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While your portfolio ends up being your pride and joy, the process of creating it can be a bit tedious, especially if you’re just starting out and don’t have enough client projects to show. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have anything to show for yourself.
If you take the right approach, it’s possible to put together a portfolio that highlights your SEO knowledge through case studies and personal projects. Whether you’re a beginner or have switched over to SEO from another field, such a portfolio can open doors for you. At times, it helps to take inspiration from others who already walked down this path.
We’ve found some of the best SEO portfolio examples that are sure to inspire your own creation. Plus, we share some tips (and a special tool) later on to guide your portfolio development process.
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Annalyn Bernaldo’s personal website portfolio
Annalyn Bernaldo is a virtual SEO specialist based in Cebu, Philippines. Her key services include keyword research, technical SEO, on-page optimization, and content creation. Due to her past experience in data entry, Bernaldo also offers data benchmarking as a service.
She compares client SEO metrics against industry benchmarks to provide insights into how their site is performing and how to improve it. Her portfolio showcases her familiarity with renowned SEO tools like Semrush, UberSuggest, Screaming Frog, Moz Keyword Explorer, and Google Keyword Planner.
SEO results
The first thing that stands out in Bernaldo’s portfolio is the clean and modern design. Right as you land on the portfolio page, you see an analytics dashboard, which immediately tells you about her focus on data-driven SEO. The rest of the page is also filled with Excel sheets and Google Analytics screenshots to show the results she has delivered for her clients.
The Home page shows her top services, followed by work samples. So, even if you’re landing on this page, you can find your way to the portfolio without having to go to the navigation menu.
She has also displayed her SEO training certificates on the website to establish credibility and trust.
SEO training certificates
Since all her social media handles are also on her website, you can easily reach out to her if you have any questions or want to collaborate. Even better, she offers a free technical site audit to new clients.
Free website audit and social media handles
Interestingly, when you search for the keyword ”SEO portfolio examples,” her website appears on the first page in the fourth position. This is a testament to her expertise in SEO and shows that she can replicate the same results for clients.
Sure Oak’s company website
As one of the top SEO agencies in the USA, Sure Oak has done a stellar job of creating a company website that also serves as its portfolio. The agency specializes in eCommerce and SaaS SEO, providing services to local and small businesses. Its clients also include startups from different industries, including telecom.
The agency runs full-service SEO campaigns for its clients but also offers selective solutions, such as on-page optimization, keyword research, technical SEO, and SEO strategy consulting.
Sure Oak’s agency solutions
We have already discussed the importance of incentives in Annalyn Bernaldo’s portfolio, and it appears that Sure Oak follows a similar approach. The website’s header has a large ”Free Strategy Session” button that already gives clients a reason to consider the agency before going through the home page.
As for the home page itself, it showcases the agency’s services and work process. Sure Oak has also displayed client testimonials on its website to act as social proof. These reviews are followed by a list of past clients to further cement the agency’s credibility.
Sure Oak customer testimonials
The SEO case studies page is another notable feature of this website, showing a range of projects for clients in various sectors. Since the image thumbnails provide summaries of the results, the user does not necessarily have to navigate away from the page.
Sure Oak case studies
However, even if they decide to click on a case study, they will be greeted with comprehensive yet scannable information on the project. The results are shown in tables and screenshots to provide quick insights, while the written content provides a detailed overview of the strategies and techniques used.
Sure Oak case study results
Aleyda Solís LinkedIn page
Aleyda Solís is an international SEO influencer and consultant who has also founded Orainti, a strategic SEO consultancy. She shares SEO resources on her LinkedIn page and through the MarketingFOMO newsletter.
With over 83,000 followers, Solís has quite a large following on LinkedIn. Her portfolio is an excellent example of how to use the platform for personal branding and showing expertise.
Starting strong, she has a professional profile image with a cover photo of her presenting at what seems like a conference. Her bio highlights all her major accomplishments to give her a strong first impression.
Solís also makes excellent use of the About section, where she uses a lot of figures to indicate the actual magnitude of her achievements. For example, instead of merely mentioning that she has spoken at events, she highlights that she was a speaker at over 100 events across 20+ countries. Similarly, she has also mentioned the number of subscribers her newsletter has, which establishes her as an authority in her field.
LinkedIn About section
In the Experience section, she has provided detailed descriptions of her roles and responsibilities. The use of terms like ”global” and ”international” in her job titles gives her a more prominent presence and solidifies her expertise in the SEO industry worldwide.
She has also listed all her skills (39 in total), which have been endorsed by hundreds of people. This is another smart tactic that shows she’s a trustworthy and knowledgeable professional.
LinkedIn Skills section
The best part of her portfolio has to be the Recommendations section, where you can see testimonials from her clients. With over 20 reviews, she has enough social proof to woo any client.
LinkedIn Recommendations section
Alpha Efficiency PDF portfolio
Alpha Efficiency is a Chicago-based web design and SEO agency specializing in creating highly optimized websites for their clients. Their portfolio is a downloadable PDF document that shows their industry recognition and SEO case studies.
Besides SEO, they also offer PPC and email marketing. Their clients hail from different industries; however, the common denominator between them is their local presence. So, the agency highlights its local SEO results in all case studies.
The first page of Alpha Efficiency’s PDF portfolio shows their rating across platforms like Upwork. Before going into the case studies, the agency has briefly given an overview of its services so that even those prospects who have not yet visited their website have some background information.
Alpha Efficiency services
The portfolio then goes on to list client projects. Like Sure Oak, there’s a focus on visual representation of results rather than lengthy sections. For every case study, Alpha Efficiency has created a local SEO ranking section, where they show the improvement in the client’s local presence. This is an excellent approach, considering the agency’s specialization in local SEO.
Local SEO results
For every client project, the agency shares its strategies, impressions growth, project timeline, and Lighthouse results. There’s also a direct link to the agency’s Upwork page at the bottom of the PDF, so the prospects don’t have to manually search for it.
Aurelia D’s Upwork profile
Aurelie D is a London-based freelancer who offers SEO, translation (French), and copywriting services. With over 213 Upwork jobs and $100k in earnings, Aurelia has a 100% job success rating and is Upwork’s Top Rated freelancer.
She has a decade of experience in SEO and digital marketing. Plus, she has worked as a French SEO specialist for four years in an international digital agency.
What we like about Aurelia’s Upwork portfolio is that she has used every element available on the platform. Her About section is pretty detailed, describing her expertise and skills in all of her offerings, including SEO and copywriting.
Upwork About section
She has also included a list of past clients, which include names like Emirate Airlines, Oral B, Uber, and Uniqlo. These names are enough to impress any potential client.
Besides listing her skills in the About section, she has also mentioned them in the designated Skills section on Upwork. Plus, she uploaded one of her major projects to the Portfolio section to show how she delivered results for a French client.
Aurelia D’s Upwork portfolio
Now that you’ve seen some inspiring examples of SEO portfolios, it’s time to create your own. Here’s how.
Start by thinking about who you’re speaking to. Are you targeting small business owners, agencies, or a specific industry? Choose samples that show you understand their needs.
For example, if you’re aiming at eCommerce clients, include SEO audits, optimized product pages, conversion rates, or case studies showing revenue impact. The key is relevance. Clients and hiring managers want to see how your work translates into their world.
However, you don’t want to cage yourself into a single niche. If you have experience with different industries or types of SEO, include those, too, to show your versatility. Similarly, include blog posts or written content in your portfolio if content marketing is also part of your SEO expertise.
As a beginner, you may not have many of these types of samples. An effective workaround is to offer your services for free to small businesses, charities, or personal websites. You can also create mock projects to show your approach to SEO strategies.
Once you’ve selected the projects to showcase, decide how you will display them. Most organic SEO agencies use their websites, but this may not be possible for freelancers or smaller SEO houses.
You can choose between the following options: personal website, company website, LinkedIn, Upwork/Fiverr, and PDF. Use this table to help you decide.
When you’re just starting an SEO marketing agency, you may not need a super-extensive website. So, you can build a simple business website using Wix or Squarespace. With the drag-and-drop interface, you won’t need coding skills. Both platforms offer templates optimized for different industries, such as eCommerce and local businesses.
However, if you’re working solo as a freelancer, a LinkedIn page may also suffice. While it’s not as customizable as a Wix website, it lets you connect with potential clients in real time and build industry networks that can help you land projects. You may supplement your LinkedIn presence with a simple personal website on Squarespace as you gather some projects to showcase.
For SEO professionals and agencies that need more creative control and customization options, Webflow is a decent option. It has over 6,000 business and portfolio website templates for you to choose from. Plus, the native tools for AI personalization and A/B testing help you improve website conversion rates.
Regardless of the platform you choose for your portfolio, the following design tips can help improve aesthetics and functionality.
Your portfolio isn’t just about showing what you did but also about proving the impact of your work. Data helps show the results you’ve achieved for client campaigns.
Instead of vaguely implying you made improvements, use concrete results, such as conversion rates, visits, unique traffic, user engagement, social media followers, likes and shares, and sales numbers. Focus on metrics like:
You can use Semrush to visualize this data and then include the screenshots in your case studies. Even if you’re working on mock projects, use hypothetical goals and measure progress using Semrush.
When citing actual client projects, stay within the limits of your NDA. You don’t want to be sued for revealing sensitive data or being unethical about client confidentiality. Anonymous project descriptions, such as “worked with a bakery to increase local search traffic by 50%,” help build credibility without compromising client privacy. Highlight aggregated data or common themes in your successes, such as industry-specific wins or repeatable strategies.
Supplement these figures with client testimonials. You can also embed reviews from Google or third-party review sites, just like Sure Oak.
If you’re making a LinkedIn portfolio, you can take a leaf out of Aleyda Solís’ book and use the Endorsements section for reviews. As a beginner, if you don’t have too many reviews to show, you can always ask colleagues to endorse your skills and leave comments on your work.
If you’re just entering the SEO scene, you may not have detailed enterprise SEO strategies or high-end projects to show, and that’s fine. You can use a tool like Semrush to run mock projects or small-scale pro-bono campaigns that will eventually help you land your first clients.
The Semrush Traffic Analytics tool shows you traffic sources and trends across competitor websites in different locations. It also provides an overview of the customer journey to adapt SEO strategies accordingly.
Suppose you want to create a mock case study for an eCommerce marketplace. You can use Traffic Analytics to study the traffic patterns of competitors in this industry. Let’s take Amazon as an example.
Semrush Traffic Analytics
Start by looking at the estimated monthly visitors, unique visitors, average visit duration, and purchase conversions for the eCommerce giant. You can use this data to simulate a similar traffic pattern for your mock campaign.
Then, study the traffic channels for Amazon, such as direct, referral, organic search, paid search, organic social, and so on. Semrush shows that Amazon gets most of its traffic through these three sources: direct, referral, and organic search. In your case study, you can then devise strategies to focus on these channels and increase the website’s visibility.
Semrush traffic channels
Also, analyze the Traffic Journey section to see the trajectory of Amazon’s website visitors. Highlight how you will capture the attention of potential customers at each stage of their journey and lead them to conversion.
Semrush Traffic Journey section
Based on these insights, you can create a growth scenario for your mock eCommerce marketplace. Show how your SEO strategy will eventually lead to increased traffic and higher conversion rates.
The Semrush Keyword Magic Tool is one of the best AI SEO tools for keyword research that can help you develop a keyword strategy for your hypothetical client. For example, your mock client may be a cleaning service in New York.
Use the Keyword Magic Tool to find relevant queries for this client based on informational and commercial intent. In your case study, show how you will use both types of keywords at different buyer journey stages.
Semrush Keyword Magic Tool
If your client is a relatively new player in the market, you can filter the keywords by difficulty to find the easiest ones to rank for. But if they already have a website with some degree of topical authority, you can mention that you will use Semrush’s AI-powered personalized data to find Personal Keyword Difficulty % and select queries accordingly.
PKD% in Semrush
You can also view each keyword you have selected in the Keyword Overview tool to find long-tail queries that you will use in your mock client’s content. This tool also shows you SERP data so you can take inspiration from the top-ranking websites.
Semrush Keyword Overview
Finally, create a keyword list with all the selected options, including long-tail keywords, high-volume queries, and low-difficulty keywords. Then, show how using them in your hypothetical client’s content strategy will improve their rankings and search visibility.
Semrush SERP analysis
To show results in your case studies, you have to exhibit growth in keyword rankings and client traffic. Use the Position Tracking tool to simulate an increase in keyword visibility, estimated traffic, and average position. Since you don’t have an actual client, you can use a website that’s closest to your hypothetical client to create this report.
Position Tracking tool
In the Overview section, the “3-month potential” section of the graph will help you show your strategy. Emphasize that your keyword approach (and other SEO tactics) shows a positive, predictive trend in increasing organic traffic and rankings.
Position Tracking tools
You can also show the keywords’ appearance in SERP features to illustrate how your client’s website is optimizing for featured snippets, AI Overviews, and other Google-approved features.
Similarly, you can use Domain Overview to benchmark your client’s performance against competitors. Again, take a website that’s similar to your client and show how your strategy can improve its performance in organic search.
Domain Overview
You can use the Compare Domains tab to add up to three competitors and then show a side-by-side comparison of the key metrics. Focus on metrics like traffic and organic position distribution to demonstrate how your SEO approach can help your client outperform competitors in the search results.
Compare domains
The Semrush Backlink Analytics tool can help you analyze competitor backlink profiles and then create a link-building strategy for your mock client. Suppose you’re writing a case study for the health sector. You may use Healthline as a competitor.
Backlink Analytics
Start by looking at the categories of referring domains. In your case study, show that you will focus on these categories in your link-building strategy.
Referring domain categories
Similarly, you can take insights related to backlink types and common anchor texts to show which type of backlinks you will collect for your client.
Semrush Backlink Analytics
The Network Graph tab is quite helpful here as it shows major referring domains visually. Create a similar graph for your case study to show how you will focus on all major categories in the health industry for a well-rounded backlink profile.
Network graph
A lot more goes into creating an SEO portfolio than just putting together projects. You also have to account for visual cohesion, platform scalability, case study inclusion, data-based results, and more.
Remember, you don’t need a massive client list to make an impression. Start small, focus on quality, and let your results and creativity do the talking. Use Semrush to gather data to create mock case studies when you’re just starting out.
More importantly, your portfolio is a living document, so keep updating it as you grow in your SEO career.
An SEO portfolio should include case studies with results (like traffic growth, ranking improvements, etc.), metrics to back your work, testimonials, and examples of audits or keyword strategies. Add mock projects if you’re new, and tailor them to the industries or roles you’re targeting.
Focus on numbers. Use charts, screenshots, or clear before-and-after comparisons to show things like ranking boosts or CTR improvements. If you’re dealing with confidential data, anonymize it. Mock reports or audits using tools like Semrush also work if you’re just starting out.
To create a portfolio as an SEO beginner, start with mock projects using Semrush. Analyze a website, suggest improvements, and document the process. You can also offer free SEO services to small businesses or nonprofits to gain real examples.
You don’t need a website right away unless you’re starting an agency. As a beginner, you can start by showing your work on platforms like LinkedIn, Upwork, Fiverr, or PDF portfolios. If you’re ready to level up, a personal website can add a professional touch, but it’s not a must in the beginning.
You should update your SEO portfolio every 3 to 6 months. Add new case studies or any skills you’ve picked up. If you’re working on ongoing projects, update it with new successes.
Some important SEO metrics are organic traffic growth, keyword ranking improvements, CTR, bounce rate, conversion rate, and average session duration. For technical SEO, you can also include metrics like page load time and mobile responsiveness.
It’s not always necessary to include client names, especially if you have NDAs or want to protect privacy. Instead, use anonymized data or general descriptions. However, if you’ve worked with a large and well-known brand and they’ve allowed you to use their name, it can add credibility to your portfolio.
List SEO tools you’re proficient in, such as Google Analytics, SEMrush, or Moz. Include certifications for specific tools and showcase results from your projects using before-and-after screenshots or metrics. Highlight how you used each tool to achieve results, like increasing organic traffic or improving keyword rankings.
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