The problem
TheGroutCleaningStore.com needed to grow online sales, with particular focus on three core product lines: a grout-cleaning brush, the private-label Groutrageous cleaning product, and steam cleaners.
That required solving two different problems.
More potential customers needed to find the store. And once they arrived, the website needed to help them understand the products, find what they needed, and move confidently toward a purchase.
Increasing search traffic alone would not solve the second problem.
What I changed
I combined search engine optimization (SEO) with usability improvements and a redesigned ecommerce experience.
On the search side, I optimized priority product pages around the terms customers were actively using to find these types of products.
On the website itself, I redesigned the user interface and improved the shopping experience so customers could more easily understand the products, navigate the store, and move toward a purchase.
I also wrote, directed, and produced infomercials for the grout-cleaning brush and Groutrageous, along with product-demonstration videos that showed customers how the products worked and what they could expect from them.
This was all designed as one connected growth strategy: bring more relevant shoppers to the website, then make the experience more useful once they arrived.
The result
Revenue increased by 104% year over year.
Visits from organic search nearly tripled within the first year.
The SEO efforts also helped priority product pages compete for valuable searches against much larger national retailers. For some target terms, the store ranked above results from brands including Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Amazon.
The increase in organic traffic showed that substantially more potential customers were finding the store through unpaid search.
The revenue increase showed that the broader effort was also producing a meaningful commercial result.
Because the project combined SEO, usability improvements, product content, and a redesigned shopping experience, I would not attribute the revenue increase to search alone.
The more useful takeaway is that visibility and the experience after the click improved together.
What this means for your website
Getting found is only part of the job.
The page someone reaches next still has to help them understand what you offer, decide whether it is right for them, and know what to do next.
When we evaluate search performance, we don't stop at rankings or traffic. We also look at the experience those visitors encounter after they arrive.
Can they quickly understand what you offer?
Can they find the information they need to make a decision?
Does the page build enough confidence to take the next step?
Is that next step obvious?
Strong visibility can bring more people to your website.
What happens after they arrive determines whether that attention has a chance to become business.
When people find your website, is it clear what to do next?
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