Pineapple Insurance launched in 2018 as an app-first insurer with a promise of transparent, consumer-centric cover. By mid-2022 the brand was enjoying word-of-mouth momentum, yet search visibility remained limited to branded queries. Competing incumbents dominated “car insurance” SERPs, and Pineapple’s Webflow stack constrained further technical optimisation.
I partnered with Pineapple in June 2022 with a simple mandate:
- Win non-brand car-insurance searches to drive qualified quote starts.
- Build topical authority and trust signals that would future-proof rankings.
- Migrate safely to WordPress once scale demanded a more flexible CMS.
The following case study dissects the roadmap, tactics and measurable outcomes that delivered on that mandate.
TL;DR
In three years we turned Pineapple from an insur-tech newcomer into a top-of-mind car-insurance brand search.
435 % organic-traffic growth • 11.8× more top-3 keywords • zero-loss Webflow→WordPress migration • 696 % uplift in assisted car-insurance quotes.
1. Executive Summary
Pineapple Insurance set out to disrupt a highly competitive short‑term insurance market in South Africa.
Starting in June 2022, our SEO engagement focused on claiming topical authority for car insurance‑related searches while building brand trust and user experience signals. In just 36 months we delivered:
- +435 % growth in monthly organic traffic (4.6 k → 24.4 k)
- 11.8× increase in keywords ranking top 3 (36 → 422)
- +23 % lift in Ahrefs Domain Rating (DR 36 → 44) based largely on link earning
- Featured snippets captured for “pay‑as‑you‑go car insurance sa”, “insurance excess south africa” and more
2. Challenges & Objectives
- Low topical authority – the site ranked for brand terms but lacked visibility for high‑intent car‑insurance queries.
- Thin product content – no dedicated car‑brand pages or conversion‑optimised landing journeys.
- Technical bottlenecks on Webflow (schema, performance, CMS flexibility).
- North‑star goal: “Establish Pineapple as a leader in the insurance space – not just an alternative.”
3. Strategy Roadmap
| Phase | Period | Primary Focus | Key Deliverables |
| Phase 1 – Foundation | Jun 2022 → Feb 2025 | On‑page SEO, topical clusters, technical hygiene | 113 long‑form articles (51 Car Insurance core)15 car‑brand landing pages (Toyota, Ford, VW…)Article schema & FAQ markupInternal‑link hub‑&‑spoke architectureCore Web Vitals LCP < 1.8 s |
| Phase 2 – E‑E‑A‑T & Migration | Mar 2025 → Jul 2025 | WordPress migration, trust signals, CRO | Author bios, About, GlossaryModular Gutenberg templatesA/B‑tested quote funnelsRedirect & log monitoring (0 critical errors) |
4. Content Engine
- Research framework: pain‑point + JTBD alignment, guided by a 14‑step content brief process.
- Output: 113 assets published, average length 1 650 words.
- Topic mix:
- Car Insurance (45 %)
- Insurance Broad (19 %)
- Car Buying Guides (4 %)
- Lifestyle/Road Trip & Brand (8 %)
- Enhanced media: custom infographics & insurer comparisons to earn natural links.
5. Technical & UX Enhancements
- Speed: WebP images, Cloudflare APO, critical‑CSS inlining (CLS < 0.1).
- Structured data: Article, Product, BreadcrumbList, FAQPage.
- Internal linking: Python‑generated link‑map ensured every hub < 3 clicks deep.
- Migration playbook: 301 mapping, real‑time error monitoring, phased DNS cut‑over outside peak.
6. Results in Detail (June 2022 → July 2025)
| KPI | May 2022 (Baseline) | Feb 2025 | Jul 2025 | Δ Baseline → Jul 2025 |
| Monthly organic traffic | 4 557 | 12 884 | 24 404 | +435 % |
| Keywords in positions 1‑3 | 36 | 118 | 422 | +1 071 % |
| Ahrefs Domain Rating | 36 | 43 | 44 | +22 % |
| Non‑brand clicks/mo | 643 | 1 192 | 2 987 | +365 % |
| Assisted car‑insurance quotes* | 74 | 286 | 589 | +696 % |
| *Quotes tracked via funnel events & GA4 modelled conversions. |
Keyword Position Distribution YoY (Jun 2024 → Jun 2025)
- Top 3 positions: 91 → 201 (+121 %)
- Positions 4‑10: 161 → 355 (+120 %)
- Positions 11‑20: 266 → 446 (+68 %)
- Positions 21‑100: 2 210 → 1 715 (‑22 %) – bulk terms moved up the ladder
- >100: 1 202 → 1 213 (+1 %) – opportunity backlog maintained
7. Key Wins
- Topic Cluster Authority – ranking #1 for “affordable car insurance south africa” within 9 months thanks to tightly themed content + internal links.
- Zero‑Loss Migration – preserved 100 % of keyword visibility post Webflow → WordPress switch.
- Snippet Dominance – 18 Google featured snippets + People‑Also‑Ask results captured.
- Backlink Flywheel – survey‑driven State of Insurance report secured 27 organic links from national news sites.
8. Lessons & Next Steps
- Early investment in content design + schema accelerates featured‑snippet capture.
- Author‑level E‑E‑A‑T elements lifted CTR by +0.8 pp site‑wide.
- Planned roadmap: expand telematics & EV insurance clusters, refresh 2022 content to maintain freshness signals.
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