+225% Traffic & 939% Growth in Top 3 Non-Brand Keywords:
How KEEN Turned SEO into a Global Growth Engine
- Content, SEO/AEO, Website Development
- Claim Your Free Audit
Think your site is optimized—but still not seeing results? Let’s find out why.
Talk To An Expert
Results
+225%
Organic Traffic
+144%
Organic Impressions
+1061%
Top 10 Non-Brand Keywords
+939%
Top 3 Non-Brand Keywords
+225%
Organic Traffic
+144%
Organic Impressions
+1061%
Top 10 Non-Brand Keywords
+939%
Top 3 Non-Brand Keywords
Results
With regular technical improvements, targeted content enhancements, and team alignment, KEEN achieved explosive growth in non-brand performance.
Their U.S. site saw a 225% increase in traffic and a 939% lift in top 3 non-branded keyword rankings. They also gained over 3,800% more SERP features and improved their average keyword position by over 10 spots.
Overview
KEEN is a Portland-based footwear brand celebrated for its rugged, comfortable shoes built for the trail, the worksite, and everyday life. Since its founding in 2003, KEEN has remained committed to sustainability, innovation, and purpose-driven values—pioneering the protective toe-sandal and championing inclusive design.
When KEEN partnered with elk, their mission was clear: increase global visibility on non-branded search terms to introduce the brand to new audiences and gain more lifelong fans.
Challenge
KEEN’s site faced technical limitations that hindered crawlability, indexing, and international scalability. Their SEO efforts lacked centralized alignment across teams, making it difficult to prioritize and implement strategic optimizations that would move the needle.
Solution
elk embedded with KEEN’s internal teams to deliver a multi-phase strategy focused on technical fixes, global SEO best practices, and scalable content and keyword expansion.
- Conducted in-depth audits to identify technical, content, and keyword gaps
- Implemented hreflang tagging across international domains for geo-targeted visibility
- Delivered product category optimization focused on non-branded opportunities
- Provided regular, data-backed SEO recommendations for top-of-funnel content
- Led SEO training sessions across departments to secure cross-functional buy-in
Recommendations
For purpose-driven brands like KEEN, sustainable growth starts with scalable SEO. Building internal alignment, fixing technical blockers, and expanding non-brand content are key to long-term visibility in competitive spaces.
