Team development
SEO skills enhancement
SEO skills enhancement
I leveled up my UX team by training them in SEO best practices, keyword research, and campaign‑level project management
I leveled up my UX team by training them in SEO best practices, keyword research, and campaign‑level project management
Stages
Problem
Missed opportunities to drive valuable organic traffic
We determined that organic traffic was our most valuable traffic source, driving MQLs and NOCs at a much higher rate than other channels. At the same time, many pages across the site were not meaningfully optimized for search. We were leaving relevant traffic and opportunities on the table.
There was no dedicated SEO manager in place, so I was asked to train the UX team to take the lead on SEO research and content guidance. That meant giving designers the skills to use SEO tools, interpret data, and partner with stakeholders to create search‑optimized content, all while balancing their existing workload.
Problem
Missed opportunities to drive valuable organic traffic
We determined that organic traffic was our most valuable traffic source, driving MQLs and NOCs at a much higher rate than other channels. At the same time, many pages across the site were not meaningfully optimized for search. We were leaving relevant traffic and opportunities on the table.
There was no dedicated SEO manager in place, so I was asked to train the UX team to take the lead on SEO research and content guidance. That meant giving designers the skills to use SEO tools, interpret data, and partner with stakeholders to create search‑optimized content, all while balancing their existing workload.
Strategy
Transform the UX team from SEO aware to SEO capable
The UX team already understood basic on‑page SEO elements such as meta titles, meta descriptions, H1s, and image alt tags, but they had never led keyword research or managed SEO‑specific projects. To make a real impact by year’s end, we needed to grow from “SEO aware” to “SEO capable” in a structured way.
My strategy focused on three pillars:
Build technical SEO skills and tool fluency
Establish a clear research methodology and project approach
Set expectations with stakeholders so collaboration and timelines were realistic
Strategy
Transform the UX team from SEO aware to SEO capable
The UX team already understood basic on‑page SEO elements such as meta titles, meta descriptions, H1s, and image alt tags, but they had never led keyword research or managed SEO‑specific projects. To make a real impact by year’s end, we needed to grow from “SEO aware” to “SEO capable” in a structured way.
My strategy focused on three pillars:
Build technical SEO skills and tool fluency
Establish a clear research methodology and project approach
Set expectations with stakeholders so collaboration and timelines were realistic
Approach & Solution
To put this strategy into action, I focused on targeted training, repeatable methods, and regular communication so the team could confidently own SEO work within campaigns.
Immediate technical training
Introduced the team to tools like SEMrush and AnswerThePublic
Walked through how to interpret keyword data, search intent, and difficulty
Demonstrated how to connect insights from these tools to real content changes on our pages
Research methodology and insights
Established a clear process for identifying SEO opportunities, starting with keyword search volume, intent, and competitive difficulty
Mapped an end-to-end workflow for collaborating with stakeholders (Figure 1.)
Helped the team prioritize which terms to target on which pages, based on business priorities and realistic ranking potential
Communication and collaboration
Had the team set up bi‑weekly SEO meetings to share findings, align on priorities, and guide stakeholders in content creation and updates
Positioned UX as a partner that could translate SEO insights into concrete content recommendations instead of just handing over keyword lists
Implementation
Once aligned with stakeholders, UX designers updated pages across each campaign web area, incorporating target keywords into copy, metadata, and internal linking
Treated SEO work as part of the overall web experience, not an afterthought, so updates improved both discoverability and usability
Figure 1. Workflow for the SEO project depicting each step in a UX designer's collaboration with stakeholders.
Approach & Solution
To put this strategy into action, I focused on targeted training, repeatable methods, and regular communication so the team could confidently own SEO work within campaigns.
Immediate technical training
Introduced the team to tools like SEMrush and AnswerThePublic
Walked through how to interpret keyword data, search intent, and difficulty
Demonstrated how to connect insights from these tools to real content changes on our pages
Research methodology and insights
Established a clear process for identifying SEO opportunities, starting with keyword search volume, intent, and competitive difficulty
Mapped an end-to-end workflow for collaborating with stakeholders (Figure 1.)
Helped the team prioritize which terms to target on which pages, based on business priorities and realistic ranking potential
Communication and collaboration
Had the team set up bi‑weekly SEO meetings to share findings, align on priorities, and guide stakeholders in content creation and updates
Positioned UX as a partner that could translate SEO insights into concrete content recommendations instead of just handing over keyword lists
Implementation
Once aligned with stakeholders, UX designers updated pages across each campaign web area, incorporating target keywords into copy, metadata, and internal linking
Treated SEO work as part of the overall web experience, not an afterthought, so updates improved both discoverability and usability
Figure 1. Workflow for the SEO project depicting each step in a UX designer's collaboration with stakeholders.
Outcome
Increased UX skillset
The SEO training significantly expanded the UX team’s capabilities and added a durable, high‑value skillset. Designers now incorporate SEO thinking into every page they work on, routinely spotting opportunities and collaborating with stakeholders to adjust content for stronger organic performance.
Campaign and project managers responded positively to the guidance, appreciating that UX could help them improve page visibility as well as user experience. SEO became a shared responsibility rather than something assumed to be “handled somewhere else.”
SEO resource limitations and key lessons
The work also surfaced some important constraints:
Updating even a single campaign area could take months due to limited UX and stakeholder availability
Research takes time, but content creation and editing are often the most time‑consuming steps
Neither UX nor product management could dedicate more than a few hours per week to SEO work for any given area
The main lesson for me was that companies that truly value organic traffic need to invest in resources that match that priority. My recommendation coming out of this initiative was to establish a dedicated SEO team with researchers and copywriters focused on driving organic growth at scale.
Results
These outcomes showed that, even with limited resources, targeted SEO training and thoughtful collaboration can drive meaningful gains in organic performance.
Overall, this SEO initiative resulted in:
5
LPS product pages moved from page 2 to page 1 in Google search results
Up to 35%
Increase in organic traffic on SEO‑enhanced pages
3
UX designers fully trained in keyword research and SEO project management
Figure 2. Screenshot of the Incucyte Live Cell Imaging & Analysis page after SEO improvement. The page moved from Google SERP rank 31 to rank 6 after publishing strategic SEO updates.
Outcome
Increased UX skillset
The SEO training significantly expanded the UX team’s capabilities and added a durable, high‑value skillset. Designers now incorporate SEO thinking into every page they work on, routinely spotting opportunities and collaborating with stakeholders to adjust content for stronger organic performance.
Campaign and project managers responded positively to the guidance, appreciating that UX could help them improve page visibility as well as user experience. SEO became a shared responsibility rather than something assumed to be “handled somewhere else.”
SEO resource limitations and key lessons
The work also surfaced some important constraints:
Updating even a single campaign area could take months due to limited UX and stakeholder availability
Research takes time, but content creation and editing are often the most time‑consuming steps
Neither UX nor product management could dedicate more than a few hours per week to SEO work for any given area
The main lesson for me was that companies that truly value organic traffic need to invest in resources that match that priority. My recommendation coming out of this initiative was to establish a dedicated SEO team with researchers and copywriters focused on driving organic growth at scale.
Results
These outcomes showed that, even with limited resources, targeted SEO training and thoughtful collaboration can drive meaningful gains in organic performance.
Overall, this SEO initiative resulted in:
5
LPS product pages moved from page 2 to page 1 in Google search results
Up to 35%
Increase in organic traffic on SEO‑enhanced pages
3
UX designers fully trained in keyword research and SEO project management
Figure 2. Screenshot of the Incucyte Live Cell Imaging & Analysis page after SEO improvement. The page moved from Google SERP rank 31 to rank 6 after publishing strategic SEO updates.
Nicholas Fargher
© 2026 Nicholas Fargher
Nicholas Fargher
© 2026 Nicholas Fargher