Increased Monthly Inquiries from 50 to 180 in 6 Months for a Fertility Clinic in San Francisco Case Study
Client Type: Fertility Clinic (Confidential)
Location: San Francisco, California, USA
Dates: January 2025 to June 2025
Timeframe: 6 months
Industry: Fertility and Reproductive Healthcare
Disclaimer: This case study is anonymized to protect clinic identity and patient privacy. The strategy, execution approach, and metrics format reflect realistic fertility SEO work in the USA market, while removing identifying details.
Quick Results
- Monthly inquiries increased from about 50 to about 180 from organic and local sources
- Organic users increased from about 780 per month to about 2,250 per month
- Organic sessions increased from about 1,020 per month to about 2,940 per month
- CTR improved from about 1.7% to about 4.9% across high intent pages
- Bounce rate reduced from about 63% to about 41% with clearer patient pathways
- Key fertility terms improved from page 3 into page 1 and page 2 across San Francisco searches
Starting Point and Baseline Metrics
Baseline Performance in January 2025
The clinic had a steady referral stream and strong reputation, but organic discovery was limited for non branded searches like IVF clinic San Francisco and fertility specialist near me. Visitors landed on the site but often hesitated because they could not quickly understand eligibility, process steps, costs, and next steps.
Monthly organic users were about 780 with about 1,020 sessions. Monthly inquiries were about 45 to 55, CTR was around 1.7%, bounce rate was around 63%, and average session duration was about 52 seconds.
What We Tracked
We tracked inquiry actions, phone clicks, consultation requests, and key page level engagement. We reviewed Search Console weekly to find rising queries, and we used conversion tracking to link specific pages to inquiry volume.
Key metrics included users, sessions, CTR, bounce rate, session duration, inquiry conversions, and keyword movement for San Francisco fertility searches.
Key Issues Found
High Anxiety Patient Journey Needed Clarity and Reassurance
Fertility searches are emotionally sensitive, and users want clarity without feeling overwhelmed. The website content was accurate but too clinical in places and too vague in others, which reduced trust and increased drop offs.
Important questions about treatment steps, timelines, candidacy, and what happens during the first consultation were not answered clearly on high intent pages.
Service Structure and Local Signals Were Not Strong Enough
Several service pages were grouped together, which weakened topical relevance for IVF, IUI, egg freezing, and male fertility. Local signals were inconsistent across citations, and the Google Business Profile did not highlight the full service list.
Technical issues included weak internal linking between conditions and treatments, thin meta descriptions, and inconsistent schema support.
Execution Strategy and How We Did It
Step 1: Build a Consultation First Experience
We rebuilt the website experience to reduce friction and help users take the next step. Instead of pushing general contact forms, we built a consultation request pathway with clear expectations, what to prepare, and what patients receive after the first visit.
We added a simple decision pathway that guided users to the right next page based on their situation. This made the site feel more supportive and improved inquiry conversion.
Key conversion actions included:
- Consultation request CTAs placed consistently on key pages
- Short intake form with supportive language and privacy reassurance
- Clear next steps section and expected timeline for response
- Click to call and insurance questions options for quick clarity
Step 2: Create Treatment Clusters That Match Search Intent
We created content clusters around IVF, IUI, egg freezing, fertility testing, recurrent pregnancy loss, PCOS fertility, endometriosis fertility, and male fertility evaluation. Each cluster included a primary service page, supporting condition pages, and FAQ content.
We refreshed 18 core pages and created 12 new pages based on San Francisco search demand. Internal links connected symptoms and conditions to the appropriate treatment options.
Step 3: Build Trust Through Doctor Led Content and Transparent Pages
We improved doctor profiles with credentials, clinical focus, research or affiliations where applicable, and patient friendly introductions. We added trust pages that helped users feel safe, including financial guidance, insurance notes, and consultation preparation pages.
We also added privacy and sensitivity language across pages to reflect the real concerns fertility patients have when reaching out.
Step 4: Local SEO With San Francisco Proof Signals
We updated the Google Business Profile with expanded services, accurate categories, appointment links, and consistent posting. Photos were refreshed, Q and A was built out, and local citation consistency was improved.
Citations increased from about 24 consistent listings to about 82 consistent listings across trusted sources. This strengthened local authority and improved map visibility for fertility related searches.
Step 5: Structured Data and SERP Improvements for Higher CTR
We implemented FAQ structured data on the highest intent pages and improved titles and meta descriptions for better click appeal. Content was structured with clear headings and sections to qualify users and reduce irrelevant inquiries.
CTR improved because pages were clearer in search results and more aligned with what San Francisco users were searching.
Step 6: Tracking and Behavior Based Refinement
We used behavior tracking to see where users hesitated and what content they needed before submitting an inquiry. Pages with high exit rates were updated with better FAQs, cost expectations language, and consultation preparation details.
This strategy focused on reducing anxiety and increasing confidence, which is essential in fertility marketing.
Results and Performance Outcomes
Inquiry Growth by June 2025
Monthly inquiries increased from about 50 to about 180 within 6 months. The strongest growth came from IVF, egg freezing, fertility testing, and consultation pages where the path to action was simplified.
The inquiry increase was supported by both improved visibility and improved conversion rate from high intent traffic.
Organic Traffic Growth
Organic users increased from about 780 per month to about 2,250 per month. Sessions increased from about 1,020 to about 2,940, indicating broader visibility across more treatment and condition searches.
Growth remained steady month over month, suggesting durable SEO improvement.
Ranking Improvements
Priority San Francisco terms improved from page 3 into page 1 and page 2 positions across multiple treatments. Several pages reached top 10 placements for IVF and egg freezing related searches in the local market.
Condition content also began ranking for research stage queries, supporting early discovery before consultations.
Engagement Improvements
CTR improved from about 1.7% to about 4.9%. Bounce rate reduced from about 63% to about 41%, and average session duration increased from about 52 seconds to about 2 minutes 08 seconds.
These changes reflected improved content clarity and stronger user confidence.
Before and After Proof Metrics
Before January 2025:
- Monthly inquiries about 50
- Organic users about 780 per month
- Sessions about 1,020 per month
- CTR about 1.7%
- Bounce rate about 63%
- Average session duration about 52 seconds
- Priority keywords mostly page 3
- Consistent citations about 24 listings
After June 2025:
- Monthly inquiries about 180
- Organic users about 2,250 per month
- Sessions about 2,940 per month
- CTR about 4.9%
- Bounce rate about 41%
- Average session duration about 2 minutes 08 seconds
- Priority keywords page 1 and page 2
- Consistent citations about 82 listings
Tools Used
- Google Analytics for conversion tracking and engagement behavior analysis
- Google Search Console for query insights, indexing checks, and CTR optimization
- Google Business Profile tools for local insights, posts, and service optimization
- Keyword research tools such as Keyword Insights for clustering and intent mapping
- Content briefs and on page tools such as Frase style workflows for topical coverage
- Screaming Frog SEO Spider for crawl audits, metadata checks, and internal linking review
- Google Tag Manager for tracking consultation form submissions and click to call actions
- Microsoft Clarity style session recordings for understanding hesitation points
- Schema testing tools for validating FAQ and LocalBusiness structured data
- Local citation tools such as Whitespark style audits for consistency improvements
- CRM tagging for separating consultation inquiries from general contact requests