Content Publisher SEO Case Study

How do I train my writing team to create SEO-friendly content?

24.6%Traffic Growth

WhichCar is one of Australia's leading automotive content sites — car reviews, performance analysis, and vehicle advice. They had quality content and a strong editorial team, but organic growth had plateaued. The fix wasn't more SEO work from us — it was teaching their team to do it themselves.

The Problem

Traffic plateau despite consistently high-quality content. Independent car YouTubers and video-first competitors were rising. The writing team had no SEO training, which meant excellent content was being published without any search optimisation.

What We Built

Rather than running SEO campaigns in isolation, we embedded SEO capability into their team:

  • SEO training program (Hawk Academy) for the editorial team — search intent, keyword tools, optimisation best practices
  • Site audit uncovering internal linking errors, duplicate content, and robots.txt issues
  • Content optimisation checklist that writers could follow with every article
  • Author biography development to build E-E-A-T and reader trust

The Results

  • 24.66% organic traffic growth within 3 months
  • 19.6% keyword base increase within 8 months (178,400 → 222,163 keywords)

WhichCar validated the enablement model I championed at StudioHawk. Sometimes the highest-ROI SEO work isn't doing the work — it's building the capability inside the client's team. That's infrastructure that compounds.

Read the full StudioHawk case study →

Soaring Above Search

Weekly AI search insights from the front line. One newsletter. Six sections. Everything that actually moved this week — with a practitioner's take.

About the Author

Lawrence Hitches is an AI SEO consultant based in Melbourne and General Manager of StudioHawk, Australia's largest dedicated SEO agency. He specialises in AI search visibility, technical SEO, and organic growth strategy - leading a team of 115+ across Melbourne, Sydney, London, and the US. Book a free consultation →