Fluxx Tech
Most portfolio pages are a grid of logos and screenshots with no text. They prove nothing to a reader and rank for nothing on Google.
A properly built case study does three jobs at once: it ranks for a real search, it proves you can do the work, and it closes the reader who was already comparing you with two other firms.
Target a real search
The mistake is titling a case study “Project for ABC Industries”. Nobody searches that.
Title it by the problem and the audience:
Weak | Better |
Website for ABC Textiles | How a Tiruppur Garment Exporter Doubled B2B Enquiries With a New Website |
ERP project | Custom Inventory Software for a Multi-Branch Hardware Store |
SEO client results | Local SEO for a Coimbatore Dental Clinic: From Invisible to the Map Pack |
Now the page targets searches your actual prospects make: “website for garment exporter”, “inventory software for hardware store”, “SEO for dental clinic”.
Each case study should have one target keyword, usually a service-plus-industry or service-plus-location phrase.
Structure
H1: [Outcome] for a [industry] in [location]
Summary box: client type, problem, what we did, result
H2: The business and the situation
H2: The problem
H2: What we considered
H2: What we built / did
H2: How we did it (process, timeline)
H2: The results
H2: What we would do differently
H2: Is this relevant to you?
CTA
The summary box at the top matters. Many readers only read that.
Results: be specific or be honest
The credibility of the whole page rests on this section.
Strong:
• “Enquiries rose from [X] to [Y] per month over [period]”
• “Billing time per invoice fell from [X] minutes to [Y]”
• “Organic clicks grew [X]% in [period], from [baseline]”
• “Stock discrepancy fell from [X]% to [Y]%”
Weak:
• “Significant improvement”
• “Massive growth”
• “300% increase” with no baseline, no period and no source
Never invent numbers. If the client will not let you share figures, say so plainly: “The client prefers not to publish figures; they reported [qualitative outcome].” That is more credible than a suspicious percentage.
Always state the period and the baseline. A 300% increase from 2 enquiries to 8 is honest, and saying so is better than hiding it.
Get permission in writing
Before publishing anything about a client:
• ☐ Written permission to name them
• ☐ Approval of the specific figures you will publish
• ☐ Approval of screenshots, especially anything showing their data
• ☐ Logo usage permission
• ☐ A quote, approved by the person quoted
• ☐ Confirmation that nothing confidential appears
If they decline to be named, publish it anonymously: “a garment exporter in Tiruppur”. That still ranks and still proves capability. Many of the best case studies are anonymous.
Blur or replace any real customer data in screenshots. Publishing a client’s customer list in a screenshot is a serious breach.
Images
• Before and after screenshots, where the visual change is the point
• Photographs of real work, not stock images
• Screenshots of the actual interface you built
• Charts of results, clearly labelled
• Compress everything, add descriptive alt text
For a design or development case study, the images carry much of the persuasion. For a software or process one, the diagrams do.
Write “what we would do differently”
Almost nobody includes this section, and it is the one that makes buyers trust you. One honest paragraph about what you learned, what took longer than expected, or what you would change tells a prospective client more about working with you than any list of features.
Internal linking
Each case study should:
• Link to the relevant service page with descriptive anchor text
• Link to relevant blog articles you have written on that topic
• Be linked from the service page: “see how we did this for a [industry] client”
• Be linked from related case studies
• Appear in an industry hub page, if you have one
This is what turns a portfolio from a dead-end gallery into a structure that supports your service pages’ rankings.
Build a hub
A /case-studies/ or /work/ page listing all of them, filterable by:
• Service: web, app, software, SEO
• Industry: manufacturing, healthcare, retail, education
• Location, if relevant
Give the hub real text, not just a grid, so it can rank for “[service] portfolio” and “[service] examples” searches.
Add schema
Article markup on each case study, and Review markup only if you have a genuine, displayed client review on the page. See our schema guide.
How many, and how often
Three excellent case studies beat twenty thin ones. Aim for:
• One per major service
• One per industry you want to win more of
• Updated results where the engagement continues
• A new one every quarter, written while the project is fresh
Write it within a month of completion, while the numbers and the details are available and the client is still enthusiastic.
Frequently asked questions
What if we cannot share client names? Publish anonymously with industry and location. It works almost as well.
How long should a case study be? Long enough to be convincing: usually 800–1,500 words with images.
Do case studies actually rank? Yes, when titled around the problem and the industry rather than the client’s name.
