How we boosted John Smedley’s SEO revenue by 75% in Q4
Heritage knitwear brand John Smedley needed SEO support in order to take up more space in a crowded market. We worked together as an extension of their internal market team, to prompt a significant boost in SEO revenue during peak sales season.
Client Case Study — John Smedley
Established in 1784, John Smedley is the oldest manufacturing factory in the world, crafting high quality knitwear designed to last, made in England and distributed all over the world. Their story began during the early days of the Industrial Revolution at their Lea Mills factory, where you can still find them today, 230 years later. John Smedley is constantly evolving and innovating, with one foot in the past, another in the future.
The Challenges
We were tasked with increasing online visibility and sales during peak retail season for a highly competitive luxury menswear brand.
Limited development resources to make major site adjustments or step-change technical improvements threatened overall effectiveness of SEO efforts, especially against competitors with more advanced capabilities.
Internal merchandising teams had a limited understanding of SEO fundamentals, which made it tougher for John Smedley to improve online visibility and rank higher in search engine results.
We were tasked with increasing visibility and sales, with lean development resources and a limited understanding of SEO fundamentals.
The A&K Approach
Training Internal Teams for SEO-Driven Merchandising
We trained and upskilled internal teams, giving them the tools to make more “search friendly” decisions when merchandising core product ranges. This enabled them to better target generic search traffic as well as boosting qualified brand searches for individual SKUs.
Strategic Keyword Targeting for Audience Conversion
We conducted comprehensive UK market research to overhaul core category and collection pages, specifically targeting purchase-ready, premium customers. We did this by carefully balancing brand-specific terminology with keywords that highlight high-end materials and British craftsmanship, rather than simply falling back on generic modifiers like “luxury” and “designer”. This ensured traffic growth was audience appropriate and conversion ready.
Optimising Onsite Elements for Enhanced Visibility
To increase generic search visibility while maintaining the brand’s aesthetic, we implemented targeted SEO changes using fundamental onsite optimisation techniques. Minor UI tweaks were made to the category and collection pages, preserving the brand’s look and feel while enhancing SEO potential. This approach allowed the brand to reach a broader audience
without sacrificing its luxury identity.
The Results (comparing Oct - Dec 2023 YoY using organic+direct segments in AA)
+11% sessions
+25% average order value
+13% purchases
+83% channel conversion rate
+77% channel revenue
Q4 Highlights (maybe we break up with imagery)
Total last click organic revenue for Q4 increased 75% YoY
YoY data in Search Console for October - December 2023 shows more than 46% click uplift from organic search, thanks to core optimisation visibility impacts during peak retail season.
Landing page improvements:
Men’s jumpers +113% clicks YoY
Men’s roll neck jumpers +84% clicks YoY
Men’s heavy knits +128% clicks YoY
Overall website visibility has improved, with average rank in search console increasing 14% YoY for generic non-brand searches in Q4.
