SEO Case Study: Martial Arts Academy

Helping a Leading Martial Arts Academy Dominate Local Search

I partnered with Kane Academy, a well-established martial arts academy in West Yorkshire offering inclusive, family-friendly martial arts and kickboxing programs for all ages.

Kane Academy Martial Arts Academy Homepage Thumbnail

Before our work began, the academy faced several SEO challenges:

Declining sales, reduced visibility in local search results, and a digital presence that struggled with poor mobile usability, poor conversion performance, and low organic rankings. Their website also suffered from structural issues and poor colour contrast, impacting accessibility and user engagement.

project goals

1 Increase visibility for high-intent keywords

Leverage targeted content to grow visibility for both local and non-branded keywords, with a focus on high-intent local search terms in the martial arts niche.

2 Increase qualified leads and membership

Position Kane Academy as the go-to destination for martial arts and kickboxing classes in its region and surrounding areas. Landing pages were redesigned with user experience and accessibility in mind to match user intent with clearer CTAs, technical audits to refine and improve layout, helping convert SEO traffic into enquiries and class bookings, setting the foundation for lasting growth.

3 Drive Local Engagement

Enhance Website and Business Profile with optimised content, up-to-date menus, clearer class pages and offers, NAP citation consistency to improve local visibility from map results and local search queries.

4 Secure Website

Improve site health and website security.

commercial highlights

Organic Traffic

+65%

total users and new users increased compared to the immediate previous 6 months and increased by 55% Compared to the same period year-over-year.
From the start of the SEO campaign in Feb to Jul 2025.

conversion rate

4.7%

Achieved from UK users surpassing local service industry averages (usually 2-3%) highlighting strong appeal and relevance to UK visitors.

New page 1 rankings

+556

keywords that were not ranking before are now in position 1-10 within 6 months.

New keyword rankings

+829

Secured in the top 100 positions within 6 months.

keyword rankings

+609%

increase in keywords ranking in the top 100 organic search results, secured through targeted optimisation efforts in 6 months compared to the previous 6 months.

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“Sam has a keen eye for detail. She looks at websites in depth not just from a business view but also from prospective customers. I would recommend her highly and definitely work with her again.“

– Rebecca Kane, World Champion Martial Artist, Irish Dancer and Founder of Kane Academy

Kane martial arts academy website design before and after

While SEO was the core focus, the project also included a strategic refresh of the homepage and key service pages. These design improvements enhanced accessibility, usability, and conversion performance – aligning the site’s user experience with its broader search and marketing goals.

Before:

After:

The numbers speak for themselves

UK Organic sessions

+43.8%

In a 6-month period compared year over year, driving more engagement. (Feb to Jul 2025)

Organic Clicks

+474.29%

significant increase in organic traffic from high-intent local martial arts keywords, reflecting strong gains in local search visibility in 6 months vs previous 6 months.

Average engagement time per active user

50%+

year-over-year and more than doubled compared to the prior 6 months. (Feb to Jul 2025)

New users

1765+

new users who started their first session from organic search during Feb to Jul 2025.

Outcome

By aligning content, technical SEO, and design with the core goal of ranking for martial arts industry related terms, we:

Dramatically increased local visibility
Brought in new students through organic search
Set the foundation for long-term local SEO success

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