Unlocking a Site’s Potential with eCommerce Digital Marketing
A Case Study on UNICYCLE.COM
There’s no shame in seeking guidance. During this extended period of indoor isolation, I’ve taken on various new projects to stay occupied—building a coffee table, restoring old leather furniture, and sharpening my Photoshop skills. The challenge? Every time I dive into something new, I feel completely lost. Without the advice of friends who are far more skilled in these areas, I’d struggle just to get started. Their expertise makes all the difference—just as it does in eCommerce digital marketing.
When Obiyan Infotech revamped Unicycle.com’s website, the company had already been a leading name in online unicycle sales for 20 years. Enthusiasts knew where to turn for unicycles and parts, but the business had never engaged in professional eCommerce digital marketing. Like many online merchants, they experimented with Google advertising, relying on available resources. “We took lessons and a seminar,” said Amy Drummond, President of Unicycle.com.
“I never had time to figure it out. The lessons showed me just how much work it really is.” Once Obiyan Infotech completed the launch of their brand-new website, we asked Amy if she’d like our help in steering her digital marketing in the right direction. Given the strength of the Unicycle.com domain, all it took was expert setup and strategic management to turn their marketing efforts into a success. In just four months, the results have been nothing short of extraordinary!
Google Pay Per Click Marketing
“Usually, we try to gather extensive client feedback upfront,” Bobby P, PPC manager at Obiyan, shared with me. “The challenge with Unicycle was that they didn’t have much PPC history.” When launching a new Pay-Per-Click campaign, we always analyze historical data. The more insights we have, the better our head start—we can identify successful products, determine the best bidding times and devices, and, most importantly, set a benchmark to surpass, ensuring clear improvements over self-managed efforts.
For Unicycle, however, there wasn’t much historical data to rely on. “They had previously activated a Google campaign, but it was running on autopilot,” Bobby explained. “Tracking wasn’t properly set up, and the budget was minimal. Essentially, we were looking at a full campaign rebuild, and rebuilds always take time.”
Ease of Checkout
Can your customers complete their purchases the way they prefer? This is one of the most crucial factors in converting traffic. If your store runs on a popular eCommerce platform like BigCommerce or Shopify, this is typically built-in for you. Also, ensure you offer a variety of payment options, including PayPal, Amazon Pay, and Apple Pay, to accommodate different customer preferences.
Phone Orders
Is your phone number easy to find and accessible? Ensuring customers can place orders over the phone is crucial. While these orders may be harder to track for digital marketing, they remain a vital channel for many businesses.
Add to Cart Options
Are they abundant and easy to find? Not just on product pages but also on category pages where applicable. Additionally, a quick checkout button is always recommended if your platform supports it.
Once the site is in top shape, the next step is gathering the missing data. Obiyan PPC campaigns typically start with a lower budget for the first month, allowing us to collect valuable insights that shape the campaign strategy. Initially, we test different approaches to determine what delivers results. Successful bids with a strong Return On Ad Spend (ROAS) get amplified, while underperforming ones are adjusted or removed. Bobby emphasizes patience when rebuilding a PPC campaign. “The first month is all about gathering data, and the second month is assessing whether our initial moves were the right ones. A full rebuild usually takes 4-5 months to gain momentum.”
Luckily for Unicycle, their campaign gained traction much faster than expected. In just four months of optimizing the Unicycle.com PPC campaign, they’ve already doubled their advertising budget—driven by the impressive return on ad spend. As of April 2020, the campaign boasts an average ROAS exceeding 1500%, meaning every dollar spent on ads is generating fifteen dollars in transaction value.
This figure represents the average across all the different ad groups we manage. When structuring an eCommerce PPC campaign, it’s best to segment your strategy into distinct ad groups, allowing for tailored bidding strategies based on product type or targeted search terms. As shown below, some ad groups are achieving returns as high as twenty-five to thirty dollars for every dollar spent.
Unicycle had already established a strong brand name and industry-leading quality through years of dedication. Their success in eCommerce digital marketing was unlocked with a few strategic adjustments from experts who knew exactly what to optimize, opening up entirely new revenue streams.
eCommerce SEO Marketing
SEO marketing for Unicycle followed a similar path. Before we took over the campaign, no professional SEO work had been done on the site. “We never had anyone work with us on SEO before,” Amy said. “We weren’t sure what, if anything, needed to be done. You don’t know what you don’t know.” Despite this, Unicycle was already performing well, with many first-page and top-position rankings thanks to the authority their domain had built over two decades. Our goal was to harness this authority and steer it toward strategic keywords Unicycle wanted to rank for.
For those new to SEO, we ensure our clients stay involved in the process, providing insight as experts in their own industry. The first step is selecting a keyword list—larger lists require more work, making the campaign more aggressive. Based on that list, we identify target pages, usually category pages, since SEO takes time to build, and product availability can fluctuate.
Once the pages are chosen, we optimize them by setting headings, title tags, meta titles, and fixing any technical errors that could negatively impact rankings. The next phase involves content creation and link-building, demonstrating to Google that the site is a trusted source of information. Since Google prioritizes reliable content, establishing authority through high-quality publishing and backlinks is crucial.
Though the process may seem extensive, we make it seamless for clients new to SEO. “I would say it was a very easy process,” Amy shared. “Whenever content came in, we made time to review it. I love our meetings and that you guys are great at communicating.”
For Unicycle, we aimed to rank for keywords they weren’t already dominating. Amy pointed out that sales of Penny Farthing bicycles—bikes with one large front wheel and one small rear wheel—were slower than expected. Upon review, we found that Unicycle was consistently ranking beyond page one for Penny Farthing-related terms. To change that, we dedicated a significant portion of our keyword list to these terms and optimized their Penny Farthing category to improve rankings.
As you can see above, after just a few months of focused SEO efforts, the Penny Farthings Category Page has become the second-largest driver of organic search traffic to Unicycle.com, trailing only the homepage. Transactions from organic search users landing on this category page have surged by 137% over the past two months.
Overall, organic traffic to the Unicycle site has climbed by 43% in the last two months compared to the previous period, while revenue from organic search traffic has skyrocketed—growing by an impressive 264%. Just like with PPC, Unicycle already had a strong domain going into this campaign. All it needed was a strategic, professional approach to channel that authority effectively and unlock its full potential.
Starting a New eCommerce Digital Marketing Campaign
If you’ve been managing your own digital marketing, you might not be tapping into your site’s full potential. Professionals who dedicate their careers to this field can pinpoint opportunities and optimize strategies in ways that may not be obvious without specialized expertise.
When I asked Amy about her experience with digital marketing so far, she shared, “It’s been great! Thanks to the incredible work you’ve done with SEO and PPC, people are finding us. Most of our sales now come from first-time customers.” She also offered advice to eCommerce businesses hesitant to invest in digital marketing: “I’d say it’s absolutely worth the money. Having a professional manage it makes all the difference. We’re all so busy running our businesses—it’s a relief to have experts handle the things I always knew needed attention but couldn’t do myself.”