When I first met Karen, owner of an upscale women’s golf, tennis, and pickleball apparel, accessories and equipment brand, she was facing a familiar but frustrating challenge—her fashion website wasn’t ranking well on Google. Despite working with an agency before, she wasn’t seeing results.
Karen’s business was already well-established in Canada, with retail locations in Toronto and exclusive access to European and American sportswear brands. But when it came to growing her fashion e-commerce presence, the pieces weren’t falling into place.
That’s where I came in. As an SEO specialist with a background in the fashion industry, I knew her problem wasn’t just about traffic. It was about trust, strategy, and a lack of clarity around what was actually holding her site back. In short, it was a good case for a fashion SEO overhaul.
Understanding the Brand and the Fashion Ecommerce Market
Karen's brand serves a very specific audience: Canadian women who value performance, luxury, and style in their athletic apparel. Over the years, she’s introduced over 40 new brands to the Canadian market, building a strong retail foundation and a loyal customer base.
But like many fashion entrepreneurs, Karen wasn’t sure how to translate her in-store success to her online presence. She had tried working with an agency but felt they lacked the experience and attention to detail her brand needed. Worse, she was doing much of the SEO legwork herself—without the time or technical tools to do it effectively.
Spotting the Fashion SEO Red Flags
During our consultation, we discussed several red flags that were likely impacting her visibility:
- Toxic backlinks from an old Shopify translation app and secondary sites
- Lack of clarity around relevant keywords and keyword targeting
- Missing foundational SEO elements on her fashion website
- Inconsistent content strategy
- Poor collaboration with her current agency
Karen’s experience is not unique. Many brands in fashion e-commerce struggle with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) because the advice they’re given is either too generic or too disconnected from the realities of their business.
A Strategic and Collaborative Fashion SEO Process
To get to the root of Karen’s issues, I proposed a full-site audit and a collaborative working relationship where we’d review progress monthly and align our efforts with her business goals.
Here’s a breakdown of what we did:
1. Full-Site SEO Audit
We started with a technical audit to assess the site's performance, structure, and crawlability. I included a keyword ranking review, competitor analysis, and an organic search performance report. This gave us a clear snapshot of where the site stood and what needed to be addressed first.
2. Keyword & Content Analysis
We identified the right keywords for her brand—terms like “luxury women’s golf apparel” and “designer pickleball clothing”—and made sure they were properly mapped to relevant pages. This is a core part of SEO for fashion: aligning user intent with high-converting product content.
We also looked at blog and content opportunities to support fashion SEO goals by answering common customer questions and improving relevance.
3. Toxic Backlink Cleanup
We addressed harmful backlinks coming from outdated plugins and image hosts, developed a cleanup plan, and mapped out a healthier long-term backlink strategy focused on editorial and partner links relevant to the fashion industry.
The Value of Industry Experience in SEO
In fashion, visibility is everything. But it’s not just about standing out on the runway—it’s about showing up online where your customers are searching. That’s where deep industry knowledge is a major advantage in fashion SEO.
As someone who spent over 20 years working in the fashion industry, I understand the unique challenges fashion brands face when trying to grow their e-commerce presence. Before I became an SEO specialist, I worked in technical design, production, and product development for brands like Club Monaco and Reebok. I also ran my own successful clothing label for over a decade, distributing to retailers across Canada and the U.S. That hands-on experience gave me a front-row seat to the full product lifecycle—from design concept to customer delivery—and now informs every SEO strategy I develop.
This kind of insider perspective allows me to go beyond surface-level tactics. I don’t just optimize websites—I help fashion entrepreneurs build search-friendly Shopify e-commerce websites that reflect how real customers shop and search. I understand seasonality, product launch timelines, retail inventory planning, and the emotional journey behind every purchase. These nuances matter when developing keyword strategies, crafting on-page content, and aligning SEO with other marketing channels like email and social media.
That’s why Growth Folks listed me as one of the Top 15 SEO Services and Agencies for Fashion Companies in 2025. The article points out that the fashion market is expected to reach $1.1 trillion by 2027, and brands can’t afford to be invisible in such a competitive space. Without strong SEO, even the most trend-forward brands risk being buried beneath competitors in search results.
Think of SEO like your brand’s personal stylist—it makes sure your store shows up in all the right places online. As the article notes, finding the right SEO partner is like discovering the perfect pair of shoes: it supports your every move and complements your style. Agencies that specialize in fashion, like mine, bring that essential fit.
Why Industry Expertise Matters for Fashion SEO Success
Here’s why clients like Plenty, Hernest Project, Nomi Designs, and Inphorm trust me with their online visibility:
- I build customized SEO strategies tailored to the realities of the fashion industry.
- I deliver clear, comprehensive monthly reports so clients always know where they stand.
- I offer in-depth training and support, so brands can grow confidently with or without in-house SEO teams.
- And most importantly, I take a transparent and collaborative approach—because SEO should be a partnership, not a mystery.
When fashion brands hire agencies that truly “get” their business, the results are tangible: improved rankings, increased organic traffic, and a competitive edge in the digital marketplace.
So if you're a fashion entrepreneur looking for SEO that speaks your language, you're not just looking for an agency—you’re looking for someone who’s walked in your shoes.
Building a Strong Foundation for Fashion E-commerce SEO
When I spoke with Karen, one thing was immediately clear: she didn’t just need quick fixes—she needed a long-term, scalable SEO foundation to support her business now and in the future. That’s why we agreed to start with the essentials. In SEO, that’s what I call Level 1: Foundational SEO.
This is the exact approach I outlined in my Ecommerce SEO Guide, where I break down SEO into three levels. Foundational SEO is the first and most critical layer—it’s where everything begins. Without it, no amount of blogging, backlinks, or paid ads will deliver consistent results. Think of it like constructing a building: if the foundation isn’t solid, the whole structure is unstable.
Here’s what Foundational SEO includes—and what I focused on for Karen’s site:
- Technical Site Health
We checked for crawl errors, broken links, duplicate content, and slow load speeds—all of which silently hurt your rankings if left unchecked. - Site Architecture & Navigation
Karen’s product categories needed clearer structure and internal linking to help both users and search engines understand how to navigate the store. Clean architecture not only improves SEO but also enhances the customer experience. - Title Tags & Meta Descriptions
These small but mighty pieces of content influence both rankings and click-through rates. We made sure every page had unique, keyword-rich metadata that clearly described its purpose. - Keyword Mapping
We assigned target keywords to each page based on relevance and intent—this helps avoid cannibalization and ensures the right content shows up for the right searches. - Image Optimization
Since Karen’s site is highly visual, we optimized image filenames and alt text to improve load times and give search engines more context. - Mobile Responsiveness
With a growing number of customers shopping on mobile, we reviewed the site’s performance across devices to ensure it was fast, functional, and user-friendly.
Foundational SEO isn’t flashy, but it’s what keeps your site visible and functional as your business grows. As I explain in my blog post, this level of SEO builds trust with search engines—showing them that your site is reliable, valuable, and worth ranking.
Karen appreciated that this wasn’t about chasing trends or playing guessing games with Google. It was a structured, proven process that gave her confidence we were fixing the right things. And more importantly, it gave us a baseline to measure future improvements.
Foundational SEO sets the stage for higher-level tactics—like content marketing, backlink building, and advanced analytics—but those only work when your technical and structural elements are in place. It’s the difference between throwing money at visibility and investing in lasting discoverability.
Creating a Long-Term Fashion SEO Strategy
After completing the audit, Karen and I built a roadmap for ongoing improvements. We agreed to:
- Use existing SEO reports (to avoid redundant work)
- Prioritize fixes based on impact and effort
- Align SEO with her broader marketing strategy (email, paid ads, and Pinterest)
- Provide regular updates so she’s never in the dark about performance
We also scheduled a follow-up call to go over the audit results in detail and discuss actionable next steps. This made the process feel less overwhelming and more like a clear, guided path.
Fashion SEO That Builds Confidence and Results
Working with Karen reminded me of why I do what I do. Fashion SEO isn’t just about keywords and rankings—it’s about empowering business owners to take control of their online growth.
If you’re a fashion e-commerce brand struggling with traffic, technical issues, or inconsistent SEO support, you don’t have to figure it out alone.
Need help identifying what’s holding back your fashion website?
Schedule a complimentary SEO consultation and let’s uncover the opportunities together—using the right keywords, the right tools, and the right strategy to grow your brand.
