Leigh PurringtonSEO strategist · Leeds
Search strategy that wins budget. And the tools to deliver it.
Four years of SEO, in-house and agency side: commercial strategy, technical delivery and AI search visibility for enterprise brands.
Leeds · hybrid or remote · https://www.linkedin.com/in/leigh-purrington-77a746201/
- 4 yrsSEO, in-house ecommerce and agency
- 10+enterprise clients, from FMCG and finance to legal, healthcare and property
- 4,000+URLs in one specialised AI-driven audit: cannibalisation analysis, keyword mapping and a decision framework, then wireframes to guide the content roadmap
- MCP WorkflowsClaude connected to Search Console, Screaming Frog and Playwright
Sectors I’ve worked in
- Food & drink
- Financial services
- Insurance
- Legal
- Healthcare
- Events
- Property
- Home improvement
- Fashion & beauty
- Ecommerce
Three things a team gets on day one
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A
Commercial strategy, argued in revenue
I size the opportunity, build the business case and pitch it, so the conversation is about revenue, not rankings.
ProofSized a ~1.7M monthly-search opportunity in a recipe strategy, built the business case and roadmap, and secured the client’s approval for the work.
-
B
AI search visibility, not just rankings
GEO and AI Overview optimisation alongside classic SEO, including the technical side of whether AI crawlers can read a site at all.
ProofSpotted a content opportunity in a dietary niche and earned page-one rankings for keywords carrying 241K annual searches, plus AI Overview citations.
-
C
I build the tools the team uses
Search Console, Screaming Frog and Playwright connected to Claude through MCP, turned into workflows other people adopt.
ProofBuilt an AI Overview analyser and an SEO page briefing system, then ran internal sessions teaching the wider team AI-led workflows.
From sole SEO to enterprise accounts
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→ Now
SEO Executive
Lead SEO and GEO strategy for enterprise accounts across food and drink, financial services, legal, healthcare, fashion and events.
- Took ownership of a major FMCG food account, leading strategy, technical delivery and the client relationship.
- Led a 4,000+ URL recipe and collections audit: AI-driven cannibalisation analysis, keyword mapping and a decision framework, then SEO wireframes to guide the content roadmap.
- Led technical audits of large JavaScript-rendered, multi-locale sites (hreflang, locale variants), and won client buy-in for the fixes by explaining rendering issues in terms of AI crawler access and citations.
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→
Digital Marketing Executive (SEO Lead)
Sole owner of SEO: on-page, technical, content, reporting, link building and migrations. Promoted from Digital Marketing Assistant in 2023.
- Led the full migration of 2,000 SKUs, from audit and redirect mapping to post-launch monitoring, with minimal traffic loss.
- Lifted target keywords from position 50 to 16, driving visibility for 800+ products.
- Raised technical site health from 70% to 83% by fixing crawl, indexing, speed and schema issues.
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→
Social Media Advisor → Executive Escalations Advisor
- Promoted within 12 months for communication and problem-solving during brand-sensitive incidents.
- Handled CEO-level email and high-profile complaints, working with senior stakeholders on reputation.
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→
Business Owner
- Built and ran the brand from scratch: web design, UX, paid social and SEO-led content.
- Grew organic visibility and conversions from launch through keyword research and on-page work.
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→
BSc Business Technology, 2:1
After a Marketing Management foundation degree (2:1). Digital business, web and mobile technology, business intelligence, digital marketing.
One question, seven kinds of search.
AI search breaks a question into narrower searches, reads what comes back and cites a few sources. I plan sites around those branches: one strong page per cluster, commercial branches first. Pick a sample and open a branch.
“high protein breakfast ideas” splits into seven kinds of search:
- Commercial investigation
- best high protein yoghurt uk
- high protein breakfast to buy on the go
- protein pancake mix uk
- Informational
- how much protein should I eat at breakfast
- is greek yoghurt high in protein
- what counts as a high protein breakfast
- Comparison
- greek yoghurt vs skyr protein
- eggs vs yoghurt for a protein breakfast
- overnight oats vs porridge protein
- Brand-specific
- huel breakfast review
- myprotein protein oats
- bbc good food high protein breakfast
- Problem-led
- high protein breakfast without eggs
- gluten free high protein breakfast
- breakfast that keeps you full until lunch
- Long-tail
- 30g protein vegetarian breakfast
- high protein breakfast meal prep for the week
- 5 minute high protein breakfast
- Conversational AI
- I'm aiming for 120g of protein a day, what should I have for breakfast?
- give me a high protein breakfast without protein powder
- is a yoghurt bowl enough protein after a morning run?
How I’d act on itRecipe searches cluster by need (no eggs, no powder, 30g, five minutes), not by dish. One hub per need, with protein per serving on every recipe, answers the long tail and the AI questions together.
What I work with
Technical SEO
Strategy and content
AI search and tooling
Data and reporting
Platforms
Based in Leeds. Working across the UK.
- BasedLeeds. Where I’m based.
- HybridHybrid, with an office in reach of Leeds.
- RemoteRemote, from anywhere in the UK.
Always happy to talk search.
LinkedIn is the quickest way to reach me.