Our customer runs an online store for books - with a really wide range. In addition to well-known titles, there were also many niche topics, specialist literature, classics, guidebooks and children's books. The store was technically stable and also had a good visual appearance. Nevertheless, in practice it became clear that the store was often invisible on Google.
Category pages and individual product titles in particular were barely found. The homepage was indexed, but the store did not even appear for many relevant search queries. The content was there - it was just not properly understood or categorized by Google.
A book store has its own rules when it comes to on-page optimization. Many product descriptions come from publishers, which leads to duplicate content. Category pages are often purely functional and without any real content. And images - i.e. book covers - are often integrated without any optimization.
In this case, there were also a few typical construction sites:
In short: The store had good content, but it was not prepared in such a way that Google could capture it correctly - and users could find it easily.
We decided to make several adjustments at the same time - not overly technical, but pragmatic, as it suits the store. The aim was to prepare the content in such a way that it is comprehensible for search engines and helpful for real readers.
We have written individual meta titles and descriptions for all important pages - no more empty fields, no more repetitions. Instead, clear, understandable titles with relevant terms - without excessive keyword stuffing.
Many texts have been revised or supplemented. Category pages were given a short introductory text explaining what can be found there - e.g. "Children's books from 6 years" or "Non-fiction for self-employed people". Not long, but useful.
For product pages, we have added standard descriptions typical of publishers - e.g. with short reviews, suitable book recommendations or summaries of content.
Each book cover was given a real file name ("cover-dostojewski-schuld-und-sühne.jpg" instead of "IMG_34829.jpg") and an ALT text that says what can be seen in the picture. No great effort - but with effect. Loading times have also been improved by adjusting image sizes and activating lazy loading.
We have introduced a clear structure: Categories link to suitable theme worlds, products to author pages or related titles. Editorial content - such as reading lists or recommendations - has also been integrated more strongly. The whole thing remains clear, but Google recognizes better which pages belong together.
Duplicate URLs were tamed using canonicals. 404 pages caused by sold-out or deleted titles were sorted out or redirected. The sitemap was updated, the robots.txt optimized. Nothing exciting - but important for a clean foundation.
After around two months, there was a clear improvement. Not spectacular overnight - but noticeable:
Above all, however, the store team once again had the feeling: We know how Google sees our site - and we can do something about it.
On-page optimization is not rocket science - but it's not a sure-fire success either. Especially in an area like the book trade, where content is often similar, structure, clarity and details are important. Those who take the time to set up their own store in such a way that it not only makes sense for people, but also for search engines, will be rewarded in the long term.
Our customer has shown: There is no need to introduce a new system or reinvent texts - simply start where potential remains unused.
If you run a bookshop yourself and have the feeling that your content is not being received: it's rarely because of what you offer. Often all that's missing is a clear plan on how to make it properly visible. We'll help you with this - in a practical way, without any marketing clichés.
