Evolved Search
The company
Evolved Search was founded in 2014 with the mission to create and drive an agency that is genuinely different and acts as a positive force for people, clients, and industry. Based in Newcastle upon-Tyne, they specialise in SEO, PPC (Pay Per Click), conversion rate optimisation, and user experience (UX).
Their primary focus within this project has been on Digital PR and link building. Evolved Search aims to help clients improve their search engine rankings by obtaining high-quality links from other relevant websites.
David Watts is a Co-Founder of Evolved Search with over 15 years’ experience in the digital marketing space within the areas of both paid and organic search. Over this time David has become a specialist in digital strategy and now applies these skills in his role as CTO developing and introducing new technology to enhance services for the agency's clients.
As part of their continuous effort to provide innovative SEO solutions, Evolved Search identified a significant challenge that required innovative data science approaches.
The challenge
Modern search engines, including Google, leverage advanced Natural Language Processing (NLP) models to understand the context and relevance of content on websites. These models, such as BERT, allow search engines to better comprehend the intent behind search queries and assess how well a website's content meets those needs. As a result, content that accurately aligns with user intent and is contextually relevant is more likely to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Image: Building topical relevance with backlinks: Site A (donor site) includes a hyperlink to Site B (recipient site), directing users to Site B's authoritative content. This backlink helps Site B gain increased authority and to improve its search engine ranking.
Building topical relevance
Search engines deem websites filled with relevant, high-quality content as authoritative. Publishing valuable content is crucial for improving search rankings.
David described the challenge: "One of the key factors that help our clients rank better for their desired keywords across various business areas is having links from other websites to their own and the impact that has on their rankings. Our project has focused on analysing the nature of the links we acquire and developing a tool to better target our link-building efforts."
The project aimed to test the hypothesis that embeddings of the recipient site and potential donor sites could be used to identify the most relevant donor sites. This would help Evolved Search optimise their link-building strategies by targeting the most impactful links.
Image: The Evolved Search team visit The Catalyst
The goal
Outlining the goal of the project, David said "We want to develop a system that allows us to reverse engineer and identify the most impactful links to build for future websites. While we're still refining some of the processes, the ultimate aim is to categorise and vectorise this information to make performance improvements for clients.”
The team sought to develop a proof-of-concept internal tool designed to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of Digital PR campaigns by identifying and targeting the most impactful backlinks to boost SEO performance.
With this goal in mind, the team set out to develop and test new methodologies to validate their hypothesis.
The solution
To test this hypothesis, the team used embedding models, such as BERT, to embed the HTML from both the recipient and donor websites.
Evolved Search collaborated with the National Innovation Centre for Data (NICD) in a 10-week program led by our former Data Scientist, Dr Mac Misura with valuable contributions from Senior Data Scientist Dr Matt Edwards.
NICD's support included sessions on theory, hands-on programming, and continuous collaboration to refine the processes and methodologies.
Technical approach
The project involved several key steps:
- Initial Exploration: Understanding how NLP (Natural Language Processing) and large language models could be used to address the challenge.
- Data Collection: Gathering data from various sources by using web scraping techniques and filtering out less relevant information.
- Vectorisation and Embedding: Using advanced embedding models such as BERT to analyse and categorise links based on topical relevance.
- Upskilling Team Members: Training the team in Python and data processing techniques.
Commenting on the technical implementation with NICD, David said, "The process has been about taking our initial ideas and, with the help of NICD, turning them into actionable methodologies. We've discovered several key approaches to gathering and processing data that have advanced our project significantly."
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Image: The Evolved Search team and NICD
The result
Experiments confirmed the hypothesis, enabling Evolved Search to integrate this knowledge into processes and develop competitive new services.
Describing the result and outcome of the project, David said, "I'm happy with the outcomes, but given the scope and complexity, we've peeled back another layer and gained a deeper understanding of what's required to achieve our goals. The aim is not just to understand that topical links influence website performance but to develop a system that can reverse engineer and identify links to build for the future. This project has been almost like an academic exercise in that regard."
The project led to several valuable outcomes:
- Methodology Development: Established a process for identifying and prioritising topically relevant links.
- Skill Enhancement: Upskilled the Evolved Search team, particularly in Python and data processing.
- Initial Data Insights: Provided insights into the types of links that have the most impact on client performance.
While the complexity of the project did not allow for the full achievement of their initial goal within the 10-week period, it did provide enough evidence supporting the hypothesis to pursue further development.
“I'm happy with the outcomes, given the scope and complexity of the project. We've peeled back another layer and gained. a deep understanding of what's required to achieve our goals .”
David Watts, Co-Founder and CTO, Evolved Search
Business impact
Describing the business impact of the project and how it has helped to position Evolved Search’s offering, David said "From a profile perspective, being involved in a project like this has been great for us. It positions us as a forward-thinking agency. We're seen as implementing advanced techniques and pushing the boundaries of what's possible in our industry, which is beneficial when we talk to clients. This project has given us a piece of the puzzle that, once fully developed, will give us a competitive advantage."
The collaboration has positively impacted Evolved Search in several ways:
- Enhanced Profile: Positioning Evolved Search as a forward-thinking agency leveraging advanced data techniques.
- Strategic Advantage: Moving towards a tool that could provide a competitive edge in link-building strategies.
- Future Funding: The project has strengthened Evolved Search's position for securing additional funding, enhancing the development of the tool to maintain a competitive edge.
The knowledge gained and the processes developed point to methods that can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Evolved Search’s link-building efforts.
“Being involved in a project like this positions us as a forward-thinking agency. It's beneficial when we talk to clients as it shows we're implementing advanced techniques and pushing the boundaries in our industry.”
David Watts, Co-Founder and CTO, Evolved Search
Future-proofing SEO success for clients
This project has paved the way for ongoing innovation at Evolved Search. Validating their hypothesis has equipped them to advance SEO strategies and deliver innovative solutions for clients.
Looking ahead, David Watts emphasised the next steps: "The ultimate goal is to develop an internal tool that can identify the most impactful links based on their topical relevance. We aim to create a hit list of prioritised links that we can target, making our link-building efforts more efficient and effective."
He continued, "While significant progress has been made, the next phase involves securing funding to further refine our methodologies and develop a practical tool that will shape our strategies and give our clients a competitive edge."
As these tools and methodologies are refined, clients can expect more precise link-building strategies that directly translate into improved search engine rankings and higher returns on their Digital PR investments.
“I would definitely recommend NICD to other businesses. Their ability to tackle complex problems and provide practical solutions has made a significant impact on our project.”
David Watts, Co-Founder and CTO, Evolved Search
To discover more about Evolved Search, visit their website.
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