The Client

Kingdom of Chess is an Udaipur-based EdTech company offering online chess classes to students across English-speaking countries. They had a strong teaching product, but their online presence didn’t reflect it. New students came almost entirely from referrals and ads, while search sent them very little.

The Challenge

In February 2024, Kingdom of Chess had little visibility in search. Their key keywords sat on page 7 to 10, or weren’t ranking at all. Organic search brought in 8 to 10 enquiries a month, and AI platforms brought in none. In a competitive education niche, academies with stronger SEO were ranking above them.

The Results

The goal was enrolments, not traffic. Over the engagement:

Organic enquiries grew around thirtyfold. AI search, which started at zero, now brings in 45 leads a month, a channel still uncommon in the space.

The Visibility Behind It

The lead growth was backed by a steady rise in search performance:

The priority keywords moved to the top of the results, several into Google’s AI Overview:

What We Did

We built the strategy around buyer intent and the shift toward AI-driven search:

  • Intent-led keyword strategy. We grouped keywords into focused buckets around what parents and learners search when they’re ready to enrol, prioritising high-intent academy and classes terms over generic traffic.
  • Topic clusters around chess education. We built content clusters covering the topics the audience cares about, from how online classes work to choosing the right academy, so the site became a comprehensive resource rather than a few thin pages.
  • In-depth research guides. We published well-researched guides answering the questions the audience was asking. These brought in early-stage searchers and became some of the strongest pages for ranking and AI Overview visibility.
  • Improved internal linking. We restructured internal links so authority flowed to the priority pages and visitors moved naturally toward the enquiry forms.
  • Content built for AI search. We optimised content to surface in Google’s AI Overviews, not just the classic blue links, which opened up a new lead channel.
  • Technical foundation. We ran a full technical audit and improved Core Web Vitals, so the site was fast and easy for search engines to read and rank.

Why It Worked

The result came from combining a solid technical base, keywords chosen for intent, and early positioning for AI search. Together, they moved the site from low visibility to the top of its niche, and made search the academy’s most consistent source of new students.

These are the actual figures from the client’s analytics and Search Console, not rounded up to look impressive.