International SEO Case Study

Henkel Adhesives

Organic traffic increased by 290% through long-term SEO strategy

International SEO Case Study

How a consistent and long-term SEO strategy can significantly increase traffic to international brand websites.

Henkel Adhesive Technologies is a global leader in customized solutions for adhesives, sealants and functional coatings. In addition to the B2C brands Pritt, Loctite, Ceresit and Pattex, the portfolio of industrial products consists of the five Technology Cluster Brands – Loctite, Bonderite, Technomelt, Teroson and Aquence. Henkel Adhesive Technologies’ challenge was now to increase brand awareness and traffic on selected international brand websites. Together with Claneo, the company finally decided on international search engine optimization.

Henkel Adhesive Technologies’ challenge was now to increase brand awareness and traffic on selected international brand websites. Together with Claneo, the company finally decided on international search engine optimization.

In addition to continuous SEO improvement processes on the brand’s websites, the Claneo team relied on both informational and transactional content to address user search queries and rank accordingly for relevant keywords. In addition, targeted outreach measures were used to further increase awareness of brand websites.

In March 2021, Henkel Adhesives Technologies already recorded an increase in organic traffic of 264%. As of now, 16 more countries are in the starting blocks.

Client

Henkel Adhesive Technologies

Industry

Consumer Goods

Services

Digital Strategy Consulting
SEO
Offpage SEO
Marketing Efficiency
Upskilling

The challenge

In 2018, Henkel Adhesive Technologies approached Claneo with the challenge of increasing awareness of their brands as well as traffic to their international brand websites in an initial six countries (Germany, Brazil, Canada, France, the UK and the US). Since the brands do not have their own online store, it was even more important for Henkel to outpace online retailers and continue to be successful despite booming trade.

Together with Claneo, the company finally opted for international search engine optimization in combination with the creation of new, high-quality content to increase the brand’s organic traffic in the individual countries and to achieve a high presence in the search results of the potential target group – from hobbyists (B2C) to craftspeople (B2B).

The solution

Digital strategy consulting
SEO: Strategic search engine optimization, technical audit, international SEO
International content: creation and optimization
Outreach: Seeding, link marketing, offpage measures
Marketing Efficiency: Reporting
Upskilling: SEO training of in-house employees

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The implementation

At the beginning of the project, a technical audit was carried out to check whether all technical potential had been exploited to date and to see where there was still room for improvement. After all, a flawless technical setup is not only the basis for a first-class website, but also for functioning content.

In order to achieve the objective of landing in one of the top 3 positions in the Google ranking for selected search queries, the project team not only established a continuous SEO improvement process on selected brand websites, but also used informational content and transactional content to specifically answer user questions.

Content strategies were developed for all eight brand pages in order to identify all potential topics that users are looking for. In the end, more than 730 new texts were created, including category content, product detail content and guide content.

Weekly reporting also plays an important role and ensures the input and output of SEO activities are measurable. In this way, not only is success quantifiable, but it is also makes it possible to preemptively identify if there is still a need for optimization.

Targeted outreach measures also increased awareness of the brand websites.

In addition, we held regular upskilling sessions with the in-house employees involved at Henkel in order to involve them further in the project, and also to build up extensive SEO knowledge within the company itself.

The results

From the beginning of 2018 to the end of 2021, Henkel saw a 278% increase in total traffic on the brand websites of the six previously selected countries (Germany, Brazil, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States). In addition, organic traffic increased by 290% and the average ranking position improved by 39%. The team achieved a 21% coverage of all available Featured Snippets for the defined keyword set compared to 0% in 2018.

+278%

total traffic

+290%

organic traffic

+130%

top 3 rankings for the defined keyword set

+329%

top 10 rankings for the defined keyword set

Increased visibility using the example of loctiteproducts.com

Using the example of loctiteproducts.com, the visibility index shows just how strongly visibility has risen again since the start of Henkel’s collaboration with Claneo and another content agency after a previous decline.

We have defined the following key performance indicators for measuring success:

Total traffic and organic traffic
Average ranking position
Ranking distribution: number of top 3, top 10, top 50 and top 100 rankings.
Featured snippet coverage: how many featured snippets do we have?

Sounds good?
Then let’s talk about your project.

This is what Henkels
says about working with us

Peter Hartmann

Global Digital Marketing Manager, Henkel

“Claneo prevailed in their pitch against well-known search agencies and, even though they were only fresh on the market, they were simply better. Since we started working with them, they have become valued partners who have helped us to significantly increase traffic on our international brand websites. We appreciate their combination of competence, speed, and flexibility in our daily cooperation. Clear recommendation for all non-market companions.”

About Henkel

Founded in 1876, Henkel is a German manufacturer in the consumer goods industry. With strong brands, innovations and technologies, the company holds leading market positions within its three business sectors. Henkel Adhesive Technologies, for example, is the global market leader in adhesives, and with its Laundry & Home Care and Beauty Care businesses, the company is also a trendsetter in many markets and categories.

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