SEO Case Study: Scaling SEO by 832% for a London based insurance broker
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Overview
n a highly competitive digital landscape, one London-based insurance broker was struggling to generate consistent organic traffic and leads. Despite offering a strong range of services including landlord, property and SME commercial insurance, their online visibility lagged behind both larger national insurers and price comparison sites. Paid advertising had become their primary lead source, but it was costly and delivered inconsistent ROI.
This case study outlines how a targeted SEO strategy transformed the broker’s online presence, resulting in an 832% increase in organic traffic, a 443% rise in qualified quote enquiries and nearly triple the return on their SEO investment within just 12 months.
The challenge
The broker faced several entrenched issues. Their website was slow, difficult to navigate and technically outdated. Key service pages lacked depth, were poorly optimised and failed to target search intent effectively. Competitor sites dominated key search terms, especially in the local London area. Their Google Business Profile was underutilised, and they had very few backlinks from reputable industry sites.
Internally, their marketing team understood the need for SEO but lacked the time and resources to implement a long-term strategy. The result was a reliance on pay-per-click campaigns and third-party lead platforms, which limited scalability and eroded margins.
The seven step approach
1. Audit and analysis
The first step was a full technical, content and keyword audit. Using AMBreports, we identified several critical issues: slow page speeds, orphaned pages, duplicate content and keyword cannibalisation. We benchmarked performance against industry competitors and created a gap analysis to guide the next steps.
Keyword research revealed multiple opportunities, especially around local intent and long-tail queries. Searches like “landlord insurance London” and “fleet insurance for SMEs UK” showed strong volume and commercial intent but were underutilised on the site.
2. Fixing the technical foundations
We worked closely with their development team to clean up and optimise the site. This included improving core web vitals, compressing images, implementing lazy loading, improving mobile responsiveness and restructuring internal linking. Page speed improved from 3.9 seconds to 1.3 seconds.
We also restructured the URL architecture and added structured data (LocalBusiness and Service schema), which improved crawlability and enhanced the appearance of the site in search results.
3. Keyword mapping and content strategy
We created a keyword map that aligned specific services with high-intent keywords. Each core service (e.g., landlord insurance, fleet cover, liability protection) was matched to a fully optimised landing page.
We built out a new site structure that grouped content into silos, supporting both relevance and authority in Google’s eyes. We also created a blog strategy focused on answering common questions and supporting long-tail search opportunities, with titles such as “is landlord insurance mandatory in the UK?” and “how does business interruption insurance work?”
4. Content creation and expansion
More than 40 new content pages were created, including pillar pages, FAQs and localised landing pages. Existing pages were rewritten for clarity, keyword relevance and conversion performance.
We implemented CRO best practices, including clear CTAs, trust badges, lead forms and schema enhancements. Bounce rates dropped significantly, and average time on page increased across all major landing pages.
5. Local SEO Mastery
We fully optimised the broker’s Google Business Profile, correcting categories, adding services, updating images and integrating direct lead tracking via UTM parameters. Local citations were created or cleaned up across over 60 directories including Yell, Bing Places and Apple Maps.
We also launched a local landing page strategy, creating borough-specific content for key areas across Greater London. This boosted visibility in local pack results, and the broker began appearing in top 3 listings in 15 different boroughs by month nine.
6. High quality link building
A strategic backlink campaign was implemented focusing on quality over quantity. We secured over 180 backlinks from DR30+ domains, including niche blogs, SME business directories and local press.
This increased the site’s domain authority and contributed to improved trust signals across Google. Guest content and expert commentary were pitched to insurance publications and local news outlets, further enhancing credibility.
7. Conversion and performance optimisation
With traffic increasing steadily, we focused on turning visitors into leads. We introduced heat-mapping and user journey tracking to identify drop-off points and friction.
Based on the findings, we redesigned key quote pages, streamlined enquiry forms and added dynamic CTAs tailored to user intent. This contributed to a 443% increase in monthly qualified leads over 12 months, while the bounce rate dropped from 62% to 37%.
The results
| Metric | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly Organic Traffic | 3,100 | 28,900 |
| Google Top 5 Rankings | 8 | 55 |
| Bounce Rate | 62% | 37% |
| Page Load Time | 3.9s | 1.3s |
| Quote Leads/Month | 35 | 190 |
The return on SEO investment was nearly 3:1 within 12 months, and the client reduced reliance on paid ads by over 60%. Organic traffic became their primary source of inbound leads, delivering consistent, scalable growth.
This case study illustrates the power of a well-executed SEO strategy for service-based businesses in competitive markets. By addressing technical barriers, targeting high-intent keywords, improving local presence and focusing on conversion performance, even mid-sized firms can outcompete larger players.
For insurance brokers and similar businesses, SEO is no longer a luxury -it is a scalable, sustainable and high-ROI growth channel when done right.