We were heading for a 6:30 lecture in Mylapore, and Senthil had a meeting at 4:30. The plan was simple—he would finish his meeting, and then we would go straight to the lecture. So I settled myself in a coffee shop nearby, ready to enjoy my newly downloaded Kindle book, while he wrapped up his work.
The café was packed, so when two ladies asked if they could share my four-seater table, I smiled and welcomed them. They looked like they were in their 40s and seemed to be waiting for someone. As they opened their laptop, I slipped back into my book—a gentle, engaging story about a teacher and her experiences. I was already warming up to it.
Just then, a line floated across the table and pulled me out of the Kindle world:
“SEO is not working at all!”
I looked up instinctively. The younger woman sounded frustrated. Both of them were bent over their website—it looked like a blog filled with well-written articles.
“The design is so pretty, and all the images are so impactful. Why are we not getting traffic?” she said.
“SEO is done right… I think. Maybe something is missing,” the other replied thoughtfully.
I looked at them and said, “Sorry, I couldn’t help overhearing your conversation. I run a digital marketing company… if you don’t mind, I can take a quick look at your website. Maybe I can figure out what’s stopping the traffic from coming in?”
The two ladies looked pleasantly surprised. They introduced themselves, and within seconds, their worried expressions turned into hopeful smiles. “Please do! We’d be so grateful,” one of them said, turning the laptop slightly towards me.
I did a quick study and shared my thoughts.
“These are a few things that need attention,” I began.
a. Choose compelling headlines — even better if there’s an emotional hook.
b. For your blogs, using numbers in title tags helps a lot with search visibility.
c. You’ve missed alt-text descriptions — the hidden content behind every image that search engines rely on.
d. Deep linking will help serious readers navigate your site easily.
e. Some of your URLs look like random code. Make them meaningful… a URL should give a tiny hint of what’s inside. Search spiders love that.
f. Use subheadings whenever possible. Many readers skim, and subheads help them grasp the essence in seconds.
g. Ask your SEO company if they’ve implemented schema markup fully. They may have done it partially, from what I can see.
“And one more thing,” I added. “Don’t obsess over keywords and first-page ranking. Instead, spend time creating strong FAQs. It really helps with AI-generated results.”
I tapped the screen gently. “Also, your site speed seems slow. It could be my mobile data — check again when you’re on Wi-Fi. Site speed is a very important ranking factor.”
They were scribbling notes like schoolgirls preparing for exams.
“Good luck with your business,” I said, smiling. “It was lovely meeting you both.”
“Let’s keep in touch!” they said eagerly.
“Of course,” I replied, exchanging phone numbers — just as Senthil called to say his meeting was over.
I said my goodbyes, gathered my things, and stepped into the soft evening light. As I walked towards the car, a sense of calm satisfaction settled in. A routine coffee break had unexpectedly turned into a genuine, meaningful exchange — the kind that stays with you longer than you realise.
I was pleasantly surprised to receive a WhatsApp message from one of the girls three weeks later. She wrote to say how grateful she was for the tips I shared that day at the coffee shop — and even better, she said the results were already showing in the traffic to their website.
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