We spent six months testing custom visual assets across 47 articles on a client’s high-traffic accounting education website to find out which design investments actually improved SEO performance.
The experiment included featured images, infographics, and video across both new and existing content. Some visual assets consistently increased organic traffic. Others turned out to be a poor use of time and budget despite requiring far more production effort.
The goal wasn’t to prove that any image helps. Basic visuals are already table stakes. Instead, the focus was on the ROI of bespoke design and which visual assets consistently improved organic traffic.
The clearest winner was infographics. Across the articles tested, infographic additions produced an average 110% increase in organic traffic.
The broader takeaway was just as important: Custom visuals worked best on pages that already had search demand. Design amplified strong content, but it didn’t revive declining pages or create interest where none existed.
The 47-page custom design experiment’s structure
The experiment tested featured images, infographics, and video across two content groups:
- Custom featured images on existing pages: The first group included existing content that needed a refresh. Each page received only a custom featured image.
- New content with three types of design assets: The second group included brand-new articles published on the website, with featured images, infographics, and videos added at different stages.
The second group also made it possible to test whether visual elements performed differently depending on when they were added. Some articles launched with only a featured image. Infographics were added later, followed by video on a smaller subset of articles.
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How the project’s success was measured
Success was measured using monthly page visits, specifically the change in organic traffic before and after each design element was added.
Two time periods were compared:
- The month before implementation.
- The average of the implementation month and the following month to create a more transparent comparison. (For example, April versus the average of May and June).
This approach created a cleaner picture because some designs went live toward the end of the month.
Phase 1: Testing custom featured images on 39 existing pages (+13% organic traffic)Â
The experiment started with content that already had organic traffic, making it easier to compare performance before and after adding custom designs. Custom featured images were added to 39 existing…
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