Stop 14 · Build Your Digital Marketing PortfolioProjects · 1/7

SEO Case Study (Before / After)

In short

Saying 'I know SEO' is easy. Showing a page that went from page 4 to page 1, and exactly what you changed to get there, is what gets you shortlisted.

Document a real or realistic SEO improvement — starting rankings/traffic, the specific changes you made, and the resulting impact, directly showcasing Phase 3's audit and optimization skills.

The blob stands proudly on a weighing scale holding a dumbbell beside a salad bowl.

Think of it like this

The gym transformation post

Gym trainers post before and after photos, but the good ones also share the diet plan and workout routine. Without the plan, it could be luck or filters. Your SEO case study needs the same three parts: where it started, what you did, and the honest result.

Watch it happen

Build plan for an SEO case study

Baseline

Audit

Fix

Wait

Measure

Write up

1/6Screenshot Search Console clicks, impressions and positions for target pages before touching anything.

The big ideas

What you need to know

Use a real site

Your own blog, a friend's business or a college club site. Real data beats made-up screenshots.

Baseline first

Capture starting numbers before any change. Without a 'before', there's no case study.

Show your actions

List exact changes: rewrote 6 titles, fixed 14 broken links, added a FAQ section.

Be honest about cause

Mention seasonality or algorithm updates that might also explain changes.

See it in code

Walk through the code

excel

1        Metric        Before (Jan)   After (Apr)   Change2Row 2   Clicks        420            1,180         =(C2-B2)/B2   → 181%3Row 3   Impressions   18,000         41,500        =(C3-B3)/B3   → 131%4Row 4   Avg position  24.6           11.2          =C4-B4        → -13.45Row 5   Top-10 pages  2              9             =C5-B5        → +7

1/3Percentage change for clicks and impressions.

A before and after table for the results section. For position, a lower number is better, so show the difference rather than a percentage.

Save yourself the pain