A Case Study in Growing Organic Visibility and AI Discovery
A little over a year ago Michael and I launched Eagle Eyed Digital with the aim of helping our partners grow through search and AI, while also educating our clients on how marketing and access to insights are changing. When we started the business we had a simple aim. Do good work for clients and help them genuinely grow through search and AI.
Year one was not about marketing ourselves. It was about delivery and working closely with the businesses that trusted us. We wanted to focus on building strong working relationships, delivering meaningful improvements, and helping our clients understand how the search landscape is evolving.
Seeing positive feedback from clients as a result of that approach is exactly what we hoped would happen. Our focus has always been on growth through relationships and results rather than sales gimmicks or scaremongering. We believe in genuine investment in client outcomes, rolling retainers and regular progress rather than long-term contracts and constant upselling.
One recent example that captures this approach well is our work with Bearded Fellows, an outstanding video creative and production agency with a strong reputation and an impressive portfolio of work.
The Challenge
Like many creative agencies, Bearded Fellows already had fantastic work and a great reputation with their clients, but their website was not fully reflecting that strength when it came to search visibility.
When we first reviewed the site there were clear opportunities to improve how the services were structured and presented so that search engines could better understand the breadth of the agency’s offering. Several important service areas were not ranking as strongly as they could be and there was an opportunity to expand and refine the content so that it aligned more closely with the phrases and questions potential clients are searching for when looking for a creative video partner.
At the same time the way people search for information and recommendations is changing quickly. Increasingly, people are beginning their research by asking questions in AI tools and large language models rather than typing short queries into Google.
This meant that part of our work with Bearded Fellows needed to ensure that their content was not only optimised for traditional search engines but also structured in a way that makes it easier for AI systems to understand and reference their expertise when generating answers.
Our Approach
Our approach focused on getting the fundamentals right while also thinking about how search behaviour is evolving.
We worked on improving the website’s structure so that key services were clearly organised and easier for both users and search engines to navigate. Clearer page hierarchy and stronger internal linking help search engines understand how different services relate to one another while also improving the overall user journey.
We also strengthened the relevance of the most important service pages. This involved expanding content around the areas that matter most to potential clients and aligning that content with the types of searches people actually make when researching video production support.
Alongside these traditional SEO improvements, we also focused on ensuring that the content works well in AI-driven search environments. Large language models tend to favour content that clearly explains services, expertise and use cases in a structured way. By improving the clarity and depth of the information on the site we increased the likelihood that Bearded Fellows would appear when users ask AI tools for recommendations or information about creative video production agencies.
Throughout the process we worked closely with Matthew and the team at Bearded Fellows, sharing insights into how search works and explaining why certain changes would help improve visibility. Education is a big part of how we work with clients because when businesses understand how search is evolving they are better placed to make informed marketing decisions.
The Results
Over the past year the improvements in visibility have been clear.
As the foundations of the site improved and the content became more aligned with how people search, Bearded Fellows began to see stronger organic performance across their core services.
Search impressions have increased by 108% year on year, demonstrating that the website is appearing far more frequently in relevant search results and reaching a significantly wider audience than before.
Organic clicks have also grown with a 13% year on year increase, showing that improved visibility is translating into meaningful traffic and engagement from people actively researching video production services.
Perhaps the most striking improvement has been the growth in page one rankings. The number of keywords ranking on the first page of Google has increased by 513% year on year, highlighting how strengthening the foundations of a website and aligning content with real search behaviour can transform search performance.
Alongside these improvements in traditional search metrics we have also started to see something that is becoming increasingly common across a number of the sites we work with. New enquiries originating from AI-driven search tools.
As more people begin asking platforms like ChatGPT or Gemini for recommendations, businesses with strong topical authority and clearly structured content are more likely to appear in those responses.
Matthew from Bearded Fellows explained the impact well.
“Working with Eagle Eyed Digital has made a real difference to our online visibility. Our SEO performance has improved significantly, but what has been particularly interesting is seeing our agency start to appear in AI-driven searches as well. We are now having conversations with new clients who say they found us through AI tools like ChatGPT, which simply was not happening before. It has been great to work with a team that understands where search is heading.”
Why This Matters
Search is evolving quickly and visibility now means more than simply ranking well in Google.
AI assistants are increasingly becoming a starting point for research and recommendations. People ask questions about which companies they should work with, which services they need and which providers have the right expertise.
Businesses that want to remain visible need to think about how their websites perform across both traditional search engines and AI driven search tools.
Helping businesses stay visible in both environments is a big part of what we are building at Eagle Eyed Digital.
Our aim has always been simple.
- Enable businesses to compete in modern search.
- Equip them with the strategies and insights they need to succeed.
- Educate them on how the search landscape is changing.
Enable. Equip. Educate.
Looking Ahead
Our work with Bearded Fellows demonstrates how combining strong SEO fundamentals with forward-thinking optimisation for AI search can produce meaningful results.
As we move further into our second year at Eagle Eyed Digital, we will continue sharing examples of the work we are doing with clients and the lessons we are learning as search continues to evolve.
If you want to understand how your business can improve visibility across both search engines and AI platforms, we would be happy to start that conversation.
