Sleep Medicine Practice SEO Preservation Case Study
Preserved 1,100+ quarterly clicks while improving average position from page three to page two during an agency transition
This is what careful SEO management looks like. A sleep medicine practice in Melbourne with strong existing performance needed to transition between agencies without losing a single ranking. Any drop in search visibility for a medical practice translates directly into fewer patients, so the margin for error was zero.
Preservation First, Improvement Second
We audited the existing SEO work, documented every ranking that was generating traffic, and ensured complete continuity during the handover. Nothing changed until we understood exactly what was working and why. Once the transition was stable, we identified improvement opportunities and implemented them carefully, testing each change against the existing performance baseline.
The focus was on improving average position across the practice’s keyword portfolio without touching the click volume that was already driving patient bookings. Better positions mean more visibility, which compounds into more clicks over time.
Stable Traffic, Better Rankings
| Metric | Before Transition | After Transition |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly clicks | 1,100 | 1,100+ (maintained) |
| Average position | 31 (page 3) | 18 (page 2) |
| Keywords ranking | 1,000+ | 1,000+ |
| CTR | N/A | 4.4% (above industry average) |
| 16-month total clicks | N/A | 6,500 |
| 16-month impressions | N/A | 171,000 |
| Rankings lost | N/A | Zero |
Clicks = the number of times someone clicked through to the website from Google search results.
Impressions = the number of times the website appeared in someone’s Google search results. An impression counts every time the listing shows up, whether or not someone clicks on it.
Average position = the average Google ranking across ALL tracked keywords, not a hand-picked selection. If the site ranks for 1,000 keywords, this is the average across every single one of them.
Keywords ranking = the number of different search terms Google shows the website for in search results.
CTR (click-through rate) = the percentage of people who saw the listing in Google and actually clicked on it. A higher CTR means the listing is more compelling to searchers.
All data filtered to Australian searches via Google Search Console. Data current as of January 2026.
Click volume stayed rock solid through the transition: 1,100+ clicks per quarter, matching the previous period exactly. No dip. No disruption. Average position improved from 31 to 18 across 1,000+ keywords, moving the practice from page three to page two of Google on average. The 4.4% CTR sits well above the industry average for medical searches.
The position improvement from 31 to 18 is the foundation for future growth. Higher positions mean more visibility, which means more clicks, which means more patients. The compounding effect of better rankings will continue to build on these results.
For medical practices, SEO preservation during any kind of transition is critical. One bad month can set rankings back by six months or more. If you need to change agencies or make changes to your site, talk to us first. We’ll make sure your rankings are protected.
Frequently Asked Questions
How We Report These Results
Australian data only. Every number on this page comes from Google Search Console filtered to Australia. Unless specifically stated otherwise, we report on Australian search performance because that’s where our clients’ customers are. Worldwide numbers would inflate the results, and inflated numbers help nobody make good decisions.
Average position means ALL keywords. When we say average position improved from 42 to 27, that’s the average across every single keyword that site ranks for. Hundreds of them. Sometimes thousands. We don’t cherry-pick the best performers and ignore the rest. You’re only as good as your lowest-ranking keyword, and everything moves together. If we’re doing our job properly, Google expands the keywords, the synonyms, and the search terms you appear for as it recognises your site deserves to be there.
This is a process of proving to Google that your website should be the one people see when they search for what you offer. That proof builds over months, not days. It’s why consistency matters more than any single tactic.
Why SEO and Google Ads Work Better Together
We don’t recommend running Google Ads without SEO. The two have a symbiotic relationship that most businesses miss.
Google Ads fills the gaps where your SEO hasn’t reached yet. You’re paying to appear for the searches you haven’t earned organically. But those paid visits do more than generate leads directly. When someone clicks your ad and completes their search on your site, that signals to Google that your site satisfied the searcher. We call this a completed search session, and it’s one of the strongest signals you can send. That signal helps your organic rankings.
So Google Ads doesn’t just fill gaps… it actively helps your SEO by proving to Google that your site deserves to rank for those terms.
As your SEO builds and you start ranking organically for more terms, you can pull back your ad spend on those keywords and redirect it to the terms where you still need coverage. The result: your total cost per lead drops over time while your visibility keeps growing. Running only one is leaving results on the table. Both together compound each other’s effectiveness.
Want to understand how SEO and Google Ads would work together for your business? Talk to us and we’ll map it out for you.