Kraken, founded in 2011, is a veteran in the cryptocurrency space, known for its secure and user-centric trading platform. With a user base exceeding 10 million from over 190 countries, Kraken stands out for its robust list of features and seamless user experience.
As a testament to its market influence, Kraken was one of the initial bitcoin exchanges featured on Bloomberg Terminal and boasted an impressive valuation of US $10.8 billion in mid-2022, and currently handles a staggering $207 billion in quarterly trading volume.
But what role has SEO played in building this huge brand? In the digital age, where visibility is paramount, Kraken’s strategic approach to SEO has been crucial in navigating the highly competitive crypto market.
Let’s take a deeper look:
Kraken Top Level SEO Metrics
Domain: www.kraken.com
Monthly Organic Traffic: 2M
Domain Rating: 84/100
Referring Domains: 19K
Total keywords ranking: 121k
Kraken’s Global Reach and Audience
Kraken’s audience is heavily weighted towards the US market, with a substantial 38.9% share, amounting to approximately 786K, of their monthly visitors coming from the US. This commanding presence underscores Kraken’s strength in one of the most vibrant financial markets globally.
Following the US, the second-largest segment comes from the UK, holding a 7.2% share which translates to around 142K visitors.
France and Canada represent the next tiers of Kraken’s audience, contributing 5.4% and 5% of the traffic with 107.3K and 98.7K visitors respectively. This reflects Krakens adaptability and commitment to diverse market needs and regulations.
Competitor Analysis
Kraken may not claim the title of the largest player in the crypto exchange space, a crown held by heavyweights like Binance or Coinbase. However, it commands significant presence in search engines, often beating these larger exchanges in rankings. let’s take a look at how Kraken compares:
| Organic Traffic: | Referring Domains: | Number of Organic Pages: |
|---|---|---|
| Binance: 17.4M | Binance:98.6K | Binance: 831K |
| Coinbase: 11.7M | Coinbase: 70.4K | Coinbase: 471K |
| Kraken: 2M | Kraken: 19K | Kraken: 51K |
| Kucoin: 1.2M | Kucoin:23.3K | Kucoin: 67K |
This comparison shows Kraken’s solid stance in the competitive crypto exchange field. Even with giants like Binance and Coinbase in the mix, Kraken’s strong online presence and smart SEO strategies help them stand out. It’s clear that Kraken are not just keeping up but solidifying themselves as a true industry leader.
Kraken’s Traffic Breakdown
Kraken’s website attracts an impressive 2M visitors each month, but understanding the origins and nature of this traffic reveals much about the platform’s reach and strategy. A significant 57% of this traffic, amounting to 913K monthly visits, stems from branded search terms. Searches like “Kraken” or “Kraken login” are a clear sign of the brand’s strong reputation and the trust it has generated over time. However, it’s important to note that this segment of traffic is more a reflection of brand strength than SEO efforts.
Krakens Traffic Breakdown Overview:
Total Monthly Traffic: 2M
Branded Search Terms Traffic: 45% (700K) – Reflects brand strength, not direct SEO efforts.
Remaining Traffic from SEO: 65% (1.3M)
Traffic from “Convert” Pages: 41% of SEO traffic (535.9K) – Attributed to 9,423 pages created using programmatic SEO.
Traffic from “Prices” Pages: 36% of SEO traffic (478K) – Likely from 22,222 pages also created using programmatic SEO.
Traffic from “Learn” Pages: 18% of SEO traffic (231K) – Directed to 4,293 editorial articles for educational purposes.
Diving further into the remaining 65% of the traffic, which equates to 1.3M visits, we see the fruits of Kraken’s SEO strategy. Of this, a notable 41% (535.9K visits) is attributed to 9,423 “convert” pages, crafted through programmatic SEO. These pages are engineered to perfectly match the search intent of keywords like “eth to usd” which gets searched 340 thousand times a month around the world!
Kraken capitalises on this traffic through a simple “trade now” button which takes visitors to a sign up form.
Additionally, Kraken’s 22,222 “prices” pages, likely a product of programmatic SEO as well, account for another 36% or 478K of the SEO traffic. These pages are crucial for users interested in purchasing cryptocurrency, and keywords like “ethereum price” get a huge 1.7M monthly searches!
Kraken capitalises on the traffic it gets from its “prices” pages with a simple sidebar banner that says “Buy [cryptocurrency] in minutes with Kraken. Get started with $10 today.”
The remaining 18% of Kraken’s SEO traffic, translating to 231K visits, flows to their “learn” pages. This collection of 4,293 editorial articles serves as a rich resource for those eager to deepen their understanding of crypto and its trading nuances. This content not only enriches the user experience but also cements Kraken’s role as a topical authority in the crypto space.
Kraken capitalises on the traffic from its “learn” pages through brand awareness as well as strategically placed CTA buttons.
Kraken’s Backlink Profile
Competing in some of the most competitive search markets globally means Kraken needed to earn Google’s trust to secure top rankings. Backlinks are akin to a vote of confidence from one website to another, a signal that Google uses to gauge a site’s credibility.
As of April 2024, Kraken has built an impressive network with over 1.6 million backlinks from 19 thousand unique referring domains. Notably, some of the high-quality links pointing to Kraken are from some of the most respected websites in the world, including The Guardian, Bloomberg, The BBC, and TechCrunch.
Let’s take a deeper look at how the referring domains are split over the website:
Krakens Backlink Breakdown Overview
The Kraken homepage accounts for the vast majority of the referring domains 14,134.
The Convert pages account for 526 of the referring domains.
The Prices pages account for 1,159 of the referring domains.
The Learn pages account for 3,139 of the referring domains.
This leaves about 100 referring domains which are mostly pointing to “features” pages.
Kraken’s homepage stands out with a huge 74% (14,134) of the 19K referring domains pointing to it, indicating a strong presence of PR links stemming from either passive mentions or active PR campaigns.
This dominant share of referrals to the homepage signifies a high level of brand visibility and trust, suggesting that Kraken’s PR efforts are effectively resonating and capturing attention in the market.
As we discussed earlier Kraken’s website is split into three key sections, each drawing considerable attention:
- Convert Pages: With 526 referring domains, these transaction-focused pages cater to users’ practical crypto trading needs.
- Prices Pages: Accumulating 1,159 referring domains, these pages showcase the impact of accurate and up-to-date data in earning organic backlinks.
- Learn Pages: Garnering a substantial 3,139 referring domains, they underscore the significance of quality editorial content in attracting high-quality backlinks.
- This leaves about 100 referring domains which are mostly pointing to “features” pages. These are most likely from websites that are comparing crypto exchanges features or reviews of Kraken.
Kraken’s Tech Stack
Kraken harnesses the power of Next.js in its tech stack, marrying speed and efficiency to enhance its platform’s performance. Next.js, known for its server-side rendering, enables Kraken’s web pages to load faster, a crucial metric for both user experience and search engine optimization.
Opting for Next.js signals that Kraken’s got the engineering muscle to leverage such advanced tech and maintain agility in SEO. But for those navigating without a large techy crew, simpler CMS options like Web-flow or WordPress could be a better choice.
Google’s Page Speed Insights is currently giving Kraken a very low score for performance, something that seems to be quite common for these large sites using Next.js. This score should be taken lightly though as it hasn’t had an impact on Krakens ability to rank for some super competitive keywords.
Final Thoughts
SEO undeniably stands as a major growth avenue for Kraken, and it’s evident that their journey of adaptation and innovation is far from over.
Kraken’s methodical and data-driven SEO strategy has yielded remarkable results, with their innovative programmatic approach fueling the majority of their SEO traffic.
Additionally, Kraken’s substantial “learn” article repository not only strengthens its brand recognition but also establishes it as a thought leader in the cryptocurrency space. This strategic blend of programmatic SEO and valuable content positions Kraken very competitively, even with larger industry players in the mix!