PHRASE IT / LISTICLE CASE STUDY
Agency listicles.
For buyers.
Written to be found.
We wrote ten listicles for an international marketing agency in 2026. The content helped readers understand agency services, compare providers, and build a shortlist.
Across the ten-listicle set, the results include 2,501 estimated monthly US organic traffic, 50 keyword variants in Google’s organic top 10, and source citations across 43 stored Google AI Overview questions.
THE LISTICLE SERIES / RESULTS
2,501
Estimated monthly US organic traffic across ten listicles.
Google US / English · DataForSEO
50 top-10 keyword variants
43 stored AI questions
Ten listicles → Organic rankings + AI source citations
01 / THE RESULTS
Here’s what we achieved & how
ORGANIC SEARCH
Estimated monthly US organic traffic
2,501 estimated monthly US organic traffic across the ten-listicle set.
SEARCH RANKINGS
Top-10 keyword rankings
50 keyword variants ranking in Google’s organic top 10.
AI VISIBILITY
Google AI Overview source citations
43 distinct stored Google AI Overview questions citing the listicles.
The series ranks for 209 keyword variants in total. Source: DataForSEO, Google US / English organic snapshot and stored Google AI Overview source records, retrieved 8 October 2026.
02 / THE CLIENT
An international agency with expertise buyers needed to understand.
INTERNATIONAL MARKETING AGENCY
The agency
The client brings together strategy, creative, media, and measurement. Its audience includes enterprise teams and global brands looking for agency support.
TEN LISTICLES / WRITTEN IN 2026
Our writing assignment
We wrote around the questions those buyers ask when choosing a partner: what different agencies offer, which providers fit their needs, and what to look for before making contact.
The articles gave readers a way to explore agency services and compare their options before reaching out.
03 / THE CHALLENGE
Help buyers make sense of their options.
Agency buyers have plenty of names to choose from. What they need is a clearer way to compare them.
What buyers needed
Readers needed to understand the service, explore suitable providers, and work out which agencies deserved a closer look. We also wanted that content to be found in search and used as a source in AI answers.
How we approached it
We wrote the listicles as buying guides, combining provider comparisons with service explanations and practical selection guidance.
The aim was to make the agency’s published content useful while buyers were researching their next partner.
04 / OUR APPROACH
Answer the question behind the search.
We approached the listicles as buying guides. Each combined information about an agency category with provider comparisons, so readers could understand the service and explore their options in one place.
01 / UNDERSTAND
Explain the category
Explain what the service includes and where it fits into the reader’s marketing needs.
02 / COMPARE
Make the shortlist useful
Include agency profiles, services, and industry information that help readers compare providers.
03 / EVALUATE
Support the next decision
Offer selection guidance and links for investigating the agencies that interest them.
The format worked for a quick scan and a closer read: readers could start with the shortlist, then explore the details that mattered to them.
05 / WHAT WE DID
We wrote ten listicles around agency selection.
CONTENT WRITING
Write the comparison content
We turned agency categories into educational comparison content, combining service explanations, provider profiles, and guidance for choosing a partner.
BUYER GUIDANCE
Give readers a useful shortlist
Quick shortlists gave readers an overview. More detailed profiles helped them explore services, industry experience, and potential fit.
RESULTS / 8 OCTOBER 2026
Measure the series together
We checked the organic rankings and estimated traffic across the ten-listicle set, then matched the articles to stored Google AI Overview source records.
The results brought the series together: estimated organic traffic, keyword rankings, and AI source citations across all ten listicles.
YOUR NEXT STEP
Publish listicles LLMs will cite and recommend you
We write SEO listicles that helps people understand your services, compare their options, and take the next step. If your buyers research providers using ChatGPT, Gemini, AI Mode, etc before they contact you, let’s build listicles around the questions they’re asking.
Bring your services, target buyers, and existing content. We’ll start with the questions your buyers need answered.
06 / SERIES RESULTS
The results across all ten listicles.
The ten-listicle set ranks for 209 US keyword variants, including 50 in the organic top 10. It also appears as a source across 43 stored Google AI Overview questions.
| Metric | Result | Content scope | Market / platform | Retrieved |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimated monthly organic traffic | 2,501 | Ten listicles | Google US / English | 8 October 2026 |
| Ranking keyword variants | 209 | Ten listicles | Google US / English | 8 October 2026 |
| Top-10 keyword variants | 50 | Ten listicles | Google US / English | 8 October 2026 |
| Distinct stored AI questions | 43 | Ten listicles | Google AI Overviews | 8 October 2026 |
07 / ORGANIC VISIBILITY
50 keyword variants reached Google’s top 10.
Across the ten listicles, 209 keyword variants rank in Google’s US results. Of those, 50 are in the organic top 10, including 13 in the top three.
| Organic ranking positions | Keyword variants | Share of rankings |
|---|---|---|
| 1–3 | 13 | 6.2% |
| 4–10 | 37 | 17.7% |
| 11–100 | 159 | 76.1% |
| All positions | 209 | 100% |
The articles were showing up for readers exploring agency services and comparing providers.
08 / AI VISIBILITY
The listicles also appeared as sources in Google AI answers.
Nine of the ten listicles were cited in the stored Google AI Overview records.
Together, the series appeared as a source across 43 distinct stored questions.
The content was showing up both in organic results and as reference material in AI answers.
Nine listicles cited
Google AI Overview source records included articles from across the ten-listicle set.
43 distinct questions
The listicles appeared across different questions in the stored answer records.
Source: archived DataForSEO Google AI Overview source records, retrieved 8 October 2026.
09 / WHAT THE RESULTS MEAN
We gave buyers more ways to discover the agency.
Get found during agency research
The listicles appeared in organic search results and stored AI answers while readers were exploring agency services and providers.
Cover more buyer questions
A series of buying guides created more entry points into the agency’s published content, with 209 ranking keyword variants across the set.
Help readers build a shortlist
Service explanations and provider comparisons gave readers information they could use to decide which agencies to explore further.
For an agency selling several kinds of expertise, useful comparison content helps readers understand the options before starting a conversation.
10 / YOUR NEXT STEP
Be part of the shortlist your buyers are building.
We write content that helps people understand your services, compare their options, and take the next step. If your buyers research providers before they contact you, let’s build content around the questions they’re asking.
Bring your services, target buyers, and existing content. We’ll start with the questions your buyers need answered.
What clients say after the work.
Phrase It wrote SEO content for us, and we were really pleased with the results. The content was well researched, strategically optimized for search, and written with both our audience and business goals in mind. They understood our brand quickly and delivered polished, useful content that reads naturally. The entire process was smooth and professional.
I've worked with Tamara for four years now, and at this point she's the only writer I send blog work to. She hits every deadline, she's organized (nothing falls through the cracks) and the posts she writes actually rank. Some of the posts are still pulling traffic a few years later, which is the whole point and is harder to find than it should be. She's written for multiple of my clients and adjusts her voice to each one without me having to explain it twice. When you run a small agency, the people you can delegate to and stop thinking about are worth a lot. I never have to worry about Tamara; I just know every month the work is done.
Working with Phrase It has made a real difference to our inbound marketing. We achieved first-page rankings across our main service categories, while qualified inbound leads increased by 286% year over year. We’re now even seeing Colour Fiction recommended in ChatGPT when prospective clients look for services like ours. Tamara understands how to connect search visibility with actual business opportunities.
Phrase It helped turn SEO into a measurable revenue channel for our business. The work influenced more than $356,000 in revenue, giving us a clear commercial return - not simply more traffic or better rankings. Tamara kept the strategy focused on the searches and pages that could genuinely contribute to growth.
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