Problem

Petco, a renowned pet retailer, faced challenges in enhancing its online presence and driving traffic to their website. Despite offering an extensive array of pet products and services, Petco's online visibility was hampered by stiff competition from online retailers like Chewy and Amazon. This was compounded by an insufficient internal capacity to execute a scalable, data-driven SEO content strategy.

We realized that Petco’s website lacked informational articles that could bring in high volumes of new customer traffic. The existing content was not optimized for search engines, which made it difficult for potential customers to find Petco’s website.

As the content lead for Petco, I identified the need for a robust SEO content strategy. This approach was aimed at elevating organic search rankings and drawing more potential customers, especially in the wake of increased pet ownership during the global pandemic. We also needed a strategy that would help them improve their organic search rankings and increase bookings for key services—including grooming, dog and puppy training, and vet services.

Furthermore, Petco had recently transitioned its brand image from an “animal supplies” company to a leader in “health and wellness” for pet parents. This shift necessitated the integration of a new, trustworthy brand voice that aligned with Petco’s established reputation.

Solution

Our approach involved crafting a tailor-made SEO content strategy for Petco, encompassing:

Comprehensive keyword research and a content audit
A detailed keyword gap analysis
Revamping SEO on-page content and crafting new SEO articles
Prioritizing high-ROI keywords and seizing low-competition opportunities

We revamped their website with SEO-optimized content for product and category pages and updated key on-page elements like meta tags and headers.

"This project had an incredible impact on Petco's online presence and customer traffic."

To resonate with Petco’s new brand voice, I led a dynamic team of 4 veterinarians and 7 copywriters, collectively producing over 80,000 words of premium SEO content monthly. I established stringent brand voice guidelines, ensuring all content adhered to these standards. Each piece of content was infused with science-backed information from our veterinarians and underwent rigorous review prior to publication.

Our strategy also included:

Creating informative blog posts and articles rich with targeted keywords
Implementing innovative content types and pillars focused on different keyword categories
Executing link-building strategies and incorporating creative elements like charts, quizzes, care sheets, FAQs, and infographics
Enhancing Petco's website authority and increasing visibility in Google's Featured Snippets

This comprehensive approach was designed to not only boost Petco's search engine rankings but also to reinforce their brand as a trusted authority in pet health and wellness.

Impact

Increased non-brand organic search traffic from 7.8m to 12.2m in one year.
Improved search engine rankings for targeted keywords, catapulting many to #1 in Google
Increased key service bookings by 25%
Grew Petco's Resource Center monthly traffic from 600k to 1.4m within one year
Increased Resource Center monthly keyword rankings in the top 3 from 5000 in April 2020 to 15,000 in 2022 and over 50,000 in the top-10
Brought in an additional 700k monthly organic traffic visitors for grooming, vet, and training keywords
The "can dogs eat" keyword pillar brought in an additional 116k monthly visitors alone

Skills Developed

From working on Petco's content strategy and execution, I developed and enhanced a wide range of critical skills, including:

SEO Strategy Development: I honed my expertise in crafting and implementing comprehensive SEO strategies, including conducting keyword research, performing content audits, and identifying gaps. This helped me deepen my understanding of how to improve a website's search engine visibility.
Content Creation and Optimization: I was responsible for revamping on-page content and creating new SEO articles, which sharpened my skills in producing content that is both reader-friendly and optimized for search engines.
Leadership and Team Management: Managing a team of veterinarians and copywriters, I enhanced my leadership abilities by coordinating content production and maintaining adherence to brand guidelines.
Analytical Thinking: Identifying high-ROI keywords and exploiting low-competition opportunities allowed me to develop strong analytical and strategic thinking skills.
Brand Voice Development: I played a key role in establishing a new brand voice for Petco, aligning content with this voice, which improved my skills in brand messaging and communication.
Project Management: Overseeing the production of a significant amount of content monthly while ensuring quality and consistency honed my project management skills.
Technical SEO Knowledge: Updating meta tags, headers, and implementing link-building strategies enhanced my understanding of technical SEO.
Content Marketing Innovation: Introducing innovative content types, like infographics and quizzes, allowed me to explore and apply creative content marketing strategies.
Data Analysis and Reporting: Tracking and reporting on improvements in traffic, keyword rankings, and service bookings improved my data analysis and interpretation skills.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Worked cross-functionally with SEO specialists, account managers, data analysts, writers, and key stakeholders at Petco, managing calendars, ensuring clear communication, and aligning goals.

These skills not only bolstered my capabilities in SEO and content marketing but also are transferable across various digital marketing and communication roles. This experience has significantly enhanced my profile as a strategist and a leader in the field.

SEO Strategy and Content Innovation Boost Traffic and Conversions for Petco