Palmonas Marketing Strategy - Driving Growth in D2C Jewellery

About Palmonas

Palmonas, a Pune-based demi-fine jewellery brand founded in 2020, has rapidly established itself as a key player in India’s affordable luxury market. By offering 18k gold-plated surgical steel pieces that are tarnish-free and suitable for everyday wear, Palmonas caters to urban millennials seeking stylish yet durable jewellery. Despite early success, the brand faced challenges such as low conversion rates and high bounce rates.

This case study examines how Palmonas implemented a full-funnel SEO strategy to address these issues and drive sustainable growth.

Marketing Objective & Business Challenge

Objective: Refine Palmonas's digital presence to drive high-quality, high-intent traffic that converts, building long-term brand authority through a strategic and sustainable SEO approach.

Challenges:

Low Conversion Rates & High Bounce Rates: Broad, high-traffic keywords attracted low-intent visitors, leading to poor user engagement.

Weak Link Profile: An aggressive, quantity-over-quality backlink strategy resulted in a fragile link profile.

Suboptimal User Experience (UX): Basic technical SEO setup led to slow page speeds and mobile usability issues.

Marketing Channels & Strategies

Digital Marketing

SEO: Focused on improving organic search visibility.

Social Media Marketing: Active presence on Instagram and Pinterest for audience engagement and product showcases.

Influencer Marketing: Strategic collaborations with micro- and macro-influencers.

Email Marketing: Newsletters and automated campaigns.

YouTube SEO: Leveraging video content to connect with a wider audience.

Paid Ads: Supplementing organic efforts (e.g., Google Ads, Meta Ads).

Traditional Marketing:

Pop-up Stores: Experiential events at lifestyle exhibitions.

Shark Tank India: TV appearance for mass-market brand awareness.

Palmonas Marketing Strategy Breakdown

1. Content Marketing & SEO

• Initial Focus: Targeted broad keywords like “best necklaces for women” to drive traffic.
• Refined Strategy: Shifted to more specific keywords such as “waterproof jewellery India” and “demi-fine jewellery brands” to attract high-intent visitors.
• Content Hub: Launched the “Demi-Fine Journal” to educate consumers and improve SEO performance.

2. Influencer Marketing & Social Presence

• Collaborations: Partnered with over 450 micro-influencers and Bollywood star Shraddha Kapoor.
• Content Types: Shared unboxing videos, styling tips, and behind-the-scenes content.
• Impact: Enhanced brand credibility and emotional connection with the audience.

3. Local & Omni-Channel Expansion

• Physical Presence: Opened experience kiosks in cities like Pune and Mumbai.
• Local SEO: Optimised Google Business Profile and created location-specific landing pages.
• Local Citations: Built citations on platforms like JustDial to drive foot traffic and local search visibility.

Results & Impact

• Increased Organic Traffic: From 3K to 320K monthly sessions in 18 months.
• Keyword Rankings: Achieved quick improvements for high-volume keywords.
• Backlinks: Boosted domain authority through increased referring domains.
• Awards & Recognition: Won two prestigious awards at the E4M D2C Revolution Awards.
• Shark Tank Success: Secured an investment of ₹1.26 crore on Shark Tank India.

What Worked & Why

• SEO-First Mindset: Early focus on SEO-driven content provided a quick traffic boost.
• Influencer Collaborations: Built authenticity and trust with the audience.
• Omni-Channel Approach: Blended online and offline strategies to enhance brand visibility.

What Didn’t Work & Why

• Generic Keyword Strategy: Led to high bounce rates and low conversions.
• Backlink Approach: Quantity-over-quality strategy resulted in a fragile link profile.
• User Experience Issues: Technical SEO issues impacted site performance and user engagement.

IIDE Student Recommendations

1. Enhanced User Experience (UX)

• Simplify website navigation with clear categories and filters.
• Implement a mobile-first design to cater to mobile shoppers.
• Improve site speed by compressing images and optimising server response time.

2. Content Diversification & Repurposing

• Create a consistent stream of video content showcasing styling tips, care guides, and product launches.
• Repurpose top-performing blog posts into short-form videos and infographics for social media.
• Expand the blog to cover a wider range of topics, including fashion trends and gifting guides.

3. Quality-First Link Building

• Shift from a volume-based approach to a quality-based one.
• Focus on earning editorial links from high-authority fashion, lifestyle, and business publications.
• Offer co-branded content, product reviews, and expert quotes to build a strong, relevant link profile.

4. Local & Omni-Channel SEO

• Fully optimise Google Business Profile with high-resolution photos, store hours, and service categories.
• Encourage customers to leave reviews and check-ins at physical pop-up locations.
• Build a consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone) citation profile across local directories like JustDial and Bing Places.

5. App Store Optimisation (ASO)

• Optimise the app title and description with high-volume keywords.
• Use visually rich previews (screenshots, videos) to showcase the app's features.
• Prompt users to rate the app to boost its visibility in app store search results.