Intentional SEO: How an Internal SEO Audit Drove a 382% Increase in Ranking Keywords Over 9 Months

Q: How important was new content to the results?

Very. Publishing five posts per week for nine months, paired with strong internal linking and schema, significantly expanded keyword coverage and authority.

Darbi Bodie

Managing Director

141% increase in organic impressions

KEY RESULT

382% keyword growth

IMPACT

The Short Version

Legal Brand Marketing’s website was performing well by most SEO standards, but branded paid search costs and lower-than-expected conversions prompted a closer look. An internal SEO audit uncovered untapped opportunities, including structural fixes, near-page keyword wins, and content and schema improvements. Over nine months, intentional optimization paired with a five-posts-per-week content strategy drove measurable gains in visibility, rankings, engagement, and AI search visibility, while reducing reliance on paid search.

Why We Ran the Audit

At Legal Brand Marketing, SEO was never an afterthought.

We had a strong domain, consistent organic visibility, and years of content supporting our brand. By most benchmarks, our website was performing well.

But one signal stood out. We were spending thousands of dollars each month on branded paid search, yet conversions were underwhelming. For a company that focuses on lead quality and performance, that disconnect warranted a closer look.

This wasn’t a reaction to declining traffic or lost rankings. It was a proactive decision driven by efficiency.

Paid search was compensating for something, but we needed to understand what.

This aligns with a broader issue in digital marketing. In his analysis of sponsored ads, Neil Patel explains that businesses lose billions of dollars each year on paid advertising because traffic is often sent to sites that are not properly optimized to convert. Without strong organic foundations, paid ads end up masking deeper structural and intent misalignment issues rather than solving them. Rather than increase spend, we decided to examine the asset we already owned.

What the Audit Revealed

The audit confirmed our foundation was solid, while uncovering a handful of legacy, human-error issues and several high-impact growth opportunities.

1. Immediate SEO Fixes

None of the issues we uncovered were catastrophic, which is precisely why they’re easy to overlook.

The audit surfaced a small number of legacy issues, largely the result of routine updates and human error over time, that didn’t break performance but quietly limited scalability. These included:

Minor crawl and indexing inefficiencies
Inconsistent internal linking patterns across related content
Gaps in structured data that reduced contextual clarity for search engines and AI systems

Individually, these issues were subtle. Collectively, they placed a ceiling on growth that wasn’t immediately visible without a deeper audit.

2. Keywords on the Cusp of the Top 10

One of the most valuable insights from the audit was how many keywords were already ranking just outside the top 10.

We weren’t starting from zero. Google already understood our relevance.

What we hadn’t done was consistently reinforce it.

The audit showed:

High-intent terms ranking in positions 11–20 and 21–50
Pages with authority signals that lacked optimization depth

This shifted our strategy away from chasing new keywords and toward near-page optimization, where the likelihood of movement was highest.

Crawl and indexing inefficiencies
Inconsistent internal linking patterns
Gaps in structured data that reduced contextual clarity

Individually, these issues were subtle. Collectively, they capped growth.

3. Pages That Needed Optimization, Not Replacement

We didn’t need more content.

We needed a clearer focus.

The audit highlighted pages that:

Ranked without a defined primary keyword
Covered topics broadly, but missed the specific search intent
Failed to reinforce core service and category pages

This allowed us to refine content strategically instead of publishing for volume.

4. Missed Keyword Opportunities

Beyond optimization, the audit revealed relevant keywords we weren’t targeting at all.

Not because they weren’t valuable, but because they hadn’t been intentionally mapped into our content strategy. Once identified, these gaps became part of a structured roadmap rather than an afterthought.

The Strategy Shift: Intentional, Consistent, and Scaled

With audit insights in hand, we strengthened execution across two parallel tracks.

Optimization Track

We focused on:

Clear focus keywords per page
Improved layout and content hierarchy
Internal linking designed to reinforce topical authority
Schema markup to help search engines and large language models (LLMs) properly index, understand, and cite our content

Schema was no longer treated as a technical checkbox. It became a visibility layer, especially as AI-driven discovery continues to reshape how content is surfaced.

Content Expansion Track

At the same time, we committed to a high-velocity, disciplined content strategy:

Five new posts per week
Sustained consistently over nine months
Each post built around defined keywords, intent, and internal linking paths

This combination allowed us to expand keyword coverage rapidly without sacrificing structure or quality.

Results: 9 Months of Intentional SEO Execution

Rather than measuring short-term spikes, we evaluated performance across a 9-month timeline, from the initial audit through consistent optimization and content publishing.

SEO Performance Comparison (9-Month Timeline)

Metric	At Audit Start (Month 0)	After 9 Months	9-Month Impact
Organic Impressions (Monthly)	447,000	1,080,000	+141%
Total Ranking Keywords	~219	~1,056	+382%
Top 1–3 Keyword Rankings	334	603	+80%
Top 4–10 Keyword Rankings	267	405	+52%
Keywords in Positions 11–50	~63	~627	Pipeline expansion
Average Organic Position	54.1	13.3	↑ 40+ positions
Total Sessions (YoY)	32,410	57,420	+77%
Engaged Sessions (YoY)	10,547	15,458	+47%
Organic Share of Sessions	~15%	~20%	Higher-intent mix
AI / LLM Citations	Minimal	Consistent growth	Expanded visibility

What the Timeline Shows

Early gains came from fixing structural limitations and clarifying intent
Mid-cycle momentum was driven by near-page keyword optimization and sustained content publishing
Later gains reflected expanded keyword coverage, improved average position, and increased eligibility for AI-driven citations

This validated a critical insight: SEO growth compounds when optimization and content velocity are aligned.

FAQ

Was your SEO broken before the audit?

No. Our SEO foundation was solid. The audit identified opportunities to improve efficiency, scalability, and alignment with modern search behavior.

Why run an audit if rankings looked good?

Because rankings don’t reveal missed opportunities. Audits surface near-page keywords, structural inefficiencies, and content gaps that limit growth.

How important was new content to the results?

Very. Publishing five posts per week for nine months, paired with strong internal linking and schema, significantly expanded keyword coverage and authority.

Did optimization or new content matter more?

Neither works alone. Optimization unlocked existing potential, while consistent content publishing accelerated growth.

Why is schema markup critical now?

Schema helps search engines and AI platforms understand context, relationships, and authority, directly influencing visibility and citations.

Key Takeaways

SEO can be “working” and still be under-leveraged
Paid search often compensates for organic inefficiencies
Near-page keyword optimization delivers high-confidence wins
Consistent, high-quality content velocity accelerates visibility
Structure and schema matter as much as keywords
AI and LLM visibility require clarity, not shortcuts
Intentional execution over time outperforms reactive tactics

Final Thought

This was not a rescue mission. Our SEO wasn’t broken. It just wasn’t fully leveraged. The audit showed how much opportunity existed within a site we already trusted—and how intentional structure, consistent publishing, and schema could reduce reliance on paid search while improving visibility and conversions. If a site we believed was performing well had this much untapped potential, many others do too. That’s why we offer SEO audits as a diagnostic tool to uncover leverage, not as a sales pitch.

See What Your Website Is Missing

We thought our SEO was performing well until an audit revealed clear opportunities for growth. Get a complimentary SEO audit to identify untapped keywords, structural gaps, and quick wins.