Content Strategy Through the Lens of "Playing to Win"

What is our winning aspiration?

“Strategy is about winning — not planning.”— Roger Martin

For me, the winning aspiration isn't to “do content” — it’s to build a sustainable, scalable, and self-sufficient growth engine through content. That means:

• Driving long-term organic growth that compounds.

• Reducing dependence on paid channels.

• Owning the conversation in your category — becoming a topical authority.

• Educating, enabling, and converting your audience through content.

• Turning your content operation into a competitive moat.

Winning looks like this:

• Organic becomes your #1 growth channel.

• You rank for “commercial intent” keywords in your niche.

• Your brand becomes the go-to resource in your market.

• You lower CAC and improve conversion through content.

• Your content stack attracts talent, press, and partnerships.

Where will we play?

This is about ruthless focus. I don't believe in generic content. He believes in solving user problems, in-context, through high-intent formats.

a) Audience Niche

• Don’t write for everyone. Write for your ICP. SaaS buyer? Sales leader? Developer? Narrow it down.

• Map user journeys and intent. Use the Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) framework to identify triggers, motivations, and decision points.

b) Content Format

My content universe isn’t just blogs. It includes:

• Product-led content (Canva-style micro-solutions, Typito’s 200 landing pages).

• Programmatic content (Zomato/Practo-style at scale).

• Thought leadership (What is it? Trends, frameworks).

• Solution content (What’s in it for me? Pitfalls, decision guides).

• Trust content (Why should I trust you? Case studies, ROI calculators).

• User-generated content (Reviews, forums, community).

• Distribution-ready content (Infographics, podcasts, snippets).

c) Search & Discovery Channels

• Google (SEO-first content).

• LinkedIn & Twitter (for expert-led B2B virality).

• Email (newsletter-based re-engagement).

• Internal linking (treat your site like a spiderweb).

d) Content Type by Funnel Stage

I recommend planning across:

• TOFU: Tools, checklists, educational blogs.

• MOFU: Comparisons, pitfalls, decision guides.

• BOFU: Product pages, testimonials, FAQs, demos.

How will we win?

Here’s my winning strategy: Solve real user problems at scale, in formats search engines and humans love.

a) Build Topical Authority

Don’t chase keywords. Build content clusters around “micro-universes” (e.g., “discipline and habits” within productivity). Organize around a hub-and-spoke model to earn Google’s trust and user retention.

b) Create Content Only You Can Create

• Product-led content: Break down your product into micro-use cases. Build solution pages for each.

• Offline data as content: Practo mapped 26 cities, and Zomato made the product the content.

• Leverage the founding team: Get your product managers to write. They have the most context.

c) Operationalize E-E-A-T

• Add expertise via real authors.

• Show experience through storytelling.

• Build authority with backlinks and references.

• Prove trust through reviews, clarity, and transparency.

d) Content Audit = Strategic Reset

• Delete junk, merge duplicates, update laggards.

• Edureka did this and grew blog traffic by 30% (150K new visits/month).

• This helps realign to “helpful content” and Google’s evolving quality bar.

e) Link Building = Distribution + Authority

• Build content assets worth linking to (data, infographics, tools).

• Reach out using Buzzstream. Personalize. Follow up.

• Build backlinks to “linkable assets,” then transfer equity to money pages.

• Lido Learning and Edureka scaled DR from 30 → 75 in under 2 years.

What capabilities must be in place?

This is the execution layer, where effective strategies often fail without proper support.

a) Content Engine

• Content calendar with topics mapped by funnel stage.

• Topic prioritization matrix (volume, difficulty, intent, fit).

• Detailed briefs with tone, links, CTA, FAQs, and subtopics.

b) Writers & Editors

• Experts > freelancers.

• Hire vertical specialists (e.g., finance writers, dev content folks).

• Leverage in-house product teams for deep-dive content.

• Standardize output with style guides and checklists.

c) Cross-functional Buy-in

• SEO spans multiple teams: product, tech, content, PR, and leadership.

• Set expectations. Use RACI frameworks to assign accountability.

• Kickoff calls with all stakeholders to align on timelines and ownership.

d) Measurement Infrastructure

• Track via content dashboards.

• Watch for uplift in rankings, traffic, signups, demo requests, and branded search.

• Tie content to revenue by tracking assisted conversions, attribution, and retention lift.

What management systems are required?

You need systems to keep the flywheel turning.

a) Systemization for Scale

• Edureka hired 40 writers and pushed 1000 blog articles in 5 months.

• That only works with systems: briefs, templates, SOPs, and training videos.

• Utilize Loom videos and playbooks to onboard writers more efficiently.

b) Content Distribution

• Repurpose one article into 10 micro-formats.

• Use WhatsApp, LinkedIn, and Twitter for distribution.

• Utilize guest posting, influencer outreach, and syndication to acquire links and increase visibility.

• Build backlinks with a dedicated link-building team or agency.

c) Budget + Resources

• My approach to scaling: 100% committed teams and aggressive investment.

• If your budget is ₹1.5 lakh/month but the market requires ₹7 lakh/month for serious content and backlinks, reset your goals or increase your resources.

High-Growth Content Case Studies (5X+ Organic Growth)

Each case here showcases a minimum 5X jump in traffic, driven by intentional content strategy, systemized execution, or technical SEO.

1. Practo – Healthcare + SaaS

• Growth: From 10K → 2M SEO traffic/month in 3 years (200X growth).From 0.5M → 2.5M in 18 months (5X growth).

• Playbook Highlights:

  • Scaled SEO across 26 Indian cities by turning offline data into content (doctors, clinics, timings).

  • Built a people-independent SEO system.

  • Created irreplaceable, hyper-local content with operational teams on the ground.

  • Built internal capabilities and reduced paid dependency.

2. Edureka – EdTech (Upskilling/Professional)

• Growth: From 0 → 500K non-branded traffic/month in 6 months+30% blog traffic via content pruning = 150K+ monthly uplift.

• Playbook Highlights:

  • Scaled content velocity to 600–800 blogs in 5 months using 40+ writers.

  • Sourced writers via LinkedIn + Internshala (targeted tech talent).

  • Massive content audit in 2018: Deleted 300 old articles, merged, redirected, and upgraded content.

  • Strong focus on standardization and execution at scale.

3. Lido Learning – K12 EdTech

• Growth: From 0 → 500K organic traffic/month in 6 months.

• Playbook Highlights:

  • Link building-led strategy: 15,000 outreach emails → 4,400 prospects using “Bus Stream” tool.

  • Created linkable assets (e.g., infographics like “Android version history”).

  • Combined backlink acquisition + scaled content production.

4. Voot.com – OTT/Entertainment

• Growth:10X growth in non-branded organic search traffic.

• Playbook Highlights:

  • Identified and fixed indexation issues via deep technical SEO audits.

  • Aligned product + tech + SEO on roadmap impact using my prioritization framework.

  • Focused on crawl budget optimization and sitemap hygiene.

5. Noon Academy – EdTech (Middle East)

• Growth: From 0 → 100K organic visitors/month in 6 months.

• Playbook Highlights:

  • Managed entire content engine: 30 writers, scaled to 20,000 content pages.

  • Used WordPress to bypass dev bandwidth.

  • Built systemized ops to execute a high-volume content plan quickly.

6. Treebo Hotels – Hospitality/Travel

• Growth: From 5K/day → 28K/day non-branded traffic in 3 months (5.6X jump).

• Playbook Highlights:

  • Deployed technical SEO changes and proved value by separating branded vs non-branded traffic.

  • Prioritized real business KPIs over vanity metrics.

  • Tied content success back to bookings and conversions.

7. Jobs Portal (US Client) – B2C Job Listings

• Growth: From 800/day → 8,000/day in 6 months (10X growth).

• Playbook Highlights:

  • Pure play technical SEO.

  • Mined content via GPT-3 + scraped directories.

  • Heavy use of schema markup for visibility in job-related SERPs.

  • Focused on programmatic SEO at scale.

Common Patterns Across All Wins

Principle	Examples
Systemized execution	Edureka, Noon, Practo
Product/UX-led content	Practo, Treebo
Technical SEO as leverage	Voot, Treebo, Jobs Portal
Programmatic or UGC input	Practo, Jobs Portal
Link-building + outreach engine	Lido, Edureka
Clear separation of branded/non-branded traffic	Treebo, Voot, Practo
Content audit + pruning	Edureka, Practo