Inflow

CB World and Auto Body Toolmart, two online retailers, were facing challenges with their website content. CB World had a neglected and unnecessary blog that was doing more harm than good. The blog was not providing value to the readers and was unlikely to improve without additional resources. Auto Body Toolmart, on the other hand, had seen a sharp decline in revenue and organic traffic over the summer of 2015. A content audit revealed that thousands of pages had not driven any organic traffic Year to Date (YTD) by the end of September 2015. This was a classic case of thin content and index bloat. Both companies needed a solution to improve their website performance and increase organic traffic and revenue.

The primary challenge faced by most eCommerce stores is improving and expanding their content to enhance their SEO performance. This process often requires significant time and resources. However, the case study focuses on an alternative approach to increase organic traffic without adding new content or improving existing content. The solution lies in deindexing low-performing blog posts through a process known as content pruning. This SEO tactic requires less work than adding new content and can significantly boost organic traffic and revenue. The case study highlights the experience of HomeScienceTools.com, an online store that provides educational scientific products. The store's blog, 'Learning Center,' was hosted on its own subdomain, which had its own SEO impacts. The challenge was to improve the site's SEO performance by pruning underperforming pages.

In 2011 and 2012, Google released the Panda and Penguin algorithm updates respectively, aimed at reducing low-quality content and spamming in search results. These updates have been maintained over the years, causing some eCommerce sites to face issues. One such site was 1800Doorbell.com, a unique and innovative doorbell and home accessories seller. The site was hit by both Google’s Panda and Penguin algorithm updates, causing organic traffic to drop by two-thirds. Additionally, a new site launched in 2013 was built in a way that made it susceptible to Google’s Panda algorithm, as the number of indexed pages increased dramatically. A content audit revealed multiple issues including duplicate and thin content, indexation bloat, and a large number of links from low-quality sites due to shortcuts taken by a previous agency when building the site’s backlink profile.

Asphalt Kingdom and Candy Direct, two eCommerce brands, were struggling to increase their online visibility and engagement. Asphalt Kingdom, a leading provider of asphalt and asphalt-related products, was not receiving the traffic or the quality and quantity of backlinks necessary to rank well in search results. They needed strong, natural links back to their site to boost overall SEO health and, ultimately, revenue. Candy Direct, an eCommerce site selling bulk vintage/nostalgic candy, had no content on their blog and needed to increase brand awareness as a go-to source for bulk candy. They aimed to create a rich and interesting library of blog content for potential customers.

Bandages Plus, an eCommerce site selling compression therapy supplies, bandages, tapes, and ready-made kits, was facing challenges in identifying and reaching its target audience online. The company was struggling to get in front of potential customers without wasting resources on audiences that were not interested in their products. The challenge was to find the best audience opportunities for the client, which required understanding who was already finding Bandages Plus and why. The company needed to segment products into categories that included best sellers, high-margin items, and others, and reflect these categories in shopping ad group segmentation. This would allow them to set bids according to profitability targets.

Gaia, a lifestyle media hub, was facing a significant challenge with its content strategy. The company's blog was primarily filled with self-promotional posts, which were not resonating with potential customers or engaging the targeted community effectively. This lack of engagement was not generating natural links back to the Gaia website, which was crucial for improving the site's Domain Authority (DA). A low DA was hindering organic traffic to the site, which was negatively impacting Gaia's visibility and potential for growth. The company needed a solution that would not only increase its DA but also foster a deeper connection with its audience and promote organic growth.

Houseplans.net, an eCommerce site selling ready-designed house plans to consumers, experienced a significant drop in revenue. This decline was suspected to be linked to Google's Panda and Penguin Algorithm updates, which had a history of causing revenue declines for online retailers. The challenge was to identify the root cause of the problem and implement necessary changes to reverse the revenue decline. An initial SEO audit revealed issues that could be addressed with a thorough link audit and cleanup. However, the challenge was not just to remove detrimental links but also to strategically build new, quality links. Additionally, a significant portion of the site's content was underperforming, which required a comprehensive content audit and cleanup.

TotalHomeSupply.com (THS), an eCommerce website selling products for homes and businesses, was facing significant challenges with their eCommerce platform, Volusion. As their inventory grew and the site’s customization needs increased, they required a more robust enterprise solution. They decided to migrate to Mozu, a more advanced version of Volusion. However, post-migration, THS experienced a significant drop in organic traffic and transactions. Organic traffic, which historically made up more than 65 percent of visits and more than 40 percent of all conversions, dropped nearly 35 percent. Transactions were down 21 percent. Although the conversion rate improved by 24 percent, the overall revenue was down by 7 percent. Further analysis revealed that traffic to category pages was down by 25 percent and product page traffic was down by more than 50 percent. The migration coincided with Google's rollout of Panda 4.2, which further complicated the situation.

TotalHomeSupply.com (THS), an eCommerce site specializing in selling products for private homes and businesses, was facing challenges in tracking conversions and determining the full value of their campaigns. The lack of call tracking made it difficult to identify where some conversions were coming from. Additionally, the client had preconceived ideas about their best-selling products, which were not aligned with the data available in Google Analytics. The challenge was to overhaul the shopping strategy to focus on high-margin, best-selling products and implement a data-oriented approach to improve campaign effectiveness.

Bras N Things, a leading bra fitting specialist in Australia, was launching a new responsive eCommerce site. The challenge was to optimize the site during the launch and identify any post-launch issues. This was one of the earlier responsive eCommerce site redesigns, and there were no established best practices to follow. The redesign was not only responsive but also introduced a new brand experience and new core navigational elements. The company needed to ensure that the site was user-friendly and could provide customers with an enjoyable and easy shopping experience online.

Asphalt Kingdom, a leading provider of asphalt and asphalt-related products, was struggling with low website traffic and insufficient backlinks, which were affecting their search engine rankings and overall revenue. They needed a creative approach to content marketing and link building to attract more attention to their brand. On the other hand, Candy Direct, an eCommerce site selling bulk vintage/nostalgic candy, had no content on their blog. They needed to create a rich and interesting library of blog content to attract potential customers and increase brand awareness. They also aimed to position themselves as a go-to source for bulk candy.