Client: Rifle Paper Co.
Result:
+30% increase in non-brand clicks
+56% increase in holiday non-brand clicks
How we did it:
Rifle Paper Co. came to us with a growth problem. As one of the most recognized names in stationery and gifts, their brand did plenty of the work in search, but organic traffic was mostly capturing shoppers who already knew them by name. Non-brand traffic, the searches that bring in new customers, had stalled outside of the holiday season. Their goal was to turn organic search into a true acquisition channel. To get there, we took a three-pronged approach:
Technical Cleanup and Theme Optimization:
Our audit uncovered technical issues across Rifle’s Shopify store that were holding back crawlability and rankings. We resolved those issues and updated the site’s Liquid theme templates so that every collection and product page was built on a clean, search-friendly foundation. Because the fixes lived at the template level, improvements rolled out across the entire catalog at once rather than page by page.
Transactional Keyword Targeting on Collection Pages:
With the foundation in place, we focused on the pages most likely to drive revenue. We identified high-intent transactional keywords that shoppers use when they’re ready to buy, from greeting cards to planners to gifts, and optimized Rifle’s collection pages to target them directly. This put their products in front of buyers at the moment of purchase rather than relying on informational traffic that rarely converts.
Backlink Acquisition for Updated Pages:
To give the newly optimized pages the authority to compete, we acquired high-quality backlinks pointing directly to them. Concentrating link equity on the pages we had just improved accelerated their climb in the rankings and helped them hold position against larger retailers.
The results showed up in the first holiday season, when it mattered most for a gifting brand. Non-brand clicks grew 56% over the prior year across November and December, with December alone up 68% and setting an all-time monthly record. That momentum carried forward, producing nine consecutive months of year-over-year growth and a 30% increase in non-brand clicks over the first full year.