Breitling SA

International SEO — as reliable as a Swiss timepiece

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correct country targeting

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country–language combinations

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hypotheses evaluated

About Breitling

Breitling SA is one of the most prestigious brands in the luxury watch industry, known worldwide for precision, innovation, and timeless design. Founded in 1884, the Swiss company has become a pioneer in high-quality chronographs — especially famous for its durable and functional aviation models. With the move into digital commerce, Breitling aimed not only to preserve its heritage of excellence but also to leverage the opportunities of e-commerce to deliver a seamless, localized shopping experience to customers around the world.

Step 1

The Challenge

Since November 2019, we’ve supported Breitling in the digitalization of its sales operations — but transitioning from traditional offline retail to online commerce introduced complex challenges.

Country-specific availability

Not all markets launched simultaneously (e.g., the U.S. before the UK), yet users often landed on the wrong version (e.g., U.S. pages for British users). Different shipping conditions, pricing, and availability led to user frustration.

Backlink issues

Historic redirects (e.g., /en/ → /us-en/) consolidated authority almost exclusively on the U.S. pages, while other markets lost visibility.

Crawl budget overload

New collections and individual watches were indexed days later than competitor models — resulting in revenue loss with every product launch.

Incomplete translations

Some teasers and content appeared only in English, even on German or French pages.

Step 2

Our Approach

To optimize Breitling’s international SEO strategy, we used a combination of technical fine-tuning, content consistency, and strategic prioritization. The goal: send clear signals to Google so users worldwide see the correct country version — enabling Breitling to market its luxury watches accurately and at scale.

Technical and structural optimizations

Backlink guidance: We created clear instructions for partners and media outlets to link not to the root domain (breitling.com) but directly to the correct country version (e.g., breitling.com/de-de/). This improved Google’s geographic relevance signals.
Crawl budget management: By analyzing search volume, we excluded irrelevant combinations (e.g., Chinese in Italy) via robots.txt while ensuring that the relevant primary language remained indexed. We also deindexed low-value pages (e.g., dealer address pages).
Hreflang optimization: We audited and cleaned up all hreflang tags to prevent duplicate content and improve accurate country–language targeting.

Content and user-centric adjustments

Full translations: Using tools like Screaming Frog, we identified missing translations (e.g., teasers), localized them, and implemented them — clearly signaling to Google and users that each page was tailored to its market.
Improved Country Selector: Instead of automatic redirects, we introduced a clear selector that suggests the most likely region but allows users to choose manually. This reduced bounces and improved user experience.
Localized details: We adapted content to local language variants (e.g., US vs UK English) and ensured metadata like alt tags matched the target language — improving search relevance.

We Create Digital Leaders

Step 3

WEVENTURE delivers Results

Our international SEO strategy drove strong outcomes (as of June 2020):

Country targeting

Thanks to hreflang optimization, backlink adjustments, and crawl budget refinement, Google served the correct country version in over 95% of cases — resulting in higher conversions and greater user satisfaction.

Hypotheses evaluated

We tested, analyzed, and implemented eight different approaches to solve the complex international SEO challenges.

Country–language combinations

Despite the large number of combinations (e.g., ch-en, ch-fr, ch-de, ch-it, ch-zh), we optimized crawl budget and excluded irrelevant variants — without reducing visibility for the relevant ones.

Reduced crawl effort

By deindexing duplicate pages (e.g., dealer addresses without unique content), Googlebot crawled important product and content pages more frequently.

User experience & conversion

Long-term SEO stability

Learnings

Key Insights

International SEO is more than hreflang: clear signals (backlinks, language) determine correct country targeting.
Crawl budget efficiency is crucial: exclude irrelevant combinations to focus resources on key pages.
Local details matter: even small adjustments (currency, language variant) boost relevance and conversion.
User choice beats forced automation: a transparent Country Selector reduces frustration and bounce rates.
Backlinks must be precise: linking directly to regional versions boosts local visibility.
Regular reviews are essential: markets and algorithms evolve — SEO must evolve with them.