D.T. Brown

Objective

Gardening retailer D.T. Brown faced a major setback following a failed site migration that significantly impacted its organic search performance. We set out to restore the site’s visibility, improve organic traffic, and ultimately drive more conversions during their peak season. After conducting an in-depth audit, we identified key technical, design, and content opportunities. We then collaborated closely with D.T. Brown’s development team to execute a strategy that would not only return the site to its previous performance levels but also supersede them.

The brand also needed support from House Digital in building out a distinct tone of voice for their audience as part of a major rebrand intended to regain their position in a fiercely competitive market and differentiate their content from that of their sister sites, Fothergill’s and Johnsons.

What We Did

With the aim of clearly differentiating D.T. Brown from Fothergill’s, as their intended audiences historically overlapped. We aimed to dominate the SERPs for both brands but attune the sites for distinct audiences.

Therefore, our strategy was to specifically target this newly established audience through: 

• • Development of a highly detailed, technical, and informed TOV.
  • Complete site restructure with a fresh website design.
  • Creation of a comprehensive content strategy to support the site during peak seasonal sales periods across the year when searches were high. 
  • Supporting site health and visibility through technical SEO solutions.

SEO Strategy & Content

One of the biggest challenges was addressing the thin content that had resulted from the migration and was, in fact, invisible to crawlers. We undertook a full content overhaul, ensuring that pages met E-E-A-T standards by providing richer, more authoritative, and valuable information to improve the brand’s relevance and authority in search results.

This included expanding collection and product pages with more detailed descriptions, specifications, and long-form guides designed to help and inspire gardeners to grow fresh produce sustainably and learn expert gardening tips from horticultural experts, all underpinned by clear content pillars. 

Our development of long-form content tailored to AI-driven search trends and Google’s featured snippets helped position D.T. Brown as a credible source of gardening expertise while increasing visibility for broader keyword searches. 

To enhance user navigation, we completely overhauled the site’s structure and implemented a mega-navigation structure that allowed users to find key categories and products much more easily. This was particularly crucial for a site like D.T. Brown, where seasonal products and timely gardening advice play a critical role in purchasing decisions.

UX Design

We also completely redesigned the category collection and product pages as well as creating two brand new custom templates for the blog to improve readability, engagement, and conversion rates. These changes ensured we could implement as much rich content as possible across the site, such as FAQs, USPs, and technical growing advice, that calls to action were more visible with increased upsell opportunities, and that user journeys were as frictionless as possible.

Technical SEO

We also worked closely with the development team to ensure all pages adhered to Core Web Vitals best practices, improving load speed, interactivity, and stability across the site.

Results

The impact of our optimisations was clear. Organic traffic, which had been in a downward spiral, rebounded strongly. Before our intervention, the site had seen a -61% decline in traffic between its peak periods in 2023 and 2024. We successfully reversed this trend, bringing traffic not only back to previous levels but surpassing them with a +276% increase year-on-year.

Crucially, we also saw a shift in the quality of traffic, with a significant increase in users who arrived via non-branded searches (+385%) – demonstrating a broader reach and improved visibility among potential new customers.

This turnaround was driven by a recovery in keyword rankings, with the site surpassing its pre-migration performance. The number of ranking keywords with commercial intent grew significantly (total ranking keywords +98%, keywords on page 1 +287%, positions 1-3 keywords +248%), highlighting the value of targeting transactional search terms. As a result, more visitors arrived with clear purchase intent, leading to higher engagement and conversion potential.

In terms of themed wins, the brand’s flowers category saw page 1 keyword rankings increase from 14 to 81 (+166%), while monthly impressions rose from 108K to 275K (+153.7%). Notably, high-search-volume terms such as “white flowers” (7,200 SV) and “plant plugs/plug plants” (4,900 SV) contributed significantly to this improvement.

The vegetables category experienced a similar boost, with keyword rankings climbing from 22 to 68 (+209%) and monthly impressions rising from 46.2K to 83.7K (+81%). Key terms such as “vegetable seeds” (6,200 SV) and “veg plants” (1,100 SV) played a vital role in driving this growth.

The seeds category saw exceptional gains, with keyword rankings increasing from 133 to 556 (+318%) and monthly impressions growing from 232K to 443K (+91%). Popular search terms like “seed suppliers uk” (700 SV) and “garden seeds” (2,000 SV) helped fuel this success.

By addressing the technical, content, and design challenges that emerged from the migration, we were able to not only restore but elevate D.T. Brown’s organic presence. The improvements in site structure, content quality, and keyword targeting have positioned the brand for long-term success. With stronger rankings, increased visibility, and a more engaged audience, D.T. Brown is now in a prime position to capitalise on peak seasons and continue its upward trajectory in the gardening industry.