This interview is with Roshan Singh, SEO Executive at Urban Monkey.

Roshan Singh, SEO Executive, Urban Monkey

Roshan, welcome to Featured! Could you tell us a bit about yourself and your journey to becoming an SEO expert?

My name is Roshan Singh, and I’ve been working in the SEO field for the past three years. My journey began with off-page SEO, where I focused on building backlinks and optimizing external factors. Over time, I transitioned into on-page SEO, diving into the intricacies of content optimization, metadata, and site structure.

What started as a curiosity quickly turned into a passion. I realized SEO is more than just algorithms—it’s about connecting the right audience to the right content. I’ve come to appreciate the many layers of SEO, from technical audits to keyword research, and how everything works together to drive results.

Your experience in SEO is impressive. Can you share a pivotal moment or project that solidified your passion for this field?

One pivotal moment that really solidified my passion for SEO was when I worked on a major website audit for a client who had been struggling with low organic traffic. At first, their site was riddled with technical issues, poor content structure, and weak backlinks. It seemed like an overwhelming challenge, but I saw it as an opportunity to apply everything I had learned.

I took a systematic approach, focusing on improving the technical health of the site, optimizing on-page elements, and strategically building backlinks. The results were incredible. Within just a few months, the website saw a significant increase in organic traffic, along with improved keyword rankings.

What truly stood out to me wasn’t just the numbers, but the realization that SEO isn’t just about rankings; it’s about transforming a business’s digital presence and making it more discoverable to the right audience. That success story reinforced my belief in the power of SEO, and from that point on, I’ve been fully immersed and passionate about the field.

You mentioned the importance of mobile-first indexing in a previous answer. Can you share an instance where prioritizing mobile optimization led to a significant improvement in a website’s performance?

One memorable instance where prioritizing mobile optimization led to a significant improvement in performance was with an e-commerce client who was experiencing high bounce rates and low conversions on mobile devices. Their desktop version of the site was well-optimized, but the mobile experience was clunky: slow load times, poor navigation, and images that weren’t optimized for smaller screens. We decided to focus on mobile-first indexing as a top priority, making sure the mobile version of the site was not just functional but seamless.

We implemented responsive design, optimized images for faster loading, and made the navigation more intuitive for mobile users. Additionally, we worked on improving the site speed by compressing files, reducing unnecessary scripts, and leveraging browser caching. After the changes went live, the improvements were noticeable almost immediately. Mobile traffic saw a reduction in bounce rates, and conversions increased by 20% within the first month.

What really drove home the importance of mobile optimization was how the site’s performance on mobile devices directly impacted the overall SEO rankings as well. Google rewards mobile-friendly sites, and we saw an uptick in rankings across key product pages.

Optimizing Core Web Vitals is crucial for SEO success. From your experience, what are some common challenges businesses face when addressing Core Web Vitals, and how can they overcome them?

Optimizing Core Web Vitals can be a game-changer for SEO, but businesses often face several common challenges when addressing these metrics. From my experience, the main issues typically revolve around:

Slow Page Load Times (LCP – Largest Contentful Paint): Many businesses struggle with slow page load times, often due to unoptimized images, heavy JavaScript, or slow server responses. This directly impacts the LCP, which is a key Core Web Vital.

Solution: To tackle this, businesses should start by optimizing images (using WebP format and compressing them for faster load times) and employing lazy-loading for non-critical images. Additionally, improving server response times through better hosting or content delivery networks (CDNs) can have a huge impact.

Unstable Layouts (CLS – Cumulative Layout Shift): A major pain point is elements on the page shifting unexpectedly, especially when resources like images or fonts load in asynchronously. This leads to poor user experience and lower CLS scores.

Solution: This can be resolved by specifying size attributes for images and videos to prevent layout shifts, ensuring fonts are loaded properly to avoid shifts when text loads, and minimizing the use of dynamically injected content that might cause movement as the page loads.

Interactivity Delays (FID – First Input Delay): Poor interactivity due to JavaScript blocking the main thread can result in a high FID, making it difficult for users to interact with the page right away.

Solution: Reducing the amount of JavaScript executed on initial page load can help. Prioritizing critical JavaScript, deferring non-essential scripts, and breaking up large scripts into smaller, asynchronous chunks are effective strategies. Tools like Web Workers can offload non-essential tasks, allowing the main thread to remain responsive.

Lack of Technical Expertise or Resources: Many businesses lack the in-house resources or technical expertise to fully understand or implement Core Web Vitals optimizations.

Solution: For businesses without dedicated developers, I recommend partnering with a good SEO or web development agency that specializes in Core Web Vitals. Additionally, leveraging tools like Google’s PageSpeed Insights, Lighthouse, and Web Vitals can help identify the specific areas that need improvement and provide actionable recommendations.

You’ve emphasized the significance of Google Business Profile for local SEO.  Can you walk us through a successful case study where optimizing a Google Business Profile led to tangible results for a local business?

One successful case I worked on involved optimizing a Google Business Profile for a local café that struggled with visibility in local search results. We updated their profile with accurate business details, ensured they posted regularly about specials and events, added high-quality photos, and responded to customer reviews. Additionally, we incorporated local SEO keywords relevant to their offerings.

After just three months, their Google Business Profile’s impressions increased by 60%, leading to a 40% rise in website clicks and a noticeable uptick in foot traffic. They also saw an improvement in their reviews, with their rating rising from 3.8 to 4.5 stars, which helped boost both online and in-store customer engagement.

Building high-quality backlinks is essential for SEO. What’s the most creative link-building strategy you’ve successfully implemented, and what made it so effective?

One of the most creative and successful link-building strategies I implemented involved creating a “resource hub” focused on a niche topic that was highly relevant to both the target audience and industry influencers. The idea was to gather and curate a comprehensive collection of valuable resources, such as industry reports, expert insights, how-to guides, and relevant case studies. What made this strategy particularly effective was the collaboration aspect. We reached out to industry leaders and bloggers, offering them the opportunity to contribute their expertise to the hub, which added credibility and value to the content.

In return, they were incentivized to link back to the hub from their own sites. This created a win-win situation where contributors benefited from increased exposure, and we gained high-quality backlinks from authoritative sources. The result was a significant increase in organic traffic, improved rankings for competitive keywords, and a valuable long-term backlink profile that helped sustain the site’s SEO performance.

The SEO landscape is constantly changing. How do you adapt your strategies to keep up with algorithm updates while ensuring long-term success for your clients?

To stay ahead in the ever-evolving SEO landscape, I focus on maintaining a flexible and data-driven approach. When algorithm updates are released, I first analyze the changes and their potential impact on my clients’ websites by using tools like Google Search Console, analytics data, and SEO monitoring tools. I then adjust strategies based on these insights, making sure to prioritize sustainable practices over quick fixes.

While staying reactive to algorithm updates is important, I also focus on long-term SEO fundamentals that tend to remain consistent, such as providing high-quality content, optimizing for user experience, and ensuring site technical health. For example, mobile-first indexing and Core Web Vitals have been increasingly important, so I ensure these areas are consistently optimized across client sites. By balancing quick adaptation with long-term strategy, I ensure that my clients not only survive algorithm changes but thrive by building a robust, future-proof SEO foundation.

Looking ahead, what emerging trends in SEO are you most excited about, and how do you see them shaping the future of search?

I’m particularly excited about the growing importance of AI-powered search and voice search optimization. With AI and machine learning becoming more integrated into search algorithms, understanding user intent and providing more personalized, context-aware results will be key. I see this as a major shift where SEO will move beyond just keyword optimization to truly understanding and anticipating what users need, even before they ask for it.

Another trend is the continued rise of search intent-based content and semantic search. As Google’s algorithms get better at understanding the context behind queries, content creators will need to focus more on providing value and answering specific user queries in a natural, conversational way.

Lastly, visual search is emerging as a significant player, especially with platforms like Pinterest and Google Lens gaining popularity. People are increasingly searching using images rather than text, and optimizing for visual search will become a priority for businesses in visual-heavy industries.