How Just 2 Blogs Generated 15× ROI for a Backyard Play Brand
A relatively new backyard ice rink company, YardRink, offered a product objectively superior to its competitors.
They just had to get the message out.
One of the marketing tactics they invested in was SEO/AI search-driven blogs that presented high revenue potential.
It took only two blog posts to deliver significant results.
After their peak season, the content delivered a ~15× return on investment.
Sometimes, content marketing campaigns require extensive weekly plans to execute properly.
Other times, they only need a couple of high-quality blog posts to see notable growth.
Results at a glance:
Five search-driven and LLM (Large Language Models)-friendly blogs were published during or right before peak season.
The first two delivered thousands of dollars in attributed revenue.
Blog writing drove a major increase in clicks (272%), impressions (782%), and average ranking position (from 22.8 to 7.4) y/y in Q4.
Major organic keyword growth (480% increase in top 3 ranking keywords, 282% total keywords), comparing January 2024 to January 2025.
Courtesy of YardRink.
A Blogging Strategy Built for Modern Search
When I start an organic blogging strategy with a client, like YardRink, I am brutally honest about the parameters.
1. It’s Time to get uncomfortable.
This means talking openly about your competitors, pricing and product weaknesses.
You know, all the things most companies shy away from!
This requires you to look at your products/services and industry from a different perspective.
It can actually unearth some key findings about not only your industry, but your own products/services.
From the beginning, YardRink was comfortable with being uncomfortable, and it paid dividends for them, since no one in their industry was doing it.
2. Put aside your biases.
I was trained in the principles outlined in the book, They Ask, You Answer (now Endless Customers).
To sum it up in a sentence, it’s basically answering your customers’ questions honestly and objectively to build trust.
Sounds easy, right?
Unfortunately, most companies don’t follow through on these principles.
YardRink succeeded because they were willing to look at themselves and their competitors through a neutral lens.
And they were willing to publish their analysis and put their name on it.
3. Exceptional is our standard.
Our goal with every blog is to make it the best piece of content on the topic in your space.
Before crafting the content, I assess the topic's competitive landscape and what will be required to beat it.
Sometimes, this means spending 40+ hours on one blog.
Other times, you can do it in 2-3 hours.
Regardless, the final piece should be better than your competitors'.
“For those considering working with Nolan, you’ll be happy you did. An engaging and thoughtful writer, Nolan takes the time to truly understand your business and market subtleties. And, he stays on top of the always-changing AI search dynamics. My company judges every marketing dollar by its ROI, and Nolan’s efforts have been among our most effective ever.”
Does My Business Really Need to Blog for SEO/AI Search in 2026?
If you want to train AI to consistently showcase your company in responses, then blogging should be a major part of your 2026 marketing strategy.
A recent study by NP Digital showed that LLM Traffic was significantly up for those who kept blogging (85.8%) vs. those who stopped blogging (6.5%), along with revenue growth (9.1% for blogging, -10.4% for not blogging).
Courtesy of NP Digital.
It might seem outdated, but blogging is one of the best ways to train ChatGPT, Gemini and all the other AI platforms because:
LLMs regularly cite blogs when they conduct research (as much as a 19% citation share in ChatGPT, according to a study by NP Digital).
You have full control over what you say and how long you want the content to be. You’re not confined by your homepage or product page template.
It’s been shown that AI search platforms favor new and refreshed content. Blogs are easy to update without having to design new sections for landing pages.
People actually still read them! If you sell a high-cost product, like YardRink, people want to be 100% certain they are making the right investment. My clients’ best-performing long-form blogs typically average 1-2 minutes of engagement time (which is an eternity nowadays).
It positions you as a thought leader in your industry and builds your authority. If you cover the key topics of your space consistently and thoroughly, your audience will have no choice but to notice and trust you.
Blogs are also great for repurposing into long-form video content, which you can chop up and use on social media.
Want to See if Blogging Can Increase Your Revenue This Year?
I’ve written hundreds of organically successful, conversion-driving blogs for several clients over the years, and the one thing they all shared in common, no matter the industry, is:
The more effort you put into your content to make it informative and helpful for your audience, the better it will perform.
At Fowler Content Solutions, our tagline is “Be the brand your audience can’t ignore.”
If you’re a company that’s tired of being ignored, there’s a chance SEO-driven blogs could be your entry into digital relevance.
Reach out via the form below, and I’ll objectively assess whether a blogging strategy is worth it for you based on keyword, topical and competitive research.