How Solo Marketian changed the ecommerce SEO strategy of a Shopify store, rebuilt keyword relevance and generated new Page-1 visibility across competitive men’s apparel searches

Industry: Fashion & Apparel
Business Type: Ecommerce / Shopify Store
SEO Duration: April–August 2026
Primary Goal: Improve organic visibility, product discovery and search-driven purchases
Services Involved: SEO Strategy, Shopify SEO, Technical SEO, On-Page SEO, Product SEO, Collection SEO, Keyword Research, Internal Linking, Image SEO, Off-Page SEO and Google Merchant Center optimisation

The Problem Was Bigger Than Low Rankings

GSC comparison of 6 month results with SEO of shopify ecommerce store

When Solo Marketian started working on the Shopify store, the objective was not simply to increase the number of keywords appearing in Google.

The bigger objective was to understand how the store was being discovered through search, which keywords had commercial value, and whether the right product and collection pages were appearing for those searches.

The initial SEO strategy had built strong relevance around the “Khadi” keyword ecosystem.

That included product-level searches, category variations and related commercial queries.

The strategy was producing results.

The website was gaining visibility for relevant searches, product pages were appearing for targeted queries, and purchase activity was also showing positive movement.

By July, purchase events were approximately 5.6% higher than the previous period, even though the website was already going through a major SEO transition.

Then the business had to move away from using the “Khadi” terminology.

For an ecommerce website, this was not simply a content-editing task.

It meant changing an established search strategy while the website already had historical relevance around that keyword.

The SEO Challenge: Changing the Website’s Search Relevance

The term “Khadi” had become part of the website’s existing SEO signals through:

Product content
Collection pages
Indexed URLs
Internal relevance
Backlink anchor text
Historical optimisation
Existing Google indexing signals

This created a difficult situation.

The SEO team could not simply replace one word with another and expect Google to immediately treat the website the same way.

The challenge was to gradually move the website toward a new keyword ecosystem while preserving the technical and content foundation that had already been built.

The new direction focused on:

Handwoven Cotton → Handloom Cotton → Cotton Shirts → Cotton Kurtas → Cotton Pants → Cotton Jackets

The objective was to build relevance around broader commercial searches for men’s cotton and handloom apparel rather than remaining dependent on one terminology cluster.

This became the central SEO challenge of the project.

What Was the New SEO Strategy?

Rather than replacing “Khadi” with another single keyword, Solo Marketian developed a broader keyword structure based on:

Product + Category + Fabric + Search Intent

This allowed different pages to target different stages of the customer’s search journey.

Commercial searches

Examples included:

Handwoven Cotton Pants for Men
Handwoven Half Sleeve Cotton Shirts for Men
Handloom Half Sleeve Cotton Shirts for Men
Handloom Cotton Pants for Men
Cotton Short Kurta for Men
Handwoven Cotton Short Kurta for Men
Handwoven Cotton Modi Jacket for Men

Broader category searches

The strategy also expanded toward:

Handwoven Cotton
Handloom Cotton
Cotton Shirts
Cotton Short Kurtas
Cotton Pants
Cotton Jackets

The important part was not simply adding these phrases to the website.

The keywords were mapped according to what the user was searching for and which page could best satisfy that search.

Shopify SEO: Building the Right Page Structure

Because the store runs on Shopify, the SEO strategy had to work across the ecommerce structure rather than treating every product page independently.

The framework was implemented across 143 product pages and included:

Keyword mapping
Meta title optimisation
Meta description optimisation
Heading structure
Product-content optimisation
URL refinement
Image optimisation
Collection optimisation
Indexing and crawlability work

The goal was to create clearer relationships between:

Category → Collection → Product → Search Intent

This is particularly important for ecommerce SEO because product pages, collection pages and category-level searches serve different purposes.

A product page should help Google understand the specific product.

A collection page should establish broader category relevance.

Internal links should connect the two.

April: Establishing the Shopify SEO Foundation

April focused on the initial SEO foundation.

Solo Marketian worked across the technical and on-page areas required to improve the store’s search structure.

SEO activities included:

Technical SEO audit
Competitor research
Keyword research
Product keyword mapping
Product-page optimisation
Collection optimisation
Image SEO
Indexing and crawlability checks
Analytics and tracking setup

The work covered 142 product pages.

The purpose was not to make every page look the same.

Each page needed to have a clear relationship with its target search intent.

This created the foundation for expanding the store’s organic visibility in the following months.

May–June: Expanding the Organic Search Footprint

After the initial Shopify SEO foundation was established, the focus moved toward expanding organic visibility.

The SEO work extended beyond product-page optimisation into the wider ecommerce search ecosystem.

Key activities included:

Internal linking
Collection-page SEO
Product-page content optimisation
Image visibility
FAQ implementation
Bing visibility
Off-page authority building
Google Merchant Center improvements

During the relevant reporting period, organic traffic increased by 50%, while ranking keywords increased by 133%.

This was an important stage of the campaign because the store was beginning to gain visibility across a wider set of searches rather than relying only on its original keyword theme.

June–July: The Keyword Strategy Had to Change

The biggest strategic change came when the store moved away from the “Khadi” terminology.

Removing the keyword from visible content was only one part of the process.

Google had already seen historical signals associated with the old keyword through:

Previously indexed pages
Existing backlinks
Historical URL relevance
Old anchor text
Previously optimised content

Because of this, some old “Khadi” rankings continued to appear even after the website started moving toward the new terminology.

By July, approximately 80% of the historical “Khadi” references had been removed, while Google was still processing the new relevance signals.

This created a transition period in which the website had to move from one keyword ecosystem to another.

The objective was not to preserve every historical ranking at any cost.

The objective was to establish new commercial relevance that could support the business going forward.

July: New Commercial Keywords Started Ranking

By July, the website was ranking for 166 organic keywords, with 20+ keywords appearing within Google’s first three pages.

More importantly, several of these rankings belonged to the newer Handwoven Cotton and Handloom Cotton keyword groups.

Search query	Observed position
100% handwoven cotton pants for men	#7
Striped Handloom Cotton Shirt	#2
Striped Full Sleeves Handloom Cotton Shirt	#1 & #9
Handwoven Cotton Modi Jacket	#1
Handwoven Cotton Nehru Jacket for Men	#4
Handloom Cotton Shirts for Men	#4
Handwoven Cotton Short Kurta for Men	#9
Half Sleeves Handloom Cotton Short Kurta for Men	#1
Cotton Full Sleeve Short Kurta for Men	#3

These rankings were particularly important because they showed that the store was gaining visibility for new commercial search themes.

The website was not simply continuing to rank for its historical terminology.

It was beginning to establish relevance around a broader set of men’s cotton apparel searches.

Google Image Search Also Created Product Discovery Opportunities

The SEO campaign was not limited to traditional organic blue-link rankings.

By July, the store was also showing 7+ high-intent Google Image keyword rankings.

For a fashion ecommerce website, image search can be particularly useful because users often begin product discovery visually.

Product image optimisation therefore formed part of the broader Shopify SEO strategy.

The work included:

Image compression
Descriptive file naming
Image optimisation
Relevant image information
Product-page image SEO

The objective was to give product images an opportunity to appear for relevant visual searches as well as conventional organic queries.

August: The New Keyword Strategy Started Gaining Traction

August provided further evidence that the new keyword strategy was beginning to establish itself.

The website was gaining visibility for commercial searches related to Handwoven Cotton, Handloom Cotton and men’s cotton apparel.

Examples included:

New keyword	Google position
Handwoven Cotton Short Kurta Full Sleeves	#1
Beige Handloom Cotton Pants for Men	#2
Best Handwoven Half Sleeve Cotton Shirts for Men	#7
Full Sleeves Cotton Short Kurta for Men	#1
Half Sleeves Handloom Cotton Short Kurta	#3
Handloom Half Sleeve Cotton Shirts for Men	#4
Handwoven Cotton Pants for Men	#3
Handwoven Half Sleeve Cotton Shirts for Men	#3

These rankings represented new commercial search territory for the store.

That distinction matters.

The campaign was not only about retaining existing rankings.

It was about building a new organic search footprint that could support the store after its original keyword strategy had to change.

Google Search Console: What Happened to Organic Visibility?

The July-to-August Google Search Console data showed:

Metric	July	August	Change
Search impressions	19.4K	21.3K	+9.8%
Clicks	2.52K	2.35K	-6.7%
CTR	13%	11%	-2%
Average position	9.5	10.4	+0.9

At first glance, the decline in clicks and CTR could appear negative.

However, search impressions increased by 9.8% during the keyword transition.

That meant the website was appearing in more searches, including newer keyword groups where rankings were still developing.

For this reason, the SEO performance was not evaluated using clicks alone.

The campaign was monitored through:

Rankings + Impressions + Organic Sessions + Product Visibility + Purchase Behaviour

This provided a more complete view of how the Shopify store was developing through organic search.

Organic Search Sessions Continued to Grow

The August GA4 data provided another useful signal.

Organic Search sessions increased by 2.8%.

Organic Shopping sessions increased by 3.8%.

Overall website traffic was influenced by changes across other acquisition channels, so total traffic alone was not treated as the measure of SEO performance.

For an ecommerce store, organic SEO needs to be evaluated in relation to the commercial journey:

Search → Product Discovery → Website Visit → Product Consideration → Purchase

That is why rankings and traffic were assessed alongside shopping activity and purchase behaviour..

SEO Was Also Expanding Beyond Traditional Rankings

Product Content Also Appeared in Google AI Overview:

During August, a Threadline Half Sleeves Cotton Short Kurta product was observed in a Google AI Overview.

This was an additional form of search visibility beyond traditional organic rankings.

It also reinforced the importance of creating product pages with useful, specific information rather than relying on repetitive keyword insertion.

The product content needed to clearly communicate what the product was, how it was differentiated and which searches it could satisfy.

Technical SEO Was Part of the Growth Strategy

The campaign was not based only on keyword research and content.

Technical SEO work was also carried out to support the Shopify store’s organic performance.

Technical activities included:

Indexing monitoring
Sitemap optimisation
404 URL cleanup
Crawlability improvements
Google Merchant Center issue resolution

These activities helped create a cleaner environment for search engines to discover, crawl and interpret the store’s pages.

For ecommerce websites, technical SEO is especially important because large numbers of product, collection and image URLs can create indexing and crawl-related issues.

Internal Linking Connected Products With Categories

Internal linking was used to strengthen relationships between relevant products, collections and categories.

Instead of treating each product as an isolated page, the structure was developed around related search themes.

For example:

Men’s Cotton Apparel
↓
Cotton Shirts / Kurtas / Pants / Jackets
↓
Specific Product Pages

This approach helped reinforce topical relationships while giving users clearer paths to discover related products.

Off-Page SEO Had to Adapt Too

The keyword strategy did not change only on the website.

The backlink strategy also needed to move away from historical “Khadi” signals and toward the newer keyword ecosystem.

The focus shifted toward broader relevance around:

Handwoven Cotton
Handloom Cotton
Men’s Cotton Apparel
Cotton Shirts
Cotton Kurtas
Cotton Pants
Cotton Jackets

This was important because the website’s external signals also formed part of its historical search relevance.

Informational SEO: Supporting the Commercial Pages

The next phase of the strategy is not simply about publishing more blog posts.

The content strategy needs to support the commercial pages by answering genuine questions around:

Handwoven cotton
Handloom cotton
Men’s cotton clothing
Choosing cotton apparel
Product selection
Garment care
Clothing use cases

This creates a broader search journey:

Informational Search → Category Discovery → Product Consideration → Purchase

The purpose is to attract users earlier in the decision-making process while strengthening the relevance of the commercial pages.

The Results: What Changed?

The most important result was not a single #1 ranking.

It was the change in the store’s organic search footprint.

SEO foundation

142 product pages received structured SEO optimisation.

Keyword growth

The website reached 166 organic ranking keywords by July, with 20+ keywords within Pages 1–3.

New commercial visibility

The store achieved multiple Page-1 rankings for the new Handwoven Cotton and Handloom Cotton keyword groups.

Organic visibility

August search impressions increased 9.8% compared with July.

Organic sessions

Search sessions increased 2.8%.

Organic Shopping

Shopping sessions increased 3.8%.

Purchase activity

Purchase events were approximately 5.6% higher than the previous period in July.

Google Images

The store achieved 7+ high-intent Google Image keyword rankings during the reporting period.

New search territory

The store began ranking for commercial searches such as:

Handwoven Cotton Pants for Men
Handwoven Half Sleeve Cotton Shirts for Men
Handloom Cotton Shirts for Men
Handwoven Cotton Modi Jacket
Handwoven Cotton Short Kurta for Men
Handloom Cotton Short Kurta for Men

What This Shopify SEO Project Demonstrates

This project demonstrates why ecommerce SEO cannot always be treated as a simple checklist of:

Keywords → Meta Titles → Content → Rankings

A Shopify store can have existing historical relevance that becomes difficult to maintain when the business itself needs to change its positioning.

In this project, the SEO strategy had to respond to a major terminology change without abandoning the technical foundation already built.

The process was:

Identify the existing search ecosystem
↓
Understand the business requirement for change
↓
Map new commercial keyword groups
↓
Optimise products and collections
↓
Strengthen internal relevance
↓
Adapt external SEO signals
↓
Monitor Google Search Console and GA4
↓
Measure new rankings and organic product visibility

The July and August data showed that the new keyword direction was beginning to gain traction.

Why This Matters for Ecommerce Businesses

The lesson is not that every ecommerce website should target Handwoven Cotton or Handloom Cotton.

The lesson is that SEO strategy needs to follow the business and the search intent together.

If a business changes its product positioning, terminology, category structure or target market, the SEO strategy may also need to change.

The challenge is doing that without creating unnecessary losses in organic visibility.

That requires more than keyword insertion.

It requires:

Keyword research + technical SEO + on-page optimisation + ecommerce page structure + internal linking + content + authority building + performance analysis

How Solo Marketian Approached the Project

At Solo Marketian, SEO is treated as part of a wider digital marketing strategy rather than an isolated ranking exercise.

For ecommerce businesses, this can involve working across:

Shopify SEO
Ecommerce SEO
Technical SEO
Product-page SEO
Collection SEO
Keyword research
On-page SEO
Internal linking
Image SEO
Content strategy
Google Merchant Center
Off-page SEO
Conversion-focused website improvements
Paid acquisition through Meta Ads and Google Ads where required

The exact mix depends on the website, industry, existing search visibility and business objectives.

For this Shopify store, the priority was clear:

Build organic visibility around a new keyword ecosystem while keeping the SEO strategy connected to product discovery and commercial intent.

The Bigger Lesson

A successful SEO campaign is not always about producing the biggest traffic percentage.

Sometimes the more important challenge is changing what a website can rank for.

This project started with an established keyword ecosystem around “Khadi.”

The business then needed to move away from that terminology.

Instead of treating that change as the end of the existing SEO strategy, Solo Marketian used it as an opportunity to build broader relevance around:

Handwoven Cotton → Handloom Cotton → Men’s Cotton Apparel

By July and August, the store had begun gaining Page-1 visibility for multiple new commercial searches, while organic impressions, organic sessions, shopping activity and purchase behaviour continued to provide positive signals.

The result was not simply more rankings.

It was a new SEO foundation for the Shopify store.

Looking for Shopify SEO or Digital Marketing Services?

The right SEO strategy depends on the business, website structure, existing visibility and search behaviour of the target audience.

Solo Marketian works with businesses on SEO services, Shopify SEO, ecommerce SEO and broader digital marketing services, combining search strategy with website, content and paid-marketing considerations where appropriate.

Whether the requirement is improving an existing Shopify store, fixing technical SEO issues, increasing product visibility or building a broader organic search strategy, the starting point should always be the same:

Understand what the business sells, understand what customers search for, and build the website around that connection.

Solo Marketian — Digital Marketing Services focused on SEO, paid advertising, content and ecommerce growth.