Client Background
The client was a growing Japanese eCommerce brand selling premium Imabari towels through a Shopify website. I began working on the brand’s SEO and digital marketing efforts in December 2023, when the website was still in an early stage of organic growth and had relatively limited search visibility.
As a relatively new brand, the challenge was not only improving search visibility but also building brand awareness and attracting customers through multiple digital channels.
Rather than relying on SEO alone, I recommended a more holistic digital marketing approach that combined long-term organic growth with initiatives designed to increase brand awareness and reach new audiences. This included strengthening SEO while exploring cost-effective influencer collaborations and paid advertising opportunities.
The Challenge
Building Visibility for a New Brand
- Limited brand awareness in the target market
- Need to attract customers through both organic and paid channels
- Commercial product pages needed stronger search optimization
- Limited content targeting users before they were ready to purchase
- Need for a more coordinated digital marketing strategy
The Digital Marketing Strategy
SEO & Organic Search
- Keyword research and keyword mapping
- Product and commercial page optimization
- Technical SEO improvements
- Internal linking
- Content strategy
- Off-page SEO
Content Marketing
- Created informational content targeting potential customers earlier in the buying journey
- Developed content around relevant search demand
- Used content to introduce the brand and support commercial pages
Influencer Marketing Recommendation
Recommended working with relevant micro-influencers as a cost-effective way to increase awareness for a relatively new brand and introduce the products to relevant audiences.
SEO & Organic Growth
I focused on SEO and organic growth, including keyword research, on-page optimization, technical SEO, content strategy, internal linking, and off-page SEO initiatives.
- Tracked priority keywords and their ranking positions over time
- Monitored ranking movements for both commercial and informational search terms
- Identified opportunities where pages were already close to top positions and optimized them further
- Improved rankings for several target keywords, including terms related to Japanese bath culture, onsen, Imabari towels, and Japanese gifts
- Used keyword difficulty and search volume data to prioritize SEO opportunities
- Identified relevant websites, publications, blogs, and industry platforms for outreach
- Conducted outreach to explore guest posting, collaborations, product features, and other content opportunities
Organic Search Performance
Results after approximately 5 months (January–May 2024)
- 114K impressions
- 7.17K clicks
- 6.3% CTR
- Average position: 15
After approximately five months, the website had generated 114K impressions and 7.17K clicks through Google Search. During the same period, the website also experienced significant overall growth as part of a multi-channel marketing approach that included SEO, organic social media, and influencer marketing.
Key Takeaway
Building a growing eCommerce brand required a holistic approach rather than relying on a single marketing channel. SEO helped strengthen long-term organic visibility through keyword targeting, technical improvements, content, and authority-building, while influencer collaborations supported brand awareness and introduced the products to new audiences. Together, these efforts created a stronger foundation for sustainable digital growth.