{"id":9982,"date":"2025-06-02T07:42:06","date_gmt":"2025-06-02T07:42:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seobuddy.com\/blog\/?p=9982"},"modified":"2025-06-05T08:24:54","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T08:24:54","slug":"my-seo-journey-safaridigital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seobuddy.com\/blog\/my-seo-journey-safaridigital\/","title":{"rendered":"My SEO Journey [Pro Edition]: Liam Ridings from safaridigital.com.au \u2013 Bootstrapping to Page 1: How Frustration, Fundamentals & Focus Built Safari Digital"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

My SEO Journey [PRO Edition] is a series where professionals in the SEO Industry, Digital Marketing, or Web Design share their honest SEO Journey filled with failure, success, and most importantly, proven results. Episode #166 features Liam Ridings from Safari Digital<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Liam<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

I\u2019m Liam Ridings, founder and director of Safari Digital SEO Agency<\/a>. I launched Safari Digital in 2019 while taking a 12-month sabbatical in Hamburg, Germany, stepping away from years of client-side SEO roles in Sydney. Learning the technical side of SEO and diving into off-site strategies was the real learning curve.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"SafariDigital<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The Frustration That Sparked an Idea<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The idea for Safari Digital was born out of frustration. Sitting in meetings with some of Sydney\u2019s largest digital marketing agencies, I saw firsthand that salespeople ran many, not marketers. From the outside, it was clear that many larger agencies relied on fast-talking sales teams who knew little more than the clients they were supposed to assist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building Something Different<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Determined to offer something better, I registered safaridigital.com.au in December 2018. My aim was simple yet ambitious: to rank Safari Digital on the first page of Google for key industry search terms, proving that effective SEO speaks for itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From day one, Safari Digital was bootstrapped entirely with no outside funding and no reliance on paid advertising. Instead, I focused on applying the same SEO strategies<\/a> I offer clients. If I could beat other agencies at their own game, then I knew I was good enough to sell my own SEO services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The First 12 Months<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

From the day I started working on the business to the day I got the first lead, it was a good 12 months. I moved onto page 1 for longtail keywords before then, but it wasn\u2019t until 12 months in that we started to get consistent enquiries that translated into the first paying customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Breakthrough<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
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\"Google<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The graph above shows the journey of Safari Digital\u2019s Google ranking for the keyword \u201cSEO Sydney\u201d between August 2019 and June 2020. In the early months, progress was slow and rankings fluctuated dramatically. But persistence and a focus on technical SEO<\/a> and content paid off; by March 2020, there was a clear and sustained climb towards the top positions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By June 2020, Safari Digital had secured a top 3 position for \u201cSEO Sydney.\u201d This was the breakthrough moment. As our ranking solidified on the first page, the volume of organic traffic increased sharply, and so did the number of inbound leads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whereas the first 12 months were spent building authority and trust in Google\u2019s eyes, this turning point marked the start of regular, high-quality enquiries from businesses searching for SEO services. The graph is a visual representation of what it takes to build and maintain visibility in a competitive space: consistent effort, patience, and a focus on the fundamentals. Once we broke into those top spots, the business began to grow rapidly.<\/p>\n\n\n

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There\u2019s more\u2026<\/div>\r\n

Now it\u2019s time to discover the other 102 steps that will get more organic traffic flowing to your website. Get the SEO Checklist here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Want to get a sneak peek of what it looks like?<\/strong>
\nEnter your email and get a free demo version of the SEO Checklist.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n

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