Content strategy: 10 examples and every step of success

The best content strategy examples differ on the surface: a garden centre chain, a pharmacy network, a media outlet and a startup have neither the same readers nor the same resources. Yet they share a method: start from real demand, prioritise by value, produce in a supervised way and measure. Here are 10 real cases from Incremys clients, each with its context, its strategy and its takeaway. The fundamentals of the method are covered in our guide to editorial strategy.

The 10 examples at a glance

The table sums up each case, from the starting challenge to what changed according to the client.

The 10 content strategy examples, case by case

Each example follows the same grid: context, strategy, takeaway, then the words of a manager at the company.

Example 1: TERACT (Gamm vert and Jardiland), a retail strategy prioritised by value

TERACT brings together the Gamm vert and Jardiland garden centres. With a small SEO team and a vast product catalogue, the group needed to structure its production to drive qualified footfall to stores. Four levers shaped the approach:

• audience segmentation into three profiles (expert enthusiasts, beginner gardeners, professionals) to tailor the technical level and tone;
• mapping of high-potential topics (outdoor plants, vegetable gardens, bulbs, indoor plants), prioritised by business value and likelihood of ranking;
• large-scale production, with an SEO score during writing and a centralised review and validation workflow;
• a shared editorial calendar and reporting connected to Google Analytics and Google Search Console.

Takeaway: a single topic can generate several pieces of content depending on the reader's level, with expected value deciding the order.

“Incremys provides us with an end-to-end methodology to make the work easier: ensuring the technical health of our sites, defining the right SEO strategy by prioritising by value…” Léa Savonitti, SEO Project Manager, Invivo Retail (TERACT).

Example 2: Giphar, a consumer health strategy validated by experts

Giphar federates a network of pharmacies and wanted to assert its health expertise with the general public, against the major general-interest media. The team chose its topics by trial and error, in a sector that requires expert validation. Three levers changed the game:

• validation of every piece of content by a committee of pharmacists, for accuracy and credibility (Google's E-E-A-T criteria);
• prioritisation of topics by traffic potential, likelihood of ranking and value, with optimisation of underperforming existing pages;
• human experts on sensitive topics, AI-assisted and reviewed writing on informational content.

Takeaway: in a regulated sector, validation by subject-matter experts sets content apart and went hand in hand with a strong rise in organic sessions.

“Overtaking health giants online is possible! Thanks to Incremys' predictive features, we managed to reach top positions on topics that are crucial for us…” Mélanie Dieu, Content Manager, Giphar.

Example 3: Spartoo, a large-scale e-commerce strategy

Spartoo sells shoes and accessories online, across a very large catalogue. It needed useful content for every category and product page, consistent and at a controlled cost. Three choices organised production:

• a hybrid split: the SEO team handles strategic pages, while AI trained on the brand guidelines takes care of the rest of the catalogue, with review;
• editorial templates by page type (category, sub-category, product page) to ensure consistency and completeness;
• variations by target (men or women, sport or city, premium or entry-level) to match each intent.

Takeaway: when volume exceeds what a team can write, supervising the AI (brief, templates, review) preserves quality. Corentin Fremy puts the saving at “€150K saved on writing over 8 months”.

“Without Incremys' AI, we'd have needed a team of 10 full-time writers to achieve the same result within the same timeframe.” Corentin Fremy, Acquisition Manager, Spartoo.

Example 4: Naturalforme, a large catalogue under regulatory constraints

Naturalforme, an e-commerce specialist in food supplements and natural products, had to cover a very extensive catalogue with a small team, while complying with the rules governing health claims. Three levers made it possible:

• identifying opportunities through competitor analysis, with keywords chosen by likelihood of gain;
• AI-assisted writing, fed with the brand's own content, while the team checks compliance;
• rewriting outdated content, enriched with missing trending keywords.

Takeaway: with a large catalogue, AI frees the team for what nobody else can do: regulatory validation and trade-offs.

“The personalised AI draws on our content to maintain brand consistency. It's a crucial help for us: the AI produces and the team can focus on checks against current legislation.” Fanny Magréault, Product Manager, Naturalforme.

Example 5: First Stop, a garage network that gives up intuition

First Stop, a network of car garages, was getting moderate results from SEA and writing its articles on topics far removed from real demand. It needed to put the effort in the right place, without a dedicated SEO expert. Three levers redirected the strategy:

• prioritising topics by their likelihood of reaching Google's first page;
• writing principles and briefs set with the writers of the Content Factory, Incremys' network of supervised writers;
• dropping topics with no potential, to concentrate the budget on the best-placed content.

Takeaway: a team without in-house SEO expertise builds a solid strategy as soon as it starts from what users search for rather than from its own intuitions.

“At First Stop, we no longer waste time on articles that bring no traffic. We focus on the content with the best chance of reaching Google's first page.” Sandrine Ferrand, Digital Marketing and Customer Experience Manager, First Stop.

Example 6: Maison Berger Paris, a premium brand that protects its image

Maison Berger Paris, a French premium home fragrance brand, wanted to grow its online acquisition without undermining its positioning. Three choices guided the strategy:

• an editorial line true to the brand's codes: elegant tone, craftsmanship, heritage;
• brand pages and flagship collections written by the marketing team, with AI trained on the brand's style speeding up the rest; Nancy Hardy, Digital Manager, describes writing time “divided by 5”;
• keywords chosen for their fit with the positioning, without “discount” or “cheap” queries.

Takeaway: the editorial strategy extends the brand positioning, and the quality of the text is part of the premium experience.

“Thanks to Incremys, SEO has become our 2nd channel for acquisition and number of orders. In 2024, the French site generated double-digit growth: SEO accounts for about 20% of our turnover.” David Sérandour, Digital Director, Maison Berger Paris.

Example 7: MyFormality, a legaltech startup against established players

MyFormality, a legaltech startup for online legal formalities, had to carve out a place against established competitors, without fundraising and with limited investment. Three levers drove the strategy:

• searching for keywords the team had not spotted but which offered real chances of ranking;
• refusing to work on out-of-reach keywords, in favour of those with a high likelihood of success;
• a step-by-step method followed daily, from decision to rank tracking.

Takeaway: a startup competes with better-funded rivals by targeting the least contested opportunities.

“(…) Incremys, through data, enables us to steer our strategy to break into the market with keywords we had not identified.” Virginie Boissimon-Smolders, Managing Director, MyFormality.

Example 8: La Martiniquaise Bardinet, prioritising by expected gain

La Martiniquaise Bardinet, a spirits group, was looking for a clear view of the SEO actions to take and a better fit between organic search and paid campaigns. Three levers structured the approach:

• prioritising the strategy by the expected gain of each keyword and each page;
• centralised, AI-assisted production reviewed by the team; Hélène Regnaud explains: “Over 100 pieces of content were written or rewritten in 7 months. Everything is centralised: we halved our writing time using Incremys' personalised AI”;
• arbitration between SEO and SEA: paid investments are prioritised in light of organic rankings.

Takeaway: prioritising by value also serves the advertising budget, which is directed towards queries where organic search is not yet enough.

“Prioritising by ROI is essential. The Incremys tool gives a clear view of the actions to take. The result: +50% of keywords ranked in Google's Top 3, in just 7 months.” Hélène Regnaud, Group Digital Manager, La Martiniquaise Bardinet.

Example 9: Le Bonbon, a media outlet that discovers its blind spots

Le Bonbon, an online media outlet, was missing highly searched topics the team was not even aware of. Three levers broadened its coverage:

• detecting high-search-volume topics missing from the editorial plan;
• producing on these topics as a priority, alongside the usual editorial line;
• rank tracking, which shows the teams the effect of their work.

Takeaway: even a prolific media outlet benefits from testing its intuition against search data, because its blind spots are sometimes the most sought-after topics.

“Incremys enabled us to produce content on high-volume keywords we weren't even aware of! We quickly climbed in Google, which allowed us to boost our website's organic traffic.” Antoine Viger, Digital Director, Le Bonbon.

Example 10: Allegro Musique, a small team that centralises everything

At Allegro Musique, which offers music lessons, defining the SEO strategy took a small team considerable time, spread across many tools. Three levers simplified the work:

• a single tool from A to Z: research and prioritisation of high-value keywords, a calendar built on these priorities, writing, correction and publication;
• AI-assisted writing, corrected by the team before publication;
• tracking the business value of the topics covered, to decide where to invest next.

Takeaway: for a small organisation, centralising the editorial workflow matters as much as the quality of each piece, because the time saved is reinvested elsewhere.

“Thanks to the personalised AI, we save around 30% of our time to move forward on other tasks! For a small team, time is precious: we have greater operational efficiency.” Hélène Rabéchault, Managing Director, Allegro Musique.

What these examples have in common

In every case, content serves a precise goal: in-store traffic for TERACT, online sales for Spartoo, market share for First Stop. Five principles recur from one sector to another:

These principles carry a commercial ambition: 72% of companies say content drives lead generation (SEO.com, 2025). More benchmarks are gathered in our content marketing statistics.

Citability extends prioritisation rather than replacing it: 99% of AI Overviews cite the organic top 10 (Squid Impact, 2025). A well-ranked page therefore has a better chance of appearing in generated answers, provided it is structured to be extracted.

Measuring results as in these examples

Clients describe their results with indicators chosen according to their goal. The most useful ones recur across several cases:

• rankings on targeted keywords, especially the share in the Top 3 (La Martiniquaise Bardinet);
• organic sessions and traffic to the pages worked on (Giphar, Le Bonbon), tracked in Google Search Console;
• the share of revenue attributed to SEO (Maison Berger Paris), measured with conversions in Google Analytics 4;
• writing time per piece of content (Maison Berger Paris, La Martiniquaise Bardinet, Allegro Musique);
• the brand's presence in AI answers, keyword by keyword: brand named, domain cited, domain as source or absent.

At the time of writing, Search Console counts AI Overviews and AI Mode in the Performance report without separating them, and Google Analytics 4 isolates sessions coming from chatgpt.com or perplexity.ai. Compare the same set of pages before and after your work: an increase remains a correlation until other factors are ruled out.

Adapting these examples to your context

The right model is not necessarily the one from your sector: team size and page volume matter just as much. Here are the most frequent matches:

Once you have chosen the example, adjust it along three variables rather than copying its actions:

• team size, which sets the realistic cadence and the share of production to supervise with AI;
• the sector, which determines the level of validation needed before publication;
• resources, which guide the trade-off between updating existing content and creating new content, to be compared by expected gain.

Editorial plan templates inspired by these cases

Three plan templates drawn from these strategies (e-commerce, regulated sector, startup or small team) are detailed in our editorial plan example, with a three-month calendar.

Depending on your situation

Your next step depends on what you are missing today:

• no formalised method yet: go through the five steps of the guide mentioned in the introduction before comparing yourself with these examples;
• slow or irregular production: organise editorial content production around a brief by persona and systematic review;
• good Google visibility but few AI citations: apply a GEO content strategy to make your pages citable;
• a long sales cycle and a buying committee: adapt these principles with a B2B content strategy;
• social networks to connect to the site: rely on a social networks content strategy.

To spot, keyword by keyword and page by page, the topics with the highest likelihood of gain, the Incremys opportunity analysis module ranks opportunities by value.

FAQ about content strategy examples

How long does it take to see results?

Allow a few months for the first signals, such as rising impressions and rankings, and longer for clear effects on traffic and revenue. The timeframe depends on competition, the site's authority and the share of updates: reworking a page close to the first page pays off faster than creating a new one.

Do you need a big budget to replicate these strategies?

No. MyFormality and First Stop built their strategy with limited resources, concentrating effort on keywords with a high likelihood of gain. Budget mainly sets the cadence and volume, not the method: prioritising, briefing, reviewing and measuring apply at every size.

How do I choose the example closest to my case?

Combine three criteria: the volume of pages to handle, the level of validation your sector requires and the size of your team. A large catalogue brings you closer to Spartoo or Naturalforme, a regulatory constraint to Giphar, a small team to Allegro Musique. Then keep the principles of the chosen case rather than its exact actions.

Can you succeed with a small team?

Yes, provided you centralise the editorial workflow and choose few topics, but the right ones. Naturalforme and Allegro Musique show it: AI takes on part of the writing, while the team keeps the trade-offs, review and validation. The time saved is reinvested in prioritisation and measurement.

Regulated sector: what precautions should you take?

Appoint an expert validator for each sensitive piece of content and build this step into the editorial plan, before publication. Giphar has its content reviewed by pharmacists, Naturalforme checks the compliance of its claims. The constraint becomes an asset: signed, verified content inspires more trust, among readers and search engines alike.

Is AI essential at scale?

It becomes hard to avoid once the volume of pages exceeds what a team can write, as at Spartoo or Naturalforme. It does not replace the strategy, though: it writes from a brief, trained on the brand, and every piece goes through human review. On a small scope, fully human production remains viable.

Should you start with SEO or social media?

For most businesses, the site remains the foundation: it captures existing demand and serves as a source for the answers of generative engines. Social networks build awareness and distribute the site's content in other formats. All ten examples start from the site.

Do these strategies also work for generative engine answers?

Yes, with one extra criterion. The principles stay the same: start from real questions, prioritise, produce in a supervised way and measure. To be cited by ChatGPT, Perplexity or AI Overviews, add to each brief a short answer at the top of the section and named sources, then track the brand's presence keyword by keyword.