Allbirds eCommerce Success Story (3)

Miguel Nicolás

28/10/2025

In the eCommerce success case of Allbirds, we have arrived at the strategic and marketing section, let´s pay attention!
Within this series of the Allbirds case study, we have already addressed everything related to the business model and, moreover, we analysed in depth how they have set up their online store.

But we know you are also interested in other things, especially everything related to marketing, because it is usually where we can draw more insights or aspects in which we can be inspired, which, after all, is the objective of any case analysed.

Are you ready to find out how Allbirds competes in online marketing?
Allbirds Marketing Mix
This footwear and fashion brand is characterised by managing a wide range of marketing channels. Throughout this post, we will focus especially on SEO, paid campaigns or content marketing on its social networks.

As you see there is a lot to talk about, so it is better not to waste time and start straight away.
Allbirds SEO
We will resort to one of the SEO tools preferred by many (despite being called SEM Rush, paradoxically). I remind you that you can perform this analysis with the free version, but if you want to go deeper, it is always worth paying.
- We see that its domain has significant authority (56 according to the SEMrush index) and, moreover, it is growing in the ranking.
- It stands out that it has more than remarkable traffic volume for an online store, with more than 413,500 sessions. It even rises, having “lost” many keywords.
- Allbirds ranks for 145,000 words, of which 7,400 are on the first page, thus generating potentially valuable traffic. In addition, it is very balanced in terms of search intent, distributed almost 33 % between informational, commercial and transactional
- If you look at the keywords, it gives us a clue to see that it holds brand positions (even “misspelled”), brand + product, brand + model and, most impressively, ranks in second position for the generic term: “sneakers”.
INSIGHT: in summary, we can say that they do a great job and devote a lot of effort to their organic traffic.
Allbirds Paid Media and SEM
Again, we use the same tool, because, as you can imagine, it is very useful to analyse the paid results on Google. Here is an interesting first screenshot.
- It contrasts the organic trend, if we cross it with the paid traffic, which seems to fall abruptly. A drop so important could indicate, rather than a strategic decision, some problem with the Google Ads account. Although, in the graph, we see that they have had moments with more active presence in other months.
- The keywords that we can see are testimonial in the free version, but they give us clues. For example, they bid on usage context (shoes for travel), materials (wool), brand and also a competitor.
- As of today, we see that they are very far from the active presence of other powerful competitors, some as direct as Tropicfeel, which has a very similar product in terms of specifications and target audiences.
- Let’s take a look at the ads published recently on Google. For this we will search in Google Ads Transparency, where I remind you that you have an immense repository of public ads of countless advertisers.
Here you can see that Allbirds bets on those platforms that allow it to give relevance to images, videos and Merchant Center listings.
INSIGHT: for some reason, it seems that they are not putting up much of a fight on Google Ads, at least in search, because other formats are more attractive to them.
But, of course, paid media is not limited only to Google. We know that platforms like Meta can be especially effective for certain products, such as those of Allbirds.

After all, it is a brand that has imprinted in fire its focus on lifestyle and social responsibility, two perfect ingredients to generate attractive content on social networks.

Let’s see what they do on Facebook and Instagram platforms. As in the Google case, we can access the transparency repository .
Right now you cannot draw many conclusions, because the active campaign monopolises the dissemination of discount ads. But we can see the type of content and its scheme: product + discount + seasonality.
INSIGHT: if you have products with collections or use associated with a certain time of year, these campaigns ensure impact at the right moment and for the optimal audience.
By the way, although it does not apply in this case because apparently Allbirds does not advertise on TikTok, I am going to leave you the link to the Chinese network’s advertiser repository, because maybe your competition does advertise and, moreover, it is always a source of inspiration, which is what this post is about.
Allbirds Content Strategy
You can find it on all the typical platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest… with active profiles (and unequal impact, to be honest).

Instead of going profile by profile, what we are going to do is look at some examples of the main types of content. This also makes sense, because they make many cross-posts, reposting the same thing on different platforms.
INSIGHT: with how well this brand works content, it is a pity that they have not better adapted each post to the language and tone of their corresponding audiences.
Product
I could give you hundreds of examples in which the content is basically showing the product and its main attributes.
What is best about this content is:
- Very attractive production, it conveys quality and care for detail, something that in some way passes the same message about the product itself.
- Variety in a single content, it shows different models that we can appreciate in a few seconds.
- Balance between the commercial, the inspirational and the functional aspect. It is very clear that we are facing waterproof footwear.
INSIGHT: if you are going to openly use a post as a shop window, make sure it has something more than a simple image without context, otherwise it will not be relevant nor generate engagement.
Disclosure and sustainability
We find a good deal of content related to sustainability, environmental responsibility and responsible resource consumption.
That is an amazing piece of content, because:
- It exposes topics of interest for the audience that buys Allbirds shoes. This demonstrates a commitment to the environment and helps make responsible decisions.
- The shoes are present in an organic way, they are simply a consequence of the content, they are not a pretext or an advertisement as such. However, we associate an ethical behaviour with the brand.
- It is content that is easy to consume, comment and especially share with other users who share concerns.
INSIGHT: remember that not everything you publish on social networks has to be adverts, especially what remains publicly in our timeline or wall.
Design
I could give you a ton of examples, honestly, but let’s go to the network of style par excellence to show you how they manage their presence on Pinterest.
This board is very good because:
- It uses static images. Not everything has to be video and especially in fashion, because many times we want to stop at the details, the colours, the finishes… and that in video can cost a little more.
- Each board works like a shop window, which allows us to see many thumbnails. Each of them tells a story and represents a type of person.
- On this profile, logically, there are also videos that are perfectly aligned with the board’s objective: showing design.
INSIGHT: good management of a network that is not always exploited. In the case of Allbirds they have known how to make the most of it and, moreover, this is an example of adapting content to the medium.
Stores
If you have read the previous posts of this series, you will already know that this brand also has physical stores in the retail channel. This is something that always makes sense to also communicate online:
View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Allbirds (@allbirds)
Notice how well this is done, because:
- It generates foot traffic in the store, both for people who are near it, and for people who, being far away, did not know about the channel, and seek a closer store.
- The stores are an extension of the brand and the product, they have such good design, that they convey the idea of quality. Somehow it reminds me of the concept of the Apple Store.
- They provide authority to the brand and generate trust in new customers.
INSIGHT: in the multichannel reality we live in, we must ensure that every resource we have, the stores, in this case, has an online reflection. The same applies to the team, the manufacturing… everything is communicated.
Social responsibility
We have already extensively commented on Allbirds’ significance with nature, but it is more than an eco-friendly brand, because they carry out actions directly with and for the community.
@weareallbirds We went to the farm. We ate some pluots. We dyed some shoes. We DID NOT go in the pigpen. And we learned that if we just listen to Mother Nature, she’ll give us everything we need. #marshawnlynch #schooledwithmarshawn #allbirds #farmvisit #fieldtrip ? original sound - Allbirds
This TikTok is great because:
- It exposes a community action while telling a story, connects with the audience. In this case it is an organic farm created and managed by a minority.
- It introduces the figure of the more aspirational influencer: an American football player, a success model for the younger ones. The idea of sustainability is linked to sport (two pillars of Allbirds’ mission).
- It achieves content so powerful that it allows breaking the unwritten rules of the network. It is not easy to find a video of more than 5 minutes with almost a million likes on TikTok, which demonstrates that, if the content is good, the user consumes it.
INSIGHT: Allbirds uses influencers, yes, but at a higher level. We are talking about Hollywood stars like Stanley Tucci, athletes like Marshawn Lynch and Carlos Sainz or television stars. Perfect so that they become the vehicle of a message that says: we are cool.
Keys to Allbirds’ success
- Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) model and total experience control. Allbirds avoids intermediaries, which allows it to control both price and brand narrative, while helping build a closer relationship with the customer, leaving a larger margin and better loyalty capacity.
- Clear value proposition: sustainability + simplicity. The brand has positioned itself firmly as an eco-friendly alternative: natural materials (merino wool, eucalyptus, sugar-cane foam) and a simple aesthetic. Having a clear “why” (sustainability) combined with “how” (minimalist design) and “what” (comfortable shoes) has helped differentiate it.
- Reduced catalogue and more focused on quality than quantity. Instead of launching hundreds of models, Allbirds started with a few sneakers but very well designed, which facilitated efficient production, quality control and clarity for the consumer.
- Marketing based on community, authentic content and influencers. It uses content strategies that go beyond selling: they educate on sustainability, generate brand storytelling and do influencer marketing in a strategic way.
- Logistics optimisation and omnichannel experience. Although it is a digitally native brand, Allbirds has worked to integrate online and physical channels efficiently: they use “ship to store” so that physical stores can fulfill online orders and reduce logistics costs.
What do you think of the eCommerce success case of Allbirds? I hope you have found it as interesting as we have writing it!