100% lead growth: the SEO blueprint for a specialist offshore technology manufacturer

Client introduction

Our client is a pioneering, IP-led UK manufacturer of specialised couplings for demanding sectors including subsea, marine, and nuclear. Their reputation is built on innovation, and their bespoke technology stands as a clear unique selling proposition against rivals, offering a solution that is both environmentally sound and significantly safer.

Problem

Our client possessed a world-class product catalogue but faced a common challenge: their digital presence wasn’t pulling its weight. The primary goal was to transform their website from a passive online brochure into a dynamic engine for new business leads. The stakes were high. Without a change in approach, the business would struggle to reach the new customers needed for growth.

Compounding this was an ambitious plan for international expansion. The business was targeting audiences in South America, yet its website was not equipped to serve content in Spanish or Portuguese. This inability to provide a relevant user experience in local languages would have severely limited their ability to get a foothold in these important new markets. The internal team, experts in engineering, lacked the specific digital marketing skills to architect a solution, and turned to Atkinson Smith Digital for guidance.

Solution

The solution was a holistic strategy, beginning with a comprehensive website audit that evaluated everything from user experience to the technical underpinnings of the site. This diagnosis produced a clear roadmap for improvement.

The primary objective was to address the content gap. While the site was rich in product information, it lacked the topic-led content that potential customers were actively searching for. A new content strategy was built from the ground up:

1. Insight Gathering: Seb conducted in-depth interviews with Secc’s own subject-matter experts and performed robust competitor analysis.
2. Keyword Blueprint: These findings informed meticulous keyword research, creating a precise understanding of what potential clients needed and the questions they were asking.
3. Collaborative Creation: A collaborative workflow was established. Seb produced detailed page briefs, sourced the technical expertise from Secc’s team, and then handled the expert writing and publishing.

For the international challenge, Seb identified the WPML plugin as the ideal framework for the client’s WordPress site. This was not just about translation, it was a technical implementation ensuring all the vital elements for international SEO were baked in from the start: hreflang tags to signal language to search engines, logical internal linking, and seamless site navigation.

To maintain authenticity and precision, Seb partnered with a dual-lingual member of Secc’s team, feeding in local search insights to ensure the translations were not just accurate but also optimised for discovery.

Results

The impact of this work was both swift and substantial. Over a six-month period, the results painted a clear picture of success: organic traffic grew by an impressive 34.2% year-on-year. Most importantly, this traffic was the right kind of traffic. The number of new business enquiries doubled, with a 100% increase compared to the previous year.

Beyond these headline figures, the project delivered other powerful benefits. The user experience for non-English speakers in new target markets was transformed from non-existent to excellent, giving a credible and effective platform for international sales.

There was also a significant bonus outcome. The project helped to fill a skills gap within the business, providing Secc with newfound confidence and a clear understanding of how to leverage its online presence as an integral part of its sales process.

Conclusion

This project demonstrates the transformative power of a targeted digital strategy. By aligning technical SEO, expert content, and a thoughtful approach to internationalisation, Atkinson Smith Digital turned the client’s website into a high-performance asset.