SMP® Engineered Solutions, a division of Standard Motor Products, Inc., delivers custom-engineered systems for vehicle control and thermal management. Serving OEMs and industrial manufacturers across sectors like commercial trucking, construction, and agriculture, SMP specializes in mission-critical components including sensors, electronic systems, power distribution units, and thermal control products.
Why did we start the project?
The Challenge
SMP Engineered Solutions approached Marcel Digital following the merger of two companies under the SMP brand. This transition included a domain migration, which lacked SEO oversight - leading to a loss of search engine visibility and diminished website performance. To make matters more challenging, the website was generating a high volume of inquiries, however most were low-quality focused on individual component sales or basic customer support, rather than the complex, system-level partnerships SMP wanted to establish.
The SMP team recognized the need to reposition themselves not just as a parts supplier, but as a strategic partner in engineering and product development. To do this, they turned to Marcel Digital to develop and implement a comprehensive SEO strategy aimed at improving both the visibility of their offerings and the quality of the leads coming through their site.
What's Going On?
The Analysis
Initial discovery revealed that the website migration had left behind numerous high-value URLs from the old website, a legacy brand with significant domain authority. These pages lacked proper redirects, causing a sharp drop in rankings and organic traffic. Additionally, several technical SEO issues were impacting the site’s ability to perform in search results. These included internal redirect chains, broken links, incorrect hreflang tagging, non-indexable canonical tags, and misaligned internal linking structures.
Beyond the technical issues, the site content lacked alignment with SMP’s ideal audience - engineers and procurement professionals seeking integrated system solutions. The messaging was primarily focused on product-level information and did not reflect SMP’s position as an engineering partner. Without content targeted toward high-intent, solution-seeking users, SMP was missing the opportunity to engage with the right decision-makers during early-stage product design.
How Marcel Digital Helped
The Solution
Marcel Digital developed a multi-phase SEO strategy, beginning with a full migration audit to address the issues stemming from the Trombetta acquisition. Our team implemented a robust 301 redirect plan, which helped recover lost authority and stabilize rankings for valuable legacy pages. With the migration corrected, attention shifted to fixing core technical SEO problems. This included resolving crawl budget waste, correcting canonical and hreflang tagging, improving indexation, and securing internal link structures. These changes laid the groundwork for stronger visibility in organic search results.
Once a solid technical foundation was in place, we launched a content strategy focused on targeting transactional, high-intent keywords. New content was written to address not just product specifications, but real-world engineering challenges SMP’s clients face - helping users understand how SMP’s solutions could be integrated into larger system designs. We also optimized product pages and developed supporting blog content to improve internal linking and funnel qualified traffic to conversion points.
A key part of this approach was aligning messaging with defined personas. We worked with SMP to craft SEO personas that reflected their true buyer. This allowed us to shape page content, CTAs, and link structures in a way that spoke directly to their priorities and pain points.
What Happened After Launch?
The Results
Following the SEO recovery and optimization, SMP saw a significant improvement in both traffic quality and lead value. Within weeks, organic traffic from previously lost from old pages rebounded, and new keyword rankings began to rise. In the first month alone, SMP received a record number of qualified inquiries. The months following launch, inbound web leads represented significant revenue tied to potential sales.
More importantly, lead quality improved dramatically. Inquiries shifted from low-value requests to high-intent contacts from OEMs and system-level engineers - exactly the audience SMP needed to engage. Site performance, keyword visibility, and form conversions continue to improve year-over-year and the partnership stands as a strong example of how strategic SEO can support complex B2B sales goals by aligning visibility, messaging, and user intent.
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