Case Study · Health & Wellness / Plant-Based Protein

123% More Organic Traffic. 12 Months. Zero Ad Spend.

Aloha makes clean, plant-based protein bars and shakes in a market dominated by legacy supplement giants — and how QCK took them from a traffic low to a new all-time high in under a year.

40k → 89k
Monthly organic visits
+123%
In just 12 months
#2
"protein shakes without artificial sweeteners"
#3
"protein powder without artificial sweeteners"
A
Aloha · aloha.com · Health & Wellness · Active Client · Dec 2023–Present
The Challenge

Winning search in a clean-ingredient category owned by supplement giants

Aloha makes organic, plant-based protein bars and shakes built on a simple premise: no artificial sweeteners, no stevia, no junk. In a category worth billions and crowded with legacy brands, that clean-label positioning is a genuine differentiator — but only if buyers can find you.

The search landscape for protein is brutal. Brands like Orgain, Vega, Garden of Life, and Premier Protein have spent years building domain authority and content libraries. Terms like "healthiest protein bars" or "protein shakes without artificial sweeteners" are fought over by entrenched players with massive budgets.

Aloha had a product that genuinely answered those queries — but wasn’t showing up when buyers searched. Someone typing "protein powder without artificial sweeteners" or "clean protein bars" was landing on competitor pages, not Aloha’s.

The opportunity: align Aloha’s collection pages and content with the exact high-intent queries clean-label protein buyers search, and build a content engine that captures them at the research phase — before they pick a brand.

The Competitive Landscape
Orgain High domain authority
Mass-market organic protein with years of content investment and major retail distribution driving strong backlink profiles.
Garden of Life Supplement authority
Legacy clean-supplement brand with broad keyword coverage across protein, vitamins, and wellness — extensive editorial content.
Vega Plant-based pioneer
One of the first mainstream plant-based protein brands, with deep category authority and a robust educational blog built over a decade.
Aloha + QCK
Content and collection-page strategy built around clean-label buyer intent. Focus: high-intent queries where Aloha’s ingredient standards are the differentiating answer — not just a product, but the right product.
The Work

What QCK Did

A systematic SEO program built around Aloha’s clean-ingredient positioning — not generic tactics, but a strategy designed to intercept buyers searching for exactly what Aloha already makes.

Clean-Label Keyword Strategy

Built a comprehensive keyword map around ingredient-conscious buyer intent — "protein shakes without artificial sweeteners", "protein powder without stevia", "cleanest protein bars". Identified 100+ collection-page and content opportunities where Aloha’s product quality was the literal answer to the search query.

Collection Page Optimization

Rewrote and structured Aloha’s collection pages to answer specific buyer searches at the category level. Pages like /collections/protein-shakes-without-artificial-sweeteners and /collections/protein-powder-without-stevia were optimized with targeted copy, schema, and internal link architecture — turning product category pages into high-ranking landing pages.

Technical SEO

Full technical audit across Aloha’s Shopify store. Fixed heading hierarchy on collection and product pages, rewrote meta titles and descriptions for maximum click-through on competitive health queries, resolved indexing gaps, submitted updated sitemap to Google Search Console, and built a systematic internal linking structure connecting editorial content to product pages.

Editorial Content

Published keyword-targeted articles capturing informational searches from buyers earlier in the funnel. Topics like "what is a protein shake" and "protein powder vs protein shake" pull in high-volume discovery traffic and route it toward Aloha’s clean-label product pages — turning education into acquisition.

The Numbers

Results That Compound

SEO doesn’t flip overnight. But when the strategy is right, the data tells a clear story.

+123%
Organic Traffic — 12 Months
40,230 → 89,787 visits/mo
Apr 2025 low → Apr 2026 peak
#2
"protein shakes without artificial sweeteners"
109 keywords ranked on this page
High-intent, ingredient-driven query
#3
"protein powder without artificial sweeteners"
142 keywords ranked on this page
High purchase-intent category term

Monthly Organic Traffic — aloha.com

Apr 2025 → Apr 2026 · Traffic low to all-time peak · 12 months

Organic Traffic
QCK Active
Non-Branded Rankings — The Real Proof

These are cold-traffic terms. People searching these don’t know Aloha exists yet. That’s the opportunity — and the win.

#2
"protein shakes without artificial sweeteners"
109 keywords on this page
#3
"protein powder without artificial sweeteners"
142 keywords on this page
#4
"healthiest protein bars"
42 keywords on this page
Rankings

What Aloha Ranks For Now

Top non-branded keywords by position · Page 1 & near-page-1 · United States

Keyword Position Page Traffic
Top Pages

Highest-Traffic Pages

Pages driving the most organic traffic · Apr 2026

Client Voices

What QCK Clients Say

Verified reviews from real clients across industries.

★★★★★

"Our keywords have scaled to page one of Google at a pace we have not seen before. We have had massive keywords solely because of pages that QCK has created."

Steve Gmelin
VP Digital Sales & Strategy
115% increase in page-1 keywords in 5 months
★★★★★

"We are so impressed and thankful to have QCK as our SEO partner. They tackled keywords that other agencies said were impossible and now we are ranking above Amazon and other larger companies."

Liz Lenhart
Director of Growth Marketing — Itzy Ritzy
125% increase in page-1 keywords
★★★★★

"QCK ranked us for challenging keywords like 'teeth whitening strips' on the first page, aligning us with major industry players. Their high-touch approach and expert advice set them apart."

Christina Ramirez
CEO — Zimba
1,000% increase in organic traffic
★★★★★

"In just 2 months of working together, we saw a 53% increase in organic traffic. Their approach is transparent and proactive — qualities that are refreshing in the world of SEO."

Nate Prince
CEO — Flowblend
53% traffic increase in 2 months
★★★★★

"QCK has made significant improvements in our organic rankings in just 6 months. They are nimble and flexible and overdeliver."

Shuyler Mowe
CEO — Nicks Boots
Verified Clutch review
★★★★★

"These guys have been amazing for us. They grew our organic SEO off the charts and generated a huge increase in sales. Now, our site ranks quickly for almost any new product or content we post."

Dennis Mistrioty
CEO — Hello Batch
12x increase in organic sales
Rankings don’t lie. When a brand starts showing up for the exact terms their buyers are searching, everything downstream gets easier — ads convert better, email lists grow faster, and sales cycles get shorter.
- QCK SEO Team
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