Digital Transformation
for the Marine Industry
We use auditing and data mapping to create clear steps on improving: growth, marketing, branding, and profitability.
Marinas
-
Boating Apps
-
Yacht Clubs
-
Sailing Schools
-
Sales Brokers
-
Charters
-
Yacht Shows
-
Commercial Ports
-
Dive Schools
-
Yacht Builders
-
Marinas - Boating Apps - Yacht Clubs - Sailing Schools - Sales Brokers - Charters - Yacht Shows - Commercial Ports - Dive Schools - Yacht Builders -
We will review your current tools, processes and marketing
Marine businesses are losing time and revenue for the same reasons:
We audit marine businesses to reveal improvement areas in Digital Marketing, Positioning, AI, Automation and Website Conversions. Get insights into lost revenue, missed conversions and poor processes.
The result: smoother processes, more sales conversions, increased efficiency with higher profit margins. Turn your operations into a lean, data-driven success story.
Where we can help you
-
Automate routine admin tasks, custom GPTs built with your brand knowledge for internal and customer facing use
-
Proper growth dashboard- track whats performing and what’s not. SEO fixes to increase visitors and conversions to your website. Community engagement campaigns, effectively work with content creators and properly manage your brand’s social media pages.
-
Connect workflows to custom Chat GPTs, complex automations designed to make your marine business run smoothly and profitably.
-
Identify which acquisition channels are performing, GTM plans for new product launches or new markets. Identify lost revenue and build a strong plan to fix it.
-
Dedicated daily time from the SMCert team + help with tracking goals and training on tools + mystery shops and audits
-
Better reputation and reviews, DL campaigns, PLG campaigns, user activation
We will review your current tools, processes and marketing
With 20+ years of hands-on experience in digital strategy, marketing and growth fas well as being sailors, SMCert speaks the language of both business and the sea. We are trained in Digital Transformation, Marketing and AI implementation as well as workflow automations, and website conversion optimisation.
Smart Marine Certification (SMCert) sets the standard for Europe’s marine businesses. We help companies lead in digital readiness, sustainability, and customer experience, giving boaters confidence and operators credibility
About Us
How Does it work?
Audit: We map your website, marketing flow, tools and customer touch-points using the SMCert framework. Most audits are done remotely with optional on-site visit.
Roadmap: You get a clear playbook of fixes and upgrades.
Implementation support: We can help implement: growth strategy, website conversion optimisation, marketing asset creation, paid ads, sales automations, email campaigns, AI tool implementation and lifecycle marketing systems. We can also help up-skill your team and train them on any changes.
We will review your current tools, processes and marketing
What our clients say
-
![A woman with blonde curls smiling at the camera in a cozy indoor setting.]()
The team were a big help-we had some things to work on and they were super helpful with showing us how we can improve. Recommend!
Natalia, Marina Director, ES
-
![Smiling middle-aged man with short gray hair and beard wearing a blue shirt.]()
They (SMCert) are v proactive with the help
Alessio, Port Sales / Web, IT
-
![A woman with long brown hair wearing a teal top stands outdoors with a blurred background of trees and a white structure.]()
Just THE BEST, grazie team!! We are so happy with the results!!
Marzia, Marina Manager, IT
-
![Close-up of a man with short brown hair and a beard, looking at the camera in an indoor setting.]()
They are very hands-on- they helped us modernise, they were even teaching team members on how to use AI. Very knowledgable team- thanks Lee
Gonzalo, Port reservations manager, ES
FAQs
What is marine marketing, and how is it different from “normal” digital marketing?
Marine marketing is growth marketing tailored to how people actually buy boats, book charters, and choose marinas: long consideration cycles, high-ticket decisions, seasonal demand, and heavy reliance on trust signals like reviews, certifications, and broker/partner networks.
How can a yacht charter company get more direct bookings (and reduce OTA commissions)?
You grow direct bookings by building an SEO + paid search system around “charter in [destination]” and “catamaran/sailing yacht charter [month]” intent, then converting that traffic with landing pages, pricing transparency, WhatsApp-first lead handling, and retargeting.What SEO keywords should a yacht builder target to generate qualified leads?
Yacht builders should target high-intent terms like “semi-custom yacht builder,” “performance sailing yacht,” “bluewater cruiser [length],” “explorer yacht,” and competitor comparison searches, supported by spec-led pages, model pages, and owner-story content that matches buyer intent.How long does SEO take to work for marine businesses like yacht charters or boat builders?
Typically 3–6 months to see meaningful movement on commercial marine SEO keywords, and 6–12 months to build durable rankings—faster if you already have domain authority, strong technical SEO, and a content pipeline tied to bottom-funnel pages.Do boating and marine brands still need Google Ads if they’re investing in SEO?
Yes—Google Ads captures immediate high-intent searches (charter availability, model-specific demand, “near me” marina intent) while SEO compounds over time; the best setup uses paid search to validate keyword economics and then turns winners into SEO content and landing pages.What’s the best marketing channel for yacht charters: Instagram, Google, or partnerships?
If you want revenue fast, Google Search is usually the highest intent; Instagram builds brand and demand; partnerships (brokers, marinas, creators) scale trust. The answer depends on your price point, geography, seasonality, and whether you sell cabins, full charters, or management.How do you improve conversion rates on a yacht charter website?
You improve conversion by fixing speed and mobile UX, adding availability-first flows, tightening destination pages, clarifying inclusions/exclusions, building proof (reviews, press, certifications), and running CRO tests on inquiry forms vs WhatsApp vs instant quote.Can you help boating apps and marketplaces improve organic growth and ASO?
Yes—boating apps grow through a combined SEO + ASO strategy: high-intent boating keywords, programmatic destination/marina pages (done properly), review generation loops, App Store keyword coverage, and paid acquisition that feeds learnings back into organic.What marketing KPIs matter most for marine brands (charter, builder, marina, app)?
The core KPIs are qualified leads, lead-to-booking rate, cost per qualified lead, revenue per visitor, assisted conversions (retargeting/email), and lifetime value—plus seasonality-adjusted pipeline value so you’re not flying blind in the off-season.What does SMCert actually do for marine brands, and what results should we expect?
SMCert builds a growth engine for marine businesses: technical SEO, content that ranks for marine search intent, landing pages that convert, paid acquisition, CRM/email automation, and reporting that ties spend to bookings and leads—so you get predictable demand, not random spikes.Q: Which tools do you work with?
A:
Standard port software- Marina Master, PacsoftNG, Scribble Software ,MARINAGO, Dockwa, Navily Pro.
Core LLMs- OpenAI, Claude, Google Gemini, Meta Llama
Automations- Zapier, Make AI, n8n, UiPath Document Understanding
AIS, vessel traffic and berth intelligence- MarineTraffic, Kpler, VesselFinder APIs, Datalastic
Guest comms, helpdesk, and AI chat- Intercom, Zendesk, WhatsApp Business, Twilio, DeepL
Reviews- Navily, Google business, Meta ads, PostHog, Matomo
Back-office and revenue ops- UiPath DU, Rossum, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Clay
We will review your current tools, processes and marketing