The shop deliberately avoids expensive brand campaigns. The focus is on search volume segments that the big players like to leave behind: specific custom requests, clear purchase intentions, little wasted reach. This sounds like less – and often brings more in practice. A look behind the SEO scenes shows how this works and why this approach is surprisingly successful in the German online retail sector.
Why the mattress market is so competitive
Around 1.96 billion euros in annual revenue, according to Statista In the German mattress market for 2025, it is predicted. This attracts advertising budgets like nothing else. Bett1 has sold over five million units of its BODYGUARD anti-cartel mattress and has relied on a single model, aggressive pricing, and maximum test-winning communication for years. Emma, on the other hand, has developed from a Frankfurt startup into an internationally operating sleep brand and is one of the few providers that have permanently survived the boom in the German online mattress trade.
Both brands dominate the generic keywords. Whoever searches „mattress“ on Google gets their ads, their Landing pages, whose reviews. The costs to fight these positions are simply prohibitive for smaller shops. The answer lies in the search queries that Bett1 and Emma, due to their size, cannot fully serve.
Longtail beats broadside
Purchasing decisions for mattresses rarely involve generic terms. Those looking for a new Mattress is interested, usually knows exactly what they're looking for: a specific size, a specific budget, a specific purpose. This is precisely where Long-tail keywords – precise search queries with clear purchase intent and significantly lower competitive pressure.
single bed needs a Mattress 90x200, a daybed or guest bed a Mattress 120x200. Whoever additionally a Topper Anyone looking to improve the comfort of an existing mattress will also find something in the range. Those who cater to these requests – with their own optimized pages and clear offers – attract users who are already ready to buy. Bett1 and Emma invest their budget in the broad keyword field. Matratzen Discount precisely taps into the high-purchase-power niches that arise from this.
Backlinks as a trust signal
Visibility in organic search results doesn't solely depend on content. Backlinks – also incoming links from other websites – signal to Google that a page is thematically relevant and trustworthy. This mechanism structurally disadvantages smaller providers because large brands automatically build a strong link profile through media presence, press articles, and partner sites. A systematic Analysis For Matratzen Discount, building their own link profile is therefore not a one-time step, but an ongoing process.
Targeted Link building focuses on quality over quantity. The most valuable sources for a mattress provider are:
- Sleep and Living Advisor Portals with Editorial Articles and High Domain Authority
- Reviews and comparison sites that embed products contextually and link organically
- Lifestyle and home decor blogs that match mattress size and comfort thematically
- Guest articles on niche magazines that use links as natural source citations
A single thematically relevant link from a strong domain is more valuable than ten links from irrelevant sources – that's no secret, but it's consistently challenging to implement in practice.
The Strategy in Practice
The principle behind it can be summarized on four levels:
- Precise Landing Pages Each relevant mattress size and category has its own optimized page with specific content – this increases accuracy for search queries with high purchase intent
- Building Thematic Relevance: Guide content around mattress care, sleeping positions, or size consultation strengthens the domain's content authority while simultaneously providing natural linking opportunities.
- Acquire backlinks strategically: The external link profile is gradually expanded through guest articles, digital PR, and collaborations with living and sleeping portals.
- Conversion-Optimized Pages Those who land on a long-tail keyword have a concrete idea – the page must directly serve this intent, without detours.
Casper took the opposite path back then: expensive lifestyle marketing, weak organic foundation. The result was instructive. According to Business Insider The company already had to lay off its entire European team in 2020 – because Germans, when buying mattresses, focus on Stiftung Warentest (a consumer organization) results and price, not on lifestyle promises. This is a structurally favorable starting point for niche providers with a clean SEO setup. Long-term SEO beats advertising campaigns. Always.
FAQs on Matratzen Discount's SEO Approach
Why do smaller mattress providers focus on long-tail keywords?
Long-tail keywords like „mattress 90x200„ or "mattress 120x200" have less competitive pressure than generic terms and attract users with specific purchasing intent. This increases Conversion rate while also lowering acquisition costs.
How important are backlinks for an online mattress store?
Backlinks from topically relevant and authoritative domains signal a page's trustworthiness to search engines. For smaller shops, these are essential for catching up with brand-strong competitors in organic rankings.
Can a niche provider compete with Bett1 and Emma?
Bett1 and Emma dominate generic keywords with high competitive pressure. Niche providers occupy specific search queries with clear purchase intent – an approach that is durably effective with a lower budget and relies on organic visibility.
Content plays a crucial role in the SEO strategy of a mattress provider.
Thematically relevant content – such as guides on mattress sizes, sleeping positions, or care – strengthens the domain's content authority, generates organic traffic, and creates natural linking opportunities from external editorial teams and blogs.
How large is the German mattress market?
According to Statista, the market volume in the German mattress market is projected to be around 1.96 billion Euros for 2025. This makes it one of the highest-revenue segments in German online retail for household products.
