How we 5x’ed leads for a bootstrapped PropTech from SEO & AI Search

When we started, traffic tanked due to AI Overviews

This is the uncomfortable truth many SEO agencies would hide from such a case study. Google’s AI Overviews have dramatically reduced clicks in 2025, even as rankings remained strong. But this didn’t affect our lead growth. Why? Because we focused on mid- and bottom-funnel topics across the whole buyer journey that are truly relevant to the audience, thus bringing on higher qualified traffic. This is real-life proof that traffic quantity is a vanity metric. What you should really care about is quality.

Subject matter expert interviews

We conducted regular expert interviews with Planeco Building’s team, including the founders, and other subject matter experts. This process became the foundation of their content strategy. Instead of generic articles, we transformed deep expert knowledge into content that’s optimized for distribution, legally sound and practically valuable. This approach reduced the content production time significantly compared to doing it in-house, while dramatically improving quality and performance.

Lead Magnets with massive value for the audience

Together with Planeco Building, we’ve build a wide range of lead magnets. Users get instant, actionable information, and Planeco Building captures highly qualified leads who are already engaged and informed.

Interactive mini tools that increase engagement

The example in the screenshot is a cost calculator that helps users understand architect fees for change of use permits. These tools don’t just convert visitors into leads. They also save the sales team time by pre-qualifying prospects and providing immense value upfront.

Optimized content design to drive conversions

Organic Growth goes far beyond just writing good content. This is why put a lot of work into optimizing the content design on Planeco’s site. Every article is structured with clear visual hierarchy, strategic CTAs, trust signals (like Google ratings and partner logos), and prominent lead capture. The sticky sidebar features interactive tools and downloadable resources that keep visitors engaged. This combination of expert content and a conversion-optimized design is what gets you qualified leads consistently.

Mentions and citations in AI Search

Another key signal of success is getting mentioned when users turn to ChatGPT, Perplexity & Co. for their research. That’s why we were particularly happy to see Planeco Building being mentioned across a wide range of different prompts in AI Overviews, Perplexity, or ChatGPT. We’re using Peec AI to track a diverse set of highly relevant prompts based on deep audience research.

5x lead growth from the baseline month

The graph shows steady, consistent lead growth month-over-month since we started working together in March 2024. The baseline was modest, but by leveraging expert-led content, lead magnets, mini-tools, and conversion-focused page design, Planeco Building achieved a 5x increase in qualified leads.

Important note: We only track leads converting based on last-click organic or AI search (very strict attribution)

2x’ed AI Search citation rate from 55% to >110%

Getting your content cited by ChatGPT, Perplexity, and AI Overviews is a first strong indicator for success in AI Search. The chart shows Planeco Building dominating their niche. Their citation rate more than doubled from a baseline of 55% to over 110% across a diverse set of highly relevant, audience-researched prompts. This means when people search for building permit guidance using AI tools, Planeco Building is the authoritative source being consistently referenced.

Important note: A citation rate of >100% results from content being used more than once as a citation. So if in 10 answers, 12 citations from Planeco are used, we would get a citation rate of 120%.