connorcedro.com is the most honest case study I can show you. Every method I use on client sites was built and tested here first. This is what that looks like in data.
Most SEO consultants ask you to trust case studies from clients you can't verify. Screenshots of GA dashboards, position charts without context, traffic numbers with no way to check them. I wanted something different. connorcedro.com is a live, publicly crawlable site. Every ranking I'm about to show you can be verified right now in any rank tracker. That's the point.
This site was built from zero in 2024. No existing domain authority, no inherited rankings, no shortcuts. The same strategy I apply to client sites, content clusters, local SEO architecture, technical fundamentals, and compounding internal links, applied to my own domain with my own money and time on the line. As of October 2026, the results are 1,051 ranking keywords across 125 pages (Semrush, US database), including competitive Tampa SEO terms that established agencies have been targeting for years.
The standard I hold myself to: If I can't rank my own site for competitive keywords in my own market, I have no business selling SEO to Tampa businesses. connorcedro.com is the proof of concept behind every client engagement I take on.
These positions are from Semrush’s organic positions report for connorcedro.com, pulled October 3, 2026. Every keyword is checkable.
| Position | Keyword | Monthly Searches | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| #10 | seo audit tampa | 70 | Page one, commercial Tampa term |
| #11 | landscaper seo tampa | 110 | Industry page. One spot from page one |
| #13 | seo consulting tampa | 320 | Highest-volume Tampa commercial term in the top 20 |
| #14 | hair color seo | 170 | Industry page, national term |
| #17 | plumber seo services tampa fl | 140 | Industry page, Tampa commercial term |
| #18 | florida seo services for roofing companies | 170 | Statewide roofing term |
| #20 | seo temple terrace | 40 | Neighborhood term, Tampa SEO Company page |
| #23 | roofing seo | 4,400 | High-volume national term, climbing from page 3 |
| #24 | seo for roofing companies | 1,600 | High-volume national term |
| #28 | seo for accountants | 2,400 | High-volume national term, page 3 |
Source: Semrush Organic Positions report, connorcedro.com, October 3 2026. Total ranking keywords: 1,051 across 125 pages.
Built the site on a clean static HTML architecture deployed on Netlify. Set up canonical tags across every page, submitted the sitemap to Google Search Console on day one, implemented LocalBusiness and Person schema on the homepage and about page, and wrote unique title tags and meta descriptions for every page. No rankings yet. This is the infrastructure that makes everything else work.
Built the Tampa SEO pillar hub at /tampa-seo-company and surrounded it with 12 supporting posts targeting Tampa-specific searches. SEO tips Tampa, Tampa SEO strategy, Tampa SEO expert, Tampa SEO consultant, Tampa local SEO services, Tampa SEO pricing, and more. Each post linked back to the pillar with descriptive anchor text. Google started indexing and ranking these within 6-8 weeks of publishing.
Built 8 industry pillar pages (lawyers, doctors, jewelers, realtors, wealth managers, interior designers, insurance, personal trainers) each supported by 9 cluster posts targeting industry-specific searches. Each cluster linked internally to its pillar and to the Tampa hub. This is where topical authority started compounding. Google began treating the site as an authority across multiple SEO categories simultaneously.
Published 19 general SEO posts targeting non-Tampa keywords with real search volume, tool comparisons (Ubersuggest vs Ahrefs, Semrush vs Ubersuggest), backlink checker guides, rank tracker comparisons, industry-specific SEO guides (roofing, hotel, cleaning, finance, orthopedic, therapist). These posts added domain-wide authority that helped Tampa cluster pages rank higher for competitive terms.
Migrated 20 posts from a Beehiiv subdomain (blog.connorcedro.com) to the main domain with 301 redirects, capturing 203 keywords that were previously ranking on a separate subdomain. Added neighborhood-specific service pages for Hyde Park, South Tampa, Westchase, and Carrollwood. Set up client case study section. By month 12 the site ranked for 231+ keywords; by month 24 it ranks for 1,051, with positions still improving month over month.
Every ranking this site has is the result of deliberate topical cluster architecture. Here's how the content is organized as of October 2026:
Why clusters work: A single page targeting "Tampa SEO" competes on domain authority alone. A hub page supported by 15 interlinked Tampa-specific posts competes on both domain authority and topical authority. Google interprets the depth of coverage as expertise. And expertise outranks isolated optimization in every competitive market.
connorcedro.com started with zero domain authority, zero backlinks, and zero rankings. The same starting point as most of my clients. The difference between where it started and where it is now is two years of systematic execution of the same strategy I build for every client engagement:
The strategy isn't proprietary or complicated. What makes it work is consistent execution over a long enough period for the compounding effect to become visible. Most businesses quit at month 3 or 4, right before the inflection point. The businesses that reach month 12 with consistent execution almost always see the same pattern this site shows. Steady improvement that accelerates as the content library grows and authority compounds.
The most important part: Position 5 for "seo tips tampa" was achieved against established Tampa SEO agencies that have been building their online presence for years. A 12-month-old site with a focused cluster strategy outranked them. That's the case for doing this correctly, not just doing it.
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