What SEO services does Mik Cowans offer?

Mik Cowans offers three types of engagement: full-time remote SEO roles, fractional SEO advisory for brands that need senior expertise without a full-time hire, and freelance project work with a clearly defined scope. Services include technical SEO audits, content strategy, keyword research, international SEO, Core Web Vitals optimisation, and AI/GEO strategy.

How many years of SEO experience does Mik Cowans have?

Mik Cowans has almost 20 years of SEO experience, working across global B2C and B2B brands in financial services, eCommerce, SaaS, education, and travel and hospitality.

Where is Mik Cowans based?

Mik Cowans is based in Scotland and works remotely with clients and employers worldwide.

Is Mik Cowans available for freelance or contract SEO work?

Yes. Mik Cowans is open to full-time remote roles, fractional SEO advisory engagements, and freelance project work. Get in touch via LinkedIn or email to discuss availability and scope.

What industries has Mik Cowans worked in?

Mik Cowans has led SEO strategy across financial services (NatWest, Standard Life, Aberdeen Investments), B2B SaaS (DataCamp, Wood Mackenzie), eCommerce (Student Beans, Morph Costumes, UGG), travel and hospitality (Marriott, Choice Hotels, Stena Line), and international education (Nord Anglia Education).

Mik Cowans — SEO Consultant & Strategist

My dog disapproving if she spots bad work

About Mik

SEO specialist who's spent almost 20 years scaling organic search for global B2C and B2B brands. I treat websites as products: structured experimentation, technical depth, and AI tooling that ships. Based in Scotland, working globally.

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Coming soon

Self-build on a hill
Scottish countryside, still adding to it
Solar min/maxer
Treating the roof like an RPG build
Failed gardener
Plants keep dying, I keep trying
Home gym, qualified PT
The other thing I optimise
Corgi dad
She runs the house

Projects View all

European Hotel Booking Analysis

Market Research Digital Strategy Travel & Hospitality

A global hotel chain wanted to understand how people actually book rooms. The trends, the habits, the moments where the decision gets made. They needed digital adoption and travel habit insights to shape their room booking strategy.
Pension & ISA Search Analysis

Keyword Research SEO Strategy Financial Services

A large keyword research and insight project across the UK pension and ISA markets. I categorised every query by product, theme and funnel stage, then mapped the customer journey end to end.

Roles

Jan 2026 – Apr 2026

DataCamp SEO Lead

Sole SEO and GEO lead across 150+ markets. Built a 1.4-billion-row CTR analysis in BigQuery to quantify AI Overviews impact, and shaped a five-pillar SEO and GEO strategy off the back of it. Guided the editorial strategy that lifted organic traffic by 20%, and drove 60+ page one rankings on high-intent course pages from a standing start, including top spots for AI and Python.
Jul 2022 – Dec 2025

Student Beans Senior SEO Product Manager

Owned the Student Beans website like a product, running two cross-functional squads. Doubled organic traffic in two years, adding 1M+ monthly clicks. Designed an AI translation tool that lifted international rankings by 10 positions and saved £100K a year on localisation.
Feb 2021 – Jul 2022

NatWest Group SEO Experience Manager

Owned the loans and mortgages SEO strategy across NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland. Lifted the NatWest Mortgage Calculator from page two to position five, driving 80% more organic traffic to high-value YMYL pages.
Aug 2018 – Feb 2021

Standard Life SEO, Content & Analytics Lead

Led a five-site migration and SEO transformation, managing a digital agency and three direct reports. Built a technical and content scoring model that shaped the new CMS and information architecture.
Aug 2017 – Aug 2018

Wood Mackenzie Web Strategy & Product Owner

Owned the replatforming and migration of a £2.5M website and client portal, with no traffic loss pre or post launch. Set the three-year marketing and product growth strategy with design and SEO agencies.
Mar 2015 – Aug 2017

DigitasLBi SEO Strategist

International search strategy for global brands across European markets. Owned global SEO and PPC for Nord Anglia Education across 17 countries: 52% traffic growth, 177% more leads, $2 share-price growth in six months. Three EU/UK Search Awards nominations across Marriott, Bulk Powders and Stena Line.
Pre 2015

Daykin & Storey · Shout Digital · Silverbean Earlier Agency Roles

Daykin & Storey, Shout Digital and Silverbean, where I cut my teeth on technical SEO, content and PPC.

Get in touch

Mik Cowans

Open to work, in three shapes: full-time remote roles, fractional SEO advisory, and freelance project work with a clear scope. If one of those fits what you're after, get in touch.

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Mik Cowans, SEO consultant & strategist

Projects View all

Roles

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Mik Cowans

Brands I've helped grow