How StubHub LATAM’s organic visibility and conversions improved with a solid SEO strategy

Introduction

Under the direction of e-commerce giant eBay, StubHub became the biggest ticket buying/reselling platform in the world. StubHub’s ticketing marketplace offers buyers and sellers millions of live events – sports, theater, concerts, and many others – across a range of international markets (currently operating in more than 40 countries).

After being acquired by eBay in 2007, StubHub expanded into many more international markets with the acquisition of Spanish company Ticketbis in 2016, and was recently acquired by its main competitor, Viagogo (the sale was completed in early 2020) – a sign of the company’s valuable portfolio and operations.

The challenge

StubHub urgently required dedicated, full-time SEO support for key Latin American websites (MX, BR, AR). Latin America, particularly Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina, were a top priority for StubHub due to their strategic importance and significant opportunities for concerts and sports events. To maintain a strong digital presence and compete effectively in the ticketing market, StubHub needed high organic search visibility and conversions for all product categories. In the absence of proper SEO monitoring and support, the performance of these channels was not satisfactory.

The solution

Key Content provided a customised SEO implant program and a detailed support strategy for the LATAM websites. The content and SEO strategy was focused on the following pillars:

Content assessment and optimization: Constant evaluation of e-commerce category pages to find opportunities for content optimization and SEO improvements. Key performance indicators (KPIs) such as traffic, revenue, conversions, and keyword search volume were evaluated. Priority categories and events were also considered.
Content/product category upkeep: Ongoing monitoring of product categories and “super categories” for content issues, performance, ranking problems, organic visibility, and conversion improvements. Stakeholders from different teams were involved in addressing these issues.
Content expansion and new opportunities: Evaluation of new traffic acquisition possibilities through various means, such as SEO support for the AR magazine/blog, repurposing content from international campaigns, creating localised landing pages, and introducing new product categories based on strategic value.
Governance and reporting: Regular and ad-hoc reporting on key performance indicators, communication with teams, identification of necessary actions and future opportunities, development of SEO/content guidelines, reevaluation of strategies, and feedback consideration for realignment of priorities and actions.

The results

Key Content’s SEO support strategy successfully leveraged significant live events in LATAM to enhance website visibility and push key business metrics. The following KPIs demonstrated positive results as a result of these SEO activities:

StubHub Mexico:

SEO orders/conversions: a 7% increase in Q3 and Q4/2019 compared to the previous year (source: internal analytics data)
SEO conversion rate: a 40% increase in Q3 and Q4/2019 compared to the previous year (source: internal analytics data)
SEO rankings: at the end of 2019, 69% of tracked keywords ranked in positions 1-3, with an additional 27% ranking in the first results page (positions 4-10) for both desktop and mobile searches (source: Conductor Searchlight)

Organic traffic share against main competitor (Viagogo) increased to 48.60% in November 2019 compared to 36.19% in July 2019 (source: SimilarWeb).

StubHub BRAZIL:

SEO traffic: 54% increase in SEO sessions during Q3 and Q4/2019 compared to the previous year (internal analytics data).
SEO orders/conversions: 85% increase in Q3 and Q4/2019 compared to the previous year (internal analytics data).
SEO conversion rate: 20% increase in Q3 and Q4/2019 compared to the previous year (internal analytics data).
SEO revenue: 55% increase in SEO revenue in Q3 and Q4/2019 compared to the previous year (internal analytics data).
SEO rankings: At the end of 2019, 68% of tracked keywords ranked in positions 1–3, with an additional 24% ranking on the first results page in both desktop and mobile searches (source: Conductor Searchlight).

SEO traffic share: Organic traffic share against main competitor (Viagogo) increased to 26.83% in November 2019 from 13.31% in July 2019 (source: SimilarWeb).

StubHub ARGENTINA:

SEO conversion rate: 46% increase in SEO conversion rate during Q3 and Q4/2019 compared to the previous year (internal analytics data).
SEO rankings: At the end of 2019, 51% of tracked keywords ranked in positions 1–3, with an additional 35% ranking on the first results page in both desktop and mobile searches (source: Conductor Searchlight).

SEO traffic share: Organic traffic share against main competitor (Viagogo) increased to 48.53% in November 2019 from 47.68% in July 2019 (source: SimilarWeb).

Conclusion

Effective SEO program leverages StubHub’s growth opportunities StubHub’s LATAM websites present dynamic markets with ample potential for increased traffic, conversions, and organic visibility. To maximise these opportunities, a robust SEO plan aligned with business goals and content marketing strategy was crucial. Key Content’s SEO support program successfully assessed the existing landscape, implemented optimization initiatives, integrated with in-house content marketing, and collaborated with stakeholders. As a result, Key Content’s SEO program delivered positive enhancements in key performance indicators (KPIs) associated with organic performance.