Episode #04: [From Obscurity to $3M] How Typeform Cracked the SEO Code

About the Guest: A former Typeform employee, they played a significant role in the company’s scaling journey from 2015 to 2019 and have also provided growth advice to companies such as Hotjar.

Saeed: Hey folks, welcome back to “The Rabbit Rank Show“! It’s your guy Saeed, and today, we’re cracking open the story behind a company you’ve probably bumped into online — Typeform. Now, I’m not alone in this journey. I’ve got a very special guest, someone who actually worked there during the early days of their SEO gold rush. For privacy reasons, we’re keeping their identity on the down-low, so we’ll just call them Alex. How’s it going, Alex?

Alex: Hey Saeed! Thanks for having me. I’m great and excited to walk down memory lane with you. It’s been a while since I talked about this stuff, so you’re probably going to get some stories I haven’t shared in years.

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The Humble Beginnings of Typeform’s SEO Strategy

Saeed: Oh, we love untold stories! Alright, let’s jump straight in—Typeform is known for being a game-changer in the online form space. But before we get to the “$3 million a year” bit, I want to know… how did it all start? Did the team just wake up one day and decide to become SEO ninjas, or what?

Alex: Ha! Definitely not. Back in the day, Typeform was this cool, scrappy startup with a product everyone loved. The forms looked sleek, way better than the clunky ones we were used to. But the thing was, no one knew we existed unless they stumbled on us or someone told them. That’s where SEO came in. It wasn’t glamorous—it started with spreadsheets and a lot of trial and error.

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Finding the Right Keywords: A Game of Strategy

Saeed: Ah, the good old “spreadsheet phase” of startup life. Classic. So, what was the first move? Did you guys aim for a specific keyword, or was it more like throwing darts blindfolded?

Alex: A bit of both, honestly. We didn’t have some grand master plan in the beginning. Our first win was realizing that we didn’t need to compete for the obvious keywords like “online forms” or “survey builder.” Those were dominated by giants like Google Forms and SurveyMonkey. Instead, we went niche.

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Listening to Customers: The Secret to Targeted Content

Saeed: Smart move. So you’re saying it was less about chasing the big fish and more about finding those little ponds no one was swimming in yet?

Alex: Exactly! We found keywords that people were searching for, but that weren’t being well-served. For instance, instead of targeting “online quiz,” we went after things like “personality quiz maker” or “quiz templates for teachers.” Smaller audience, yes, but way less competition.

Saeed: That’s genius. So how did you figure out what people were searching for? Did you guys just guess, or was there some secret sauce?

Alex: Oh no, we weren’t that intuitive. We leaned heavily on tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush. They became our best friends. We’d look at what competitors were ranking for, dig into search volumes, and then find gaps. But the real magic happened when we paired that data with customer feedback. People would tell us, “I want a form to do X,” and we’d think, “Wait, is anyone Googling this?” Nine times out of ten, they were.

Mistakes and Course Corrections

Saeed: I love how you connected the dots between customer feedback and search intent. But tell me, was it smooth sailing from there?

Alex: Oh, not even close. We made plenty of mistakes. One of the biggest ones? We tried to target too many keywords too quickly. It was like running in every direction at once and getting nowhere.

Saeed: Oof, I feel that. What did you do to course-correct?

Alex: We got super focused. Instead of spreading ourselves thin, we created what we called “pillar content.” These were in-depth, insanely helpful articles on big topics related to our product. For example, we wrote a comprehensive guide on “How to Create a Customer Feedback Survey” and then linked smaller, related articles back to it. It created this web of content that Google loved.

The Role of Pillar Content in SEO Growth

Saeed: So it was like building a little ecosystem for each topic?

Alex: Exactly. And once we got that structure down, things really started to click. The traffic grew steadily, and the leads? They started rolling in like crazy.

Turning Traffic into Paying Customers

Saeed: That’s amazing. But let’s talk about the elephant in the room—conversions. Traffic is great, but how did you turn those visitors into paying customers?

Alex: Oh man, that was a whole other challenge. The secret was understanding the intent behind each keyword. If someone searched for “best survey tools,” they were probably comparison shopping. So we made sure those pages included clear call-to-actions, like “Try Typeform Free.”

But if someone was Googling “how to get feedback from customers,” they weren’t ready to buy yet. For those folks, we offered free resources, like downloadable templates or guides. We’d capture their email and nurture them over time with drip campaigns.

Saeed: Ah, the classic lead magnet play. I see what you did there! So, when did you guys realize you had something big on your hands?

Alex: I think it hit us when we looked at the numbers one quarter and realized that organic traffic was driving almost 40% of new signups. And these weren’t just free-tier users—they were upgrading to paid plans at a really high rate.

Scaling the Strategy: From Blog Posts to Video SEO

Saeed: 40%?! That’s wild.

Alex: Yeah, it was surreal. And once we knew it was working, we doubled down. We hired more writers, invested in better tools, and even started experimenting with video SEO.

Saeed: Video SEO? That’s interesting. How did that play into things?

Alex: Well, Google started favoring multimedia content, so we made video tutorials, walkthroughs, and even fun, quirky explainer videos. For example, if someone searched for “how to make a quiz,” our video would pop up alongside the blog post. It was another way to capture attention and stand out.

Challenges in Maintaining Consistency

Saeed: I love that you guys weren’t afraid to experiment. But let’s keep it real—what was the hardest part about scaling this strategy?

Alex: Consistency. It’s easy to get excited and pump out content for a few months, but maintaining that momentum? That’s tough. We had to build processes, set clear goals, and constantly track performance.

Key Takeaways for Aspiring SEO Success Stories

Saeed: Totally get that. So, what’s the takeaway for anyone listening who wants to replicate this success?

Alex: Start small, but be intentional. Don’t try to conquer every keyword or churn out generic content. Focus on solving real problems for your audience. And remember, SEO is a long game—it might take months or even years to see big results, but if you stick with it, the payoff can be huge.

Conclusion: Wrapping Up with Inspiration

Saeed: That’s some solid advice, Alex. Thank you so much for sharing your story with us. I feel like I just got an inside look at how a startup went from zero to SEO hero!

Alex: It was my pleasure, Saeed. Always happy to geek out over this stuff.

Saeed: Alright, folks, that’s a wrap for today. If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review. And hey, if you’ve got an SEO story of your own, hit me up—I’d love to feature you on the show. Until next time, stay curious and keep experimenting!