Gelmar

Search Engine Optimization

Gelmar is a trusted name in South Africa’s home renovation and DIY industry, with over 80 years of experience in providing high-quality handles, fittings, and home accessories. Catering to kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms, and offices, Gelmar offers a diverse range of locally and internationally sourced products to help you create the perfect finish for your living space. With 46 stores nationwide and an easy-to-use online platform, customers can enjoy the convenience of shopping in-store or online, with options like Click-and-Collect and direct delivery.

60.4%

increase in Organic Traffic

145%

increase in non-branded keywords on the first page

7%

increase in Domain Authority

Gelmar

Search Engine Optimization

Gelmar is a trusted name in South Africa’s home renovation and DIY industry, with over 80 years of experience in providing high-quality handles, fittings, and home accessories. Catering to kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms, and offices, Gelmar offers a diverse range of locally and internationally sourced products to help you create the perfect finish for your living space. With 46 stores nationwide and an easy-to-use online platform, customers can enjoy the convenience of shopping in-store or online, with options like Click-and-Collect and direct delivery.

60.4%

increase in Organic Traffic

145%

increase in non-branded keywords on the first page

7%

increase in Domain Authority

Brief & Objectives

Gelmar approached Ruby Digital for SEO Services to assist in the improvement of their online store sales.

Ruby Digital developed a comprehensive SEO strategy focused on specific goals and key success metrics. These included enhancing website engagement metrics from organic traffic, such as engagement rates, average engagement time per session, and percentage of new sessions, while driving more traffic to the website. The strategy also aimed to improve click-through rates and the conversion rate for high-intent actions, as well as increase the number of purchases around branded and non-branded terms.

Challenges

Since Gelmar approached Ruby Digital, they were met by a few major challenges:

Majority of Traffic Occurred from Branded Terms

Gelmar’s reliance on branded terms for the majority of its traffic meant that the website was primarily attracting users who were already familiar with the brand. While this demonstrated a level of customer loyalty and brand recognition, it also limited their ability to capture new customers. By not optimising for non-branded, generic keywords, Gelmar’s organic visibility was restricted. This narrow focus meant they struggled to expand their reach beyond their existing customer base, missing out on potential traffic from broader, more competitive search terms. As a result, Gelmar’s overall online growth was hindered, and they missed opportunities to scale their business and attract new customers.

Competition with Major National Online and Offline Hardware and Home Improvement Stores Around South Africa

Gelmar faced intense competition from major national hardware and home improvement stores both online and offline. Competing with these large, well-established players meant that Gelmar struggled to gain visibility in search engine results, especially in competitive market segments.

A Large Focus on Traditional Marketing Strategy with Very Little SEO Optimisations

Before working with Ruby Digital, Gelmar heavily relied on traditional marketing strategies such as print, TV, and radio ads. Gelmar had very little SEO optimisation in place, which meant they were missing out on valuable organic traffic from search engines. Without focusing on SEO, Gelmar’s website was not positioned to rank for relevant search terms, resulting in fewer clicks, less website engagement, and reduced opportunities for online conversions.

Over 35 Search Algorithm Updates and Search Fluctuations Recorded in 2024

In 2024, Gelmar experienced the impact of over 35 search algorithm updates and fluctuations. These frequent changes in search engine algorithms affected their search rankings and visibility, leading to fluctuations in organic traffic.

Our Solution

Ruby Digital started with a formulated and proven SEO strategy. We then began building a strong consistent SEO campaign, ensuring that the technical SEO and user experience were best optimised.
A detailed competitor analysis was compiled to ensure that our SEO strategy was expected to meet the business goal of the client but also to ensure that Gelmar could have a competitive edge over online home improvement stores in South Africa.
SEO keyword research was fundamental in our approach, as many of Gelmar’s website traffic was brand related with limited number of on-branded keywords in higher Search results, meaning that it was important for Ruby to understand all types of long tail, short tail and exact matched keywords.
We have continued to implement strong content optimisations first from a website domain level, then moving to a product category level.
Ruby identified important keywords and referring domains that competitors are ranking for or have pointed towards their websites. With this information, we created a strategy to improve Gelmar’s domain authority by submitting specifically targeted articles on high-authority domains.

Results

Gelmar has achieved strong results, though these improvements took time to materialise. Most progress became evident after 7 to 8 months, with peak performance reached around months 9 and 10.

Between October-December 2023 and October-December 2024, Gelmar experienced significant growth in several key areas. Overall impressions increased by 92.7%, while impressions for non-branded keywords rose by 71.1%. There was also a 70% increase in clicks for non-branded keywords and a 1.57% improvement in their average position. However, overall clicks saw a slight decline of 0.99%, and the overall average position dropped by 15.7%. Despite this, estimated organic traffic grew by 54.6%, and the number of keywords Gelmar is visible for nearly doubled, with a 99.9% increase.