Published 10 March 2026 · Updated 15 October 2026

SEO Case Study How We Grew Traffic and Rankings for The Running School

Historical SEO engagement: The Running School, a London-based coaching and biomechanics business. The case describes approximately six months of technical SEO, search-page improvement, backlinks and reporting in a period when new client blog content was not published.

Pearl Lemon’s original working account records higher search visibility and improved third-party SEO-tool indicators, including a Domain Rating change from 26 to 31. The period and figures are presented as historical company-reported measurements, not a newly audited Search Console export or proof of additional revenue.

The client’s seasonal branded-search variations and the distinction between recommended versus implemented content are integral to understanding the case. Watch the related historical company-created video case-study presentation for context.

Through a combination of technical SEO fixes, link building, keyword

The historical Running School project focused on technical improvements, commercial page optimisation, local search intent and authority work during a period without new client blog publishing. Pearl Lemon’s case account reported stronger visibility and specific ranking or third-party SEO-tool movements. Those figures are company-reported historical observations; this article does not provide a complete independently audited Search Console dataset, a qualified-enquiry total or attributable revenue.

Readers can inspect the described methods, compare the limitations and consult our case-study evidence standards.

The Challenge

The Running School’s biggest SEO hurdles included:

Zero New Content for the Duration of the Campaign

Although Pearl Lemon prepared:

A full blog content calendar
Money page upgrade recommendations
These were not implemented.

This meant all growth needed to come from:

Technical SEO
Link building
On-page improvements
Keyword targeting
Local SEO enhancements

Seasonal Dips Based on Brand Traffic Behaviour

Branded demand and seasonal search behaviour affected month-to-month interpretation. A change in clicks for the business’s name is not the same as a change in non-branded searches like “running coach London”.

The team evaluated branded and service-term performance separately so a period of lower seasonal demand would not automatically be treated as failure of the technical work. This makes the historical ranking and Ahrefs improvements more meaningful by placing them in the right context.

Competitive Local SEO Landscape

Keywords like:

“running coach near me”
“running specialist London”
“running coaching London”

are highly competitive with gyms, personal trainers, and sports therapy clinics competing for the same SERP positions.

Strong Need for On-Page Expansion

Core money pages were under-developed. Pearl Lemon identified several pages that needed significantly more content, depth, and semantic coverage but updates remained pending.

Weak Backlink Authority Before Campaign

Their starting point:

Domain Rating: 26
Referring domains: limited
Link velocity: low

Increasing authority was essential for ranking movement.

Client Background: The Running School - A Leading London Biomechanics & Running Coaching Brand

The Running School is a highly reputable centre offering elite-level running coaching for:

Professional athletes
Recreational runners
Those recovering from injuries
People looking to improve technique, efficiency, and speed

Services include:

Running biomechanics assessments
Treadmill gait analysis
Running rehab
Youth running programmes
Specialist coaching sessions

Deepak originally discovered The Running School as a client seeking coaching which later evolved into a professional collaboration

Because the business already had strong brand trust and real-world credibility, our goal was to help the website achieve digital authority that matched their real-world reputation.

Starting Position & Challenges

Before Pearl Lemon began the SEO campaign:

Several core pages were under-optimised
Internal linking was inconsistent
There was no new content being published
Blog recommendations remained unimplemented
Seasonal fluctuation (summer dips) affected performance
Their backlink profile needed strengthening
Several “money pages” lacked the depth needed for top-tier rankings

The challenge was to improve rankings without relying on new blogs or content uploads, which required strategic thinking around enhancements, authority building, and technical optimisation.

Pearl Lemon’s Strategy

The Running School needed to reach people looking for running coaching, biomechanics assessments and performance support in and around London. Its offline credibility was strong, but search results included gyms, generalist coaches and larger fitness websites competing for many of the same phrases.

There was an important delivery constraint: the planned new blog content was not published during the approximately six-month engagement. The work therefore centred on the search foundations of existing pages—titles and descriptions, crawlability, keyword relevance, technical recommendations, internal links and relevant authority work. Those are substantial levers even when a client cannot implement a proposed content calendar.

The historical case reports Ahrefs Domain Rating moving from 26 to 31 alongside improvements in search visibility. Domain Rating is a third-party backlink metric, not a Google ranking score or a lead count. It is useful in context, alongside the search rankings and demand changes discussed in the case.

Watch the Running School case video, explore our local SEO service or technical SEO approach.

Deep Technical SEO Fixes

Technical SEO was responsible for much of the early improvement.

Key fixes included:

Crawling & indexing improvements
Fixing thin content flags
Cleaning duplicate metadata
Improving mobile responsiveness
Internal linking enhancements
Structured data checks
Fixing pages with low word count or mismatched intent
Improving page load speed

Local SEO Enhancements for London Searches

We optimised for high-intent local keywords:

“running coach London”
“running biomechanics London”
“gait analysis near me”
“running rehab London”
“running coaches near me”

This included:

Google Business Profile analysis
Map pack optimisation
Location-based metadata improvements

Link Building & Authority Growth

Since no content was added, authority building became one of the most valuable drivers of ranking growth.

Pearl Lemon executed a targeted link-building campaign focused on:

High-relevance sports, fitness, and health publications
Quality placements rather than volume
Anchor text diversity
Gradual domain trust building

Authority Growth Results:

DR improved from 26 → 31
Referring domains steadily increased
Referring pages saw consistent month-on-month growth
This gave The Running School the “domain strength” required to compete with gyms, physiotherapy practices, and national sports clinics.

On-Page SEO: Enhancing Existing Content (Even Without Additions)

Although the client did not upload new content, Pearl Lemon still improved on-page performance by:

Re-optimising existing pages

Updating page titles
Rewriting meta descriptions
Adding internal links
Improving header structure
Enhancing semantic keywords

Prioritising “money pages”

We provided:

Long-form content recommendations
Detailed content upgrade outlines
Keyword maps
Example content sections

These improvements, even without full implementation, strengthened relevance and rankings.

Preparing Blog Strategy (Awaiting Uploads)

The blog calendar included:

Running technique guides
Injury rehab articles
Biomechanics breakdowns
Youth running insights
Gait analysis resources

Although still pending, this created a clear roadmap for future growth.

Competitor Analysis & Ongoing Monitoring

Pearl Lemon regularly assessed:

Competing coaches in London
Physiotherapy clinics
Gait analysis centres
Gyms offering running programmes

We also monitored keyword movement via:

Ahrefs
Search Console
SERP volatility
Seasonal variations

This allowed consistent adjustments to the strategy even with no new content releases.

Explaining Seasonal Trends & Brand Keyword Dips

A large part of this campaign’s success came from accurate interpretation of analytics.

During the summer:

Brand searches dipped
Non-brand keywords remained strong
Impressions stayed high
Average position improved

Pearl Lemon provided detailed explanations showing that the dips were normal and seasonal, not a failure of SEO performance.

This built trust and ensured the client stayed focused on the long-term outcomes.

Results

Even with no new content published, the campaign delivered significant improvements across all major keyword clusters, backlinks, domain rating, impressions, and clicks.

Major Keyword Ranking Improvements

Keyword	Before	After	Position Change
Running coaching	#54	#15	+39 positions
Running biomechanics	#13	#6	+7 positions
Running analysis	#2	#1	Featured #1
Running tech coaching	#4	#2	+2
Running specialist London	Improved	Stabilised	+trend

These keywords drive real bookings for The Running School’s services, especially running coaching and biomechanics assessments.

Dramatic Search Console Improvements

Historical reporting summary: In the original six-month account, Pearl Lemon reported rising search impressions in the approximate range of 15,000–20,000 additional impressions, along with stronger organic-search visibility and improved average position. The exact comparison window and underlying Search Console export are not reproduced on this page; those figures are agency-reported historical observations rather than independently certified metrics.

The narrative also discusses seasonal dips in branded search demand. A decline in some clicks during a season can occur even while a different group of non-brand searches improves. That is why a fair interpretation separates query type, traffic quality, reporting windows and the impact of site work from seasonality.

None of these figures independently establishes customer revenue or a guaranteed number of enquiries.

Ahrefs Metrics Strengthened

Ahrefs data showed:

Keyword trend line increasing since May
Overall traffic value stable and strong
Authority metrics improving consistently

Backlink and domain rating improvements were especially meaningful in a competitive city like London.

Domain Rating & Backlinks Increased

Pearl Lemon’s historical third-party SEO-tool reporting described a Domain Rating change from 26 to 31 and improvements in referring domains over the programme. Domain Rating is a vendor-defined backlink metric, not a Google ranking factor or a measure of direct financial results. We have not reproduced the original Ahrefs export, so these remain agency-reported historical figures.

The work also covered local-intent targeting and existing-page improvements. Both may contribute to discoverability, but their individual contribution to traffic or leads cannot be inferred from the Domain Rating movement alone.

Local SEO Performance Improving

Keywords like:

“running coaches near me”
“running biomechanics London”
“running analysis London”

showed stronger visibility and traffic, helping attract highly qualified users.

Key Takeaways

Conclusion

The Running School engagement offers an example of a historical SEO programme working within a limited-new-content environment. The reported work included technical reviews, on-page changes, local keyword analysis and link acquisition; historical reporting described improved visibility and a Domain Rating rise from 26 to 31.

Outcome boundaries: these measures do not prove a particular uplift in booked coaching sessions or sales. The original case also records seasonal changes and proposed content that had not yet been deployed. This distinction helps another buyer evaluate what was performed, what was recommended and what the recorded indicators mean.

Ready to Grow Your Fitness or Coaching Business?

Considering SEO for a coaching, sports or specialist service business? We can review the current pages, technical problems, local search demand and reporting setup before agreeing priorities. The Running School example shows one historical approach, not a guaranteed traffic or sales result.

How Pearl Lemon reports results and client feedback · More SEO projects · Discuss a project.

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SEO Case Study How We Grew Traffic and Rankings for The Running School

The Challenge

Zero New Content for the Duration of the Campaign