Jo Mercer SEO Case Study
Building Non-Brand Visibility for an Iconic Australian Footwear Retailer
Jo Mercer is a name synonymous with quality women's footwear in Australia. With a loyal customer base and strong brand recognition, the challenge wasn't visibility for people already searching for Jo Mercer – it was reaching new customers who hadn't heard of the brand yet.
Like many established fashion retailers, Jo Mercer's organic traffic was heavily weighted towards brand searches. While that's a healthy sign of brand strength, it leaves growth potential on the table. The real opportunity lay in capturing non-branded searches – terms like "women's heels", "leather sandals", and "comfortable flats" where customers are still deciding where to buy.
The Challenge
Jo Mercer's organic traffic was heavily weighted towards brand searches.
The opportunity was capturing non-branded terms - "women's heels", "leather sandals", "comfortable flats" – where customers are still deciding where to buy.
What We Did
Technical foundation work came first – indexation cleanup, URL standardisation, internal linking improvements, Core Web Vitals.
Then we focused on collection pages as the primary non-brand growth lever. Priority categories got rewritten titles, comprehensive content covering style/fit/materials, and internal linking blocks connecting related collections. For NZ, we implemented proper hreflang and canonicals to establish it as a distinct market.
Impressive Results - Fast
Collection pages became genuine traffic drivers, generating over 130,000 clicks. NZ traffic grew 30% with some non-brand impression clusters doubling. Rankings improved across all priority categories, with the site now appearing on page 1 for competitive footwear terms it wasn't visible for previously.
- 130,000+ clicks from collection pages
- 30% increase in NZ clicks over six months
- Non-brand impression clusters doubling in key categories
- Page 1 rankings achieved for competitive terms including heels, sandals, flats and boots
- Independent NZ market rankings established from scratch
Why it worked
Fashion customers search by style and occasion, not brand. By aligning collection pages with how people actually search for footwear, Jo Mercer started capturing demand that was previously going elsewhere.
Key Takeaways for Fashion Retailers
Other fashion and footwear retailers can apply the same principles to drive similar growth:
- Non-brand growth matters – brand searches are great, but non-brand captures new customers who don't know you yet
- Collection pages are your SEO workhorses – optimise them for how customers actually search
- International markets need proper separation – NZ isn't just an extension of AU, it's a distinct market
- Technical foundations enable everything else – fix the platform before optimising content
The Wrap-Up
Jo Mercer came to us with strong brand recognition but untapped non-brand potential. Four months of focused SEO work delivered measurable growth in both Australia and New Zealand, with collection pages generating over 130,000 clicks and NZ traffic up 30%.
The foundation is now in place for continued growth. With proper technical infrastructure, optimised collection pages, and distinct international targeting, Jo Mercer is well positioned to capture more of the customers already searching for quality women's footwear.
