How much is a smile worth to you—would you invest a small fortune to make yours picture-perfect? Clear aligners (a type of invisible braces) are a removable, transparent alternative to braces designed for convenience. The global clear aligners market is set to rise from $3.8 billion in 2023 to $17.27 billion by 2030.
Two rivals in Malaysia, Zenyum (taking inspiration from the Malay word “senyum” which means smile) and Dr Clear Aligners, are vying for dominance. Join me as we unravel their SEO strategies for actionable insights.
Who Is Winning?
Zenyum is currently leading in monthly organic traffic in Malaysia with 5,200 clicks, while Dr Clear Aligners trails in second place with 1,900 clicks. It’s worth noting that these figures are only estimates based on Semrush data.
- zenyum.com, 5.2K
- drclearaligners.my, 1.9K
- invisalign.com.my, 917
- sebaris.co, 565
- whitesmileclear.com, 297
- clearsmile.asia, 161
When comparing Zenyum to Dr Clear Aligners, Zenyum holds a significant lead, owning 74% of the traffic share. (Semrush: Sep 2023, MY)
When comparing the top five, Zenyum owns 59% of the traffic share. (Semrush: Sep 2023, MY)
SEO Teardown
In today’s digital age, having a strong online presence is critical. At the core of establishing this presence is an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy.
In this article, we’re going to analyze a few areas:
- Above the fold
- Keyword strategy
- Content strategy
- Backlink strategy
While this isn’t an exhaustive SEO strategy audit, there are some interesting opportunities uncovered for both brands.
1. Above The Fold
In the evolving landscape of SEO, user experience has become paramount. One critical aspect that often goes hand-in-hand with SEO is the optimization of “above the fold” content. This portion of a webpage, immediately visible without scrolling, serves as the first impression for visitors.
When I first saw Zenyum’s website, it struck me as fun, lively, and vibrant. I like their short, punchy headline. The overall vibe suggests an exciting lifestyle I can look forward to after using Zenyum.
Dr Clear Aligners gives off a polished dentist vibe, highlighting their medical certifications and approvals. However, they don’t quite capture the same fun and zesty atmosphere as Zenyum.
2. Keyword Strategy
Which is the better keyword to target—clear aligners or invisible braces? The answer is both.
Zenyum has a better ranking for the keyword “invisible braces”. Approximately 17.29% of Zenyum’s Malaysian traffic is attributed to the keyword “invisible braces”. The page, https://www.zenyum.com/my-en/invisible-braces is responsible for this traffic. They rank better because of the keyword in the URL.
On the other hand, Dr Clear Aligners ranks higher for “clear aligners” due to their exact match domain (their domain name contains the keyword “clear aligners”). A significant 32.37% of Dr Clear Aligners’ Malaysian traffic is attributed to that keyword.
3. Content Strategy
A blog isn’t just a content-sharing platform; it’s a strategic asset that attracts traffic. Zenyum’s blog exemplifies this approach, amassing 940 organic clicks per month from Malaysia. It ranks on the first page for commercial terms such as teeth whitening, braces price, and teeth whitening price.
On the other hand, Dr Clear Aligners’ blog, despite having 52 indexed posts, generates only 26 monthly organic clicks. This indicates that their blog is not SEO-optimized, representing a huge untapped opportunity.
4. Backlink Strategy
Backlinks play a crucial role in determining the authority of a website. Dr Clear Aligners outperforms Zenyum with a whopping 51.5K backlinks compared to Zenyum’s 10.9K. However, when it comes to quality, Dr Clear Aligners doesn’t quite measure up.
In my analysis, I discovered that a significant number of backlinks for Dr Clear Aligners come from blog comments on unrelated web pages. Such tactics could be seen as spam, which poses a risk to their search rankings.
I dug deeper into their overall toxicity score using Semrush’s backlink audit.
Dr Clear Aligners scored “high” for their backlink toxicity, which indicates some backlinks are harming their search rankings. (Semrush: Sep 2023, MY)
As for Zenyum’s backlink toxicity, they scored “medium”. (Semrush: Sep 2023, MY)
Although Semrush’s tool is not 100% foolproof, it’s best practice to steer clear of building spammy backlinks. I’m confident that with some changes to Dr Clear Aligners and Zenyum’s link-building strategy, they will see a boost in rankings.
What can Zenyum do better?
Zenyum has room for growth. To better compete with Dr Clear Aligners for the keyword “clear aligners”, Zenyum should consider creating a dedicated page for clear aligners.
Also, Zenyum’s keyword rankings have taken a nosedive since April 2023. A comprehensive SEO strategy audit could provide insights into this. (Semrush: Sep 2023, MY)
Additionally, given their current “medium” backlink toxicity level, building more quality backlinks would help reduce their level to “low”, thus helping them maintain their lead in search rankings.
What can Dr Clear Aligners do better?
Dr Clear Aligners already ranks well for the keyword “clear aligners”. Optimizing for “invisible braces” would further enhance their online visibility.
Their blog presents a huge untapped opportunity, mainly because it isn’t optimized for SEO. The first step would be to optimize existing blog posts. It currently generates only 26 monthly organic clicks. (Semrush: Sep 2023, MY)
To truly compete with Zenyum in search rankings, a focus on acquiring high-quality, relevant backlinks is essential.
Key Takeaways
An exact match domain (EMD) carries significant weight in search engine rankings. If you can’t get an EMD, the next best thing is to include your target keyword in the URL.
You might have a blog, but to attract organic traffic, you need more than just images and text. You need SEO.
When it comes to backlinks, they play a crucial role in determining a website’s SEO performance. However, not all backlinks are created equal. Getting a multitude of low-quality backlinks might not only be ineffective, but it could also be harmful.
So, whether you’re choosing your domain, jazzing up your blog, or building your backlinks, making smart decisions is essential to dominating search rankings.