Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Full Audit and Optimization for an E-commerce Website
Overview of the Project
In today's digital marketplace, visibility on search engines is vital to the success of any online business. A well-optimized website not only drives traffic but also builds credibility and boosts conversions. In this project, I conducted a comprehensive SEO audit and optimization strategy for a mid-sized e-commerce store that had been struggling with low visibility, declining organic traffic, and poor rankings in search engine results pages (SERPs).
The primary goal was to diagnose technical and content-related SEO issues, implement a tailored strategy, and improve organic visibility over time. The outcome? A significant increase in search traffic — nearly 3x more organic visits within 6 months — and higher rankings for critical product-related keywords.
This case study outlines the steps taken, tools used, strategies implemented, and the measurable impact achieved.
Project Goals
Before diving into the process, here were the specific goals the client wanted to achieve:
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Identify and fix on-site technical SEO issues.
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Improve website speed and mobile usability.
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Conduct keyword research to target high-converting search terms.
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Optimize product and category pages for relevant keywords.
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Build authoritative backlinks to increase domain strength.
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Set up performance tracking and provide regular analytics reports.
Initial Website Audit
The first step involved conducting a comprehensive SEO audit of the website using industry-standard tools such as:
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Google Search Console
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Google Analytics
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SEMrush
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Ahrefs
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Screaming Frog SEO Spider
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PageSpeed Insights
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GTmetrix
Key Issues Identified:
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Slow Load Times: The homepage and several product pages had load times exceeding 4 seconds. This significantly affected both user experience and search rankings.
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Mobile Optimization: The site had design inconsistencies on mobile devices, affecting bounce rates and indexing.
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Broken Links: Over 150 internal links were broken or redirecting unnecessarily.
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Duplicate Content: Some product descriptions were copied from manufacturers, leading to duplicate content flags.
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Weak Meta Tags: Many pages had missing or duplicate title tags and meta descriptions.
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Thin Content: Several pages had less than 200 words of unique content, offering little SEO value.
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Lack of Structured Data: No schema markup was present, limiting the site’s eligibility for rich results.
Keyword Research and Content Strategy
With the audit complete, I moved on to keyword research using Ahrefs, Google Keyword Planner, and SEMrush. The goal was to identify:
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High-volume, low-competition keywords
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Long-tail keywords for specific products
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Local search terms (for regional visibility)
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Competitor keyword gaps
Strategy Highlights:
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Created a keyword map aligning target keywords with specific pages.
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Used LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) keywords to improve topical relevance.
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Focused on buyer intent keywords (e.g., "buy eco-friendly yoga mats") instead of only informational queries.
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Added FAQs and related terms in the content to increase semantic depth.
Each main category and product page was optimized using:
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Proper heading structures (H1, H2, H3)
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Unique, keyword-rich meta descriptions
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Natural keyword placement in product descriptions and bullet points
Technical SEO Improvements
Technical SEO plays a vital role in both user experience and crawlability. Here’s what was done:
Site Speed Optimization:
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Compressed and optimized all images using WebP format.
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Enabled lazy loading for images and videos.
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Minified CSS, JavaScript, and HTML files.
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Implemented browser caching and server-side compression.
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Migrated to a faster hosting environment with CDN support.
Mobile Optimization:
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Used responsive design principles across all pages.
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Fixed tap-target spacing and viewport sizing issues.
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Ensured images and buttons rendered correctly on mobile.
Crawl and Index Optimization:
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Created and submitted updated XML sitemaps.
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Used robots.txt to prevent indexing of duplicate or thin pages.
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Implemented canonical tags to handle similar product variants.
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Removed outdated content that no longer brought in traffic or conversions.
Structured Data Implementation:
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Added schema.org markup for:
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Products (price, availability, reviews)
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Breadcrumbs
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Organization
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Enabled eligibility for rich results in SERPs.
Off-Page SEO and Link Building
To strengthen the domain’s authority and improve rankings, a white-hat link building strategy was implemented.
Methods Used:
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Guest Blogging: Published value-driven articles on relevant industry blogs with backlinks.
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Broken Link Building: Identified and replaced broken links on niche sites with links to client’s relevant content.
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Outreach Campaigns: Reached out to influencers and bloggers in the niche for product reviews and features.
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Content Marketing: Created useful blog content that naturally attracted backlinks over time.
Backlink quality was prioritized over quantity. Only sites with high domain authority and relevant niche topics were targeted.
Analytics and Reporting
To track success and guide ongoing strategy, I set up detailed reporting dashboards using Google Data Studio, connected to:
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Google Analytics 4 (GA4)
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Google Search Console
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SEMrush and Ahrefs APIs
Metrics Tracked:
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Organic traffic growth
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Keyword ranking improvements
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Conversion rates from organic visits
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Bounce rate and average session duration
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Backlink profile changes
Monthly reports were delivered to the client, with recommendations for the next set of optimizations.
Results Achieved (Within 6 Months)
The SEO strategy was executed gradually over 6 months, prioritizing high-impact changes first. The results speak for themselves:
Metric | Before | After 6 Months |
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Organic Traffic | 3,100/month | 9,400+/month |
Keyword Rankings (Top 10) | 23 keywords | 68 keywords |
Page Load Time | 4.3 sec | 1.8 sec |
Mobile Score (Lighthouse) | 49 | 89 |
Domain Rating (Ahrefs) | 12 | 26 |
Bounce Rate | 58% | 42% |
Beyond numbers, the client noticed a steady increase in sales and lower customer acquisition costs from organic traffic compared to paid ads.
Conclusion
This project is a strong example of how a well-planned SEO campaign — starting with a detailed audit and followed by ongoing optimization — can dramatically improve an online store’s visibility, traffic, and revenue.
The work done here included every core aspect of SEO:
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Technical Optimization
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Content Strategy
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Keyword Targeting
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Backlink Building
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Data Analysis
This case demonstrates not only technical proficiency but also the importance of working closely with the client to align SEO goals with broader business objectives.