How We Built Search Visibility for a Product Category That Didn't Exist (While AI Was Supposedly Killing SEO)

The client makes an enzyme powder that helps people digest food if they have FODMAP intolerances. It’s science-backed, developed by actual researchers, and addresses a broader range of digestive issues than single-purpose supplements like Lactaid.

The problem: nobody was looking for it.

People with digestive issues default to familiar solutions. They grab Lactaid for lactose intolerance, avoid certain foods entirely, or try random supplements that might help. They don’t search for “enzyme supplement for FODMAP intolerance” because they don’t know that’s an option.

The client had no direct competitors doing exactly what they do. But they competed for attention against packaged low-FODMAP foods and dozens of digestive supplements with more established brand recognition.

They came to us in October 2024. They had a team of scientists and clinicians running the company, but no marketing department. We needed to build awareness from scratch while educating a team that didn’t think in marketing terms.

The Challenges

• Building a category that doesn’t exist in search yet. When people aren’t searching for your product type, you can’t just optimize for existing demand. You have to create it.
• Navigating scientific accuracy without medical expertise. The team is made up of scientists. Terms like “oligosaccharides” are their everyday language. We needed to verify every claim was scientifically accurate while translating complex research into content people would actually read.
• No marketing team to work with. We were consulting directly with clinicians who understood biology but not SEO or conversion optimization. The knowledge gap went both ways, but they trusted us enough to implement our recommendations.
• Broken technical foundation. No sitemap submitted to Google Search Console. Pages not indexed. Duplicate content from URL structure changes. About 200 pages needed fixing before we could even start building authority.
• The looming AI threat. We started in October 2024, right as AI overviews were starting to dominate search results. Most sites were losing traffic. We needed a strategy that would work regardless of how Google’s AI features evolved.