Brief / 005 The journal · case studies in public
Publishing · 2026 edition · v4.2
◎ The journal

Case studies in public.
No ghost-written fluff.

We're new, and we're honest about it. Instead of filling this page with stock hero images and AI-generated "thought leadership", we're publishing one real case study at a time — with numbers, caveats, and the things that didn't work. Subscribe and we'll send each one the day it ships.

NEW
1
case study in the lab
100%
real numbers, named clients
A+
0
ghost-written posts, ever
12+
drafts in the pipeline
Scroll for the latest study
◎ What's on the docket

What we're writing next.

A rolling list of case studies and playbooks we're already working on. Dates move — because we won't ship a post just to keep a calendar.

Playbook · Technical SEOQ2 '26

The technical SEO audit playbook — with the template we use.

Exactly the 47-check sheet our strategists run every intake. Which checks matter, which are noise, and what to do in week one.

Essay · GEOQ2 '26

Why most "GEO" is just local SEO with better PR.

The honest read on the newest acronym, what's actually new about AI-search visibility, and where the real lift still comes from.

Playbook · CROQ3 '26

CRO under 10k sessions/month — without split tests.

What to do when you don't have the traffic to A/B. Heuristic audits, session replay patterns, and the two metrics that tell you you're wrong.

Annotated · PlansQ3 '26

The 90-day plan we hand every new client, annotated.

A real plan, redacted where it needs to be, with running commentary on why each line is there and which lines get cut most often.

Breakdown · AuditQ3 '26

How we grade an audit: 47 checks, 12 that matter.

The weights we apply, what an A-grade looks like, and the dozen failures we see on nearly every site — even the well-funded ones.

Essay · Link buildingQ4 '26

Link building in 2026: earned beats built. Here's the math.

Why digital PR is outperforming link-farm outreach on price-per-qualified-click — and the three outreach angles that still work.

◎ While we write

Don't wait for the post.
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The 90-day playbook is being written. Your growth leaks are still leaking. Get the same 60-second scan our featured client started with — and a senior strategist's eye on it within 48 hours.

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