Training Example: Builtvisible – Review the Data, Give Your Score & Compare to the Real AI Evaluation

[H1] We deliver brand and business growth through search-based customer journeys.
Builtvisible sits at the intersection of brand and performance marketing to drive organic growth and reduce CPAs through the smart application of data, SEO and content.
[IMG: https://builtvisible.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/strategy_planning.svg]
[H3] Strategy & planning
End-to-end organic strategy that works in sync, moves at pace and delivers with purpose.
[IMG: https://builtvisible.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/campaigns_activation-.svg]
[H3] Campaigns & brand activation
Connected ROI-centric organic campaigns big enough to live everywhere, bold enough to go anywhere.
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[H3] Consultancy & transformation
Organisational change that puts data, digital and specialist knowledge at the centre of your brand ecosystem.See all case studies In today's digital society, brands need more insightful, innovative and imaginative way to connect with audiences.
[IMG: Client logo]
[H4] 1,156% ROI for UK’s largest leisure charitable social enterprise
[IMG: Client logo]
[H4] Award-winning +221% revenue uplift for Icelandic airline
[IMG: Client logo]
[H4] Record-breaking YOY organic growth for popular insurance provider
[H2] Insights library
In-depth analysis guides and resources for high performing marketers looking to build brand equity, reduce CPA and drive long-term sustainable value.Geoff Griffiths27th Mar 2025 Our landscape gets more complex daily and clients are crying out for truly connected thinking at the intersection of brand and performance. With this...News
[H4] Brave Bison acquires Builtvisible
2 min readGeoff Griffiths5th Mar 2025 My case for why you need to prioritise SEO for long-term business growth.
CMOs today face a dilemma. They’re tasked with delivering immediate...Leadership / SEO
[H4] CMOs - turn off your paid ads, I dare ya!
9 min readGary Stubbenhagen24th Feb 2025 SEO is often seen as a somewhat mysterious art, but at Builtvisible, we know it’s also a science. As the Head of Data, I live and breathe the...Data
[H4] Behind the Numbers: How our Data Team Supports Commercial Success
5 min readHarry Clarke5th Dec 2024 In recent years, the line between brand marketing and performance marketing has increasingly blurred. Brand marketing now draws on performance metrics...SEO
[H4] 2025 Predictions: The Rise of Brand SEO
4 min readSally Poundall5th Nov 2024 At the end of last year, Mintel published a report which highlighted the main concerns that are top-of-mind for consumers. In short, the rapid rise of...SEO
[H4] Using SEO Principles to Build Brand Credibility
9 min readHarry Clarke17th Oct 2024 Organisations everywhere are facing broad challenges which impact their bottom line.
Competitive markets, rising costs and shrinking profits all put...SEO
[H4] The Commercial Case For SEO: Introducing Named Project Workflows
2 min read

BlogSEO
[H2] Category: SEO
CategoriesAll categoriesSEOContentDigital PRDataLeadershipNewsGeoff Griffiths5th March 2025 My case for why you need to prioritise SEO for long-term business growth.
CMOs today face a dilemma. They’re tasked with delivering immediate results while simultaneously...Leadership / SEO
[H4] CMOs – turn off your paid ads, I dare ya!
9 min readMiranda KuykAbbey Grocott16th January 2025 How we’re preparing for the EAA deadline and making accessibility a priority
TL;DR: The Road to Accessibility
With the EAA deadline approaching, Builtvisible is prioritising...Content / News / SEO
[H4] The Road to Accessibility
6 min readHarry Clarke19th December 2024 The launch of ChatGPT and other AI-driven platforms has ushered in a new era of accessible, cost-effective generative AI tools for content creation. These advancements have enabled...Content / SEO
[H4] 2025 SEO Predictions: Are We Heading into an AI Winter?
2 min readHarry Clarke16th December 2024 While Google remains dominant in traditional, keyword-based searches – holding 92% of the global search engine market – a clear shift is underway in how people search for...SEO
[H4] 2025 SEO Predictions: Alternative Search Journeys
2 min readHarry Clarke13th December 2024 Local search results have evolved significantly over the years as Google recognised the importance of catering to users that seek geographically relevant information. The...SEO
[H4] 2025 SEO Predictions: Competing Locally in a National Market
2 min readHarry Clarke10th December 2024 In recent years within SEO, long-form content has been the go-to strategy for building topical authority and driving rankings, with brands uploading articles and blogs covering...SEO
[H4] 2025 SEO Predictions: Navigating the Content Strategy Shift
2 min readHarry Clarke5th December 2024 In recent years, the line between brand marketing and performance marketing has increasingly blurred. Brand marketing now draws on performance metrics to justify investment while...SEO
[H4] 2025 Predictions: The Rise of Brand SEO
4 min readMiranda Kuyk14th November 2024 With the European Accessibility Act (EAA) coming into effect in 2025, accessibility has become a bit of a buzzword in the digital marketing space recently.
After June next year,...Content / SEO
[H4] What your competitors don’t want you to know about accessibility
7 min readAbbey Grocott13th November 2024 If you’re already taking proactive steps to enhance digital accessibility, you’ll be well aware of the changes required when the European Accessibility Act (EAA) comes into...Content / SEO
[H4] Building Inclusive Brands: The European Accessibility Act and...
4 min readSally Poundall5th November 2024 At the end of last year, Mintel published a report which highlighted the main concerns that are top-of-mind for consumers. In short, the rapid rise of AI, increasing effects of...SEO
[H4] Using SEO Principles to Build Brand Credibility
9 min readAshleigh Noad28th October 2024 At Builtvisible, we carry out surveys and interviews with brand-side Marketers to understand the evolving marketing landscape and its impact on SEO. Historically, the top issues...SEO
[H4] Overcoming implementation blockers: how to get buy-in for SEO in 2025
7 min readHarry Clarke17th October 2024 Organisations everywhere are facing broad challenges which impact their bottom line.
Competitive markets, rising costs and shrinking profits all put pressure on senior leadership...SEO
[H4] The Commercial Case For SEO: Introducing Named Project Workflows
2 min readAshleigh Noad17th September 2024 The retirement of continuous scroll is a great opportunity to kickstart collaboration between PPC and SEO teams. And if you haven’t looked at the impact on your organic...SEO
[H4] The impact from the retirement of continuous scroll
1 min readHarry Clarke21st August 2024 The rapid pace of digital evolution means brands are updating their website technology every 2-3 years with a migration being some part of that every 4-6 years. With some 26...SEO
[H4] Biggest Web Migration Gotchas
4 min readGary Stubbenhagen22nd May 2024 SEO forecasting has forever been a hot topic of contention for digital marketers.
While organic search is a major acquisition opportunity for many brands it is typically competing...Data / SEO
[H4] Builtvisible Forecaster – the art of SEO possibility for strategic...
2 min read

[H1] Connection is the new currency.
Our connected approach delivers exceptional, long-term growth for brands bold enough to go anywhere.Get in touch
[H2] +2 million organic visits
Read the case studyServicesAll servicesSEOContentDigital PRDataTraining SectorAll sectorsTravelFinancial servicesEcommerceOther
[IMG: Icelandair]
Holistic Digital PR drives record visibility growth
[H4] +40% increase in visibility
Award-winning +221% revenue uplift for Icelandic airline
[IMG: GLL]
Over 170 high quality links boost performance for Better
[H4]
Over 170 high quality links
35% increase in visibility for leading fitness and leisure brand
[IMG: Vitality]
Holistic approach drives +544% in page 1 rankings
[H4] +774% increase in share of generic search
+955% leads for health insurance provider
[IMG: Bravissimo]
Estimated 99% increase in monthly organic revenue, an additional £83k per month
[H4]
Doubling share of search
14% growth in the number of page 1 rankings for empowering retailer
[IMG: Towergate]
Organic traffic now drives 27% of all caravan insurance leads and 15% of sales,...
[H4] +312% more leads
+135% sales for insurance broker vs pre-COVID levels
[IMG: John Charcol]
SEO boosts organic sessions by 14,793% in the first two months
[H4] +30% organic enquiries
98% YOY growth in organic traffic for independent mortgage broker
[IMG: Overdrive Digital]
Website redesign and new templates improve sessions by +89% YoY
[H4]
Website revamp
317% increase in lead volume for a B2B website
[IMG: G4S]
SEO, content and creative unite to breathe new life into core product offering
[H4]
Untapped opportunities
+312% share of search for G4S’s Cash Solutions offering
[IMG: Decision Tech]
Maximising ROI with a multi-faceted approach to link building
[H4] +93 new links
Cutting through the noise to secure high quality links for a UK...
[IMG: Kelisto]
Organic traffic more than doubles YOY, leading to increase in conversions
[H4]
Record visibility
Record number of keywords now ranking on page 1 of Google for Spanish...
[IMG: GLL]
A revenue driven organic strategy generated a £2.1 million increase in organic...
[H4] +2 million organic visits
1,156% ROI for UK’s largest leisure charitable social enterprise
[IMG: G4S]
Successful international migration drives 105% increase in organic traffic
[H4] +105% organic traffic
Complex migration seamlessly combines 102 country sites for security...
[IMG: Bimuno]
Huge 575% uplift in organic sessions for supplement retailer
[H4] +575% organic sessions
Holistic brand building drives 329% increase in organic revenue
[IMG: Towergate Insurance]
SEO fundamentals and content relevance drives 21% increase in lead volume
[H4] +21% organic leads
Record-breaking YOY organic growth for popular insurance provider
[IMG: GLL (Greenwich Leisure Limited)]
Overhauling a complex cross-domain tracking system for consistent and reliable...
[H4]
Transformative impact
Unlocking never-before-seen data insights for a leading social...
[IMG: Lindy Bop]
Collaborative approach drives rapid 41% increase in organic visibility
[H4] +41% organic visibility
177% return on investment for vintage clothing retailer
[IMG: Werkspot]
Hands-on training day upskills PR team in core SEO skills
[H4]
Invaluable
Performance-focused workshop transforms internal processes for...
[IMG: Bravissimo]
A ground-up implementation of Enhanced Ecommerce tracking and a bespoke...
[H4]
Bespoke reporting
A game changer in understanding the customer funnel
[IMG: Lastminute.com]
2,190% return on investment for leading travel brand
[H4] 2,190% ROI
924% increase in organic traffic across 4 highly competitive travel...
[IMG: DRIVER61]
Startup motorsport retailer competitive at the front of the grid in 18 months
[H4] 1,600% ROI
Launching a startup ecommerce store in the motorsport industry
[IMG: Rentokil]
Targeted approach drives almost half a million new organic visitors to world’s...
[H4] +470,000 organic sessions
544% increase in organic traffic
[IMG: Staysure]
50% increase in organic revenue and global top tier coverage for over 50s...
[H4] +50% organic revenue
Award winning results for specialist travel insurer
[IMG: Towergate Insurance]
Enquiry form redesign boosts conversions by 20%
[H4] +20% more leads
Targeted UX tweaks yield fast results
[IMG: Very]
Technical SEO & strategic marketing build top line monthly sales for online...
[H4] +220% organic traffic
Growing online sales by 325% for retail giant
[IMG: Feelunique]
Effective SEO consulting combined with killer content marketing for leading...
[H4] +356% organic visibility
198% increase in organic traffic
[IMG: Met Office]
Building a new audience through strategic content
[H4] +781% new users
Focused long tail content strategy results in 655% increase in traffic
[IMG: Icelandair]
Discovering the Northern Lights
[H4]
Stunning content
Data-rich content positions airline as the ultimate travel provider
[IMG: Love the Sales]
Fast action turns around fortunes in key trading period
[H4] Lightning-fast recovery
Industry leading technical support brings organic rankings back from...
[IMG: Towergate]
Adopting a high growth strategy for leading insurance company
[H4] 214% ROI
SEO improvements drive growth at exceptional ROI of 214% over 6 months
[IMG: Staysure]
Creative content drives credibility & traffic for challenger insurance brand
[H4]
Worldwide coverage
Beautiful content delivers exceptional results
[IMG: Met Office]
Search insight boosts social performance for global weather forecasters
[H4] 1.9 million impressions
Targeted social strategy pinpoints key content areas for audience...
[IMG: FRHI]
Creative content breaks through the noise to drive global coverage and CSR...
[H4] 172 pieces of coverage
How we generated $1,000,000 in advertising value for global luxury...
[IMG: The Conran Shop]
Gaining organic visibility in a competitive marketplace
[H4] +54% non-branded traffic
Tailored SEO recommendations and content campaigns drive a 312%...
[IMG: Red Hat]
Smooth global migration for multinational software company
[H4]
Smooth global migration
Successful platform migration leads to 107% increase in organic...
[H2] Talk to a specialist today
We'll work closely with you to build a brief, solve a specific problem or simply provide a fresh pair of eyes.

[H1] Geoff Griffiths
A former professional rugby player, Geoff is CEO and owner of Builtvisible, having acquired the business from founder Richard Baxter in 2019.His sporting background brings a unique perspective to building high-performance teams, and his value-led approach has grown Builtvisible into one of the UK's largest independent organic agencies.Outside of agency life Geoff enjoys helping other athletes transition out of sport and telling boring rugby stories to anyone that will listen.
[H2] Geoff Griffiths' posts
Geoff Griffiths27th March 2025 Our landscape gets more complex daily and clients are crying out for truly connected thinking at the intersection of brand and performance. With this in mind, I’m pleased to...News
[H4] Brave Bison acquires Builtvisible
2 min readGeoff Griffiths5th March 2025 My case for why you need to prioritise SEO for long-term business growth.
CMOs today face a dilemma. They’re tasked with delivering immediate results while simultaneously...Leadership / SEO
[H4] CMOs – turn off your paid ads, I dare ya!
9 min readGeoff Griffiths24th October 2023 The world is moving at real pace, and nowhere more so than within digital and marketing more widely.
Keeping up with the pace of change is cited widely as the number one challenge...Leadership
[H4] Welcome to a connected digital society: A new era for Builtvisible
4 min readGeoff Griffiths11th July 2023 Big news at Builtvisible HQ as we welcome former Jaywing UK MD Maria Vardy to the agency, where she will be taking up the role of Managing Director. It’s a clear statement of...Leadership / News
[H4] Welcoming Maria Vardy – our new Managing Director
1 min readGeoff Griffiths8th February 2022 Over the past few years mental wellbeing has started to emerge as a hot topic for agency leaders. It goes without saying that broadly this is a great thing.
But on the other hand...Leadership
[H4] Introducing the gold standard for mental health provision in agencies
7 min readGeoff Griffiths26th October 2021 However you define “success”, those that achieve it in their career often fall into one of two categories.
The first are just plain lucky. They were in the right place at the...Leadership
[H4] Introducing Builtvisible Career Architect
7 min readGeoff Griffiths13th April 2021 Having spent over 11 years building one of the most effective specialist SEO consulting teams on the planet we have come to critical juncture. We have decided to invest in a re-org...Leadership
[H4] We are looking for someone to lead our best-in-class SEO consulting...
4 min readGeoff Griffiths28th July 2020 The last four months have been tough for everyone running businesses – growing, shrinking or otherwise.
Back in March I wrote about the threat of Coronavirus and how we were...News
[H4] Lockdown gave us time to reflect and prepare for the future....
2 min readGeoff Griffiths4th June 2020 As an agency we know we can do better and do more. In recent days we’ve paused our external  activity and turned inwards to discuss recent events in America with our team....Leadership
[H4] Our commitment to fighting inequality
5 min readGeoff Griffiths30th March 2020 The turbulence of the last few weeks has clouded our view of the future to levels not seen since the 2008 financial crisis. With uncertainty comes fear, and fear can drive...Leadership / SEO
[H4] SEO – What we need to do now
11 min readGeoff Griffiths18th February 2020 Reflecting on yet another tragedy over the weekend, influenced very clearly by the poisonous tabloid press of this country, I can’t help but think it is time SEOs and Digital PRs...Leadership
[H4] Is SEO selling its soul and fuelling hate?
2 min readGeoff Griffiths29th January 2019 How Builtvisible embraces shared values and resource modelling to buck the trend
The agency world has traditionally been terrible for work-life balance.
From the Mad Men-esque...Leadership
[H4] Achieving a healthy work-life balance at a digital agency
7 min readGeoff Griffiths24th December 2018 The end of 2018 also represents the end of another year of our charity donation scheme.
While charitable giving has always been an important part of the employee experience at...News
[H4] Our year in charitable donations
6 min readGeoff Griffiths20th December 2018 CSR has always been a big part of Builtvisible’s culture, from sustainable working practices to a employee-led monthly charity donation scheme, and back in May we teamed up...News
[H4] Volunteering roundup 2018
4 min readGeoff Griffiths17th September 2018 Last week marked a significant new chapter in Builtvisible’s history.
After 4 ½ years on Tabernacle Street, we have moved into a brand new, state-of-the-art, single-room office...News
[H4] Our new home and what it represents
4 min read

BlogNews
[H1] Brave Bison acquires Builtvisible
Geoff Griffiths27th March 2025Our landscape gets more complex daily and clients are crying out for truly connected thinking at the intersection of brand and performance. With this in mind, I’m pleased to announce today that Builtvisible has been acquired by media, marketing and technology company, Brave Bison.Becoming a part of Brave Bison offers us a phenomenal opportunity to supercharge our strategy offering by plugging into their deep AI expertise and wider specialisms in paid media, social media and commerce. I can’t wait to get started.
[H2] Media, marketing and technology company Brave Bison today announces that it has acquired Builtvisible.
Press release, 27th March 2025
[IMG: Image shows Rebecca Brown and Geoff Griffiths from Builtvisible, alongside Hannah Kimuyu and Andy Platt of Brave Bison.]
Founded in 2009, Builtvisible delivers SEO, content strategy and digital PR services and boasts an enviable roster of clients across the retail, travel and financial services sectors including Icelandair, Asda, Aviva, Specsavers, Superdrug and The Very Group. As part of the deal, Builtvisible will be integrated into Brave Bison’s existing Performance and Commerce practice, under newly promoted CEO Hannah Kimuyu. Builtvisible CEO Geoff Griffiths and COO Rebecca Brown will join the Brave Bison leadership team as Chief Commercial Officer and Managing Director of Organic Performance respectively, working closely with Managing Partner Andy Platt and the wider team to keep clients ahead of the rapid evolution of the search landscape.The announcement follows Brave Bison’s acquisition of sports marketing agency Engage Digital Partners in December 2024 and comes as former acquisition SocialChain celebrates its best year on record with revenues exceeding £11m following several transformational new business wins. The move will furnish Brave Bison with the UK’s largest independent SEO team—offering clients a scaled platform for innovation, particularly in the realm of generative and AI powered search. Working in close partnership with Brave Bison’s award-winning AI and technology teams, this newly expanded SEO function will design, build and bring to market proprietary solutions that help clients capitalise on emerging search platforms and behaviours. It will also work closely with Brave Bison’s social-first creative and strategy specialists, SocialChain, and sports marketers Engage Digital Partners to innovate solutions at the intersection of social, search and community engagement. The announcement comes as Sam Hailstone joins the newly integrated team as Director of Organic Performance, reporting into Rebecca Brown. Hailstone boasts an impressive background leading SEO teams both client and agency side at the likes of Net-A-Porter Group, OMD UK and Razorfish.Hannah Kimuyu, CEO Performance and Commerce, Brave Bison commented:“No one knows search better than Geoff, Rebecca and their team. Builtvisible boast an enviable roster of ambitious clients and the talent and expertise to deliver for them. Not only this but they share our values of bold curiosity and constant impact. With a combined focus on outcomes over outputs and a scaled platform for innovation, I’m incredibly excited about what we’ll build together.”Oliver Green, Executive Chairman, Brave Bison added:“I’m delighted to welcome Geoff, Rebecca and the entire Builtvisible team to Brave Bison. Artificial intelligence is changing the way all of us discover and buy products online, making digital media buying even more complex. Builtvisible’s expertise will not only enhance our existing service offerings in the search space but also provide our clients with cutting-edge innovation to help them capitalise on the complexity of modern media.”
[H2] Questions about what this means for your business?
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if you have any further questions regarding this news. You can do so via the contact form on our website, or by reaching out directly to your primary Builtvisible contacts.
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BlogLeadership
[H1] CMOs – turn off your paid ads, I dare ya!
Geoff Griffiths5th March 2025My case for why you need to prioritise SEO for long-term business growth. CMOs today face a dilemma. They’re tasked with delivering immediate results while simultaneously building long-term brand equity. On the face of it these two objectives can co-exist quite happily, but the reality is that focus on the former is often at the expense of the latter. My question is: At what cost?  I obviously come at this from the world of SEO – one of, if not the least-understood/nebulous digital marketing channels. Most people know they need it, but with the best will in the world, it could be argued comparatively few really understand it. All clear and obvious biases aside, I believe a shift in thinking around what SEO should actually be used for has the power to unlock a crazy amount of value for brands, should they wish to take heed. Yes, I may have used a pithy clickbait title to lure you in, but I find working in the extremes is often a great way to challenge our own thinking around a topic, so let’s crack on.
[H2] How did we get here?
The imbalance between short and long-term thinking makes sense on a few levels: We are living through tricky macro-economic times. While not all budgets are being tightened, all without fail are being scrutinised closely. Committing to short-term tactical projects as opposed to longer-term strategic engagements feels easier and less risky. As a specialist agency, we are seeing that happen increasingly often. Digital continues to accelerate at a dizzying pace. Simply keeping up with change is difficult enough, never mind getting ahead of the game. If you’re constantly shooting at a moving target, how do you commit to growth or pin success on something tangible?CMOs are in post for an average of 39 months before moving on. Where’s the incentive to think strategically beyond that time, if you’re not expecting to be get credit for the results?Beyond these reasons, the imbalance begins to make less sense, especially from our standpoint as organic marketers.
[H2] SEO is the key to balancing brand and performance marketing
Quick caveat here – I know SEO is constantly dying or being redefined in some way, but when we talk about SEO at Builtvisible, we essentially mean search-based customer journeys. That is to say, if we know/believe there is/will be demand for something, we can optimise for discovery of that thing. Google historically has been where consumers live, but that’s diversifying all the time.  Note, you can read more about alternative search journeys in our latest whitepaper.  Whichever way you look at it, CPAs are on the rise across the digital mix. Brands are paying more and more to get pushed in front of customers online, and the need to reduce CPA is probably the most cited challenge I hear from CMOs. Within our world of search, the nearest opportunity for tackling CPA is obviously getting the right balance between SEO and paid search.
[IMG: Image shows an infinite loop where SEO sits at the middle point between performance and brand, and at the junction of CPA reduction and organic growth.]
I often refer to PPC as the crack cocaine of digital marketing. The initial rewards are exciting, but the long term consequences are that potency wains, costs to acquire continue to rise and the loyal, brand-advocate customer base you are trying to entice becomes more and more transactional in nature. See the problem? Leadership wants to see quick results with lower CPAs and CMOs don’t stay in post for enough time to incentivise long-term plays, and yet the solution to reducing CPAs lies in deeply committing to a strategy for the mid to long-term.
[H2] The power of SEO: building trust and reducing CPA
At its core, SEO is about meeting customers where they are, on their terms. Unlike transactional paid ads, organic search empowers customers to discover brands naturally, creating a foundation of trust – a holy grail in all forms of marketing. Customers who find you organically are more likely to trust you and engage with your content, more likely to convert through your content, and more likely to become loyal advocates over the long-term thus increasing LTV. Furthermore, organic is a proven method for reducing CPAs. Performance marketing’s costs continue to rise, but SEO offers a cost-efficient alternative by generating sustained traffic over time. For sectors grappling with high CPAs, such as financial services, this approach is game-changing. Don’t believe me? Let’s take a closer look at a recent example with one of our wonderful insurance provider clients:. TLDR: Tactical Digital PR activity on pages that generate high value customers long term (pensions) resulted in a 174% increase in clicks within 8 months – without the need for a large-scale PR campaign. By folding revenue figures into the activity, comparative ROIs versus the expected PPC costs come out as follows: PPC – high range bid: -19% ROI, PPC – low range bid: 276% ROI, SEO approach: 467% ROI.
[IMG: Image shows clicks rising significantly as cumulative links grow to only 12 in a 6 month period.]
Our proprietary strategy product Opportunity Sizing told us significant gains were available within a short timeframe if we could build a certain quality of links at a certain rate. The page in question relates to pensions meaning conversions in this area have a high lifetime value.  High value typically means more competition and looking at paid search data this was definitely the case. The top end of many CPCs extended into double figures (£s) in this instance. With that in mind we began a stream of contentless “tactical” link building. For us that means building highly relevant links to deep commercial pages, using competitor data and entrepreneurial techniques without having to create large “Digital PR” campaigns that are better placed when working on brand building / domain strengthening. We know this type of link building is highly effective and typically has clear commercial impacts, while it’s concurrently often far less of an investment in terms of time, effort and money. No other activity was run on this page during this period, and the initiative resulted in a 174% increase in clicks within 8 months. Clicks is one thing, but revenue is another. By folding revenue figures into the activity, comparative ROIs come out as follows: PPC – high range bid: -19% ROI PPC – low range bid: 276% ROI SEO approach: 467% ROIAnd that’s ignoring the fact that SEO keeps working for you after the work is done. There’ll be some decay if you do absolutely nothing else from that point onwards, of course, but the point still stands and is a powerful one. Now imagine scaling that concept up across an entire product or service portfolio. All of a sudden, SEO is making a meaningful contribution to your bottom line, as well as the top.
[H2] Why isn’t everyone thinking like this?
It all sounds simple, but so many brands are struggling to adopt the thinking and processes that maximise the effectiveness of SEO. Broadly, I see this struggle boiling down to two things, within the context of the short-termism I outlined at the beginning.
[H3] Education
The reality is, very few CMOs come from a specialist SEO background. Broadly most CMOs self-identify as having one of two core “specialisms” – brand or performance, or they tend to mark themselves down as generalists.  Good SEO (or “organic” more widely) sits at the intersection of brand and performance and ties both together, so why would there ever be an expectation of deep domain expertise in this area if few people calling the shots have hands-on experience of the channel? Equally, SEO has a tendency to operate in the incrementality, fine margins and detail of digital. All things senior marketers are typically trying to get away from to ensure they can focus on the big picture. As a result, CMOs and specialists need to make sure they are finding common ground to unpick the often abstract world of SEO. At its heart, the three core components of SEO (technical, on-site and off-site) are reasonably straightforward to comprehend but how they all play together is where the magic happens. Spending time dissecting all three of these and laddering them up to the bigger picture is a really good use of time and something we spend a lot of time doing as a specialist agency with senior client-side stakeholders. Find out how our data team forecast, optimise and test to ensure our work drives revenue.  Getting to the crux of this makes my second “So what” a whole lot easier:
[H3] Commercial measurement of value
The SEO industry is obsessed with proxy KPIs (a perfect manifestation of being in the detail) which is doing the channel no favours when it comes to being understood or taken seriously.  I very much see SEO as competing with paid channels when it comes to proving value. For channels like paid search you have clear “money-in, money-out” measures which are very easy to understand. “How many links have we built?” or “Are we P1 for [keyword]” are not the type of questions being asked by paid marketing teams, whereas “how much revenue have we driven?” or “how has this channel improved our bottom line?” very much are. You could also argue the former are very short-term in nature and the latter much more forward-facing. Even within brand marketing where some (including me) might argue the metrics are a bit more woolly, one can accept there is an broadly agreed methodology and benchmark/measure accordingly. So, we need SEO to get to a “money-in, money-out” model where possible. In my experience the biggest blocker to getting this is a brand’s own data, but the second biggest is the lack of desire to build such a thing. Even if said model is imperfect on day one, you are working with something that once agreed, can be measured, optimised and crucially, iterated upon. If everyone involved is aligned as to how we got here, we’re in a good place. We don’t have to get it perfect day one, but we can start having better conversations.
[H2] Conclusion
OK hopefully you can see that I’m not advocating for you to switch off your paid ads, but you should definitely use the idea as a jumping off point to explore what proper SEO/organic digital marketing could do for your brand. Working in the extremes forces us to challenge our thinking because it typically creates unrealistic or unlikely scenarios. We’ve found ourselves doing it more and more with our clients to try and break down barriers to the often enormous, unrealised potential of SEO. So hopefully (click-bait aside), this has at least sparked something.  Not sure where to begin? If you’d like to speak to us about organic strategy, campaigns or consultancy, get in touch.
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[H4] +955% leads for health insurance provider
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[H4] SEO strategy
Blog · SEO
[H4] 2025 SEO Predictions: Alternative Search Journeys
[H4] 2025 SEO Predictions: Alternative Search Journeys