The Challenge: Catching Up to the Competition

Allergy Guard Direct, a manufacturer and direct to consumer online retailer for allergy and protective bedding, was at a competitive disadvantage to other bedding retailers on the Web. After launching its first ecommerce site, the company soon hit a brick wall against its many competitors, had difficulty being found in search engine results and experienced poor buyer conversion rates due to weak functionality and architecture. In an effort to boost site traffic and sales, Allergy Guard Direct began relying heavily on pay-per-click campaigns, creating a crippling overhead that stunted business growth.

Allergy Guard Direct knew it needed an updated look and was missing opportunities to increase organic online traffic and improve conversion rates. The company enlisted the expertise of ecommerce consultant Tim McGuiness to help select a SEO-rich ecommerce solution.

The Solution

After a detailed research comparison of more than 30 ecommerce platform providers, McGuiness selected ShopVisible as the ecommerce provider and online business partner for Allergy Guard Direct.

“It was very important for Allergy Guard Direct to achieve optimal SEO performance with its new site, and ShopVisible’s client case studies consistently exceeded industry standards in SEO results,” says Owner of Commerce Scientists McGuiness. “ShopVisible also features seamless channel integration with ecommerce super stores such as Amazon.com and robust emarketing functionality which was a strong priority for Allergy Guard Direct.”

ShopVisible worked with Allergy Guard Direct to develop a new ecommerce site that would provide an updated look and feel, enhanced SEO results, increase conversion rates and help the company dramatically increase sales. The user experience was significantly upgraded to make it easier for shoppers to select the perfect product and creating an optimal shopping experience.

Through studying site analytics and traffic patterns, ShopVisible was also able to better organize and prioritize the ecommerce site messaging to focus on strong purchase triggers, such as the factory-to-consumer appeal and allergist referral information. The ecommerce solution provider also provided a solid foundation for Allergy Guard Direct to integrate with Amazon.com and implement successful e-marketing campaigns.

The Bottom Line

The new and improved AllergyGuardDirect.com was launched by ShopVisible in June 2009, and a significant improvement in bottom line results was almost immediate. “Allergy Guard’s natural search positions are through the roof,” says CEO of ShopVisible Sean Cook.

“Within the first two months our sale conversion rates nearly doubled and our organic search engine traffic more than doubled,” says McGuiness. “The new layout is clean and professional – making it easier for shoppers to navigate and complete purchases.”

Sales for Allergy Guard Direct increased by 50 percent in the first three months of launching the new site, and the company also experienced a return rate of more than 7 percent on its emarketing activity using its new platform. In addition, today sales are continuing to increase 10 percent to 20 percent over the previous month.

ShopVisible has designed its technology to be user friendly for both back end users and consumers, and continually innovates new functionality so e-tailers can continue to expand their businesses easily and effectively. “Allergy Guard Direct is extremely pleased with the success of our online storefront powered by ShopVisible, says owner of Allergy Guard Direct, Jason Strongwater. “We have been able to reduce inefficient pay-per –click spending, increase our visibility and easily deploy e-marketing campaigns.