An 888% increase in unpaid traffic worth hundreds of thousands of crowns per month. AutoPalace SEO success secrets

In the competitive environment of the automotive market, it is crucial to stand out online, but not all companies in the industry pay enough attention to SEO.

It is thanks to a tailored SEO strategy that we were able to significantly improve the search engine rankings of our client AutoPalace.

In this case study, we look at the strategic approach taken, the initial challenges and the key steps that led us to great results and first place in the prestigious Internet Effectiveness Awards (IEA) in the performance marketing category.

We provide a comprehensive overview of how a properly executed SEO strategy and its implementation can transform the digital presence of an automotive company and bring significant profits in the hundreds of thousands of crowns per month.

Results and impact on AutoPalace's business

Right off the bat, we present a timeline and trend of organic traffic in GA4 over the two years since the start of the collaboration (1 Sep 2022 - 1 Sep 2024).

Graph of organic traffic trend over time (GA4)

To preserve the anonymity of client data, we quantify the percentage increase using the Ahrefs tool. The percentage increases in non-paid traffic in the Ahrefs tool match Google Analytics data with relatively high accuracy.4 The calculation of the increase was done for the IEA competition and is currently increasing.

The increase in non-paid traffic from Google search has meant an increase from 3,856 (December 2022) to 38,080 (June 2024) - per month. Currently, in January 2025, it crossed the 56,000 mark.

This was an increase of 888% according to the Ahrefs tool. Currently as of 01/2025 the increase is already 1,369%.

Chart of organic traffic development over time (Ahrefs)

What does this mean in monetary terms? The estimated value of organic traffic gained can be expressed by multiplying the average cost per click (CPC) from non-branded campaigns in Google Ads search by the year-on-year increase in clicks from non-branded queries (average monthly traffic gained compared to 2022).

The approximate value of delivered organic non-brand traffic from Google in 2024 was up to 270,000 CZK per month.

That's approximately how much it would cost to additionally purchase the same traffic via PPC campaigns in Google Ads each month. However, the value of the leads generated from organic traffic should be significantly higher.

Starting line and kickoff

When we got the AutoPalace project on the table, it was a huge challenge. The brief was clear, visible organic growth in just three months. Anyone who has a clue and knows their way around SEO knows that guaranteeing results in such a short period of time can be very gallows.

The project kicked off in September 2022, with an initial evaluation at the end of November 2022. Even before the project kicked off, basic initial analyses were done, which helped define the potential and gave us the courage to boldly embark on the project. The basic building blocks of the project in the form of data were:

• a comprehensive SEO audit of the website
• keyword analysis
• strategy and action plan

The analyses were made by former colleagues in the agency, we would like to welcome Filip Svačina, David Graman and František Bielik.

The audit showed partial deficiencies of the site in key SEO areas, in particular:

• web crawling and indexing
• insufficient internal linking
• absence of classic HTML href links within filtering buttons (inability of search engine robots to get to filtered URLs)
• non-functional filtering fromSEO perspective
• duplicate site pages
• untreated pagination
• lack of structured data
• widespread lack of titles and meta descriptions
• lack of site-wide content and keyword coverage

On the other hand, the primary goal of the keyword analysis was to uncover search patterns and combinations of keywords that users are searching for and no longer searching for. From this, the entire downstream optimization - site structure, filtering and content creation - was determined. The analysis clearly highlighted search patterns across the main categories:

• stock cars
  • new cars
  • used cars
• operating lease

To give you a better idea, we are talking about a dataset with an average search rate in the lower millions per month. The biggest opportunities were found in the coverage of search patterns:

1. car brands (e.g. Skoda)
2. car make + model (e.g. Skoda Octavia)
3. car make + model + type (e.g. used Skoda Octavia)
4. make + model + fuel (e.g. Toyota Auris Hybrid)

But also in many other longtail phrases.

The current position of the site was very poor. BINGO! The huge potential and the path to achieve it have been clearly defined. Because of this, we knew there was room to achieve results on the site. And not just any space.

Where the site excelled on the other hand, was the link profile, which was already strong enough, and very natural. In other words, the site had built up a decent authority in the eyes of search engines. Therefore, active linkbuilding was a lower priority, but as an important part of comprehensive SEO activities, we also paid attention to it on a limited scale. In particular, it helped us to improve our rankings for general, highly competitive terms such as "operating lease".

TIP: Compare project performance with major industry competitors, to set benchmarks and more accurately predict success. Don't limit yourself to your project's results.

Based on the initial analysis, we were able to set ambitious but achievable KPIs. The main KPI was set based on the visibility of the site in Google search, i.e., across-the-board growth in top 3 and top 10 positions.

TIP: When setting KPIs for a project, especially at the beginning of a collaboration, it is a good idea to focus on more general metrics such as visibility and distribution of positions in search results. As you gain experience, reframe the KPIs to metrics such as share of voice or growth in non-branded clicks from search engines.

Upward to project

Filtering and technical elements of the site

A clear priority was to modify the faceted navigation or filtering. It was through its modification that it was possible to optimise the main categorical parametric pages across the board. I discussed the specific process and work with filtering on the site in article HERE.

The implementation of filtering by the developers caused an almost immediate response in the form of an increase in organic traffic on keywords with a longtail nature.

In addition to the filtering of , the major technical deficiencies of, such as pagination indexing and page traversal, were simultaneously tuned to ensure that the site worked properly for search engines. In addition, backlink gains were made.

TIP: Properly optimized filtering may not only have a positive effect on SEO, but also significantly affects the user experience on the site (UX overlap) or improves the performance of automated PPC campaigns.

Coverage of search patterns in categories

In addition to across-the-board filtering adjustments and parametric pages, we worked with search patterns generated from keyword analysis.

One such pattern was the finding that users search for the words "car dealership". This word was not used on the site at all, although it was significantly more searched than the phrase "used cars".

We covered the entire section within the content and metadata of the used car category pages, in a completely automated way (the details of the solution are described in the article HERE). After a very short time, the traffic to the entire category increased.

Examples of text optimization for the used car section

Comparison of main keyword positions from 2022 vs. 2024

Another highly searched pattern by users is "make (+ model) + price". Thanks to 's automated coverage of price via the from/to interval in 's texts, it was possible to achieve excellent coverage in the so-called "featured snippets", i.e. within the null positions in the search results.

This position is more dominant than the regular organic results and has once again helped Autopalace.cz significantly with brand awareness and overall search engine traffic. While two years ago the coverage in featured snippets was zero, as of today the website covers 114 important keywords in this way (according to Ahrefs).

Excerpt from - thanks to good SEO, the search snippet for the keyword "škoda kamiq prices" is even ahead of the result of skoda-auto.cz in Google:

Other search patterns were similarly covered in the texts. This is especially true in the categories of operating leases, electric cars or hybrids.

TIP: Optimize the content of the categories for users and provide answers to their most common questions. Direct them to relevant content sections for more information. Be buying advisors to potential customers.

Electric mobility and content hub

A big priority was to promote the trending electric and hybrid car section. The main categorical pages were already optimized, however, there was a need to create valuable content for users. And so a whole content section for electromobility was created, covering all the topics users were looking for:

• subsidies
• advice for choosing an electric car
• electric car and ecology
• electromobility and legislation
• hybrids

The results of the newly created content section for electromobility came after some time.

It is not only the electromobility section itself that has started to bear fruit. Newly written content has been interlinked with categorical pages. As a result, the entire electric and hybrid car section was gradually built up, as can be seen in the increase in clicks and impressions in Google Search Console data.

In the context of the whole project, this was another optimization step that is evident in the timeline.

TIP: Approach building content on the site using the content hub principle. Try to cover all relevant content types thematically on the site. From categorical and product texts to blog articles, FAQ sections, shopping guides or glossaries.

The finish line and reaping results

In case it wasn't obvious from the text so far: initial KPI's were not only met, but exceeded many times over.

While the long-term average before the start of the collaboration was initially around 3,000 organic visits per month, at the end of 2023 the value has reached 19,320 and even 38,080 by June 2024.

Currently in January 2025 unpaid traffic exceeded the level of 56,600 per month.

The risks we were aware of were in the project management and the implementation of the delivered briefs on the site by the developers. Unfortunately, SEO is a field that generates additional work, and an SEO specialist can't do much on his own without copywriters and developers. Therefore, we would like to mention the partners who had a big part in the success of the project.

Specifically, we are talking about the agency Konektime, which provided project management, and Sassy Group, which was responsible for the technical development and implementation of the assignments into the website. The great support from the client AutoPalace, in the form of active advocacy for change within the company, was also crucial.

This is a complex technical and content solution that is unique not only in the online auto dealer market, but in e-commerce in general. The optimization of autopalace.com from an SEO perspective has successfully scaled to tens of thousands of landing pages through an efficient semi-automated form.

This involved months of work on the part of the SEO specialist, client, copywriter and development. The return on the investment was realized after a few months and autopalace.cz is now benefiting from it in the long term. The return on the investment is already many times higher than the costs incurred and the investment is inertia - the website is growing organically, especially thanks to the filtering.

And that's not all, we already know about other growth opportunities using the synergy of other marketing channels. But more on that next time.