Published by Sue Johns-Chapman
Published Date 23.04.2026 
performance.io is a specialist SEO and AI search agency, founded by Matt Lowe in 2017, focused on helping brands succeed in highly regulated industries such as pharma and healthcare, where precision and compliance are critical.
We combine deep SEO expertise with Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), content marketing, and data-driven analytics to increase visibility across traditional search engines like Google, large language models such as ChatGPT, and other AI-powered platforms. Today, we partner with 15 of the world’s top 20 pharma and biotech companies, delivering measurable growth while maintaining strict regulatory standards.
In partnership with ViiV Healthcare, a global specialist company dedicated to HIV medicines and research, we set out to improve access to reliable HIV information through search. Together, we expanded the reach of trusted content – helping more people find the information they need while ensuring the highest standards of accuracy and compliance.
The Challenge: How to make essential information discoverable
Health information isn’t always easily accessible to everyone, and people often rely on search engines to find answers. This can be an issue because not all the information within search engines is accurate or tailored to a person’s needs. Additionally, reliable content that isn’t optimised for search can be buried deep in the search results.
The challenge was to improve their visibility and provide key content so this information could reach more people, without compromising accuracy or compliance..
A Data-Led approach to serve people impacted by HIV
We analysed search data across topics such as PrEP, treatment, living with HIV, and HIV in women to understand what people were actually searching for.
The data showed us where the real gaps were. For instance, we found a huge amount of confusion around PrEP; many people actually thought it was for people already living with HIV, when it is for prevention. This insight gave us a clear roadmap for the content we needed to build to fix that misconception and the needs of our audience
We focused our efforts on English-speaking markets outside the US – avoiding the heavily restricted US folder, and audited the global pages to cut out old or thin content that was dragging down the site’s performance.
Building a Clearer Path to Content
We improved how the site was structured so it was easier to navigate. Underperforming pages were removed or consolidated, allowing us to focus on strengthening high-quality content.
We then created content around key topics like HIV life expectancy, how to take PrEP, and HIV and menstruation. All content was written by medical copywriters to keep it accurate and accessible.
Client testimonial
“performance.io has been an exceptional and valued partner to ViiV over the past three years. Their productivity, expertise, and collaborative approach have been instrumental in helping us develop over 20 new web pages and optimize many more. These efforts have solidified ViiV’s position as a trusted provider of crucial HIV-related information online, especially for individuals navigating vulnerable stages of their HIV journey.
“Thanks to their support, we’ve seen significant increases in website traffic and received heartfelt feedback from our community partners, who appreciate the vital HIV education and awareness we are delivering. Together, we’ve built a strong and impactful partnership, and I am excited to continue our collaboration in 2026 and beyond.“
- Senior Manager, Digital Communications
Doing It responsibly in a Healthcare context
In healthcare, you have to be careful about how you improve visibility.
We wanted to help people find accurate HIV information, but not replace services like the NHS (the UK’s public healthcare system).
Therefore, we were very specific with our keyword targeting. We focused on educational topics like ‘newly diagnosed with HIV’ but stayed away from terms like ‘get HIV test’ because that belongs to clinical providers, not a pharma site. The content was designed to inform and support, and we always stressed that users should speak to a healthcare professional if they need advice.
Results: More visibility where it matters
The campaign delivered strong results:
- Organic clicks increased to 543,715, significantly surpassing the KPI of 368,886
- Impressions reached 45,081,310
- Top 3 keyword rankings grew to 1,026, more than doubling the KPI of 450
More importantly, more people are now able to find accurate HIV information when they search for it.
Conclusion: Search with purpose
This campaign shows the power of aligning search strategy with real-world needs. With HIV impacting millions globally, improving access to accurate, stigma-free information is a clear social responsibility.
By applying SEO and GEO expertise, performance.io and ViiV Healthcare increased the visibility of trusted content at key moments of intent. This ensured more people could find reliable answers when they needed them most.
In doing so, the campaign demonstrates how search can play a meaningful role in improving health literacy and access to care.
