“Playing to Win” Meets Real-World SEO Strategy

Let us merge the strategic lens from Roger Martin’s "Playing to Win" with the real-world SEO systems I use. This version goes deeper, grounded in my playbooks, sharpened by Roger's clarity of thought, and enhanced with structured SEO frameworks (10X Program, SEO Stack, Execution Systems).

This isn’t a theoretical mashup. It’s a real, working SEO strategy framework built on first-principles thinking and operational rigor. Here's how I apply each of Martin's 5 strategic choices to build SEO systems that actually move the needle:

1. What Is Our Winning Aspiration?

Roger’s View: “Strategy starts with defining what winning means.”

My SEO Aspiration:

Build a sustainable, scalable, and self-sufficient SEO growth engine that drives compounding, high-intent traffic and measurable business results.

Not “rank #1.” Not “publish 50 blog posts.”Instead:

• Lower CAC from organic by 30%

• 10X non-brand traffic to bottom-funnel pages in 6 months

• Make SEO the second-largest revenue channel by Q4

If your SEO aspiration isn’t specific, measurable, and strategically valuable, it’s not an aspiration — it’s just wishful thinking.

2. Where Will We Play?

This is where 90% of SEO strategies fail. They try to “play everywhere.”

I choose battlefields based on:

• User context: What real problems are users solving? What jobs are they hiring Google for?

• Business context: What products drive revenue? What verticals have the best LTV?

• SERP context: What kind of content ranks? Who owns the SERP (Google, Reddit, YouTube, Quora)?

• Competitive context: Where are competitors vulnerable?

Examples:

• For a bootstrapped SaaS:

  Focus on “X alternatives”, “best X tools”, and comparison intent to intercept buyers mid-funnel.

• For a large content-led brand:

  Dominate product category guides + own schema-rich snippets.

• For a local aggregator:

  Play in hyper-local long-tail + ensure crawlability at scale.

If you can’t draw the boundaries of your SEO battlefield, you’re not playing. You’re flailing.

3. How Will We Win?

This is your unique edge. You don’t win by doing SEO. You win by doing your SEO differently — faster, smarter, or deeper than anyone else.

My typical edges:

• Technical moat: Fast page speeds, clean architecture, structured data, scalable QA systems.

• Content quality + velocity: Briefs that map to intent, modular production, peer review loops.

• Linkable assets at the core: Unique data, tools, visual formats, or story-based campaigns.

• Execution systems: Weekly dashboards, sprint-integrated QA, team checklists.

If you’re playing in “comparison keywords” — do your pages actually compare better?If you’re targeting “how-to intent” — are you actually better than YouTube or Reddit?

Don’t ask “what tactic should we try?” Ask, “Why will this tactic win?”

4. What Capabilities Must Be In Place?

Most teams attempt to win SEO battles with little to no firepower. No system. No muscle. Just hope. Here’s what I install before scaling SEO:

A. Content Engine

• Clear writing guidelines + briefs

• Review loop + CMS publishing SOPs

• Keyword → URL mapping master sheet

B. Tech SEO Capabilities

• Pre-launch SEO QA is baked into sprints.

• Screaming Frog + GSC + Data Studio monitoring

• Dev-trained SEO champions (1 per squad)

C. Authority System

• Linkable asset plan (per quarter)

• Outreach sequences + CRM

• Link budget (either in-house or vendor)

D. Org-Wide SEO Fluency

• Training sessions for PMs/devs

• Shared documentation + feedback loop

• SEO is included in the PRD and QA process

Capabilities = execution horsepower. No horsepower = no movement.

5. What Management Systems Must Be in Place?

You can’t execute strategy without systems. This is where most SEO “projects” die — scattered ownership, no feedback loops, no prioritization. Here’s what I built:

Management Stack:

• SEO Roadmap = 12-week strategic bets

• Prioritization Matrix = ICE or RICE for tech/content/backlinks

• Weekly Ops Review = Task status + metric movement

• Content Tracker = Pipeline stage + performance + internal links

• Impact Reporting = Monthly wins, keyword movement, revenue contribution

Metrics I track:

• % of non-brand pages driving traffic

• Crawl/index coverage

• Content velocity vs. planned

• Top 10 keyword wins & losses

• Pages per session + bounce rates (intent alignment)

• New links/month (referring domains)

SEO isn’t just about ranking. It’s about being rank-worthy — and building the systems that make that possible, repeatable, and scalable.

Strategy Is Iterative. Run Sprints, Not Marathons.

Roger emphasizes adaptation. So do I. I run SEO in 4-6 week sprints. Every sprint includes:

• One technical fix

• One cluster/content theme

• One linkable asset push

• One priority experiment

After each sprint:

• Review what moved the needle

• Update the strategy stack

• Kill what doesn’t scale, double down on what compounds

Final Summary: Strategy That Wins Looks Like This

Strategic Choice	SEO Application
Winning Aspiration	Scalable SEO growth engine that drives ROI, not just traffic
Where Will We Play?	Clear keyword clusters + SERP formats + business verticals
How Will We Win?	Tech edge, content ops, linkable assets, superior user experience
What Capabilities Are Needed?	Content system, dev collaboration, backlink ops, dashboards
What Systems are Needed?	Roadmaps, prioritization, sprint tracking, QA gates, and org SEO fluency

Applying Playing To Win - SEO Strategy Case Studies

Case Study 1: Edureka – Ranking #1 for High-Volume, Commercial Tech Keywords

1. Winning Aspiration

Make Edureka the top organic destination for job-ready tech courses (DevOps, Data Science, etc.)

Not “grow blog traffic.”The win was owning commercial SERPs, converting that traffic into course purchases, and dominating visibility in a crowded B2C edtech space.

2. Where Will We Play

• Course-category keywords: "DevOps certification," "Data Science training"

• Informational + TOFU: "What is Kubernetes?"

• YouTube + blog + schema-rich pages

• Target geos: India, US, Middle East

3. How Will We Win

• Speed + Coverage: Published 200+ high-intent pages/month with modular templates

• Rich Results Strategy: Used review schema, FAQs, event schema to boost CTR

• YouTube + Blog Pairing: Each course page had a YouTube video + blog content → improved dwell time & SERP real estate

• Content Systematization: Writers briefed via templates, SEOs reviewed, and CMS was integrated with publishing

4. Capabilities in Place

• 5 writers, 2 editors, 1 designer (in-house)

• Dev support to build schema-injection widgets

• Airtable-based content pipeline

• Monthly keyword ↔ URL performance reviews

5. Management Systems

• Weekly dashboard: keyword movement, schema coverage, CTR growth

• Content sprint: 2-week cycles with 50 pieces each

• Monthly stakeholder review: Traffic vs revenue vs lead quality

Outcome: Ranked #1 for DevOps training, AWS Certification India, and 100+ keywords in <6months. 30% + of all course leads came from SEO.

Case Study 2: Practo – Building SEO Governance at Scale

1. Winning Aspiration

Build a self-sustaining SEO system across millions of doctor profiles and health pages.

Not “fix issues.”The goal was to embed SEO into every product release.

2. Where Will We Play

• City-based intent: "Dermatologist in Koramangala"

• Symptom pages: "itchy scalp causes"

• Schema-rich info pages: “diabetes treatment”

3. How Will We Win

• SEO QA Gatekeeping: Created an “SEO Quality Score” checklist → releases were blocked if SEO was not met

• Tech SEO Audits: Identified crawl budget wastage across 100k+ duplicate URLs

• Training Dev Teams: Weekly SEO sessions to teach crawlability, canonical tags, and structured data

4. Capabilities in Place

• Pre-prod SEO review baked into JIRA flow

• Checklists for every sprint release

• Playbooks + training videos for product and dev

• Custom dashboards: index bloat, crawl depth, GSC anomalies

5. Management Systems

• ICE-prioritized SEO roadmap

• Monthly audit → action loop

• Sprint-aligned collaboration with product leads

Outcome: Technical fixes resulted in a 28% crawl budget savings, a 30% increase in indexed money pages, and established long-term SEO guardrails.

Case Study 3: Typito – Punching Above Weight With Intent-Matched Pages

1. Winning Aspiration

Drive conversions from low-volume, high-converting long-tail intent.

Traffic was a bonus. Signups were the goal.

2. Where Will We Play

• Long-tail pages: "write my SOP for MS in Data Science", "free SOP generator"

• Zero-volume keywords → but high buyer intent

• No blog — just tightly scoped landing pages with real CTAs

3. How Will We Win

• Built single-purpose pages for every micro-intent

• Used programmatic SEO to generate 100+ landing pages with structured prompts

• Prioritized speed (published 100 pages in 3 weeks)

4. Capabilities in Place

• Airtable-based page generator

• Airtable → Webflow CMS via automation

• Templates for content, meta, and schema

5. Management Systems

• KPI dashboard (signups from organic)

• Monthly A/B tests: CTA text, testimonials, content block placements

• Conversion tracking: Form fills + calendar bookings

Outcome:15% conversion rate on long-tail pages.SEO accounted for over 60% of all first-touch signups within 60 days.

Final Summary Table

Choice	Edureka	Practo	Typito
Winning Aspiration	Own commercial tech course SERPs	SEO is embedded in every product release	Drive signups via high-intent keywords
Where Will We Play	TOFU + BOFU course & guide keywords	City + symptom pages, schema-rich info	Long-tail “write my X” use cases
How Will We Win	Speed + schema + YouTube-rich content	SEO QA system + tech cleanup + training	Programmatic SEO + micro-intent match
Capabilities Needed	Content team + schema modules	SEO-trained devs + QA checklists	Airtable workflows + CMS automation
Systems in Place	Weekly dashboards, sprints, and roadmap	Audit loop, stakeholder syncs, playbooks	A/B testing loop, KPI dashboard