How to start SEO for an old website?

inyarose

inyarose

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I have a 6-year-old website, which is an e-commerce website (based on Shopify). For many years, I have been acquiring customers through Google Shopping ads. But I realized that SEO might also be a good way to get traffic. So I made the following basic optimizations to the website:
The following actions are based on the results of keyword research
1. Add unique titles and meta descriptions to each page
2. Optimize H1, H2, etc. based on the page structure
3. Compress images and add descriptive alt tags
4. Establish some internal links based on the core keywords and content of each page
5. Update a manually created blog of more than 1,000 words every week (the blog category is newly added)
6. Add 2 backlinks through guest posts every week
7. Add 1-2 new products every day (my products and content are not rich enough)
Before these optimizations, semrush showed that the number of my keywords was 218, and it has reached 935 after 3 months, but the ranking of my core keywords has not risen significantly; it has only risen from page 4 to page 3 (keyword difficulty 34%, based on semrush)
My question:
Are my backlinks not enough?
Can I buy backlinks in bulk?
How many backlinks do I need per month?
My market is in the UK, do my backlinks also need to come from UK sites?

Can anyone answer my question and give me some advice? I'd be grateful.
 
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You're on the right track with your optimizations.

For backlinks, focus on quality over quantity - buying in bulk can hurt your site if the links are low-quality.

Aim for backlinks from authoritative UK sites, as local relevance matters for your market.

Additionally, diversify your link sources (e.g., directories, partnerships, PR) and continue improving on-site SEO.

Rankings take time, so keep consistent with these efforts.
 
You're on the right track, and your growth shows it—going from 218 to 935 keywords in 3 months is solid. But yeah, core keyword rankings move slower, especially with mid-level KD like 34%.

To answer your questions:

– 2 backlinks a week is good, but quality matters more than quantity.
– Avoid bulk backlink buying—most are low-quality and can hurt more than help.
– Focus on relevant, niche-related sites, and yes, UK-based backlinks will help since your market is there.
– Try to mix in authority links (DA 40+) and get featured on blogs, directories, or even local UK media.

Keep going—SEO takes time, but you’re doing the right stuff. Stay consistent!
 
You have made a solid start with your on-page SEO and content. But yes, for competitive keywords, backlinks play a big role. Focus on quallity over quantity - relevant, niche and UK-based links can help more. Avoid bulk low-quality backlinks. Keep it natural.
 
You're on the right track-keep building high-quality, niche relevant UK backlinks and focus on improving topical authority with more useful content around your core products.
 
Your on the right track with technical and on page. For backlinks, focus on quality over bulk buying , quantity alone wont help much if the links are poor. Guest posting is good, but try to get niche relevant UK links with decent authority to support your core keywords. Also, consider building brand signals and citations in the UK, which can indirectly strengthen rankings.
 
You're on the right track, but 2 backlinks per week might be too slow aim for higher quality UK based backlinks to boost relevance, avoid buying bulk backlinks; they often hurt more than help. Focus on earning links from niche blogs, UK news sites, and industry directories.
 
inyarose said:
Are my backlinks not enough?
Click to expand...
2 backlinks every week isn't bad, what matters much isn't necessarily the number of backlinks but their quality. The quality of linking site. This quality is in the authority of the site(not DR/DA) but how long the site has been around, the amount of keywords it ranks for, the traffic it gets from Google and how many links it has to itself. If you can get links from sites that are good in all of the above, very good quality then 2 per week isn't bad unless of course your industry is tougher and you want something more.
inyarose said:
Can I buy backlinks in bulk?
Click to expand...
I won't recommend. A sudden surge of links could result in manual penalty for link manipulation.
inyarose said:
My market is in the UK, do my backlinks also need to come from UK sites?
Click to expand...
Not necessarily, but it's important. Not all links need to be from UK sites, but where you can, ensure they're from UK sites or sites that are ranking for UK keywords/search terms.
 
inyarose said:
View attachment 454912
I have a 6-year-old website, which is an e-commerce website (based on Shopify). For many years, I have been acquiring customers through Google Shopping ads. But I realized that SEO might also be a good way to get traffic. So I made the following basic optimizations to the website:
The following actions are based on the results of keyword research
1. Add unique titles and meta descriptions to each page
2. Optimize H1, H2, etc. based on the page structure
3. Compress images and add descriptive alt tags
4. Establish some internal links based on the core keywords and content of each page
5. Update a manually created blog of more than 1,000 words every week (the blog category is newly added)
6. Add 2 backlinks through guest posts every week
7. Add 1-2 new products every day (my products and content are not rich enough)
Before these optimizations, semrush showed that the number of my keywords was 218, and it has reached 935 after 3 months, but the ranking of my core keywords has not risen significantly; it has only risen from page 4 to page 3 (keyword difficulty 34%, based on semrush)
My question:
Are my backlinks not enough?
Can I buy backlinks in bulk?
How many backlinks do I need per month?
My market is in the UK, do my backlinks also need to come from UK sites?

Can anyone answer my question and give me some advice? I'd be grateful.
Click to expand...
You're heading in the right direction but the impact will stay limited if your backlinks don’t reinforce semantic clusters. Instead of pointing links to the homepage, try anchoring them to deep pages that target mid-intent queries. Prioritize domains with topical trust in your niche, ideally UK-based with existing rankings in similar verticals. Diversify anchors but keep them contextually relevant. Also check internal link flow if authority isn’t passing to those product pages, even good backlinks will underperform.
 
Solid groundwork already you're doing it right. But yeah, 2 backlinks/week is a slow burn, especially in ecom. For a KD 30–40 keyword, you’ll need stronger links (niche-relevant + some UK-based for geo trust). Bulk buying? Only if they're clean, contextual, and mixed with legit outreach. I’d aim for 10–15 quality links/month, mix branded anchors, and double down on internal linking. Page 3 → 1 takes time, but with momentum, you’ll get there.
 
Analyze the top 5 SEO competitors on the same keyword. Sometimes the insight from their backlink profile and content depth will give you a clearer direction instead of just increasing the number of backlink steadily
 
You can just see what the top dogs in your industry are doing and do the same and improve to be able to rank and ultimately outrank them
 
inyarose said:
View attachment 454912
I have a 6-year-old website, which is an e-commerce website (based on Shopify). For many years, I have been acquiring customers through Google Shopping ads. But I realized that SEO might also be a good way to get traffic. So I made the following basic optimizations to the website:
The following actions are based on the results of keyword research
1. Add unique titles and meta descriptions to each page
2. Optimize H1, H2, etc. based on the page structure
3. Compress images and add descriptive alt tags
4. Establish some internal links based on the core keywords and content of each page
5. Update a manually created blog of more than 1,000 words every week (the blog category is newly added)
6. Add 2 backlinks through guest posts every week
7. Add 1-2 new products every day (my products and content are not rich enough)
Before these optimizations, semrush showed that the number of my keywords was 218, and it has reached 935 after 3 months, but the ranking of my core keywords has not risen significantly; it has only risen from page 4 to page 3 (keyword difficulty 34%, based on semrush)
My question:
Are my backlinks not enough?
Can I buy backlinks in bulk?
How many backlinks do I need per month?
My market is in the UK, do my backlinks also need to come from UK sites?

Can anyone answer my question and give me some advice? I'd be grateful.
Click to expand...

Actually, It depends on quality not quantity: DA
Yes, you can buy quality bulk backlink from BHW
Keep it usual, not aggressively
It doesn't depend on location, depends on niche relevancy
 
inyarose said:
5. Update a manually created blog of more than 1,000 words every week (the blog category is newly added)
Click to expand...
I'm afraid your methods are already outdated. If you set goals like the one in your point #5, it will at best result in zero search traffic — and at worst, a Google penalty for scaling low-value content.

The focus shouldn't be on word count or how many times per week or month you want to publish. The real question is where to get truly high-quality content or a writer willing to create it. Content that doesn't just pass a uniqueness check but is genuinely original and incredibly valuable - something no other site in your niche offers.

If you think you can just generate AI content and get good results, you're not going to like the outcome.
 
For backlinks, 2 per week is decent, but results take time especially for keywords with 30%+ difficulty. I’d avoid bulk link buys unless they’re from solid, niche relevant sources. UK-targeted links definitely help local SEO.
 
You're definitely heading in the right direction, NO DOUBT! You've already done what most eCommerce businesses neglect for years. From what you've shared, it’s clear you're dedicated and patient, which are both essential for SEO.

That said, here’s a bit of insight that might help explain why your core keywords aren't moving as much, despite the increase in total indexed keywords:

1. Building 2 backlinks/week through guest posts is solid, but the game-changer is where those backlinks come from. If your target market is the UK, then yes — backlinks from UK-based sites (especially in your niche) carry much higher contextual weight in Google’s algorithm.​


Also, look into topical relevance. Google has gotten smarter about backlinks — a high DR link from a tech site won’t help a fashion store much anymore.

✅ Tip: Instead of buying backlinks in bulk (which is risky), consider securing authority placements on:
  • UK business directories
  • Lifestyle or niche bloggers in your product category
  • Local news, interviews, or roundups

2. Page 4 to page 3 is a bigger deal than it looks. Google is now recognizing your site more clearly for those core terms. That’s often the slowest phase — going from page 2 to top 5 usually happens faster once Google sees behavioral signals like click-throughs and engagement.​


To accelerate this:
  • Optimize for intent — check if your product/category pages match search intent (commercial vs. informational)
  • Improve internal linking from new blogs → product pages (anchor text matters)
  • Add FAQs and structured data (product schema, FAQ schema) — this boosts relevance and CTR

3. There’s no perfect number, but for a Shopify store in a mid-competition UK niche:​

  • ~8–12 quality backlinks/month (from unique, relevant domains) is a healthy growth rate
  • Mix ******** + branded/natural anchor texts — avoid aggressive keyword-stuffed anchors
  • If budget allows, consider digital PR or HARO — 1 backlink from a UK national newspaper or high-DA lifestyle blog can beat 50 guest posts

Your efforts are clearly working — you just need a bit more strategy in link relevance and user experience alignment for core pages. SEO compounds over time, especially in eCommerce.

Happy to dive deeper or brainstorm further if you want — I work closely with store owners on these same challenges every day.
inyarose said:
View attachment 454912
I have a 6-year-old website, which is an e-commerce website (based on Shopify). For many years, I have been acquiring customers through Google Shopping ads. But I realized that SEO might also be a good way to get traffic. So I made the following basic optimizations to the website:
The following actions are based on the results of keyword research
1. Add unique titles and meta descriptions to each page
2. Optimize H1, H2, etc. based on the page structure
3. Compress images and add descriptive alt tags
4. Establish some internal links based on the core keywords and content of each page
5. Update a manually created blog of more than 1,000 words every week (the blog category is newly added)
6. Add 2 backlinks through guest posts every week
7. Add 1-2 new products every day (my products and content are not rich enough)
Before these optimizations, semrush showed that the number of my keywords was 218, and it has reached 935 after 3 months, but the ranking of my core keywords has not risen significantly; it has only risen from page 4 to page 3 (keyword difficulty 34%, based on semrush)
My question:
Are my backlinks not enough?
Can I buy backlinks in bulk?
How many backlinks do I need per month?
My market is in the UK, do my backlinks also need to come from UK sites?

Can anyone answer my question and give me some advice? I'd be grateful.
Click to expand...
 
inyarose said:
View attachment 454912
I have a 6-year-old website, which is an e-commerce website (based on Shopify). For many years, I have been acquiring customers through Google Shopping ads. But I realized that SEO might also be a good way to get traffic. So I made the following basic optimizations to the website:
The following actions are based on the results of keyword research
1. Add unique titles and meta descriptions to each page
2. Optimize H1, H2, etc. based on the page structure
3. Compress images and add descriptive alt tags
4. Establish some internal links based on the core keywords and content of each page
5. Update a manually created blog of more than 1,000 words every week (the blog category is newly added)
6. Add 2 backlinks through guest posts every week
7. Add 1-2 new products every day (my products and content are not rich enough)
Before these optimizations, semrush showed that the number of my keywords was 218, and it has reached 935 after 3 months, but the ranking of my core keywords has not risen significantly; it has only risen from page 4 to page 3 (keyword difficulty 34%, based on semrush)
My question:
Are my backlinks not enough?
Can I buy backlinks in bulk?
How many backlinks do I need per month?
My market is in the UK, do my backlinks also need to come from UK sites?

Can anyone answer my question and give me some advice? I'd be grateful.
Click to expand...
backlinks are often the missing piece.

Avoid buying backlinks in bulk; these are risky and can lead to penalties. Instead, focus on earning high-quality, relevant links, content that naturally attracts links, and continued guest posting.

There's no magic number for how many you need; it's about matching or exceeding what top competitors have in quality.

Keep up the good content, diversify your link-building tactics beyond just guest posts, and prioritize quality over quantity
 
Google ads had been profitable for you ? Why dont you scale google ads only ?
 
You’ve already done a great job laying the groundwork. Personally, I’d avoid buying backlinks in bulk — focus on earning niche-relevant, UK-based links gradually. Also, have you checked if internal linking distributes authority properly to your core pages? Sometimes that alone helps move from page 3 to 1 faster.
 
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