Adobe is a household name in the creative software industry, known for popular applications like Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premiere Pro.

What’s more interesting is that this industry giant faced challenges in attracting organic search traffic, especially for non-branded keywords. Sounds similar?

The biggest problem Adobe was able to solve was rank for non-branded keywords and play the brand awareness game and then the conversion game.

In this case study, we’ll explore how Adobe overcame its SEO hurdles and doubled its organic traffic in just 12 months by implementing a comprehensive, marketing-led SEO strategy.

Key Takeaways

Adobe’s SEO success story offers valuable insights for businesses looking to improve their organic search performance:

1. Create dedicated pages for products and features: Develop individual, keyword-optimized pages for each product or feature to improve search visibility and user experience.
2. Address technical SEO issues: Regularly audit and fix technical issues such as broken links, missing metadata, and duplicate content to ensure search engines can efficiently crawl and index your site.
3. Invest in high-quality, SEO-optimized content: Consistently publish informative, engaging content that targets relevant keywords and incorporates expert insights to demonstrate authority and expertise.
4. Monitor and minimize traffic cannibalization: Ensure regional sites are optimized for local keywords to prevent them from cannibalizing traffic from the main site.
5. Leverage SEO tools and platforms: Utilize tools like Adobe Experience Manager, Google Analytics, and BrightEdge to identify opportunities, track performance, and gather competitive insights.

The Challenge: Low Organic Traffic for Non-Branded Keywords

Despite being a well-known brand, Adobe struggled attracting organic search traffic for non-branded keywords related to its products and features.

Some of the critical issues Adobe faced included:

1. Lack of dedicated pages for products and features: Adobe’s website had a single page showcasing all of its features (more than 30), resulting in poor user experience and difficulty for search engines to understand the page’s theme.
2. Ranking only for branded keywords: Adobe’s products would rank well for branded terms like “Adobe Photoshop” but not for relevant non-branded keywords such as “image editing software” or “video editing software.”
3. Technical SEO issues at scale: Adobe’s large, frequently changing website, managed by multiple regional teams, faced numerous technical SEO problems, such as broken links, missing redirects, and duplicate content.
4. Traffic cannibalization: Regional sites were cannibalizing traffic from the main Adobe site, leading to poor user experience and inaccurate reporting.

These challenges prevented Adobe from reaching its full potential in organic search and attracting new customers who might not be familiar with the brand.

The Strategy: A Multi-Core Approach to SEO

To address these challenges, Adobe’s Senior Global SEO Manager, Kirill Kronrod, devised a comprehensive SEO strategy that focused on both on-page optimization and technical improvements.

The key components of this strategy included:

1. Creating Individual Product and Feature Pages

One of the main issues hindering Adobe’s SEO performance was the lack of dedicated pages for its numerous products and features. To resolve this, they implemented the following:

• Pilot project: Created 15 individual pages for 15 features, each targeting a specific non-branded keyword identified through analytics, Google Webmaster Tools, and the BrightEdge SEO platform.
• Full rollout: After seeing an 8% increase in organic traffic and improved conversions from the pilot pages, Adobe created individual pages for all remaining product features.

This in-depth, keyword-optimized content for each feature, Adobe made it easier for search engines to understand and rank these pages for relevant queries.

2. Fixing Technical SEO Issues

Adobe recognized the importance of addressing technical SEO issues to ensure that search engines could efficiently crawl and index their site. Some of the key actions taken included:

• Identifying and resolving issues: Using tools like Adobe Experience Manager’s SEO health checks, they identified and fixed problems such as broken links, missing metadata, and duplicate content.
• Implementing structured data: Adobe added structured data markup to their pages, making it easier for search engines to understand and display their content in rich results.
• Reducing traffic cannibalization: By improving their regional sites’ SEO and ensuring they ranked for relevant local keywords, Adobe minimized the issue of the main site cannibalizing traffic from these properties.

3. Investing in High-Quality, SEO-Optimized Content

In addition to on-page optimization, Adobe focused on creating valuable, engaging content that targeted relevant keywords and satisfied user intent. This involved:

• Keyword research: Identifying non-branded keywords with high search volume and relevance to Adobe’s products and features.
• Informative content: Developing helpful, SEO-optimized articles and tutorials on topics related to design, photography, and video editing, targeting beginner-level keywords.
• Expert insights: Incorporating quotes and advice from subject matter experts, such as professional photographers and designers, to add depth and credibility to their content.

Publishing high-quality, keyword-rich content, Adobe demonstrated its expertise and authority in the creative industry, ultimately improving its search rankings and organic traffic.

The Results: Doubled Organic Traffic and Increased Market Share

Adobe’s comprehensive SEO strategy yielded impressive results within a 12-month period:

1. 88% increase in organic traffic: Adobe saw an 88% increase in organic traffic to its Creative Cloud SEO content pages within the first six months.
2. Doubled organic traffic: Overall, Adobe doubled its organic traffic in 12 months.
3. 63% of non-branded traffic from feature pages: After creating individual feature pages, 63% of all non-branded organic traffic was attributed to these pages.
4. 66% share of voice: Adobe captured a 66% share of voice for non-branded keywords, with its five main competitors accounting for the remaining 34%.
5. 139% increase in revenue: The optimized content pages drove a 139% increase in revenue through organic search.

These results demonstrate the effectiveness of Adobe’s marketing-led SEO approach, which focused on creating valuable content, optimizing on-page elements, and addressing technical issues.

What can a growing SaaS startup learn from the success of SEO?

A growing SaaS startup can learn valuable lessons from the success stories of companies that have effectively leveraged SEO to drive growth and achieve their business goals. 

SEO is a powerful digital marketing strategy that can help SaaS companies increase their online visibility, attract qualified leads, and ultimately grow their customer base.

The Importance of SEO for SaaS Companies

Before diving into the specific lessons, it’s essential to understand why SEO is crucial for SaaS companies. In today’s digital landscape, potential customers often turn to search engines like Google to find solutions to their problems or to research products and services.

Optimizing your website and content for relevant keywords, you SaaS can improve in search engine rankings and make it easier for your target audience to get discovered online.

SEO offers several key benefits for SaaS companies, including:

1. Increased brand awareness: Higher search engine rankings can help SaaS companies gain more exposure and build trust with potential customers.
2. Qualified lead generation: By targeting keywords that align with their ideal customer profile, SaaS companies can attract more qualified leads who are actively searching for solutions like theirs.
3. Cost-effective customer acquisition: Compared to paid advertising, SEO can be a more cost-effective way to acquire new customers over the long term.
4. Competitive advantage: By outranking their competitors in search results, SaaS companies can gain a significant advantage in their market.

Now, let’s explore some key lessons that growing SaaS startups can learn from Adobe’s SEO case study.

#1 Focus on Non-Branded Keywords

• Research and target non-branded keywords relevant to your product’s features and use cases. 
• Adobe created dedicated pages optimized for non-branded terms like “background remover” and “photo editor” to rank for searches beyond just their brand name.

#2 Create Dedicated Feature Pages

• Develop individual, keyword-optimized pages for each product feature to improve search visibility and user experience. 
• Adobe saw a big boost in organic traffic after creating standalone pages for key features of products like Photoshop.

#3 Invest in High-Quality, SEO-Optimized Content

• Consistently publish informative, engaging content that targets relevant keywords and satisfies user intent. 
• Adobe developed helpful articles and tutorials on topics like design and photography to demonstrate expertise and drive organic traffic.

#4 Fix Technical SEO Issues

• Regularly audit and resolve technical problems like broken links, duplicate content, and site speed to ensure search engines can efficiently crawl and index your site. 
• Adobe took a proactive approach to identify and prevent technical SEO issues.

#5 Utilize a Clear URL Structure

• Implement a uniform URL structure that includes relevant keywords to help search engines understand your site hierarch. 
• Adobe used a consistent /product/feature/ format for its feature page URLs.

#6 Target the Entire Marketing Funnel

• Create content that aligns with keywords for each stage of the marketing funnel, from informational to transactional. 
• Adobe targeted queries across the customer journey, from general topics to specific product searches.

The overarching takeaway is that a comprehensive, marketing-led SEO strategy focused on quality content, on-page optimization, and technical best practices can drive significant organic traffic growth for SaaS companies.

Ready to start ranking for non-branded keywords?

Adobe’s SEO success story is a testament to the power of a well-executed, comprehensive SEO strategy. Solving technical issues, creating dedicated product and feature pages, and investing in high-quality content, Adobe was able to double its organic traffic in just 12 months and capture a significant share of voice for non-branded keywords.

This case study demonstrates that even established brands must continuously optimize and adapt their SEO strategies to stay ahead in an ever-evolving digital landscape.

Adobe’s SEO case study is great source to learn & implement the key takeaways outlined above, businesses can unlock the full potential of organic search and drive meaningful results for their organization.