to be a point of reference in the sector, and indeed, editorial and commercial collaborations have more than doubled from 2022 to today. In short, Google’s organic traffic was decreasing, but the blog’s value remained intact and overall traffic from social media and other channels was increasing.

At this point, however, I knew I couldn’t leave things to chance: targeted intervention was needed to understand what had changed, what was penalizing the site and how to take back control of the situation.

The SEOZoom analysis: understanding the problem to find the solution

The first step was to use SEOZoom for an in-depth analysis.

It wasn’t just a question of seeing which keywords were losing position, but of understanding what was changing in the sector and in competing blogs. Here are the key steps I followed:

• Keyword Research: I analyzed the most important keywords for the blog, not only in terms of search volume, but also search intent. Some keywords that previously generated traffic had changed format in Google results, becoming more informative or ending up in featured snippets.
• Competitive Analysis: thanks to SEOZoom tools, I was able to compare Dogsportal.it with other blogs in the same sector, identifying which content was performing better and which strategies they were adopting to maintain visibility.
• Identification of content to be updated: I identified seasonal articles and those that, with small improvements, could recover their positioning.

Once I understood the general picture, I took action.

Concrete actions for repositioning

After the analysis, I decided to follow a multi-level optimization plan, acting on both technical aspects and content. Here’s what I did:

1. Cleaning and improving the site

I started with a technical review of the blog, eliminating elements that could negatively impact the ranking:

• Removed advertisements such as Google AdSense, which slowed down page loading without providing any real benefits.
• Improved metadata, with particular attention to that of images, an aspect that I had somewhat neglected over time.
• Added an “About Us” section and a code of ethics, to reinforce the perception of authoritativeness and transparency in the eyes of Google and users.

2. Revision and updating of content

One of the most effective strategies I implemented, again thanks to SEOZoom, was the periodic revision of previously published articles. In particular:

• I updated seasonal content, such as that related to events or particular times of the year, optimizing it to intercept the most current searches.
• I improved the articles that are evergreen, integrating them with new data, studies and insights to keep them relevant.
• I eliminated or consolidated similar articles, avoiding dispersion of SEO value.

3. Strategic Link Building

At the same time, I resumed a more targeted strategy of link building, making sure it was consistent with the niche of Dogsportal and dog news.

I obtained links from authoritative sources in the dog industry, further strengthening the blog’s credibility.

The results: a progressive and solid repositioning

After a few months of constant work, the blog began to reposition itself more stably. The main keywords started to gain ground again and the growth trend is constantly improving. This shows that even after a drastic drop due to Google updates, it is possible to recover with the right strategies.

Today, Dogsportal® has once again become a reference blog in the dog sector, with a loyal audience and a more solid SEO strategy than in the past. Traffic has not yet reached the peaks of the pre-2023 period, but the value of the project has grown exponentially, and collaborations continue to multiply.

As well as quality content written by dog professionals, veterinarians, breeders, volunteer associations, kennels and many others.

SEOZoom as an essential and recommended tool

This experience has further strengthened my belief in the importance of a tool like SEOZoom.

It’s not just about finding keywords or monitoring traffic, but about having a strategic vision of your project, understanding what works and what doesn’t, how competitors operate and what actions to take to improve.

If there’s one lesson I’ve learned from this experience, it’s that the authority of a blog doesn’t only depend on organic traffic, but also on the quality of the content and the connections you make in the sector. And with the right tools, even a drop in traffic can become an opportunity for growth and consolidation.