Case Study: Powerplay Catamarans — Elevating a Global Yacht Brand with Design and SEO

Introduction

When people think of luxury catamarans, they imagine sleek lines cutting through turquoise waters, engineering that blends performance with elegance, and the prestige of owning a vessel designed for both adventure and comfort. Powerplay Catamarans has embodied this vision for decades, supplying boats across Asia, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, the Caribbean, and the United States.

Yet despite their world-class product, their digital presence wasn’t doing them justice. Their website felt dated, their online visibility lagged behind competitors, and potential customers searching for them often had to dig through irrelevant results before finding Powerplay.

For a brand that builds multi-million-dollar vessels, this gap between product excellence and digital presence was a liability. Powerplay approached us to close that gap.

The Challenge

Powerplay’s leadership had two key concerns:

1. Website Experience

   • The old site lacked visual impact and needed a website redesign. The boats — the stars of the brand — were not given the space or scale they deserved.

   • Navigation was cluttered, with users struggling to explore different models without unnecessary clicks.

   • Mobile experience was inconsistent, frustrating a growing base of users browsing from tablets and smartphones.

2. Search Visibility

   • Despite their reputation, Powerplay wasn’t ranking strongly for either branded or high-value generic keywords.

   • Branded searches like “Powerplay Catamarans” returned modest traffic, while competitive terms like “catamaran builder” barely moved the needle.

   • Competitors with weaker product offerings were outranking them simply because of better SEO.

The challenge was clear: modernize the website to showcase the boats in their best light and implement SEO practices to improve visibility and organic traffic.

Our Approach

1. Website Redesign: Putting the Boats Front and Center

We began by rethinking the site’s structure and aesthetics:

• Immersive Visuals: At the top of key pages, we placed large-format videos showing boats in action. This instantly communicates scale, craftsmanship, and lifestyle.

• Clean Navigation: A new mega-menu was introduced, allowing visitors to jump between Powerplay’s different series — from the flagship Powerplay 52 to the Longreach 62 — without hunting for links.

• Luxury-Driven Layouts: Each model page was designed to highlight imagery, specifications, and layouts in a visually engaging way. Large, high-quality photos dominate, supported by concise text.

• Brochures as a Digital Touchpoint: We created downloadable PDF brochures for each model. This served two purposes: enhancing user experience for serious buyers and feeding additional content into search engines for SEO.

2. SEO Optimization: Building a Foundation for Growth

Alongside the visual overhaul, we rebuilt the site’s SEO foundations:

• Keyword Optimization: Core branded terms (Powerplay Catamarans, Powerplay Boats) were prioritized, alongside competitive phrases like “catamaran builder” and “power catamarans.”

• Technical SEO: Page speed optimization, mobile responsiveness, image compression, and structured schema markup ensured the site performed well technically.

• Metadata Overhaul: Titles, meta descriptions, and headers were rewritten to align with both user intent and keyword relevance.

• Content Strategy: By restructuring content around model pages, Powerplay now ranks for specific product-related searches, capturing high-intent traffic.

The Results

Organic Growth

Within three months of launch, the results were clear:

• Clicks: Increased from 328 to 532, a 62% growth year-over-year.

• Impressions: Rose from 11.4K to 15.8K, a 38% increase.

• Average Position: Improved from 31 to 22.5, pushing the brand into more competitive SERP positions.

Keyword Impact

• “Powerplay Catamarans”: Clicks grew from 78 → 121, while impressions doubled to 285. Average position improved slightly to 1.6, showing dominance for branded searches.

• “Power play boats”: Jumped from 1 → 12 clicks, and rankings improved dramatically (17.1 → 5.9).

• “Power catamarans”: Impressions surged (159 → 629), with ranking moving from 62.5 to 23.1 — a major leap into visibility.

• “Catamaran builder”: Improved impressions (180 → 241) and better average position (28.6 → 11.1).

User Experience

The redesign has transformed the user journey:

• Prospects now land on a visually stunning homepage with catamarans featured front and center.

• Clear navigation eliminates confusion, guiding visitors seamlessly through models.

• PDF brochures provide depth for buyers in research mode, while also generating SEO value.

• Mobile visitors enjoy a smoother, responsive experience that reflects the premium nature of the brand.

Client Impact

The combination of design and SEO has given Powerplay Catamarans a digital presence that finally mirrors their real-world reputation. Beyond clicks and impressions, the site is now a true sales tool:

• It inspires confidence in prospective buyers.

• It makes global distribution easier by providing digital brochures.

• It positions Powerplay as not just another builder, but a premier luxury brand in a highly competitive industry.

Conclusion

The Powerplay Catamarans project illustrates the importance of aligning aesthetic design with functional SEO. A beautiful site without visibility doesn’t attract the right audience; SEO without design fails to inspire trust.

By addressing both, we helped Powerplay increase their organic reach by over 60%, capture key keyword positions, and deliver a world-class user experience. Their boats speak for themselves — now, so does their website.