A 183% increase in traffic for the regional online store of the Yves Rocher cosmetics brand within one year

Client:

The online store is a franchise of the well-known French cosmetics brand Yves Rocher, popular in Eastern Europe and other countries. It offers a range of natural, plant-based cosmetics, including facial, body and hair care products, perfumes, and more.

Our objective:

Attract targeted commercial traffic and increase the number of applications.

Priority promotion directions:

• Hair Care
• Facial Care
• Body Care
• Hygiene
• Body Care Products

Source data and project details:

• Region: Azerbaijan
• Search engine: Google
• CMS: Shopify
• Languages: Azerbaijani, Russian
• Start date: September 2022

Project details:

Due to the use of Shopify, we could only make limited changes by contacting support, which then had to assign an employee to implement them.

Team. Copywriters and content manager from the client’s side. There were no programmers (a few tasks were handled occasionally by our programmers).

We paused working in December 2023 due to the changes in the client’s team. Back then it was impossible to implement the required updates in a timely manner.

Issues and challenges:

1. First and foremost, it should be noted that the client never implemented a Russian-language version of the website, so we had to work with the Azerbaijani version. The main issue was that it was impossible to compile a semantic core for this language, as Azerbaijani is not available in Google Keyword Planner.So we decided to collect a semantic core in Turkish with the geo-targeting set to Azerbaijan, as they are quite similar (additionally, local users are often searching for information in Turkish).To achieve this goal, we gathered basic phrases from the menu, competitors’ titles in search results, and queries for which the site’s pages were already ranking in Google Search Console, Ahrefs, and Google Keyword Planner with the settings mentioned earlier.Here is an example of query frequency in Turkish:
   and in Azerbaijani:
   
2. The second issue was that Azerbaijanis prefer offline stores over online shopping.However, if we do consider the situation in Google search results, the competition is not that high: quite a few large marketplaces, information pages and unoptimized product category pages.
3. The third issue was the implementation of technical adjustments. As previously mentioned, the site is built on the Shopify CMS. This means that, depending on the chosen paid service package, the level of access to the code varies. Our access was limited to the Frontend, and we were unable to implement adjustments in the Backend due to the lack of access.
   Even when our specialists tried to implement some adjustments through Shopify’s technical support, some of them remained “off-screen”.The same applies to the adjustments based on Google’s Quality Evaluator Guidelines.
4. The fourth issue was the slow implementation of adjustments by Yves Rocher. A number of optimisations for the priority pages were not implemented on the site, even though we compiled them into a single document for convenience and to track their progress.
   These tasks included the following:
   • changing internal linking;
   • updating h1 headings;
   • preparing unique texts;
   • removing duplicate texts;
   • placing relevant product categories;
   • setting up 301 redirects;
   • adding category links to the menu;
   • placing meta tags;
   • creating pages, etc.
5. The final issue was related to purchasing links on Azerbaijani platforms: their quality was poor, and the cost was high. As a result, our team decided to follow the approach of competitors by placing the links on both Azerbaijani and Turkish platforms.

Here is an example of donor platforms and their basic metrics, such as DR with traffic, as well as cost:

Project work strategy

Technical audit of the site

Firstly, our specialists assessed the technical condition of the site to identify any internal optimisation issues that could impact successful promotion. Based on the results of this analysis, 20 areas required improvement:

Site analysis for compliance with the Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines

The site had minimal implementation of items associated with E-E-A-T factors. Here is the list of recommended improvements for the site, provided by our team:

1. Create the following pages:
   • About Us;
   • Payment;
   • Promotions;
   • Gift Certificates;
   • Certificates and Licenses;
   • Feedback;
   • How to Place an Order;
   • Collaboration with Us.
2. Improve Header, Footer, and Contact Page:
   • adding more contact information;
   • information on how to find the store;
   • adding social media buttons;
   • adding links to new pages in the header and footer.
3. Improve product pages:
   • matching product names to the language version of the site;
   • formatting product descriptions;
   • adding a “Delivery” section;
   • adding a “Payment” section;
   • adding a review functionality;
   • adding a product video review.
4. Improve category/subcategory pages:
   • implementing FAQ section.

Additionally, our specialists analyzed niche competitors and provided further recommendations for improving the site throughout the project. Most of these were implemented over time, though some still require adjustments.

Working with the site’s semantic core

As it has already been mentioned, we faced some challenges in compiling a semantic core for the Azerbaijani site, however, we were able to find the solution.

Ultimately, our optimizers processed the semantic core for priority direction pages, and later they prepared content briefs and compiled optimized meta tags.

The content was written by the client’s copywriters in Azerbaijani.

When working on the meta tags, we primarily used queries from the semantic core, while in the texts we focused exclusively on Azerbaijani queries.

After optimizing the existing priority direction pages, we expanded the semantic core. To achieve this, our agency’s optimisers analyzed competitors’ sites to identify the sections that were missing from the site we were promoting.

We selected the sections for which the products were already available on “our” site. Following that, we added new optimized categories and subcategories.

Working with the content (commercial pages and blog)

As the texts for the site had to be of high quality, we provided several recommendations to the client’s copywriters:

• the text should be technically correct;
• the text must comply with the prepared structure and include key queries, particularly in headings and subheadings. We emphasized the importance of striking a balance between incorporating keywords and avoiding their overuse.
• the text should be unique;
• it should contain as much useful information as possible, with minimal filler, while still remaining detailed.
• it should be based on the characteristics and information provided by the client..

Each article was reviewed by an optimizer. If any issues arose regarding the need for changes, the updated content brief was then sent to the client’s copywriter. Once the changes were implemented, the article was reviewed again.

We also decided to promote the priority direction pages through the blog. Similarly to the commercial pages, we applied the same approach here as well:

• prepared the semantic core (it is worth noting that, similarly to the Russian version, the queries with questions were virtually absent, and competitive informational articles ranked for general queries. Therefore, we included broader queries, such as “care for wavy hair.”);
• compiled content briefs and meta tags;
• the copywriters then prepared the texts;
• we reviewed the texts and provided our feedback, either suggesting refinements or giving approval.
• the client’s content manager uploaded the texts to the site;
• we verified the placement of texts and meta tags.

It is important to note that a key element of blog articles is the inclusion of internal links to priority pages. This not only helps drive additional traffic to these sections but also contributes to increased conversions.

Working on link-building

At the beginning of the promotion, we analysed the site’s existing backlink profile by reviewing all referring domains via Ahrefs and Google Search Console. We then utilised the Google Disavow Tool to disavow links from low-quality websites.

The link profile of the Azerbaijani version of the site was quite small, with only 41 referring domains, yet it still contained low-quality links. Ultimately, we disavowed 18 of them.

In just over a year of work, we acquired 133 links across 53 domains:

Later we prepared the following strategy for link-building:

• monthly purchase of “permanent” links on Azerbaijani and Turkish platforms for promoted pages;
• promotion of purchased links in Tier 2;
• acquisition of non-standard links;
• placement of links in Azerbaijani directories;
• monthly review and adjustment of the link-building strategy based on the analysis of achieved positions for target queries.

Texts for Azerbaijani and Turkish platforms were written by Aweb copywriters.

Screenshot showing the growth dynamics of referring domains according to Ahrefs (the highlighted period indicates when work was paused):

Before placing the links, we assess all referring domains based on various criteria, including topic, spam score, traffic trends, traffic sources, etc.

Working with Google My Business

As some adjustments remained unimplemented and promotion in Azerbaijan differs from our usual approach, we decided to use all available methods to promote the site. Consequently, we focused on optimising GMB by:

• optimizing the profile;
• writing the posts for priority directions;
• purchasing reviews.

The results of our work

In just over a year of working on the project, we successfully increased the ranking percentage of key category search queries.

• in the top 10 — from 35% to 83%;
• in the top 5 — from 28% to 78%;
• in the top 3 — from 28% to 73%.

Examples of ranking improvements:

Saç tökülməsinə qarşı şampun (Hair Care):

Skrab (Body Care):

Saç maskası (Hair Care):

Saç detoksu (Hair Care):

Üz üçün maskalar (Facial Care):

Sac yumsaldici sampunlar (Hair Care):

Throughout the project, the number of ranked queries on the site increased by 517 (according to Ahrefs, with the highlighted period indicating activity up until the work was paused):

and the traffic increased by 183% (according to Ahrefs, with the highlighted period showing activity up until the work was paused):

Additionally, over the same period, both the number and quality of backlinks improved.

Dynamics and traffic for blog pages we worked on:

Conclusion

As demonstrated, despite the challenges of promoting a Shopify site in Azerbaijan, positive results can still be achieved. Should work on the site resume today, the metrics will continue to improve.

The key factors for success are as follows:

• a comprehensive approach, including technical, internal, and external optimization;
• mandatory work on E-E-A-T factors;
• promotion using blog and internal linking;
• the creation of high-quality content by copywriters;
• expanding semantics and creating new landing pages;
• purchasing links on high-quality donors.

Project participants

Project Manager: Oleksandra Nesina

Optimizer: Alona Tymko

Link Builder: Yevhen Fedchenko