Unifying campaign search strategy
In this case study, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) demonstrate how the ‘Plan’ and ‘Implement’ steps of our PRIME framework can be used when establishing an integrated ‘connected search’ model across paid, organic and AI search.
Read our guidance on strengthening public trust in the age of AI-powered search to learn more.
The challenge
HMRC previously planned and managed each campaign’s search activity separately, with its own keyword strategy and bidding approach. This created duplication and inefficiency, with campaigns effectively competing against one another for the same keywords. Search was treated as a tactical tool within campaigns, rather than a strategic asset across HMRC.
Meanwhile, customer search behaviour was changing rapidly across search engines, social platforms and AI-powered tools. HMRC needed a more joined-up approach, reflecting how customers actually search.
What they did
HMRC developed a ‘connected search’ approach, bringing together previously separate search activities and connecting them with organic search optimisation work across the organisation. This created an integrated ‘one search’ model. It united paid media, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), content and digital teams around a shared objective: ensuring customers can find trusted HMRC information wherever they search.
HMRC took the following approach:
- Consolidated paid search activity across campaigns into one strategic framework. This replaced separate campaign-level planning and buying.
- Combined previously fragmented campaign budgets into a holistic search investment. This created an ‘always-on’ approach that can be flexed and intensified around important campaign moments while maintaining year-round visibility.
- Introduced shared search keyword planning and governance, reducing duplication and preventing campaigns from competing for the same search terms.
- Aligned paid search, SEO and emerging opportunities into one strategy, expanding into platforms such as YouTube and Reddit.
- Established HMRC’s AI readiness programme. This helped teams understand how AI-powered search is changing customer behaviour and ensuring HMRC content remains authoritative.
- Created a foundation for future work in AI-powered search, Generative Search Optimisation (GEO) and social search.
The outcome
The connected search model delivered significant efficiency gains, with up to 75% improvements in cost per click (CPC) across campaigns. HMRC has established an ‘always-on’ search capability informed by customer demand rather than campaign timelines, with stronger alignment between paid and organic activity. The Tax Confident website has received 500,000 impressions in Google AI Overviews as a result of being built to modern SEO and GEO principles.
HMRC is now reviewing all other campaign sites and embedding the same approach.
Next steps
The programme will continue to evolve from a paid search initiative into a broader strategy covering paid, organic, social and AI-powered discovery. HMRC’s priorities include embedding search insights into strategic planning, further developing the one search model, and deepening integration between paid and organic search. HMRC also plans to expand AI-powered bidding and measurement, and to test emerging opportunities such as AI Max, Demand Gen and social search platforms.