Sugatsune America


Overview

Sugatsune America Inc., a subsidiary of Sugatsune Kogyo, Co. Ltd., supplies telecommunications, marine, and consumers with hardware products and electronics. Their existing WordPress websites lacked responsiveness, proper product categorization, and North American-specific content. Sugatsune also wanted to grow its online presence. 

We partnered with Sugatsune to create a scalable, user-friendly BigCommerce website to serve both their Business to Business (B2B) and Business to Consumer (B2C) segments. See how we built a modern BigCommerce website, and helped drive traffic, increase conversions, and grow their online presence with our design, development, search engine optimization (SEO), AI SEO, and Local SEO marketing services. 

See how we helped increase organic revenue quarter over quarter by 188.2%, and sessions in AI platforms 261.6% within five months.

Problem

Virtual Showroom landing page on Sugatsune’s website

Sugatsune had two separate websites, their B2C customer segment (sugatsune.com) and one for B2B (sugatsune.net). Both websites had several issues:

  • Non-Responsive Design: The websites were not mobile-friendly, users were not able to navigate the websites on mobile and tablet devices.
  • Slow Performance: The websites were slow. The slow loading speed of both websites negatively impacted how long users stayed on the websites, and search engine ranking positions.
  • Poor Product Categorization: Product descriptions and names were not written for their target markets in North America.
  • Inconsistent User Experience: Since the brand had different customer markets, the client needed the website to address the needs and functionalities for each segment.
  • SEO Limitations: The websites had performance issues related to SEO, including oversized images and under-optimized content for their target market.
  • AI SEO Limitations: Sugatsune’s websites were not accessible to large language models (LLMs). When users search for products, services or information related to the brand’s offers in AI powered platforms such as ChatGPT or Bing’s AI search, there were no results appearing for Sugatsune. All the brand’s websites were missing out on organic traffic and visibility in AI-generated search responses.

The overarching goal was to create a new website that was scalable, optimized for North American users, and capable of serving both the B2B and B2C markets effectively.

Solution

We redesigned Sugatsune’s website using BigCommerce, a highly scalable ecommerce platform with robust API integrations. Our approach was to develop a customized solution with multiple functionalities for both the B2B and B2C segments, ensuring a seamless user experience.

Website Redesign & Development

We migrated the content from the old websites to BigCommerce, focusing on improving website speed, mobile responsiveness, and user navigation. A custom mega menu was created for easier navigation and better product discoverability. Products were re-categorized to cater specifically to B2B and B2C audiences. Clear separation of industrial and architectural solutions improved the browsing experience.

Sugatsune Canada

The client needed our assistance in developing a Canadian website. Leveraging BigCommerce’s multi-storefront capabilities, they can now manage multiple stores from a single account and centralized dashboard. We developed the Canadian storefront using the same theme as the US website.

The client can independently manage content, products, and blog posts on the Canadian website, separate from the US website. With the integration of Weglot Translate, users can seamlessly view the Canadian website in both English and French.

Home page for Sugatsune Canadian Website in French

B2B and B2C Functionalities

We integrated pricing tables, stock level displays, and customized checkout functionalities for B2B customers, with no ability to complete transactions directly on the website. The website featured an optimized checkout process, product wishlists, and a selection of featured products for retail customers, with pricing and checkout functionality fully enabled.

Additional Integrations

We added a where to buy or vendor locator age. Both B2B and B2C customers can easily locate vendors by zip code. We also integrated a wishlist feature that allowed customers to save and track their favorite products, which also provided valuable insights for Sugatsune’s marketing team. Additionally, we integrated multiple payment methods and real-time shipping quotes, providing customers with flexible delivery and pickup options.

API Integrations

We integrated the Netsuite and Celigo apps on both websites. These integrations allowed for seamless management of inventory, order processing, and pricing across multiple locations. Additionally, the apps will help the brand streamline its payment and ecommerce processes.

To cater to Sugatsune’s global market, we implemented Weglot for multilingual support, making the website accessible to a broader international audience.

The Bundle B2B integration provided tools specifically designed for B2B needs, such as advanced pricing and customer group management.

Sugatsune America’s Website Where to Buy landing page

Search Engine Optimization

The previous websites had more than one hundred thousand images, many of which were oversized and unoptimized. We optimized content for Sugatsune’s North American audience, compressed oversized images, and improved page load times.

Our link builders continuously pursued article submission and PR outreach opportunities, as well as contacted multiple webmasters seeking backlinks for unlinked brand mentions, which helped build Sugatsune’s profile links on multiple platforms.

We reviewed the brand’s and industry’s keywords, assessed keywords rankings positions and implemented strategies to improve search engine results pages (SERP) performance. We reviewed and updated Sugatsune’s keyword strategy, boosting rankings for over 50% of targeted keywords.

Local Search Engine Optimization

To showcase the brand’s products, we created and claimed multiple business profiles for Sugatsune America. We optimized all business citations featuring the brand’s name, address, and phone number (NAP).

We conducted a Google Business Profile (GBP) competitor analysis. We verified Google and Bing Business Profiles, added optimized content and images to boost their local presence. We assessed the traffic and performance of the business profiles using Local Search Grid (LSG) reports.

To further increase the visibility and engage with a wider audience, we added news, events, offers, optimized product details to its GBP.  

To grow Sugatsune America’s customer base we helped claim and verify Sugatsune’s Apple Maps Business Listing. Apple Maps is used by iOS users searching for products using “near me” keywords. With this listing, the brand can engage with its local audience,

Sugatsune America Carson, CA location Google Business Profile

AI SEO

We implemented a multi-layered strategy to ensure that both websites could be read, indexed, and referenced by large language models (LLMs). We submitted an llms.txt file to enable access for LLM based crawlers, and optimized the website’s content for LLM search engines such as ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, Microsoft CoPilot, Meta AI, DeepSeek, Perplexity, Grok, and other AI platforms-powered search. We implemented conversational content tailored for AI Overviews, that focused on natural language queries and entity rich topics that align with users’ interaction with AI search engines. 

We implemented long-tail keywords to mirror real-world questions users ask through AI interfaces. All the website’s contents were written with a human voice steering clear of AI-generated fillers. To speed up the indexing of the new pages, we integrated Bing’s IndexNow API, and added other structured data to help boost visibility in AI-generated responses

Final Product

Browse through the images below to see our work.

Results

The results of our efforts were significant, leading to both an improved user experience and strong business growth for Sugatsune. Organic users grew by 24.4% quarter over quarter, with organic sessions rising by 20%. Engaged sessions from organic traffic increased by 22.5%, with an average engagement time per session growing by 2.3%. Conversions from organic traffic increased by 23.9%, and contact form submissions from organic traffic rose by 51.3%.  Quarter over quarter, organic revenue increased by 188.2%.

The client saw 120.8% growth in the number of keywords ranking in the top 10 search results. Quarter over quarter, keywords in the top 3 ranking positions increased by 67.1%. Sugatsune’s rankings for targeted keywords grew significantly, with over 268 new SERP featured snippets appearing on the website.

The number of backlinks increased from 268,670 to over 2.7 million, greatly improving the brand’s authority and driving more traffic to the site. Year over year, impressions grew by 172.6% and clicks increased by 173%. Local citations grew consistently, with Sugatsune’s Google Business Profile and Apple Maps listings optimized for better visibility and engagement with local audiences.

188%

Increase

in Organic Revenue

173%

Growth

In Impressions

24%

Growth

in Organic Users

In addition, the client was extremely satisfied with the scalability of the new website, which now effectively serves both B2B and B2C customers while providing a seamless experience across all devices and platforms. The successful migration to BigCommerce, combined with our ongoing SEO and marketing efforts, has positioned Sugatsune America for continued growth and success in their competitive industry.

Sugatsune started to see growth in AI searches. Traffic and key events showed significant improvements. When compared to the previous five months, sessions increased by 261.6%, and engaged sessions grew by 211.6%.

chart showing growth in Sugatsune America’s AI-driven traffic