The Southern Trapper is a premium leather goods brand known for its high-quality, handcrafted products. Although the company had previously enjoyed strong organic search performance, a significant SEO algorithm update caused a sharp decline in traffic, impacting visibility and sales. The brand approached KiTo Agency to help them regain lost traffic, recover keyword rankings, and build a sustainable SEO strategy that would protect against future fluctuations.
Client Overvie
Client: The Southern Trapper
Industry: E-commerce (Handcrafted Leather Goods)
Website: thesoutherntrapper.com
Objectives
The primary goals for the project were:
- Recover Lost Traffic: Restore The Southern Trapper’s previous levels of organic traffic after a significant drop due to SEO updates.
- Rebuild Keyword Rankings: Regain rankings for primary keywords that were lost following the algorithm changes.
- Stabilize and Protect Against Future SEO Updates: Implement a resilient SEO strategy that would provide long-term stability.
- Increase Brand Visibility and CTR: Enhance impressions and click-through rates to attract more qualified traffic.
Strategy and Execution
To meet these goals, KiTo Agency designed a comprehensive recovery and growth plan that combined technical improvements, content optimization, and targeted backlink strategies. Here’s a breakdown of our approach:
1. SEO Audit and Recovery Strategy
- Action: Conducted a full audit to identify technical issues, content gaps, and areas affected by the algorithm update. We analyzed pages that lost the most traffic to understand where search intent had shifted and where optimization was needed.
- Outcome: Developed a tailored recovery strategy focused on fixing high-impact issues, optimizing for current search intent, and restoring keyword rankings.
2. Technical SEO Improvements
- Action: Fixed indexing and crawlability issues, improved mobile usability, and optimized page load speeds. Additionally, we ensured the website adhered to the latest Core Web Vitals and structured data best practices.
- Outcome: By improving technical performance, we provided a stable foundation for growth and ensured the website met modern SEO standards.
3. Content Refresh and On-Page Optimization
- Action: Updated existing content to match current user search intent and improve relevance for targeted keywords. We optimized titles, meta descriptions, and headers to boost click-through rates and engagement. We also repurposed underperforming content into new formats to enhance user experience.
- Outcome: This helped the website recover rankings for key terms and achieve higher CTR, as content was better aligned with what users were looking for.
4. Strategic Content Creation
- Action: Developed a content calendar with high-value topics, focusing on leather goods care, product usage, and brand storytelling. We published new blog posts optimized for both target keywords and long-tail variations, creating opportunities to capture more organic traffic.
- Outcome: The new content attracted both informational and transactional searches, bringing in visitors who were likely to engage with and convert on the website.
5. High-Quality Backlink Building
- Action: Executed a targeted outreach campaign to acquire backlinks from reputable sites in the leather goods and lifestyle niches. We focused on securing placements on sites with high domain authority and industry relevance.
- Outcome: This helped rebuild domain authority and bolstered The Southern Trapper’s rankings for competitive keywords, contributing to overall traffic growth.
Results
The results showcase a strong recovery and subsequent growth in The Southern Trapper’s organic traffic. Here’s a summary of the key metrics after our intervention (June 1, 2024 – October 4, 2024):
- Total Clicks: Reached 27,000 clicks, marking a significant improvement after the initial traffic drop.
- Total Impressions: Achieved 1.26 million impressions, restoring brand visibility to previous levels and beyond.
- Average CTR: Improved to 2.1%, showing that the optimized meta tags and content updates aligned well with user intent.
- Average Position: Improved to 33.2, indicating a positive trend in keyword rankings across target terms.
The performance graph shows a steady and consistent recovery in impressions and clicks over the four-month period, illustrating the success of our recovery-focused SEO strategy.
Key Challenges and Solutions
- Challenge: Loss of Rankings Due to Algorithm Update
Solution: Our SEO audit identified content and technical issues that were no longer aligned with the latest Google guidelines. By adjusting the content strategy to match the current search intent and improving technical SEO, we were able to restore rankings. - Challenge: Rebuilding Trust and Authority After Traffic Loss**
Solution: We implemented a structured link-building campaign to strengthen the domain authority and used optimized content updates to signal relevance to search engines. This dual approach helped regain visibility for lost keywords and improved the overall site authority.
Client Testimonial
“KiTo Agency turned our SEO disaster into a success story. After the Google update hit us hard, we didn’t know where to start. Their team came in with a clear recovery plan, and within months, we were back to our previous traffic levels—and beyond. KiTo Agency not only helped us recover but made sure we were set up for sustainable growth. Highly recommended!”
— Dane Schemel,
CEO – The Southern Trapper
Conclusion and Next Steps
KiTo Agency successfully guided The Southern Trapper through a challenging SEO recovery and set them on a path to sustained growth. By addressing both immediate recovery needs and implementing a future-proof strategy, we helped the client regain and surpass their previous performance.
Our ongoing efforts include optimizing for additional keywords, monitoring for any new algorithm changes, and enhancing content to continue building The Southern Trapper’s authority in the leather goods market. As we continue to refine and expand their SEO strategy, we’re excited to drive even more success for The Southern Trapper in the coming year.
Need to Recover Your SEO Performance?
If your website has been impacted by an SEO update, KiTo Agency can help you recover and grow. Contact us today to learn how we can create a customized SEO strategy to bring your organic traffic back to life.
This version of the case study emphasizes the recovery aspect while showcasing the positive results your agency delivered.
