In it for the long-haul
2025 marks the 13th year of our partnership with Icelandair. While we haven’t bought them any lace (as is apparently the tradition!), we really couldn’t be happier that they’ve once again re-committed to the relationship.
This length of client relationship should be the goal for clients and agencies alike when it comes to SEO, as time is needed to reap the rewards. And its success lies in the genuinely collaborative way in which our two teams work together. As well as dedicated SEO testing, UX consulting and developing a new area of their website, we’re committed to sharing our expertise and supporting the Icelandair team to deeply understand organic, so they can further communicate the value across the wider business.
Recent feedback in our client survey from Icelandair demonstrated that we’ve become a “vital partner in growing [their] organic developments.” As Head of Client Services, this is exactly how I want all our clients to feel, so it’s fantastic to hear.
This year is also the 5th year that we’ll be working with Avis. Following some fantastic work last year – particularly in Digital PR – we’re looking forward to what’s next as we continue to build brand awareness across European markets.
From technical to holistic support
We began working with The Very Group in August 2012. What began as a technical consulting relationship – with Builvisible completing a technical review of very.co.uk – has now grown to cover Content & Promotion, as well as technical and migration support for the UK and IE.
In our latest client survey, The Very Group said: “Builtvisible are an integral partner to Very, right from their inception they’ve worked hand in hand with us to deliver the best technical enhancements we can in our limited environment. That partnership was demonstrated at its best over the summer when we came together as one team for our migration from one platform to another.”
For the foreseeable, we’ll be supporting further CMS migrations and working closely with the TVG team to plan our SEO priorities and focus areas for the next few years – continuing to strive for technical excellence while simultaneously establishing Very as an authority across multiple sectors, with further development of upper-funnel content and promotion.
Test and prove, then go big.
Our work with GLL and Specsavers is a great example of how SEO is a journey. And that applies to both the work itself as well as the journey that we take our clients on to ensure that SEO is understood across the business as a strategic growth driver, not just a tactical channel. To do that, we work hard to prove a theory, build a business case and then secure investment for vital organic workstreams.
In 2024, we embarked on a key project with Specsavers in response to the declining visibility of some key pages, not least in part to Google’s Helpful Content update. After a successful pilot phase, we’re now in discussions to continue the work, with the end goal of a global rollout. Excitingly, this will also include Specsavers’ first venture into Digital PR with us, and we can’t wait to prove our worth in that arena, too, by helping Specsavers to demonstrate their expertise in ear and eye health.
We’re also working on the larger organic strategy for long-standing client GLL. Last quarter, we helped them test the effectiveness of PPC spend versus organic for centre brand traffic and the results were impressive – with some big savings on ad spend where organic channels captured 92% of the expected traffic with ads paused. This is something we’ll continue to work with them to test more thoroughly to ensure organic supports their business to reduce CPA, among other things.
In our latest client survey, the GLL team said: “Builtvisible has consistently delivered a strong performance as our organic agency, with noticeable improvements in our SEO metrics. While there are areas where we’re overachieving, particularly in online visibility vs competitors, the team have been proactive in identifying underperforming areas and working with us to develop a clear plan to address them.”
Over the last few years, and as businesses have leaned more heavily on the instantaneous results that performance marketing can bring, we’ve seen the wider industry trend towards project-based SEO work. And while projects can, of course, be successful – we’ve seen great project results ourselves – the real impact of SEO can only ever be found in long-term, strategic relationships.
So, if you’re not a client of ours and you’re reading this, I’d challenge you to think beyond 2025. Think to 3 years from today. If you were to turn off your paid media, what would be left? On the other hand, if you’d committed to investing in paid today, what might you have gained?
I’d love to share with you what Builtvisible can and is doing for clients who have the confidence to break with the norm and think beyond the current year. Get in touch and let’s talk.
