In early 2023, an online store specializing in yoga products, including mats, apparel, accessories, and wellness gear, approached our agency for assistance in enhancing their website’s organic visibility and driving higher sales through SEO. Despite having a visually appealing website with a well-curated product lineup, the store’s traffic growth had stagnated, and their online presence was overshadowed by larger competitors in the wellness niche. Organic search contributed to only 21.7% of overall traffic, and the conversion rate for SEO-driven visits was a mere 0.82%, which was significantly below the industry average of 1.84%.

The store had invested heavily in paid advertising (PPC) to compensate for low organic search performance, but their cost per click (CPC) in April 2023 averaged $1.56, which was unsustainable given their shrinking profit margins. Additionally, their bounce rate for organic traffic hovered at an alarming 62.1%, indicating poor user engagement with landing pages.

To complicate matters further, a manual audit revealed several technical SEO issues: slow page load times (averaging 4.7 seconds), unoptimized metadata, and broken internal links, which harmed the site’s authority and user experience. Competitor analysis showed that rivals were ranking higher for crucial search terms like "eco-friendly yoga mats" and "organic yoga apparel," which made them more visible for high-conversion, purchase-intent keywords.

The primary objective was to increase organic traffic by 30%, improve conversion rates from SEO-driven traffic by at least 1.5 percentage points, and decrease reliance on paid ads by 20%. The timeframe set for achieving these goals was five months—April to August 2023.

We began by conducting an in-depth technical and content audit of the store’s website, using tools like Screaming Frog, Google Search Console, and SEMrush. This audit revealed several significant technical issues that needed to be addressed immediately:

• Slow Page Load Speeds: Page load time was 4.7 seconds on average, with key pages like the product category pages taking over 6 seconds. Studies show that 53% of mobile users leave a site that takes longer than 3 seconds to load.
• Broken Internal Links: Over 217 broken links were identified, contributing to poor crawl efficiency and a diminished user experience.
• Metadata Issues: Over 70% of the site’s meta titles exceeded Google’s recommended 60-character limit, leading to truncated titles in SERPs.

Technical improvements were implemented. Lazy loading images, reducing JavaScript bloat, and compressing images led to a 40% improvement in page load time, bringing it down to an average of 2.8 seconds. Fixing all broken links within two weeks significantly improved site navigation and crawlability, resulting in a 15% increase in Googlebot crawl rates. Correcting metadata, we saw a 12.3% increase in click-through rates (CTR) from organic results within the first month.

Next, we evaluated the content gaps and keyword strategy. The website was overly focused on short-tail, competitive keywords like "yoga mats" and "yoga clothes," which larger competitors were dominating.

We pivoted towards long-tail keywords with lower competition but higher intent, including phrases like “best yoga mats for hot yoga” and “sustainable yoga clothes for beginners.” Keyword research uncovered 230 new long-tail opportunities with monthly search volumes ranging between 450 and 3,200 searches.

Content Creation Strategy: Our team created 32 new blog posts and 15 optimized product descriptions targeting these long-tail keywords. This included high-value, evergreen content such as “10 Must-Have Accessories for Yoga Enthusiasts” and “How to Choose the Right Yoga Mat for Your Practice.”

The blog posts and product descriptions led to an 18.7% increase in organic traffic to the blog section and a 7.6% improvement in overall session duration, indicating that users were engaging more deeply with the content.

To improve domain authority, we initiated an outreach campaign focused on acquiring high-quality backlinks from authoritative websites in the wellness and fitness niches. At the start of the campaign, the domain had only 325 referring domains with a domain authority (DA) of 28.

We targeted partnerships with wellness influencers, contributed guest posts to high-DA blogs, and submitted the site to reputable business directories. A total of 40 guest posts were published over four months, and we successfully obtained backlinks from well-known wellness websites with an average DA of 48.5.

By the end of August 2023, the site’s DA had increased from 28 to 36.5, and the total number of referring domains rose to 417. This 28.3% increase in referring domains contributed directly to a 22% rise in organic traffic from non-branded search terms.

After addressing the content strategy, we turned our focus to optimizing on-page SEO elements for key category and product pages. This involved optimizing headings (H1, H2, H3) for better keyword targeting, enhancing internal linking structures, and ensuring all product descriptions were unique and keyword-rich.

Each product page was reviewed to include keyword variations, and schema markup was added to improve search visibility for rich snippets. For example, product ratings and availability were highlighted in search results through schema markup, which increased product page CTR by 9.2% over the campaign period.

The improved internal linking structure increased the average time users spent on the site by 11.4%, and bounce rates fell to 53.9%, a 13.2% improvement.

Given that over 60% of the site’s traffic came from mobile users, optimizing the mobile experience was critical. We identified several usability issues, including buttons that were too small to tap on mobile screens and poor mobile rendering of product images.

A mobile-specific SEO audit revealed a significant discrepancy between mobile and desktop rankings, with mobile rankings for key terms being 15-20% lower. We implemented mobile-first indexing best practices, which included optimizing font sizes, simplifying navigation, and ensuring all images loaded efficiently on mobile devices.

Mobile performance metrics saw considerable improvements, with mobile traffic increasing by 25.3%, mobile conversion rates rising from 0.72% to 1.04%, and the site’s overall mobile usability score in Google Search Console improving from 68/100 to 91/100.

While the online store primarily served a national audience, there was a missed opportunity in local SEO. We optimized the store's Google My Business (GMB) profile, focusing on local keywords such as “yoga accessories near me” and “buy yoga mats in [city].” Customer reviews were also incentivized, leading to a 45% increase in GMB reviews, which enhanced local visibility.

Organic traffic from local searches increased by 31.2%, and the store began ranking on the first page of Google for key local terms in their top 10 service areas. This led to a 12.8% increase in in-store pickup orders, translating to $34,620 in additional revenue from local customers.

Results Obtained: Tangible Gains Across Multiple KPIs

By the end of the campaign in August 2023, the results of the comprehensive SEO strategy were evident across all performance indicators:

• Organic Traffic Growth: Organic search traffic increased by 38.4%—from an average of 6,200 sessions per month in March to 8,585 sessions per month by the end of August.
• Conversion Rate Improvements: Conversion rates from organic search improved from 0.82% in April to 1.72% by August, an increase of 90.2%. This brought the site in line with industry benchmarks, significantly impacting overall revenue.
• Reduction in Paid Advertising Costs: Reliance on paid advertising decreased by 22.7%, with the proportion of revenue generated from paid channels falling from 48% to 37%. This reduction in PPC dependency saved the company an estimated $14,950 in monthly ad spend.
• Revenue Growth from Organic Traffic: The online store saw a 24.8% increase in revenue from organic traffic. Monthly revenue from SEO-driven sales grew from $23,410 in April to $29,220 in August.
• Improved Domain Authority: The site’s domain authority increased from 28 to 36.5, contributing to higher SERP rankings for competitive search terms. This long-term SEO asset will continue to deliver results beyond the campaign period.

The SEO campaign for this yoga products online store achieved more than just short-term gains. By focusing on a holistic approach that included technical fixes, a targeted content strategy, backlink acquisition, and on-page optimizations, the campaign laid the foundation for sustained organic growth.

Not only did the store experience an immediate uplift in traffic and conversions, but the improvements in site structure, mobile usability, and domain authority are poised to drive future gains. Moving forward, the store is well-positioned to continue competing with larger brands in the wellness space without over-relying on costly paid ads.

This case highlights the importance of a balanced SEO strategy that addresses both technical issues and content opportunities. By executing a methodical, data-driven campaign, we not only met but exceeded the client’s expectations, resulting in measurable improvements across all key performance indicators (KPIs).

For any e-commerce business struggling with organic visibility, this case serves as a testament to the transformative potential of a well-executed SEO campaign.