This client sells technical products to other businesses. They were trying to rank for broad category terms already held by much larger competitors. Instead of competing there, we restructured the site around the specific things buyers search for once they know what they need, such as a size, a material grade or a compatibility requirement, and ran paid search alongside it against the same targets. Over the following 28 days, clicks from search rose from 122 to 173 and the number of times the site was shown rose from about 3,000 to 5,300.
Background
In business to business sales, the most valuable searches are usually the most specific ones. A buyer who already knows the exact specification they need is typing something long and precise, and they are close to placing an order.
Broad category terms are the opposite. They are searched by people who are still reading around the subject, they are expensive to advertise against, and in organic search they are usually held by companies that have been publishing for a decade.
This client's site was built around the broad category buyer. The opportunity was to serve the specific buyer as well, where the intent to purchase is much higher and there is far less competition.
The problem
The site was organised like the internal catalogue
It followed how the products were filed internally rather than how a buyer narrows down a choice.
The pages described products but did not answer questions
Specification tables were there, without the context a buyer needs in order to choose between two similar options.
Paid and organic search ran separately
They competed for the same terms and were judged against different definitions of success, so neither could be assessed properly.
Some pages could not be found or were slow
Search engines could not reliably read parts of the site, and page speed was holding back everything else.
Constraints we worked within
The existing platform stayed
There was no budget to move to a new system, so everything had to work within the current one.
The catalogue structure could not change
The new structure had to sit alongside it rather than replace it.
Pages already producing revenue could not be disrupted
That set the order the work had to happen in.
Approach, and the slower option we did not take
The usual advice is to start a blog, publish consistently and wait for the site to build up authority. It does work. It also takes nine to eighteen months, and this client needed paid and organic search pointing in the same direction within a quarter.
So instead we looked for the specific searches where the intent to buy is high and there is little competition, built pages that genuinely deserved to rank for them, and used paid search to appear for those same searches immediately while the organic side built up.
What we built
Step 01
Start from what buyers ask, not from a keyword tool
We began with the questions buyers ask before ordering, about sizes, compatibility, standards and use, then matched those against search data. Starting from the buying process brings up a different and more valuable set of searches than a keyword tool does on its own.
Step 02
Rebuild the structure around how buyers narrow down
The site was reorganised by use case, then by specification, then by product. New pages were created at the use and specification levels and linked into the existing catalogue, so the new structure fed the pages that were already selling.
Step 03
Fix what was stopping pages being found
We fixed the indexing problems so new pages could be read by search engines at all, then improved loading speed. A page that cannot be found does not exist, so this had to come before anything else.
Step 04
Use one definition of a result for both channels
Tracking was set up so paid and organic search reported against the same targets, with the same definition of a sale. That is what stops two channels taking credit for each other's work.
How the site was reorganised
- Organic search builds up over months. Paid search appears for the same terms immediately.
- Buyers narrow down by use case, then by specification, and arrive at a product page in the existing catalogue.
- Both channels are judged against one shared definition of a result, which is what directs the next budget decision.
Results
Over the 28 days following the restructure, compared against the 28 days before it:
122 to 173
about 3,000 to 5,300
Several pages that had never ranked for their target searches began appearing for them. Paid and organic search reported against one shared definition of a result for the first time.
Structure, before
- Organised by internal catalogue
- Aimed at broad category terms
- Paid and organic on separate goals
- Indexing and page speed limiting reach
Structure, after
- Organised by use case, then specification, then product
- Aimed at specific purchase intent
- One shared definition of a result
- Indexing fixed and page speed improved
How this was measured
Figures come from Google Search Console, comparing the 28 days after the restructure against the 28 days before it. This is an early window on a relatively small base, so the value is in the direction and the reason for it rather than the size of the percentages. Anonymised Search Console exports are available on request.
What we would do differently
We would have agreed the shared definition of a result between paid and organic search before the restructure rather than during it. Settling it halfway through meant about two weeks of reporting that could not be compared cleanly against what came after. It was a small loss, and an avoidable one.
What this means for you
If larger competitors hold the broad terms in your market, and your product pages follow the way your catalogue is filed internally, the work with the highest return is usually structural. Getting the structure right first is what makes later content work pay off.
This was real client work. The client's name and identifying details are withheld under a confidentiality agreement. Anonymised reports and documentation are available on request.