Turning legal research into search traffic
The Institute for Legal Reform produced excellent research that search engines couldn't see. By turning PDFs into pages people could find, and building SEO into how new research launched, organic traffic grew more than 9,000% in three years.
organic search traffic, 2021 to 2024
overall website traffic over the same period
national outlets, Reuters and Legal Newsline, cited blog posts I wrote
The U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform is a mission-driven organization that produces research and advocacy on civil justice issues, drawing on leading legal experts to propose solutions for a fairer system.
The problem wasn't the quality of the work. It was how the work lived online. Most research was published as static PDFs or promoted through links to outside news coverage, which sent readers away from the Institute's own site. Original expertise wasn't being indexed, discovered, or credited to the organization that produced it. Every external link was a missed chance at search visibility and audience growth.
Make the expertise findable
- Audit and opportunity mapping
- Analyzed SEO and content performance to see what was and wasn't working
- Identified high-value search opportunities that matched the Institute's research themes
- Set keywords and meta descriptions for every page of the site
- Content architecture
- Turned dense research papers into keyword-driven blog posts and pillar pages that were easier to find and read
- Optimized existing pages for both search and user experience
- Shifted editorial focus to internal linking, keeping readers on the Institute's own content instead of sending them elsewhere
- SEO built into the process
- Wrote an SEO guide for the communications team so every writer could apply it
- Built SEO planning into the editorial calendar and every research launch, instead of treating it as an afterthought
- Started a monthly SEO report and quarterly metrics reports, and used them to decide what to create next
- Project-managed a rebranded website with an outside agency, including site audits and user experience improvements
91 search visitors for every one
A 9,000% increase means that for every visitor who found the Institute through search in 2021, about 91 did by 2024.
The research also started reaching people through the press. Blog posts I wrote turning ILR research into plain-language arguments were cited in national legal coverage.
“Jodi has a rare ability to connect big-picture strategy with the day-to-day work needed to deliver results. At ILR, she transformed our approach to digital content and SEO, helping make our research more accessible and discoverable while driving significant growth in our online audience.”
I led the digital strategy behind this growth, including SEO, content planning, website optimization, analytics, and performance reporting. I worked closely with research, policy, creative, and web teams to turn complex subject matter into content that was easier to find and more useful to its audiences.
What it shows
The biggest opportunity wasn't creating more content. It was making existing expertise easier to discover, then using performance data to guide what came next. Strong storytelling gets attention; strategy and measurement turn content into sustained growth.