Sydney Student Accommodation Brand Fully Booked with SEO & Digital Strategy

Otto Stay partnered with SBO in 2024 to boost visibility and bookings. Now they’re fully booked 6–12 months in advance, with demand so strong five new student accommodations are underway.

Client & Project Background

Client: Otto Stay
Industry: Student Accommodation
Location: Sydney, NSW, QLD
Project Timeline: Began 2024 → 12 months later, occupancy at 100%+
Platform: Custom WordPress with SEO-optimised content, hosting & ongoing maintenance

The Challenge (Before Small Biz Optimize)

Despite having prime locations and beautiful new buildings, Otto Stay faced challenges common to new accommodation providers:

Visibility: Limited presence online — almost no organic traffic, very low domain rating (DR 7).
Keywords: Fewer than 400 keywords indexed, few ranking in top 10.
Enquiries: Reliant on offline channels and agents, missing consistent direct enquiries.
Competition: Established Sydney student housing companies dominated Google search.

Otto needed a full-stack digital partner: from website design and hosting to SEO, content marketing, and ongoing management.

Our Solution & Process

SBO approached Otto Stay’s growth with a comprehensive digital roadmap.

Services Provided:

Key Actions:

Built a high-performance WordPress website with SEO-first structure
Created optimised landing pages for each location (Forest Lodge, Annandale, Petersham, Newtown)
Deployed a keyword strategy targeting “student accommodation Sydney”, suburb-specific searches, and lifestyle queries like how to make friends in Sydney
Launched content marketing campaigns addressing student pain points (culture shock, living costs, meeting people, etc.)
Strengthened backlink profile (+17 new backlinks, +10 referring domains in recent months)
Delivered ongoing hosting, speed optimisation, and technical SEO fixes

The Results (After SBO)

The transformation has been dramatic:

Organic Keywords

Grew from <400 → 1,500+ keywords (+1,100)

Organic Traffic

+75 visits/month (now 130 monthly visitors & climbing)

Value

$62/month organic traffic value (+$37)

Top 3 Rankings

12 keywords in top 3
(e.g., “pet friendly student accommodation,” “Otto Stay”)

Branded Growth

“Otto Stay” now dominates branded searches in AU

Occupancy

100% occupancy → fully booked 6–12 months in advance

Business Impact

Demand so strong they are building 5 new student accommodation properties

Client Testimonial

“Partnering with SBO completely changed the game for Otto Stay. From the ground up, they handled our website, SEO, and content — and the results speak for themselves. We’re fully booked months in advance, enquiries haven’t stopped, and we’re expanding faster than planned.”

Visual Proof

Backlink profile growth (63 referring domains, +10 in one month)
Keyword growth: 400 → 1,500+
Organic positions: strong climb into top 3 for 12 high-intent terms
Traffic by location: 86% AU (1,400+ AU keywords indexed)
Branded vs. non-branded growth: both rising steadily

Key Takeaways

Full-stack partnership wins → Design + Hosting + SEO + Content = exponential growth
Local SEO focus → Location pages helped dominate suburb-specific searches
Content marketing → Answering student lifestyle questions built trust and organic reach
Long-term ROI → From low traffic to fully booked properties, with five new builds in progress

Ready to Fill Your Pipeline?

Otto Stay’s story proves what’s possible when you align web, SEO, and marketing under one roof.