PROJECT INPUTS HIGHLIGHTED SEVERAL CHALLENGES FACED DURING THE INITIATIVE:
- The project contended with competition for commercial queries, battling against aggregator platforms and official brand websites appearing in search results.
- The website exhibited suboptimal technical optimization, characterized by scant internal linking and slow loading speeds, issues commonly associated with sizable e-commerce sites.
- Additionally, the website was relatively new, possessing a domain with limited performance metrics.
PROJECT STEPS
Stage 1: Infrastructure and Transition
- Revamped the site’s URL framework for better clarity and SEO.
- Implemented a systematic redirection from legacy URLs to their new counterparts.
- Seamlessly migrated content to the new URL structure.
- Addressed and rectified migration-related technical glitches.
Stage 2: Comprehensive Review and Enhancement
- Undertook a detailed technical audit to pinpoint areas for improvement.
- Carried out technical enhancements to bolster site performance.
- Refined and optimized the content on principal pages for higher engagement.
- Formulated and applied a strategic approach to building backlinks.
- Initiated the acquisition of external backlinks to enhance domain authority.
Stage 3: Sustained Development and Refinement
- Persistently pursued external backlinks through dedicated outreach efforts.
- Fine-tuned the content on ancillary pages to elevate the overall user experience and site coherence.
Now, let’s go through each of the main stages in detail.
TECHNICAL AUDIT OVERVIEW
Ensuring a website operates flawlessly and aligns with contemporary technical standards is pivotal for optimizing search engine performance and realizing optimal SEO outcomes. Given the commercial nature of the niche, prioritizing the website’s technical refinement is essential.
In the preliminary phase, the decision was made by the client to fundamentally restructure the website’s URL architecture. This strategic move resulted in a temporary decline in traffic, a scenario the client was duly informed about beforehand. By proactively addressing potential issues on a test domain and meticulously executing the transition to the primary domain, the impact on traffic was effectively mitigated.
Subsequent to this, a comprehensive technical audit was carried out, yielding targeted recommendations to rectify identified deficiencies. The audit’s findings led to the resolution of the majority of issues. It’s noteworthy that typographical errors have been observed intermittently following site updates; however, the action plan is dynamically adjusted to incorporate new tasks, ensuring ongoing site enhancement and SEO optimization.
ADDITIONAL CHALLENGES
During this phase, we ran into a few more issues:
- Difficulty with getting the Ukrainian version of the site properly indexed by search engines.
- The site was automatically creating duplicate pages for categories and subcategories whenever there were mistakes in the original URL slugs.
- The site was also automatically generating URLs with an /en/ language slug, even though the English version of the site is on a different domain.
MARKET AND COMPETITOR INSIGHTS
We delved into a thorough analysis of both the market and our direct competitors at the outset. This foundational step was pivotal in carving out our strategic stance within organic search landscapes.
STRATEGIZING KEYWORD ARCHITECTURE
Initiating our project entailed an extensive gathering and systematic categorization of keywords, laying the groundwork for a robust SEO campaign. Our focus was pinpointed on identifying and clustering keywords central to our foremost products and thematic areas.
INTERNAL SEO OPTIMIZATION
We worked on:
- Setting up meta tags for different types of pages.
- Linking important pages together in a smart way to help visitors find what they need.
- Giving advice on how to make existing content better, creating guidelines for SEO-friendly content on less important pages, and planning content for new pages.
ENHANCING EXTERNAL LINK PROFILE
Following our internal efforts, we shifted focus to the external aspect, where we meticulously analyzed and crafted a strategy for augmenting our backlink portfolio through strategic acquisitions.
ONGOING REFINEMENT INITIATIVES
Our commitment extended beyond the foundational work, as we embarked on:
- A thorough scrutiny and disavowal of pre-existing low-quality backlinks.
- Leveraging Google’s Indexing API for optimal page visibility.
- An ongoing endeavor to refine and enhance the user experience, coupled with actionable usability insights.
OUTCOMES
In the face of evolving technical enhancements, rigorous market competition, and continuous updates to Google’s algorithms, we’ve observed a consistent upward trajectory in organic traffic.
Refer to the accompanying graph in Google Search Console, illustrating the organic traffic progression over a 16-month span, both pre and post our intervention:
Initially, as per Google Search Console data, the site was garnering 15-17 thousand impressions with around 500 daily clicks. Presently, these metrics have significantly improved, with the site now attracting 40-47 thousand impressions and receiving 1.1-1.6 thousand clicks each day.
The latest six-month performance graph, juxtaposed with the preceding period, showcases a marked improvement in key metrics:
The Ahrefs graph displays trends in traffic acquisition and keyword rankings from organic search over time.
A chart from Ahrefs illustrates the progression in acquiring external backlinks.
An image captured from the rank tracking tool highlights current keyword standings.
SUMMARY
Throughout a dedicated 12-month span, we executed an extensive array of initiatives encompassing on-page and off-page optimizations, along with technical enhancements to the site. The strategic development and execution of our SEO campaign led to a notable boost in organic traffic, particularly for our targeted search queries. These improvements not only elevated traffic but also had a positive impact on the site’s conversion rates.
These achievements were made possible by our collaborative efforts.
