How One IT Firm Turned SEO Into $2.3M Pipeline

B2B SEO case study: results at a glance

This case centers on a mid-sized B2B service company that sells high-ticket IT and security services to other businesses. They were stuck in a familiar spot: solid revenue, but growth had flattened and paid media costs were creeping up quarter after quarter.

Across an 18-month engagement, SEO shifted from an afterthought to a reliable source of sales pipeline. Here is what changed.

Headline results

• 192% increase in qualified organic traffic
• 168% increase in demo and consultation requests from organic search
• 3.1x growth in sales-qualified opportunities sourced from SEO
• $2.3M in new pipeline and $780K in closed revenue attributed to organic
• 24% lower blended customer acquisition cost as organic picked up more of the load

Before / after snapshot

This was not an online store and not a self-serve SaaS trial funnel. Most deals closed after 3 to 6 months, with committees on the buyer side. That is exactly why the CEO wanted SEO to play a larger role: they needed a steady stream of well-informed prospects already warmed up by search.

Client overview: B2B service company background

The client is a B2B IT services provider focused on managed cybersecurity and cloud infrastructure for mid-market companies. Think 100 to 1,000 employees, often with serious compliance pressure in finance, healthcare, or professional services.

Key context that shaped the campaign:

• Business model: long-term contracts, high-touch onboarding, recurring retainers.
  Sales cycle: 3 to 9 months from first touch to signed agreement.
  Average deal size: low to mid five figures annually, with room to expand over time.
  Revenue level: hovering between $70K and $120K in monthly recurring revenue.
• Marketing stack: WordPress site with basic analytics and a CRM already in place; Google Ads and some LinkedIn Ads producing leads, but at rising cost; an SEO history where a previous agency had produced thin blog posts that brought traffic but almost no real pipeline.

I usually summarise a profile like this in a short client overview box: industry, ideal customer profile, deal size, sales cycle, target regions, and current MRR. For most CEOs, that is enough to decide whether a case study is close enough to their world to be worth reading, and whether it might translate to their own pipeline.

The challenge: plateaued growth and weak organic pipeline

On paper, the company looked healthy. In the board deck, things felt riskier. Revenue was flatlining and the lead mix leaned heavily on paid channels and founder relationships.

Once I laid the data out, the issues with organic were clear. Less than 10% of pipeline came from organic search. High-intent phrases like "[service] provider" or "[industry] cybersecurity partner" barely showed up in their rankings. The site was a mix of generic service descriptions and blog posts written mainly to hit keywords, not to speak to real buying committees.

From a business angle, the risk was straightforward: rising CAC as paid search and social got more expensive; dependence on a small set of channels that could tighten overnight; lost deals to competitors that dominated comparison pages and solution queries; and no clear analytics trail from organic visit to revenue, which made SEO easy to cut from the budget.

The website also worked against them. It looked fine at first glance, yet key problems sat under the surface. The service pages were thin, the mobile experience was clunky, and there was no clear path from "I have this problem" to "Talk to sales". Visitors had to work too hard to understand what to do next.

Before I started, only 8 to 10% of the active pipeline could be confidently traced back to organic search. The CEO wanted that number to move quickly, but with clean, transparent reporting.

SEO goals and success metrics

For a founder or CEO, "more traffic" is not a goal. It is a vanity line in a report. So I framed goals in language the leadership team already used.

Commercially, the targets for the next 12 to 18 months were to grow monthly demo and consultation requests from organic from 18 to at least 45, reach top-3 rankings for at least 10 core "service + industry + location" terms, generate roughly $1.5M in new qualified pipeline sourced from organic (measured in the CRM), and push the share of total pipeline sourced from SEO from 9% to around 25%. Every SEO metric had a revenue counterpart.

To track progress, I focused on leading indicators like organic sessions to high-intent pages (not just the blog), non-branded keyword rankings for decision-stage searches, and on-page engagement such as time on page, scroll depth, and return visits from organic combined with direct and branded search.

Underneath that sat lagging metrics that actually change decisions: the number of sales-accepted leads from organic per month, pipeline dollars created and closed from SEO touchpoints, and customer acquisition cost by channel and by channel mix. Comparing close rates for organic leads versus paid leads helped the team see where the healthiest opportunities really came from.

Reporting followed a simple rhythm: monthly dashboards built from Google Analytics 4 and the CRM, plus a deeper strategy review every quarter. I used the same dashboards in working sessions that the leadership team saw in their own reports, aligned with the kind of board-ready dashboards they were already comfortable with. That way there was no disconnect between internal and external numbers.

B2B SEO strategy: the attack plan

The strategy needed to do two things at once. First, fix the basics so Google and buyers could clearly understand what the company did. Second, build a content and authority engine that mirrored how real buying committees research IT partners.

I grouped the work into three pillars:

• Content-led SEO focused on high-intent service pages, industry pages, and proof content
• Technical and UX improvements to remove friction for both search engines and humans
• Authority building and demand recapture so good visits did not go to waste

All of this followed a loose three-phase sequence over 18 months: foundation (months 1 to 3) for research, technical fixes, and quick on-page wins; build (months 4 to 9) for heavier content sprints, site structure changes, and first authority plays; and scale (months 10 to 18) for deeper industry coverage, refined targeting, and remarketing based on real behavior. The important point is that these parts were planned together, not as disconnected side projects.

Content-led SEO for B2B lead generation

I started with content because, without the right words in the right places, nothing else matters. But "content" in a B2B SEO project like this does not mean churning out dozens of generic blog posts.

The first job was to audit what already existed. Using analytics, Search Console, and a crawl of the site, I sorted pages into those that already brought in relevant traffic and those that were effectively dead weight with no visits or the wrong audience. Anything that did not serve buyers or rankings was reviewed or removed.

Then I mapped topics to the buyer journey. At the bottom of the funnel, I focused on core service pages such as "Managed SOC for healthcare providers", solution comparisons, pricing guidance, and vendor shortlists. In the middle of the funnel, I built industry-specific guides like "What a mid-market law firm should ask before switching IT providers". At the top of the funnel, I was selective, focusing on urgent problems but always giving readers a clear path to the right service.

Instead of stretching thin content across dozens of URLs, I concentrated on a smaller set of strong assets: high-intent service and industry pages with deeper explanations of the service, outcomes, security standards, and fit; pillar explainer pieces that answered questions buyers repeatedly asked sales and that linked down to related service pages and up to broader thought leadership; and short, specific case studies that described starting point, approach, and outcome, grounded in metrics and tightly linked back to the relevant services and industries.

On each page, I matched search intent with clear structure. Titles and H1s mirrored the phrases actual buyers used in sales calls and search queries. Meta descriptions promised a real answer to the search, not vague marketing copy. Internal links guided users between related scenarios, for example, from "Managed SIEM for finance" to "Compliance monitoring for SOX and PCI". Every page had a clear next step for someone who was ready to talk.

Many SEO efforts go off track by chasing traffic instead of pipeline. In this project, I repeatedly chose a smaller number of pages with clear buying intent over broad, trendy topics that looked good in keyword tools but did little for revenue.

Technical SEO and website improvements

Technical SEO here was about removing friction, not tricking algorithms.

The site had familiar issues: slow load times on mobile caused by heavy scripts and uncompressed images; mixed URL formats and no clear hierarchy for services, industries, and resources; old redirects that sent crawlers in circles; and weak page templates that buried main content below oversized banners.

Working with the client’s developer, I tackled a focused punch list in the first three months. On performance, I compressed and resized media, deferred non-critical scripts, and simplified design elements that were not pulling their weight. For crawlability and indexation, I cleaned up redirect chains, fixed broken internal links, and updated sitemaps and robots rules so search engines focused on pages that could actually convert.

Site architecture changes grouped services under clear parent categories so URL paths and menus mirrored how sales talked about the offer. I also created industry hubs where someone from, say, a healthcare provider could see every relevant service, case study, and guide on one straightforward path. Navigation finally matched how buyers think instead of how the CMS was set up.

On top of that, I improved conversion paths. Forms for a first touch were shortened and longer qualification questions were pushed later in the process. Key contact and demo actions moved higher on the page, above long text sections, and layouts were adjusted for mobile, where many senior stakeholders first clicked through from email or LinkedIn.

The outcome was not just better speed scores. Bounce rates on key pages dropped by double digits, and there was a steady climb in time on page and form engagement. The site started to behave like a real sales asset instead of a static brochure.

Authority building and demand recapture

Once the foundation was in place, I turned to two related tasks: growing authority and catching people who were not ready to talk yet.

For authority and trust, I focused on relevance instead of volume. The company secured listings on respected industry directories, security councils, and partner networks. I encouraged them to ask happy clients for detailed reviews on third-party platforms and to link those profiles back to key pages. The internal team also contributed to a small number of guest articles and webinar appearances on niche industry sites where their buyers already paid attention.

On the website itself, I strengthened trust signals: consistent business details across footer, contact, and about pages; profiles for senior leaders and subject matter experts linked to their professional profiles; and structured data markup for the business and for key pages, based on the Schema.org standard, so search results could pull richer information where supported. We used Google’s supported schema types as a guide (see this page) and validated implementations with a schema validator tool.

Demand recapture mattered because, in a B2B service with a long sales cycle, first click rarely leads to form fill. Many visitors arrived, read a guide, and left to compare vendors or socialise the idea internally. Losing them at that point was expensive.

To address this, the team ran remarketing and light multi-channel retargeting campaigns via Google and LinkedIn aimed at visitors who had viewed high-intent pages without converting, using audience segments based on URLs viewed and time on site so ad copy could reflect the problem they had already signalled. Attribution tracking tied these remarketing touches back into the CRM, so I could see how often they helped move deals forward. Organic created the first visit, retargeting brought many of those visitors back when timing improved, and sales could see the full path in their pipeline reports.

Implementation timeline, obstacles, and how I handled them

SEO projects for B2B services rarely run in a straight line. Internal approvals, legal reviews, and product changes all compete for attention, so I planned around that from the start.

In months 1 to 3 (the foundation phase), I ran a technical audit and delivered core fixes, completed keyword research centered on ICP, industries, and service terms, rewrote the top 10 priority service and industry pages, and set up shared dashboards and CRM tracking rules. Even with limited changes, organic conversions rose from 18 to 24 per month as users hit clearer pages and forms.

From months 4 to 9 (the build phase), I launched new content clusters around industries and compliance themes, reworked website structure for services and resources, supported the first round of authority work through directories, partner listings, and review collection, and helped the team switch on initial remarketing audiences and campaigns. By month 9, organic traffic to high-intent pages had nearly doubled and demo requests from SEO were averaging in the low 30s per month. The early compounding effect was already visible.

During months 10 to 18 (the scale phase), I expanded into more specialised queries and jobs-to-be-done topics, published additional case studies with real numbers, refined reporting on assisted conversions and multi-touch paths, and continued link and partnership work in the most profitable verticals. This is when the compounding effect really kicked in: rankings stabilised, branded search volume increased, and sales noticed that more inbound prospects already understood the basics before the first call.

Several obstacles cropped up along the way. Content production was a bottleneck because subject matter experts were busy delivering projects and could not write long articles. To fix that, I switched to short 20-minute calls per topic, recorded them, and had a content strategist turn them into drafts so experts only had to review.

Legal and compliance reviews also slowed publishing because certain phrases and claims needed approval. I addressed that by creating content templates that already met legal guidelines and by introducing a shared checklist so reviewers knew exactly what to scan, which significantly reduced approval time after the first few cycles.

Analytics gaps were another issue. Original tracking did not distinguish organic demo requests from other channels. I cleaned up UTM practices, set clear rules in the CRM for first-touch and multi-touch attribution, and tested form tracking before rolling changes live. After that, reports finally reflected reality and gave us confidence in channel performance.

A broad core search update hit mid-project and briefly dented traffic to some informational pages. Because the focus stayed on quality and intent rather than short-term tricks, recovery was quick. I refreshed a handful of articles, improved internal links, and traffic settled higher within a couple of months. In each case, the mindset was simple: treat obstacles as part of the project and adjust process until they stop slowing progress.

Detailed SEO results: traffic, leads, and revenue impact

Here is how the numbers looked once the full 18 months were complete.

Before and after metrics

In terms of timing, within about 90 days there was a noticeable lift in organic conversions on existing pages. Around six months in, rankings for key terms had stabilised, demo counts were higher, and the first clearly SEO-sourced big deals appeared in the pipeline. By 12 to 18 months, organic had become a dependable driver of new opportunities, not just a nice extra.

One standout example was a mid-market healthcare group worth low six figures annually. They came through a search for a specific compliance phrase, landed on an industry page, read a case study, and booked a consultation in the same visit. That deal later expanded as they rolled services out to more clinics, and the CFO kept pointing back to "that article we found on Google" as the reason they reached out.

Customer acquisition cost improved as well. Paid campaigns did not stop, but budget shifts became possible because SEO was handling a larger share of qualified top- and mid-funnel demand. Paid spend could focus more on remarketing and narrow terms that filled gaps, not broad awareness.

What made this B2B SEO campaign successful

Looking back, several patterns explain why this effort worked when earlier SEO attempts had not.

First, the ideal customer profile and keyword focus were sharp. I built the keyword set from the client’s ideal customers, industries, and sales notes, not from search volume alone. That meant fewer visitors overall but more of the right visitors.

Second, there was a bottom-of-funnel-first mindset. Instead of starting with general guides, I prioritised upgrading service, industry, and comparison pages. That is where revenue comes from, so it made sense to focus there before tackling broader topics.

Third, collaboration with sales was tight. Sales leaders and account executives helped shape messaging, objection handling, and qualification on key pages. As a result, SEO did not send leads that looked good in theory but fell apart in discovery calls.

Fourth, execution discipline mattered. Technical issues were fixed early and revisited regularly. Content followed a consistent cadence. Small improvements, sprint after sprint, compounded into big changes in traffic and pipeline.

Finally, reporting and ownership were clear. Every SEO metric rolled up to pipeline and revenue. When something was off, there was a named owner and a specific next step, not a vague excuse. For a leadership team that had been burned by fluffy SEO reports in the past, this restored trust and kept the work aligned with business questions like, "How many more right-fit opportunities are we getting, and what would happen if we turned this channel off?"

How to apply this B2B SEO playbook to your service business

Every industry has its quirks, yet the core approach in this B2B SEO case study maps well to most B2B service companies. You can use it as a simple sequence to review your own situation, and pair it with a broader B2B SEO playbook for service growth if you want a deeper dive.

Step 1: Diagnose your current organic pipeline.
Pull 6 to 12 months of data from your CRM and analytics, tag which opportunities started from organic search, and compare close rates and deal sizes from SEO versus other channels. This shows whether organic is already quietly pulling its weight or barely contributing.

Step 2: Identify high-intent keyword and content gaps.
List the main problems you solve and the sectors you serve. Use Search Console and an SEO tool to see where you already show up and where you are invisible. Pay special attention to missing or weak pages for "service + industry + location" queries that signal active buying, and to any gaps in competitor or comparison coverage that buyers expect.

Step 3: Rebuild or refine key service and industry pages.
Make each page crystal clear about who it is for, what problem it solves, how it works, and what happens next. Add proof in the form of short case studies, testimonials, and specific outcomes. Connect those pages with smart internal links so users can move easily between related services and industries.

Step 4: Run focused content sprints.
Plan a manageable number of pieces around mid-funnel questions and objections your sales team hears all the time. Reuse sales materials, webinar content, and proposals as raw input. Treat every article or guide as support for a specific sales conversation, not as a random traffic play.

Step 5: Fix technical blockers that slow or confuse visitors.
Run a basic speed and crawl audit, even with simple tools, and clean up broken links, heavy images, and confusing navigation. Make sure every high-value page looks and works well on mobile, where many decision-makers first encounter your brand.

Step 6: Build authority in the right niches.
Claim and polish profiles on industry directories and review platforms your buyers actually trust. Contribute a small number of strong guest pieces or joint webinars with partners. Use remarketing to bring back visitors who touched high-intent pages without converting, and connect that activity back into your CRM so you can see how organic and paid reinforcement work together.

Supporting all this, you can connect this kind of playbook to deeper guidance on topics like B2B competitor comparison keywords, using SEO for B2B service firms, or structuring predictable inbound pipelines. Internal links between those guides, your main service pages, and real case studies help both users and search engines make sense of your story and, over time, turn organic search into a dependable growth channel rather than a speculative experiment.