SEO Marketing for a Flash-sale Clothing Project

Case Study: Achieving a 2.4x Increase in SEO Traffic on a Large Project in 2.5 Years

Results:

60% of targeted keywords reached the top 10 on Google search results
Experienced a significant growth of 4.2x in organic non-branded traffic
Achieved an overall 2.4x increase in SEO traffic

To maintain confidentiality, the project name has been withheld as per agreement with the company’s management.

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Project: Flash Sale for Clothing and Household Goods in an Online Store

Working Period: July 2015 – November 2017

Initial Situation:

The website primarily received branded traffic.
Branded organic traffic amounted to 134.7 thousand visits.
Total organic traffic reached 238.6 thousand visits.
Promotions and sales pages were quickly archived.

Final Outcome:

SEO-optimized static category pages became the primary source of organic traffic.
Branded organic traffic increased to 145.3 thousand visits.
Total organic traffic grew significantly to 582.8 thousand visits.

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Tasks at the Beginning:

At the outset of the project, the primary focus was to transition from the previous model of relying on short-lived promotion and sales pages to establishing a static catalog similar to a traditional online store. This shift aimed to create a consistent stream of SEO traffic for the website.

Key Challenges in the Niche:

The niche faced tough competition from established players who had already captured the top positions on Google search results. To overcome this, the strategy involved targeting low-frequency queries and implementing high-quality SEO filter optimization to attract the desired traffic.

Tasks During This Period:

1. Keyword Research and On-Page Optimization

Keyword research for all product groups

Conducted iterative collection of the complete semantic core for all product groups, focusing on 20-30 priority categories each month.
Developed and implemented meta tags and new texts based on the collected semantics.
Ensured regular addition of new optimized content to the site without any pauses.
Removed duplicate categories or made them unique to improve site structure and user experience.

Creation of new categories:

Utilized the collected semantic core and identified new clusters to create new categories on the site.
Expanded beyond general categories, such as introducing specific categories like “loafers,” “slip-ons,” “espadrilles,” etc., based on detailed analysis.

Optimization and indexing of traffic-driving filters

Optimized filters related to colors and brands to enhance their effectiveness in driving traffic.
Kept other filters closed for indexing to preserve crawling budget and maintain site relevance.

Additional interlinking

Implemented additional interlinking to enhance user experience and facilitate navigation.
Developed a system that automatically recommends related products, such as suggesting a bag for shoes or a scarf for a hat.
Enabled the client to gain additional distribution of link mass across category pages.

Rewriting and text сreation for category pages:

Experiments conducted in the clothing niche have revealed that the inclusion of relevant texts on site pages can significantly enhance their relevance. This, in turn, allows low-frequency keywords to ascend to top positions in search engine rankings. Texts were meticulously crafted for each category of the site, resulting in their attainment of top positions in Google search rankings.

Ukrainian version implementation:

Collected a Ukrainian-language semantic core and utilized it for the translation and adaptation of meta tags and texts.
Implemented hreflang meta tags to mark up language versions and ensure proper indexing and visibility in Ukrainian search results.

These tasks were executed continuously, allowing for the regular addition of optimized content, improvement of site structure, and enhanced relevance in search engine rankings.

2. Technical Optimization

After conducting a technical audit, we identified and addressed several issues:

Corrected errors in the implementation of the Ukrainian version, including setting up hreflang, fixing the implementation through a 302 redirect, and addressing incorrectly working language formulas.
Conducted a thorough search and elimination of 404 pages that frequently appeared due to specific site implementation issues.
Developed technical specifications for the site’s filters, oversaw the implementation by programmers, identified emerging errors, and compiled reports for their resolution.
Created meta-tag templates for different types of filters and their intersections. In total, we implemented approximately 30 different meta-tag formulas based on categories, selected filters, and language version.
Addressed the issue of recurring duplicate pages with GET parameters by removing them from Google indexing using the robots.txt file and the meta-robots tag.
Conducted assessments of site speed, including Google PageSpeed and First Byte metrics, checked the weight of images, and took necessary measures to rectify these errors.

The main challenge of this project was the continuous monitoring and refinement required for each SEO aspect. Errors were frequent, and edits were not always applied site-wide, resulting in some improvements not taking effect or disappearing.

As a result, technical audits often involved implementing new iterations of improvements for the same issues. Additionally, it was crucial to adapt the methods for resolving existing errors based on the programmers’ capabilities to implement specific tasks.

Working on such a large and complex project necessitates active and well-established collaboration with programmers and the ability to adapt problem-solving approaches.

3. Off-page Optimization

Due to the strong PR support, the project benefited from natural link building through collaboration with the PR and content departments. We devised a plan for landing pages with links and anchors, which we shared with the content department. We closely monitored the placement of links in articles and on donor sites.

In cases where additional links were required for specific internal landing pages, we secured article links on reputable donor websites.

Initially, we also utilized links on thematic forums, but we discontinued this practice later on due to the difficulty in finding high-quality sites free from spam.

Direct outreach links were not pursued separately, as all direct placements were executed in conjunction with the PR department.

Conclusions:

The best SEO results are achieved through productive collaboration with the client and their team, who are responsible for website development and other marketing channels.

In this project, the following factors contributed to its success:

Active involvement of the CMO in project development and the integration of various traffic channels, leading to increased brand visibility and site trust.
Effective coordination with the client’s programmers, ensuring smooth implementation of SEO-related tasks.
Utilizing SEO links in high-quality and engaging informational publications, which provided additional exposure beyond traditional SEO methods.
Implementation of optimized filters, the addition of new categories, and interlinking, resulting in the creation of numerous landing pages that attracted additional SEO traffic.
Introduction of a Ukrainian-language version of the site, resulting in a significant increase in traffic with minimal effort.

Areas for further development in this project and similar ones include:

Establishing a blog and regularly creating blog content to enhance the site’s authority and attract organic traffic.
Exploring the possibility of producing video content, despite potential cost implications and delayed results.
Implementing individualized filters for each type of product, such as skirts (e.g., mini, midi, maxi, flared, narrow), instead of relying on universal filters for typical categories.

By focusing on these areas, future projects can continue to improve their SEO performance and expand their online presence.