Case Study
Fifth Ray
Industry: Food and Drink · Size: Medium · Location: United Kingdom
Fifth Ray, a UK-based holistic health brand specialising in natural gut health products, partnered with HAI Digital to establish a comprehensive organic search presence.
Working closely with co-founders Manny and Gurj, HAI Digital developed a content-led Organic Search and AI Search strategy to transform Fifth Ray from complete reliance on paid advertising into a multi-channel brand with sustainable organic traffic.
With HAI Digital, Fifth Ray:
- Achieved 1,150,000 Google Search impressions in 15 months
- Expanded keyword rankings from just 5 terms to 989 organic keywords
- Generated 10,000 product page clicks via Google Shopping free listings
- Established visibility in AI search platforms including ChatGPT and Gemini
- Created 100+ authoritative health and wellness articles
Why Fifth Ray Needed a Long-Term Search Strategy
Before partnering with HAI Digital, Fifth Ray relied almost exclusively on paid advertising to drive traffic. While meta advertising delivered short-term results, the founders recognised the vulnerability of depending on a single channel.
"SEO was on our radar from the beginning because we knew it's a long-term play," explained Manny, Co-founder at Fifth Ray. "We were looking at the short-term, medium, and long-term, and we knew SEO was the long-term investment we needed."
The challenge was timing. As a new brand, Fifth Ray needed to establish product-market fit before investing in organic search. However, without blog content or search optimisation, the site attracted virtually zero organic traffic unless people searched specifically for Fifth Ray or Cosmic Hue by name.
Why Fifth Ray Chose HAI Digital
After exploring several options through his network, Manny struggled to find the right partner. Many agencies quoted fees that seemed unreasonable relative to the level of work proposed. When introduced to Dom at HAI Digital, the timing aligned perfectly with Fifth Ray's readiness to invest in organic search.
"The thing is, we were heavily relying on paid traffic. There was very minimal if not any organic traffic coming in whatsoever," said Manny. "It was perfect timing when we were introduced to HAI Digital because the stars seemed to have aligned."
What distinguished HAI Digital was the educational approach. Rather than treating SEO as a black box, the team took time to explain the methodology, reasoning behind each decision, and the strategic importance of content in building search authority.
How HAI Digital Powers Fifth Ray's Organic Presence
HAI Digital implemented a multi-faceted approach combining content SEO, technical optimisation, and product visibility. The strategy centred on creating authoritative, well-researched articles that positioned Fifth Ray as a trusted voice in holistic health.
The content strategy followed a structured 3-month sprint, providing complete visibility into deliverables and timelines. Each article was crafted to target specific keywords while maintaining the educational, empowering tone that reflects Fifth Ray's brand values.
"The blog posts that you have created have just been stellar, absolutely incredible," noted Manny. "You keep your ear to the ground, look at industry trends, and you're always trying to improve your craft."
Beyond content creation, HAI Digital established Fifth Ray's presence on Google Merchant Center, enabling Cosmic Hue to appear in free organic shopping listings. This channel has generated over 154,000 impressions, 10,000 clicks, and 879 purchases.
Building Authority in Organic and AI Search
An element of the partnership has been the focus on emerging search channels. As consumer behaviour shifts toward AI search platforms like ChatGPT and Gemini, HAI Digital has ensured Fifth Ray's content is visible in these AI platforms alongside Google.
"I want Fifth Ray to be an authority of holistic natural health, and for us to be ranking on AI search is super important," said Manny. "From a personal point of view, when I search for anything health-related, I use ChatGPT and Perplexity constantly."
This forward-thinking approach has already delivered results. Fifth Ray's articles now appear in generative AI responses, expanding reach beyond the 1,150,000 Google impressions captured through organic search.
Driving Measurable Impact for Fifth Ray
The results have exceeded expectations across every metric. From a starting point of near-zero organic visibility, Fifth Ray now ranks for 989 keywords on Google Search, with content appearing on page one for competitive health-related terms.
One notable achievement saw a Fifth Ray article outranking Harvard University for a gluten-related search query. "I was saying it to a few people, 'We ranked higher than Harvard University,'" shared Manny. "That was a pretty cool milestone."
The 1,000,000 blog impression milestone represented another significant marker, demonstrating the compounding nature of content SEO investment. Nearly 100,000 unique visitors have engaged with the blog, with many continuing through to product pages.
A Partnership Built on Trust and Quality
Throughout the engagement, HAI Digital's commitment to quality has minimised the operational and time burden on Fifth Ray's founders.
"When it comes to you, I have so much trust in your quality of work. I can count on one hand the feedback in terms of changes I've given since we started" explained Manny. "I know I can just leave you to it and your quality of work will be really high."
This reliability contrasts sharply with other agency relationships that require constant oversight. HAI Digital's approach treats partners as genuine collaborators invested in mutual success rather than transactional clients.
"You're invested in Fifth Ray as a brand. You're invested in us as founders and you're excited to be an integral part of our growth. That's why it makes it easier."
Building the Future of Fifth Ray’ Search
As the partnership continues, HAI Digital and Fifth Ray are focused on expanding visibility across both Organic Search and AI Search.
With ChatGPT introducing shopping features and AI search adoption accelerating, the groundwork laid through content positions Fifth Ray to capture this emerging traffic.
"SEO is one of those things where it's all quite exciting because the presence on Google is just getting stronger and stronger each week and each month," said Manny. "I foresee a long-term partnership. The results just continue to climb and climb."
Explore What Search Could Do for Your Ecommerce Brand
If you are an ecommerce brand looking to reduce reliance on paid advertising and build sustainable organic traffic, HAI Digital offers a free search Strategy Session to assess your current visibility and identify growth opportunities.