Published by isobel.regan@dontpanicprojects.com
Published Date 26.02.2024 
Megantic, a leading Organic Search (SEO) specialist agency focused on eCommerce, is continuously making a mark in the digital industry. At the 2024 APAC Search Awards, they strutted down the runway after being awarded with the prestigious Best Low Budget Campaign in the SEO category, for work with client Hemley Store.
Behind the curtain
Hemley Store is an independent streetwear store curating top apparel, footwear and accessories brands for Australian young adults. Their products are a distinctive style and their boutique brick-and-mortar and eCommerce stores showcase this style in abundance. Shoppers can purchase a complete outfit and be ready to hit the skatepark.
Hemley Store partnered with Megantic in September 2022 through a low budget campaign that would help them with the primary goal of enhancing their search engine rankings and increasing organic traffic, to edge closer to their dream of opening a second store.
On the sewing patterns
For Hemley Store, this voyage has been nothing short of remarkable. Goals were set high, and outcomes managed to surpass all expectations. Take a look:
Objectives:
- Increase first page keywords and top three keywords by 80% each
- Increase organic sessions and new users by 20% each
- Increase organic transactions by 15%
- Results:
- First page keywords: +98% increase
- Top three keywords: +148% increase
- Organic sessions: +48% increase
- Organic new users: +63% increase
- Organic transactions: +29% increase
Looking good in every situation
Like all successful projects with Megantic, Hemley Store’s journey unfolded in three key stages. In the first stage, Megantic conducted extensive customer research into Hemley Store’s target market to understand growth opportunities and challenges. Through this understanding, three primary hurdles emerged: shoppers were having difficulty finding products, bot-crawlability was low and mobile shoppers were disadvantaged. Once these were addressed, key data showed that positive results were on the horizon.
- Challenge 1: Shoppers were not able to easily find the products they were searching for.
Solution: Hemley Store’s customers needed to scroll through many pages of results to find the products they were searching for. To amend this and improve the customer experience, indexable filters were added. Keyword research and Google Analytics were used to find best selling products that should be listed first and shopping by material options were introduced. Filters were arranged in order of importance: Size, Colour, Fit, Material, Style, etc.
- Challenge 2: Improving bot-crawability by fixing non-optimised filter URLs.
Solution: To cut down on the number of new categories needed to be created and to avoid third level indentation, we used a plugin that allowed sidebar filters with friendly static URLs. We know that SEO-friendly static URLs tend to obtain a better ranking in the search engine results pages, as bots find it difficult to crawl and analyse the alternative URLs, dynamic URLs. Combining static URLs into the filterable sidebar provided both an improved customer shopping experience and grew the Organic channel significantly.
- Challenge 3: The site was not optimised for mobile shoppers.
Solution: Given that 73% of Hemley Store’s audience was visiting the site using mobile devices, it was a priority to implement a responsive design and mobile-friendly features. This ensured a seamless browsing experience on smartphones and tablets. Fast-loading pages and a simplified navigation pane were also prioritised and implemented.
A sparkling success brings an award-winning case study
This campaign is distinguished by its success in helping a small business owner with a single brick-and-mortar store move closer to opening a second store. Megantic went beyond what is typical for an SEO agency, addressing technical SEO aspects to ensure a seamless browsing experience and improved shopper experience. This encompassed mobile optimisation, faster page load times, and improved site navigation.
In essence, Megantic’s campaign for Hemley Store demonstrated a comprehensive SEO strategy, involving extensive keyword research, on-page optimisation, technical enhancements, and link building. The outcome was a marked improvement in online visibility, attracting quality traffic and converting them into paying customers.
“It is an honour to win the Best Low Budget SEO Campaign award at the APAC Search Awards, especially at the inaugural live event held in Melbourne. This achievement is a testament to the dedication and collaborative spirit of our team, and I am immensely proud of the success we have achieved in partnership with Hemley Store.
Working with Jimmy and the team has been an absolute pleasure as they have embraced our innovative suggestions and implementation strategies. Their open-minded approach to our collaborative efforts has been instrumental in the success of this campaign. This award is not just a recognition of our hard work, but a celebration of the synergy between our team and Hemley Store.
The future holds endless possibilities, and I am genuinely thrilled about the prospect of continuing our partnership with Hemley Store. We eagerly anticipate the exciting journey that lies ahead!” says Technical Project Manager, Dale Underwood.
“Dale and the team at Megantic have excelled at increasing our Organic traffic. [We are] very happy with the services and results.” Jimmy Pemberton, Owner of Hemley Store, shares on Google Reviews.
Innovation and expertise are paramount for consistent SEO results
Megantic is a leading Organic Search (SEO) specialist agency based in Australia, dedicated to eCommerce. A multiple award-winning global agency, Megantic has created a unique strategy for online retailers that enables them to target educated customers that are traditionally ignored by most SEO campaigns and substantially grow their online revenue.
With offices in the UK, Macedonia, Canada and a flagship office in Australia, Megantic is used by many of Australia’s top brands like The Good Guys, Forty Winks, Aquila and Cargo Crew.
Find us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Written by Emily Bencsics, Marketing & Digital Specialist at Megantic.
