The Influence of On-Page, Off-Page, and Technical SEO Strategies on the Organic Search Performance of Footwear Brands in Sweden and Denmark

This master’s dissertation explores how on-page, off-page, and technical SEO strategies actually shape organic search performance for 96 leading footwear brands across Denmark and Sweden. Moving away from purely theoretical models, this study uses a quantitative, comparative approach with real-world secondary data gathered from industry tools like SEMrush, PageSpeed Insights, and WebFX.

The statistical findings reveal a clear picture: on-page relevance, specifically how well a brand indexes its organic keywords, is the single most powerful driver of organic traffic in both Nordic markets. However, the data also uncovers fascinating differences between the two neighbors. While the Swedish search ecosystem relies heavily on off-page authority signals like backlinks and domain trust, Denmark shows a different dynamic. Meanwhile, technical SEO acts more like an entry ticket, a baseline prerequisite, rather than a competitive differentiator. In the end, these insights provide e-commerce marketers with a practical, local map to navigate the highly digitalized Scandinavian retail sector.