Three UK, one of the UK's leading mobile network operators, faced increasing competition in a saturated telecommunications market. They needed to:

• Improve their organic search visibility in a highly competitive landscape

• Drive more qualified commercial traffic to key product and service pages

• Increase organic conversions and reduce reliance on paid channels

• Align SEO initiatives with broader business objectives and technical capabilities

• Overcome internal silos that were limiting the effectiveness of their digital strategy

Traditional agency models were delivering incremental improvements, but Three UK needed a transformative approach that could drive significant organic growth while working within their existing systems and team structures.

Our Hypothesis

We proposed a new working model: embedding ourselves as strategic consultants within Three UK's internal teams would drive greater impact than the traditional external agency approach. By becoming an extension of their team, we could influence product roadmaps, align with technical constraints, and ensure SEO was prioritised appropriately within the organisation.

Our Approach

Methodology

1. Embedded Partnership Model

   • We integrated directly into Three UK's cross-functional teams

   • Established regular collaboration with product, development, content, and commercial teams

   • Participated in sprint planning and roadmap discussions to ensure SEO considerations were factored into decision-making

2. Tailored SEO Strategy Development

   • Created a bespoke SEO strategy aligned with Three UK's internal priorities

   • Adapted recommendations to work within the constraints of their CMS capabilities

   • Developed technical specifications that development teams could easily implement

3. Data-Led Prioritisation

   • Used our propensity engine to identify the highest-impact opportunities

   • Focused on fixes and enhancements that would deliver the greatest commercial returns

   • Created a scoring system to evaluate potential SEO initiatives based on effort vs. impact

4. Influencing Internal Roadmaps

   • Advocated for SEO considerations in product development cycles

   • Secured development resources for critical technical improvements

   • Built cross-department support for organic search initiatives

5. Cross-Channel Integration

   • Ensured organic search strategy complemented paid media activities

   • Identified opportunities to reduce channel cannibalisation

   • Developed a holistic approach to search visibility

Implementation

Our embedded approach allowed us to implement several high-impact initiatives:

Technical SEO Enhancements

• Conducted a comprehensive technical audit and prioritised fixes based on commercial impact

• Worked directly with development teams to implement schema markup for products and services

• Improved site architecture and internal linking to better distribute authority to key commercial pages

• Enhanced page load speed by optimising critical rendering paths

Content Strategy Optimisation

• Developed content briefs that aligned with both user needs and commercial objectives

• Identified content gaps based on competitive analysis and search demand

• Created a seasonal content calendar that anticipated market trends

Voice Search Optimisation

• Identified growing opportunity in voice search for telecommunications services

• Optimised content for conversational queries and featured snippets

• Implemented FAQ schema to improve visibility in voice search results

Measurement Framework

• Established clear KPIs aligned with business objectives

• Created custom reporting dashboards to track progress

• Implemented advanced analytics to attribute value throughout the customer journey

Results

Our strategic partnership with Three UK delivered exceptional results:

• 28% growth in Organic Orders Year-on-Year

• 35% growth in Organic Commercial Traffic Year-on-Year

• 41% Growth in Organic Share of Voice

• Significant reduction in dependency on paid search for key commercial terms

• Improved conversion rates across product and service pages

• Faster implementation of SEO recommendations due to improved internal advocacy

• Greater alignment between SEO strategy and broader business objectives

Key Learnings

This case study demonstrates several important principles:

1. Strategic Integration Drives Better Results

   • Embedding within client teams creates opportunities for deeper impact than traditional agency relationships

2. Alignment with Internal Capabilities is Critical

   • SEO strategies must be tailored to work within existing technical frameworks and team structures

3. Data-Led Prioritisation Maximises Impact

   • Focusing on high-value opportunities with commercial intent delivers better ROI than a scattergun approach

4. Cross-Functional Collaboration Accelerates Implementation

   • Building relationships across departments removes barriers to executing SEO recommendations

5. Voice Search Represents a Growing Opportunity

   • Early adoption of voice search optimisation can create competitive advantage in commercial sectors

Long-Term Impact

The partnership created lasting change in how Three UK approaches organic search:

• SEO is now considered earlier in product development cycles

• Technical requirements for search visibility are built into development briefs

• Content creation is guided by search insights and commercial opportunity

• The organisation has a clearer understanding of organic search's contribution to business goals

By transforming our relationship from traditional agency to strategic partner, we established a new model for sustainable organic growth that continues to deliver results.