Search visibility aligned with brand strength
The website began competing online at a level closer to the brand's offline reputation.
Technical case study · Enterprise ecommerce SEO
Doubling organic traffic in 6 months for a retailer with strong offline brand recognition
The website needed to earn in search what Croma had already earned in stores.
Croma had strong offline brand recognition but weak organic visibility. Slow performance, Core Web Vitals issues and missing structured data were holding the website back. This page walks through the fixes with interactive demos you can try.
- client Croma
- type Enterprise ecommerce SEO
- timeframe 6 months
$ audit --site croma.com --scope seo
› performancecore web vitals, LCP[fixed]
› structured-dataproduct + review schema[added]
› architecturecategory + product pages[improved]
› crawl-configsitemap + robots.txt[optimized]
✓ organic traffic +100% in 6 months
✓ refrigerators + ACs ranking in the top 3
+100%Organic traffic in 6 months
Top 3Refrigerators and ACs categories
Core Web VitalsPerformance issues resolved
01 / Diagnostics
A trusted brand, outranked online because the foundation wasn't built to compete
Croma competes for high-value, high-consideration searches such as refrigerators and air conditioners. Flip the switch to compare the site's state before and after the work.
Site audit: before and after
Organic visibility
Not ranking well for the product and category searches that drive online sales.Organic traffic up 100% in 6 months; refrigerators and ACs in the Top 3.
Weak+100%Site performance
Site speed issues affected user experience and search performance.Performance issues resolved.
SlowResolvedCore Web Vitals (LCP)
LCP, the loading speed of the main content, wasn't meeting the standards search engines use as ranking signals.LCP optimized.
FailingOptimizedStructured data
Product pages and categories lacked structured data.Product and review schema implemented.
MissingImplementedPage structure and crawling
Category and product pages and crawl configuration needed work.Pages restructured for clarity; sitemap and robots refined.
Needs workImprovedStatus labels summarize the case study findings. They are not tool scores.
02 / Performance · Core Web Vitals
Fixing LCP: getting the main content on screen sooner
LCP measures how quickly the largest piece of content, usually a hero or product image, appears. Slow performance came first in the work: even strong pages struggle to rank on a slow site.
Load waterfall
Before: render-blocking CSS and JavaScript load first, and the hero image is discovered late, so LCP lands late.
Illustrative waterfall showing the technique, not Croma's measured timings.
HTML · techniques applied
<!-- prioritize the LCP element --> <link rel="preload" as="image" href="/hero.avif" fetchpriority="high"> <!-- don't block rendering --> <style>/* critical CSS inlined */</style> <script src="/app.js" defer></script>
Try it: where does your LCP land?
Good
Google's published LCP thresholds, assessed at the 75th percentile of page loads. Reference only, not Croma's values.
03 / Structured data
Product and review schema: making products understandable to search engines
Product pages and categories lacked the structured data that helps search engines understand and present products. Toggle the markup to see what changes in a search result.
Search result preview
croma.com › category › product{{ Product name }} | Croma{{ rating }} · {{ review count }} reviews{{ price }}In stockA standard result shows only a title, URL and description.
Page source
<!-- no structured data on the page -->JSON-LD · template with placeholders
{
"@type": "Product",
"name": "{{ product.name }}",
"offers": {
"@type": "Offer",
"price": "{{ product.price }}",
"priceCurrency": "INR"
},
"aggregateRating": {
"@type": "AggregateRating",
"ratingValue": "{{ reviews.avg }}",
"reviewCount": "{{ reviews.count }}"
}
}Without structured data, search engines have to guess what the page is about.
Illustrative preview with placeholder values. Whether rich results appear is up to the search engine.
04 / Crawl control
Sitemap and robots: guiding crawling more effectively
The sitemap and robots configuration was refined to guide crawlers to the pages that matter. Test a URL path against an example rule set.
robots.txt tester
robots.txt · representative rules
User-agent: * Disallow: /cart Disallow: /checkout Disallow: /*?sort= Sitemap: https://www.example.com/sitemap_index.xml
AllowedNo Disallow rule matches, so crawlers can fetch this page.
sitemap_index.xml · segmented by page type
<sitemapindex> <sitemap><loc>/sitemap-categories.xml</loc></sitemap> <sitemap><loc>/sitemap-products.xml</loc></sitemap> </sitemapindex>
Rules and paths are representative examples, not Croma's actual robots.txt.
05 / Execution approach
Croma's gap wasn't brand awareness. It was technical and structural readiness.
Performance and technical fixes came before content-level changes. Because the work was foundational, it applied broadly across many products and categories rather than a handful of pages. Select a stage, or press play.
Where each fix acts
Problem
Slow performance and Core Web Vitals issues, including LCP, weren't meeting the standards search engines use as ranking signals.
Fix applied
Resolved performance issues, including LCP optimization.
Benefit
A faster site for users and a stronger base for every later improvement.
Problem
Product pages and categories lacked structured data to help search engines understand and present products.
Fix applied
Implemented product and review schema.
Benefit
Search engines can understand and display product information.
Problem
Key pages weren't organized for both users and search engines.
Fix applied
Restructured category and product pages for clarity.
Benefit
Clearer pages that apply across many products and categories.
Problem
Crawling wasn't being guided effectively.
Fix applied
Optimized sitemap and robots configuration.
Benefit
Fewer technical blockers for future SEO work.
06 / Results
Organic traffic doubled in six months
2x
Illustration of a 100% increase, with starting traffic indexed to 100.
+100% organic traffic
Achieved within 6 months.
Top 3 rankings
Key categories such as refrigerators and ACs began ranking in the top 3 positions, in high-value product categories.
A stronger technical foundation
Performance issues resolved and structured data in place.
07 / Impact
Fewer blockers, and a base to build on
Fewer technical blockers
Resolving Core Web Vitals and crawl configuration removed obstacles that could limit future SEO work.
Richer product presentation in search
Product and review schema help search engines understand and display product information.
A base for further category growth
With the foundation fixed, more categories can be optimized without repeating the technical groundwork.
08 / Stack
Tools and tech used
- Core Web Vitals analysis (LCP optimization)
- Product schema and review schema markup
- XML sitemap optimization
- Robots.txt configuration
- Category and product page structure optimization
Key takeaway
Strong brand recognition doesn't automatically translate into search performance
For established retailers whose websites lag behind their offline reputation, fixing technical performance and structure can unlock rapid organic growth in competitive product categories.
Is your website behind your brand?
Contact Sage Kite and book a free consultation. We'll look at your technical foundation and where your store can earn more in search.