Maple Terroir
Maple Terroir grew from online invisibility to market leader, boosting organic traffic by 1,500% and sales through SEO, AI optimization, and site improvements.
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Introduction and Overview
Maple Terroir, a premium Canadian maple syrup brand established in 1978, had everything in place offline—quality products, loyal customers, and beautiful packaging - but remained virtually invisible online. Despite decades of excellence, their weak organic presence meant competitors were capturing the very searches they should have owned. This disconnect created both a challenge and a massive opportunity: to align their digital visibility with their established brand reputation. Through a focused SEO strategy, Maple Terroir transformed from hidden to dominant, unlocking scalable growth and new revenue channels.
Area | Before (Jan 2024) | After (Jun 2025) |
|---|---|---|
Organic Traffic | ~50 monthly visitors | 800+ monthly visitors (1,500% increase) |
Backlink Profile | < 10 referring domains | 60+ high-quality domains (650% increase) |
Search Visibility | Virtually invisible — no presence for key maple syrup searches | Organic search became the primary traffic driver |
Entity SEO Coverage | Isolated product pages, no topical authority | Hubs built around Canadian maple syrup, tapping, and production |
Content Performance | Minimal engagement, no evergreen or trending content | Posts like “$30M Maple Syrup Heist” and seasonal guides drove spikes |
Technical Foundation | Weak metadata, no schema, performance issues | New conversion-first site with schema, A/B testing, and improved speed |
Revenue Impact | Organic traffic contributed minimally to sales | 143% increase in sales, 39% more orders |
AI Visibility Impact | Absent from AI-driven discovery | Featured in ChatGPT recommendations, with $300+ order directly attributed |
The Challenge
Despite more than four decades of heritage, Maple Terroir faced a striking imbalance between offline strength and online weakness. Their products were recognised for premium quality and their brand was well established in local markets, yet in the digital landscape they were nearly invisible. With fewer than ten referring domains and only 50 monthly organic visitors, their website was failing to appear for the very searches their ideal customers were making. This lack of visibility meant that even when demand existed, competitors captured the traffic, forcing Maple Terroir to rely almost entirely on word-of-mouth and repeat customers for growth.
What We Did
Our Solution
1. Strategic Link Building
We began with a comprehensive white-hat link building campaign that established Maple Terroir as an authority in its niche. By creating cornerstone content such as “The Complete Guide to Canadian Maple Syrup”, we attracted backlinks from publications with domain authorities of 60–90. We also converted unlinked brand mentions into live links and secured placements in trusted, niche-specific directories. These efforts delivered measurable growth, including new backlinks from DR 77, DR 89, and DR 91 sources.
2. Entity SEO & Internal Linking
Next, we structured Maple Terroir’s content around entities that matter most to their audience and industry. Content hubs were created around maple syrup production, tree tapping, and Canadian heritage, supported by posts like “Can You Tap Any Maple Tree?” and “Canadian Maple Syrup Production Report 2025.” We also expanded into related topics such as cocktails and seasonal gifting, ensuring semantic depth. A deliberate internal linking system tied all posts together, funnelling readers from educational content toward product pages and reinforcing Maple Terroir’s topical authority.
3. Technical Foundation Overhaul
Finally, we rebuilt the technical base to support sustainable growth. This included rewriting meta titles and descriptions to align with search intent, implementing schema markup for products and local business data, and fixing site performance issues that limited visibility. We then launched a brand-new website designed with conversion-first layouts, stronger social proof, and continuous A/B testing. This provided Maple Terroir with the technical strength to compete at the highest level.
The Results
The transformation of Maple Terroir was both immediate and lasting. Within 18 months, organic search evolved from a neglected channel into the primary driver of traffic and revenue growth. Key outcomes included:
1,500% increase in organic traffic — climbing from just 50 monthly visitors to over 800, creating a steady stream of new potential customers.
650% increase in backlinks — growing from fewer than 10 referring domains to 60+ high-authority links, including placements from DR 77, DR 89, and DR 91 sites.
Revenue growth of 143% — as organic visitors converted into paying customers, with a 39% increase in total orders.
Expanded content funnel performance — seasonal blogs and evergreen educational content consistently guided visitors from discovery to purchase, with standout wins like the “$30 Million Maple Syrup Heist” blog driving surges in visibility.
AI-driven visibility gains — Maple Terroir achieved recognition in ChatGPT’s recommendation ecosystem, including direct proof of a $300+ order attributed to ChatGPT discovery.
Today, Maple Terroir stands as the dominant online presence in its category, with scalable, predictable growth channels supporting the brand’s next phase of expansion.
