Are you looking for the best SEO case studies to inspire and improve your strategy in 2024?
SEO case studies are the ultimate way of finding out what works (and what doesn't) to climb search results.
Join us as we share 14 real-life examples that cut through the noise to reveal strategies that yield results.
In This Article
- What Is an SEO Case Study?
- How Can SEO Case Studies Help Me?
- 14 SEO Case Studies for 2024
- 1. Later (SaaS)
- 2. MedPark Hospital (Medical)
- 3. Transit (Mobile App)
- 4. Iowa Girl Eats (Food Blog)
- 5. KrispCall (SaaS)
- 6. Handle the Heat (Food Blog)
- 7. The Independent Pharmacy (B2C)
- 8. Hawthorn (Local & eCommerce)
- 9. All About Cookies (Web & Tech)
- 10. Oxford English Dictionary (Publishing)
- 11. MESHKI (eCommerce)
- 12. Golfer Geeks (Golf Blog)
- 13. Explore (Travel & Tourism)
- 14. Wagering Terms (Sports)
- AIOSEO Trends: Your Gateway to the Latest SEO Success Stories
What Is an SEO Case Study?
An SEO case study analyzes how businesses transform their online presence using search engine optimization (SEO.) It uses real-life examples to showcase specific SEO strategies and their effect on a website's rankings and traffic.
How Can SEO Case Studies Help Me?
SEO case studies are one of the best ways to learn what strategies move the needle. They act like blueprints for the digital landscape, demonstrating the techniques behind top-ranking websites.
This is important for website owners because once you know what works, you can replicate those strategies to grow your traffic.
14 SEO Case Studies for 2024
Ready to learn from the best?
These websites use strategies that work—and these SEO case studies prove it.
1. Later (SaaS)
Later is a leading social media management tool. It helps over 7 million users create, schedule, and share their content across all major social media platforms. Later has over 1.8K positive reviews on the Apple store and over 5K on Google Play.
Key Growth Contributor: Later added a Social Media Glossary with over 200 pages of content. The impact was immediate. Shortly after going live, these pages generated an impressive 60% of the site's total traffic.
Top Strategies for Your Site:
- Create high-quality content that fulfills search intent.
- Implement schema markup to win rich results on the SERP.
- Build more backlinks to your site.
Read the full SEO case study here: Later 147% YoY Growth
2. MedPark Hospital (Medical)
MedPark is a private hospital in Bangkok, Thailand. It caters to its local audience but also aims to become a global destination for medical tourism. It was recently awarded one of Thailand’s top 10 hospitals.
Key Growth Contributor: In a push to expand its local and international reach, MedPark Hospital tailored content to its Thai and global audiences. They did this by creating thousands of new pages in both Thai and English. Thailand traffic more than tripled keyword rankings YoY, while U.S. rankings went from non-existent to 206K keywords. English pages generated over a quarter million organic visits in the analysis month's traffic alone.
Top Strategies for Your Site:
- Tailor content to your audience(s).
- Assign hreflang attributes on multilingual sites.
- Use the marketing funnel to meet the different stages of your customer’s journey.
Read the full SEO case study here: MedPark Hospital 523% YoY Growth
3. Transit (Mobile App)
Transit is a mobile app for public transportation. It provides real-time data on transportation lines, departure times, and delays. Transit covers over 300 cities worldwide and has over 10 million downloads on Android. It also ranks #4 in Apple navigation apps.
Key Growth Contributor: For most of the website's lifetime, Transit had under 300 pages on its site at any given time. Then, in 2023, they accelerated their content production using programmatic SEO. Pages skyrocketed to 10-21K. These new landing pages highlight specific commutes using regional transportation methods, like buses, subways, and trains.
Top Strategies for Your Site:
- Build out your content portfolio to rank for more keywords.
- Leverage automation to streamline content creation.
- Optimize for Google’s People Also Ask box with FAQs.
Read the full SEO case study here: Transit 1,134% YoY Growth
4. Iowa Girl Eats (Food Blog)
Iowa Girl Eats is a gluten-free food blog by Kristin Porter. She started her blog in 2018 and received 1.5 million monthly organic visits in 2023. What’s even more impressive is that she reached this new traffic milestone in just 3 months.
Key Growth Contributor: Iowa Girl Eats' success lies on the search engine results page (SERP.) Thanks to a generous implementation of recipe and review schema markup behind the scenes, Porter won attractive recipe snippets on the SERP. Iowa Girl Eats is frequently featured in Google's recipe carousel, and her food images rank in Google image search.
Top Strategies for Your Site:
- Implement recipe schema markup to win recipe snippets on the SERP.
- Optimize images to rank in Google image search.
- Craft user-centric content that ranks in People Also Ask.
Read the full SEO case study here: Iowa Girl Eats 508% Growth in 3 Months
5. KrispCall (SaaS)
KrispCall is a virtual cloud phone system. It offers a range of SaaS communication products, from a cloud telephony system to virtual phone numbers and call center software. KrispCall boasts a global customer base, with headquarters in Singapore and an additional office in Australia.
Key Growth Contributor: KrispCall leveraged programmatic SEO to create a landing page for every area code in the United States. They also included international area codes of some of their top traffic-driving countries. These pages had a dramatic effect, generating 82% of all U.S. traffic during the analysis month.
Top Strategies for Your Site:
- Address audience needs and fulfill search intent.
- Optimize page templates for programmatic SEO.
- Implement FAQ schema markup to win PAA results.
Read the full SEO case study here: KrispCall 1,969% YoY Growth
6. Handle the Heat (Food Blog)
Handle the Heat is a baking blog by Tessa Arias. She started the blog in 2009 after graduating from culinary school. Today, Handle the Heat has over 1,000 dessert recipes online. Tessa's blog stands out in the food blogging world because she infuses science into each recipe. Readers enjoy helpful baking tips that are backed by science and sweet-tooth-approved.
Key Growth Contributor: Handle the Heat had a two-fold primary reason for its SEO success. (1) Tessa's commitment to high-quality, comprehensive content in every blog post. (2) Google algorithm updates that rewarded Tessa's efforts with a boost in rankings. The full SEO case study dissects Tessa's content and shares the specific algorithm updates that elevated the blog's performance.
Top Strategies for Your Site:
- Write for people first, search engines second.
- Engage your audience on social media.
- Implement schema markup behind the scenes.
Read the full SEO case study here: Handle the Heat 295% Growth in 6 Months
7. The Independent Pharmacy (B2C)
The Independent Pharmacy is an online pharmacy based in Bristol, United Kingdom. It provides medical consultations, health advice, and prescriptions to ePharma shoppers. The site was launched in 2013 and is considered one of the leading UK online pharmacies today. It has over 19,000 online positive reviews and offers over 800 treatments.
Key Growth Contributor: The Independent Pharmacy leveraged FAQs to enhance its visibility on the SERP. They include FAQs on almost every landing page and implement FAQ schema markup behind the scenes. This strategic move proved pivotal, winning them 8.7K keyword rankings in the People Also Ask box during the analysis month. It also contributed to them surpassing over 1 million monthly visits.
Top Strategies for Your Site:
- Use FAQs to optimize for PAA results.
- Implement FAQ schema markup to win PAA snippets.
- Maintain content freshness with regular updates.
Read the full SEO case study here: The Independent Pharmacy 634% Growth in 6 Months
8. Hawthorn (Local & eCommerce)
Hawthorn is a Chicagoland mall located in Vernon Hills, Illinois. It's been a neighborhood staple for over 50 years and expanded into the online market in 2015. More recently, Hawthorn added an eCommerce platform in 2020. The blend of brick-and-mortar with eCommerce has been pivotal in Hawthorn's long-term success.
Key Growth Contributor: During the spring of 2023, Hawthorn added 51K new pages to its online shopping platform. This move tripled their keyword rankings (326K keywords) and triggered a jump in traffic. It also brought more non-branded traffic to the site than ever, effectively expanding Hawthorn's reach.
Top Strategies for Your Site:
- Include a 301 redirect strategy as you plan for a domain migration.
- Extend your reach by optimizing for new, relevant keywords.
- Use image SEO to win rankings in Google image search results.
Read the full SEO case study here: Hawthorn Reached 252K Monthly Visits in 5 Months
9. All About Cookies (Web & Tech)
All About Cookies is an informational resource for online privacy and data security. They cover topics like identity theft prevention, antivirus protection, VPNs, and more. Tutorials and software recommendations are their main type of content, generating over half of site traffic.
Key Growth Contributor: In 2023, All About Cookies added almost 600 new pages to its site. This new content was segmented into five distinct categories, each catering to a different stage in the marketing funnel. This comprehensive approach assured All About Cookies met the needs of each of its customers, regardless of where they were in their buying journey. It also contributed to an influx of new ranking keywords (approximately 259K.)
Top Strategies for Your Site:
- Create a content marketing funnel to serve each stage of the buyer’s journey.
- Optimize for all areas of the SERP for maximum visibility.
- Implement schema markup to win more attractive search results.
Read the full SEO case study here: All About Cookies 3,336% YoY Growth
10. Oxford English Dictionary (Publishing)
Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is a prominent historical dictionary of the English language. It's a comprehensive guide to the meaning, history, and usage of over half a million words. The OED is widely recognized as the most complete collection of the English language.
Key Growth Contributor: For most of the website's lifetime, OED's content was locked behind a paywall. However, in 2023, they switched to a freemium model, adding free factsheets to the site. Factsheets are accessible to all users and search engines. This transition proved instrumental in OED's online presence. Factsheets account for 99% of all pages and are the primary driver of the site's organic traffic.
Top Strategies for Your Site:
- Implement SEO-friendly URLs to aid users and search engines.
- Add new, indexable pages to rank in search results.
- Optimize content for People Also Ask results.
Read the full SEO case study here: Oxford English Dictionary 1,041% Growth in 3 Months
11. MESHKI (eCommerce)
MESHKI is a popular Australian clothing brand. It features trendy women's designs and is frequently spotted on social media influencers. MESHKI has an international customer base and leverages three domains to target specific audiences (Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom.)
Key Growth Contributor: In 2023, MESHKI launched its third domain (meshki.co.uk). It was specifically designed to cater to UK customers. All three websites use a country code top-level domain (ccTLD) to signal their geographic locations to search engines. This decision allowed MESHKI to target traffic in each country, boosting rankings in their respective locations.
Top Strategies for Your Site:
- Use ccTLDs to target international markets.
- Leverage on-page SEO to boost rankings for branded keywords.
- Implement product schema to win review snippets on the SERP.
Read the full SEO case study here: MESHKI 589% Growth in 3 Months
12. Golfer Geeks (Golf Blog)
Golfer Geeks is a beginner-friendly golf blog. It was started in 2015 by Jamie Boudreaux, an entrepreneur and avid golfer. His goal? Share his love for the sport and help readers improve their game.
Key Growth Contributor: Boudreaux actively fought content decay (a natural decline in performance over time) by regularly updating his blog posts. This involved revisiting some of Golfer Geeks' high-performing content, such as product lineups and reviews. By infusing new material into older content, Boudreaux optimized for content freshness. This approach holds dual benefits for both users and search engines. It demonstrates that the content is still relevant today, making it more likely to maintain or improve its ranking.
Top Strategies for Your Site:
- Fight content decay by monitoring organic performance.
- Use image SEO best practices to rank in Google Images.
- Implement FAQ schema to win People Also Ask rich results.
Read the full SEO case study here: Golfer Geeks 190% YoY Growth
13. Explore (Travel & Tourism)
Explore is a travel resource for planning trips. Just shy of accommodation bookings, it has everything globe-trotters need to choose and organize their next vacation. Explore provides destination recommendations, travel guides, planning tips, and more.
Key Growth Contributor: After a recent acquisition, Explore focused on its content strategy in 2023. They added thousands of new pages targeting long-tail keywords. These search queries are easier to rank for because there is less competition. They also have high conversion rates, making them ideal for websites looking to grow their traffic and revenue fast.
Top Strategies for Your Site:
- Target long-tail keywords and create content that fulfills search intent.
- Implement schema markup to win more real estate on the SERP.
- Build more backlinks and interlink across domains.
Read the full SEO case study here: Explore Quadrupled Traffic in 10 Months
14. Wagering Terms (Sports)
Wagering Terms is a digital glossary for sports betting terminology. It has an extensive catalog of key betting terms and phrases for both beginner and advanced bettors.
Key Growth Contributor: Leading up to its explosive organic growth, Wagering Terms had a simple approach to its content strategy: build out its glossary. They added around 1.5K new entries to the site in 6 months, and the results were immediate. Each month, organic traffic experienced significant growth. This effect snowballed into a record high of 42K monthly visits at the end of 2023. Ultimately, Wagering Terms proves that a simple concept, when done right, can lead to incredible results.
Top Strategies for Your Site:
- Grow your existing content portfolio.
- Understand and fulfill search intent.
- Implement schema markup for click-worthy search results.
Read the full SEO case study here: Wagering Terms 1,231% Growth in 3 Months
AIOSEO Trends: Your Gateway to the Latest SEO Success Stories
In the world of SEO, knowledge is power.
We hope these SEO success stories inspire you to unlock the full potential of your online presence. Each case study is a testament to the impact strong strategies can have on your growth.
To stay on top of the latest developments on SEO strategies and trending websites, we invite you to visit AIOSEO Trends.
We share new SEO case studies here every week.
With AIOSEO Trends, you’ll learn:
- Who’s dominating the SERP
- What SEO strategies they used
- How to replicate their success on your site
Plus, you’ll get the tips, tools, and resources you need to make these optimizations a reality.
So, what are you waiting for?
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