CLIENT
XDress
INDUSTRY
Fashion & Apparel | B2C
TECHNOLOGY
Shopify
About Customer:
XDress a men’s underwear company, founded by David and Kristina in 1985, began with a simple idea: men’s underwear didn’t have to be boring and unattractive. Out of their long-term relationship, and after spending some time together in China, they discovered the benefits of silk underwear they decided to create with style, and comfort with unique designs and colors.
Earlier the name of the company was Body Aware, but later on, it was named XDress Ltd and expanded its offerings to include lingerie and sportswear. In the 1990s, XDress made a name for itself with its innovative designs and was even featured on daytime television.
Today, XDress continues its mission to provide quality, stylish, and comfortable underwear for men and gender non-conforming individuals, with a focus on design, craftsmanship, and sustainability. Moreover, their store inventory is not limited to just undergarments, they are also selling dresses, body stockings, wigs, shoes, and other accessories. With a headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona, XDress proudly manufactures most of its products in the USA.
Client’s Needs:
XDress required a dedicated support developer to collaborate closely with their SEO team on their Shopify store. The primary goal was to confirm the perfect integration of technical SEO elements into the site, improvising page load speeds, and optimize the website’s overall structure for a better and higher ranking on SERP. We were said to do all the essential tasks that helped their site rank high on SERP including checking 404 pages, improving URL structure, mobile friendliness, schema markup, security, and so on. This was crucial in maximizing XDress’s visibility, driving traffic, and improving its performance in search results.
Challenges:
While working with XDress, several challenges were encountered during the project, especially considering the presence of multiple stores across different regions. One of the primary tasks was setting up the required 301 redirects for proper URL redirection and maintaining the SEO value of pages during updates and restructuring. This process demanded careful attention to detail, as even a small error in redirecting could result in broken links, negatively impacting the user experience and SEO performance.
The complexity further increased due to XDress having a multi-store setup. We had to implement dynamic canonical URLs to avoid duplicate content issues across their stores, ensuring that search engines would properly index and prioritize the correct pages from each store. This dynamic setup had to be customized to handle the variations across the stores based on region, language, and product offerings.
Additionally, working on the Hreflang issue posed its own set of challenges. Given the international presence of XDress with stores in different regions (U.S., U.K.), it was essential to implement hreflang tags correctly across all four stores. This guaranteed that the right version of the page was shown to users based on their language or region. Improper Hreflang implementation could lead to the wrong store being displayed to users, harming both user experience and SEO.
Overall, these tasks required careful coordination and precise execution to enhance SEO performance across all four stores, helping XDress maintain strong visibility and rankings globally.
Solutions:
Our collaboration with XDress, a brand with a global footprint and a dynamic multi-store Shopify setup, required a highly technical and thorough approach. Our team undertook key responsibilities to ensure the seamless operation and enhanced SEO performance of their four stores: xdress.com, xdress.co.uk, bodyaware.co.uk, and bodyaware.com.
One of the primary tasks was the implementation of 301 redirects. This ensured that all old or outdated URLs were properly redirected to their new counterparts, safeguarding valuable SEO equity and eliminating disruptions to the user experience. This was particularly critical given the scale and intricacy of the multi-store setup.
Dynamic canonical URLs were implemented to address potential duplicate content issues across XDress’s multiple stores. This solution assists search engines would correctly identifying the primary version of each page, boosting overall site rankings and preventing cannibalization of traffic between stores. The multi-regional nature of the stores demanded a precise and automated canonicalization strategy, tailored to each store’s specific requirements.
Additionally, we worked closely with the SEO team to resolve the Hreflang tag issues. This step was pivotal in ensuring that users from various regions were directed to the appropriate store version, providing a localized and optimized browsing experience. Proper hreflang implementation also prevented search engines from misinterpreting or incorrectly indexing the stores.
By delivering these robust solutions, we empowered XDress to enhance their global reach, optimize user experience, and maintain strong SEO performance across all their stores.
Final Results:
The results of our painstaking efforts for XDress were amazing, delivering exceptional technical and operational improvements across their four Shopify stores: xdress.com, xdress.co.uk, bodyaware.co.uk, and bodyaware.com. This project, completed in over 210 hours, achieved significant milestones that empowered the brand’s global presence.
By implementing 301 redirects, we preserved and enhanced SEO equity, ensuring seamless transitions for users and preventing the loss of search engine rankings. Our dynamic canonical URL setup eradicated potential duplicate content issues, optimizing visibility across search engines while maintaining harmony among their multi-store infrastructure.
The resolution of hreflang tag issues was another cornerstone achievement, enabling accurate regional targeting and significantly improving user localization. This enhanced the browsing experience for international audiences while reducing misindexed pages.
Post-implementation, XDress experienced an 18% improvement in organic search traffic and an 11% increase in conversion rates across stores. Additionally, the streamlined multi-store functionality and adherence to SEO best practices positioned XDress for sustained growth in competitive markets. This technical groundwork has set the stage for their continued success in the global e-commerce space.
