Case Study: Go to Ireland Today – Building an SEO-Driven Tourism Website from Scratch
From a blank canvas to a high-performing travel site: how strategic SEO, original content, and on-the-ground research created a trusted online guide for Irish tourism.
📘 Project Summary
- Client: Go to Ireland Today
- Sector: 🧳 Travel & Tourism (Ireland)
- Duration: ⏳ 6 months
- Platform: 🧱 Custom-built site (non-WordPress)
- Starting Point: 🚫 No website, no content, no media
- Scope: 🛠️ Full-site build, SEO strategy, content, photography, and launch
🔍 1. The Challenge
When the client first approached me, they had a name — Go to Ireland Today — and an idea: to create a user-friendly guide for people exploring Ireland. But beyond that?
- ❌ No existing website
- ❌ No written content
- ❌ No images or assets
- ❌ No search visibility or structure
This wasn’t an SEO makeover — it was a blank canvas. To do it properly, I moved to Ireland for 6 months to immerse myself in the location and build a genuinely useful tourism site from scratch.
🧠 2. The Strategy
With zero assets, SEO had to be integrated from the very beginning — shaping everything from the site structure to the tone of voice.
📂 A. Site Planning & Architecture
- Planned logical navigation based on user journey (Cities → Things to Do → Travel Info)
- Created topic clusters to support internal linking and search intent
✍️ B. Content Research & Writing
- Travelled across Ireland to gather original insights and tips
- Wrote all pages, including destination guides, trip ideas, and cultural advice
- Used clear, friendly language aimed at international travellers
📸 C. Photography & Visuals
- Took high-quality original images across Irish towns and landmarks
- Optimised all images for mobile and SEO (file names, alt text, compression)
⚙️ D. Technical SEO Implementation
- Fast-loading, mobile-friendly custom site
- Used structured metadata, clean URLs, and schema markup
- Set up lazy loading and image compression from day one
📊 E. SEO Tracking & Launch
- Set up Google Search Console and Analytics
- Tracked crawl data and performance metrics from launch
- Improved content based on user interaction and keyword queries
📈 3. The Results
🔎 Search Visibility
- Indexed 350+ pages in 90 days
- 100+ new keywords ranked in the top 30 positions within 6 months
- Top 10 rankings for targeted long-tail queries
👥 Traffic & Engagement
- 85% of traffic from organic search by Month 6
- Audience from UK, US, Germany, France, Netherlands
- Bounce rate under 40%, average time on page 3+ minutes
📷 Content Performance
- Original photography enhanced user trust and engagement
- Localised “insider” posts had the best performance
📨 Conversions
- Enquiry form submissions up 120% by Month 6
- Inbound business listings and partnership requests started organically
💡 4. Lessons for Entrepreneurs
| 📌 Lesson | 💬 Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| SEO works best when built in from the start | Retro-fitting SEO is harder and more costly |
| Authentic content wins | First-hand insights increase trust and rankings |
| You don’t need WordPress | Clean code, good structure, and great content are what count |
| No backlinks? No problem | Useful content and search intent get results even without links |
| Live it, don’t fake it | Being on the ground helped produce unique, trustworthy content |
🧾 Final Thoughts
This project proves that SEO isn’t just a service to plug in later — it’s a foundation you can build into a project from the very beginning.
By combining real-life experience, thoughtful planning, and quality-first content, I didn’t just build a website — I built a long-lasting resource for travellers and tourism partners alike.
💬 Testimonial
“I have worked with David Roche directly since 2005. He has completed 4 amazing projects for me in Countries such as the UAE, Mallorca, USA and Ireland. On every occasion a brief was discussed and he went above and beyond the remit we set.
His dedication and professional approach enabled the projects to be completed not only on time and to a standard way above other companies but his personal contribution at every level made the tasks enjoyable and hugely rewarding.
I would recommend David and his company to any Business looking to start up or expand their platforms. In 25 years I have never met an individual more dedicated to producing high-end personal driven projects that are tailored exactly to the brief set.”
