Think of a small clothing store in a busy city- always a go-to place for people. All the people who loved fashion, easy-to-find clothes, and a friendly environment came here. This store helped people find a perfect fit with the ideal style.
But, as time passed, big stores started popping up. These stores offered online services as well as offline stores. But, if we talk about the small store, it had a not-so-cool website. It was outdated and didn’t suggest clothes as per the preference. Not being as easy to use as other websites, the sales went low.
People found it hard to buy things online from this store and it led people to forget the place. Just like an old toy gets lost in the attic, the store felt like it got lost. This situation worried the business owner, especially in 2023 when online shopping became a trend.
Now, the store had just two options – to take a risk and change or, to not take the risk and be a forgotten place. If we look at the studies done by Statista, there was a 14.3% growth in e-commerce sales in 2023.
The Challenge: Rebuilding The Brand Identity
This time, the store needed a change. It didn’t need to just increase its sales but make people aware of the brand. They needed to build their online presence. This could help them establish themselves in the crowded online market just like Amazon, Shein, and ASOS did.
They needed to redefine their identity and it included two challenges-
- Attract New Customers
Even when the clothing store didn’t have an online presence, they knew who their target was. That is Young individuals who were interested in getting indulged in unique styles. The store didn’t keep clothes that were mass-produced.
To build their online presence, they needed to attract potential customers who had the same taste. The customers who wanted to style themselves uniquely and searched for the option online were the target.
- Convert Online Searchers Into Loyal Customers
At that time, all the new and established stores attracted customers. To compete and get ahead, the clothing store needed a robust website. They needed a user-friendly website and a great shopping experience.
Only these two elements could help the website convert its searchers into customers who converted. What do you think is the risk that the brand would take- to change or to get lost? Let’s see what did they do further!
The SEO: An Approach To Dominate The Internet
Now that the brand knew what they needed, they contacted an SEO agency. They talked about the issues they faced and the goals they had and partnered with the same SEO agency. The solution that the agency provided was an approach that covered multiple points.
It also addressed the technical aspects of the website and the content. This would lead to customers walking in, viewing the website, and eventually, converting. It includes-
Product Page Optimisation (Keywords With Clarity)
In the past, just having keywords stuffed in the content could help you get ranked. It means that it was easy to be known. But now, everything needs a strategy – even the keywords. Using long-tail keywords brings customers with high buying intent.
Doing deep keyword research and using keyword researching tools like Google Keyword Planner and SEMrush could be a great help. One can identify the right keywords for different styles, categories, and fabrics.
It doesn’t mean targeting the general or the most used term but the specific terms that align with people’s interests. For example, instead of just saying “dresses”, it used floral dresses with puffed sleeves. This targeted a unique section of viewers.
The titles, descriptions, and meta tags included these keywords naturally in them. This helped in getting attention from search engines and users. To support this, a recent study was published by ProfitWorks that long-tail keywords had 2.5% higher conversion rates than the general short keywords. This targeted a particular section of the customers and attracted them.
Visuals And Details
High-quality images have always been an attention grabber. High-quality images of the product showed the clothes in detail, showing off the fit, texture, and overall uniqueness. According to BussineDit, 75% of online shoppers depend on product images to get an idea of the product.
This shows how important product images are and why one should invest in professional photography. The clothing store faced this issue as well – it called all the people anxious about the actual size. They inserted various size charts with high-quality images of how it looks on different bodies.
This size chart had details of measurements and fit guides to help people choose the right size for themselves. The transparency and details helped in building trust and decreased bounce results i.e., reduced customer returns.
Technical SEO: Auditing And Building
Technical SEO audits are important if you want to improve the user experience on the website. The technical SEO audit for the clothing store found many crawl errors as well as elements that reduced the website speed. Both of these issues impacted the user experience negatively. In addition, it also kept the website back from appearing in search results.
They fixed this error and improved the website speed, making the user experience smooth and attracting users. From this time, keeping the website mobile-friendly became their priority. This gave a seamless experience while shopping on mobile phones and tablets. Mobile phones are the most used devices for online shopping.
According to Statista, half of the accounts on the internet are on mobile devices. Additionally, 58.67% of global website traffic comes from just mobile phones (excluding tablets). This means, making websites optimized for websites can’t be ignored. And, proper Schema Markup was applied to help search engines understand the data and enhance the visibility of the website in search engine results.
Content Marketing: A Web
Till now, we’ve hopefully understood that the clothing store didn’t want to just sell clothes. They wanted to build a lifestyle for people – something different. To help this idea reach their customers, they crafted blog content. It included buying guides, outfit inspiration, and all the latest trends in fashion.
This not only kept the customers engaged but educated them with the latest information and trends. With that, the valuable information helped in building trust and brand loyalty. Blog posts were of different kinds like “10 sustainable summer outfit ideas” or “How to style a statement dress”.
These kinds of topics targeted particular audiences and appeared in search queries of the relevant users. They linked blogs internally, and strategically with relevant product pages and other relevant guides. It helped users easily find the product or information they wanted with a simple click.
The Results
The SEO strategy worked so well and transformed the website within a year. In that year, the website’s organic traffic increased by 200%. It proved to be an outcome of the targeted keywords and efforts that were put into content creation.
But if we look deep into it, the results weren’t limited to just the numbers but more-
- The conversion rates improved by 15% which meant a rise in the sales.
- The website was optimized for mobile phones and had a clear interface. It improved the user experience and helped in easily navigating through the website.
- Blog content targeted the pain points and provided solutions for the issue. This built trust and loyalty.
- The internal linking did wonders and guided users to purchase products easily.
With time, the clothing stored came out of the shell and was recognized for its unique approach and quality in the clothing niche. Their products, content, and service won the hearts and built a strong brand identity. It resonated with the customers.
Continuous Efforts ➡ Better Decisions
Never think that SEO is a one-time investment. It needs continuous efforts. The clothing brand knew this. They regularly monitored the metrics and analytics of websites and even checked the Search Engine Rankings.
They took the help of tools like Google Search Console to get insights into the traffic and sources of the same, their keyword performance, and how users behaved with the website. They used all this data to improve their strategy continuously. Furthermore, they focused on-
- Keeping the content fresh. They ensured that new blogs were published and outdated were updated regularly. It kept users engaged and improved search engine rankings.
- Collaborations with fashion bloggers and industries in the same niche. It helped in backlink building and increased authority.
- Keeping up with the seasonal trends. They promoted products according to the trends and preferences which helped them produce much sales during peak shopping periods.
Conclusion: The Takeaways
The once struggling brand has now reached the heights. It even put in a continuous effort to maintain its presence and fame. While the brand did much for itself, it provided valuable insights as well.
It taught us to embrace SEO like a friend. Be familiar with keyword research, technical optimization, and content creation. Think from your user’s point of view – what do they want? Valuable content, speedy website, easy-to-use interface, and correct product information with a high-quality image.
One should prioritize user experience if they want to succeed in the digital space. It means creating great content that’s valuable and aligns with your customer’s interests. At last, learn from others, do your research, talk to experts, and make decisions according to the data and your goals.