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Why We Started Nordica Marketing

Why We Started Nordica Marketing: The Ecommerce SEO Agency That Actually Drives Revenue

The idea behind Nordica Marketing came from our experiences trying to hire SEO agencies for ecommerce stores and being consistently disappointed with what they delivered.

A good example of this is my experience trying to scale SEO for multiple ecommerce brands I was working with. After engaging with agency after agency, I ran into 7 major "gaps" in the market (i.e. shortcomings of most SEO agencies when it comes to ecommerce).

Gap 1: SEO Agencies Were Obsessed with Traffic, Not Revenue

This was the biggest issue. As someone running growth for ecommerce companies, the metric I cared about was revenue generated from organic search. But when I talked to agency after agency, they only wanted to talk about traffic metrics. Their pitches always centered around:

"We'll increase your organic traffic by X%"

"We'll help you rank for Y number of keywords"

"Your domain authority will improve by Z points"

But my ecommerce clients, like most online retailers, didn't really want traffic for traffic's sake. They wanted revenue from SEO, which meant attracting buyers who were ready to purchase, not just browsers.

What's worse is that many agencies didn't even distinguish between different types of traffic. They'd celebrate ranking for informational keywords that brought thousands of visitors who would never buy anything, while ignoring the commercial intent keywords that actually drove sales.

This problem is especially acute for ecommerce because conversion rates vary dramatically based on search intent. A visitor searching for "how to clean leather shoes" is fundamentally different from someone searching for "buy Italian leather dress shoes." Yet most agencies treated all traffic as equal.

For ecommerce brands operating on thin margins and fighting for every sale, this approach simply doesn't work. You need an SEO strategy that prioritizes revenue-generating keywords and pages, not just any traffic.

Gap 2: Most SEO Agencies Defaulted to Blog Content Instead of Commercial Pages

When I'd ask agencies about their content strategy, they'd immediately start talking about blog calendars and editorial content. They'd propose things like:

"10 Fashion Trends for 2024"
"Complete Guide to Choosing Running Shoes"
"How to Style a Little Black Dress"

While this content might attract some traffic, it rarely converts into sales. The problem is that most SEO agencies come from a publishing or B2B background where blogs are the primary content vehicle. They don't understand that in ecommerce, your money pages are:

Category pages
Product collection pages
Comparison pages
Brand pages
Gift guide pages

These commercial pages are what actually drive revenue. A well-optimized collection page for "women's winter coats under $200" will generate 100x more revenue than a blog post about "winter fashion trends," even if the blog post gets more traffic.

Yet agency after agency would propose content calendars filled with blog posts while ignoring the massive opportunity to create and optimize commercial landing pages. They didn't understand that modern ecommerce SEO is about building a comprehensive catalog of commercial pages that match every possible way a customer might search for your products.

Gap 3: Agencies Relied on Outdated, Low-Quality Link Building Tactics

Link building is crucial for ecommerce SEO, but the approaches most agencies took were stuck in 2010. They'd promise things like:

"We'll get you 50 links per month"
"We have a network of sites for guest posting"
"We'll submit your site to directories"

When I'd dig deeper, I'd find they were using outsourced link farms, paying for low-quality guest posts on irrelevant sites, or worse, using private blog networks (PBNs) that could get you penalized.

These agencies didn't understand that modern link building for ecommerce requires:

Real relationships with publishers, bloggers, and influencers in your niche
Strategic partnerships with complementary brands
Digital PR that earns links from major publications
Product-focused outreach that gets your items featured in gift guides and roundups

Quality matters far more than quantity. One link from a major publication or popular blog in your niche is worth more than 100 links from random, low-authority sites. But most agencies were still playing the numbers game, focused on link quantity metrics rather than building the kind of authoritative links that actually move the needle for competitive ecommerce keywords.

Gap 4: Agencies Lacked the Operational Efficiency for High-Volume Page Creation

Ecommerce SEO requires scale. While a B2B company might need 50-100 pages, an ecommerce site often needs thousands of optimized pages to capture all relevant search traffic. But most agencies could only deliver a handful of pages per month.

When I'd ask about scaling content production, agencies would say things like:

"We can create 4-6 new pages per month"
"Each page takes 2-3 weeks to research and write"
"We need to maintain quality over quantity"

This pace is laughably slow for ecommerce. If you're only creating 6 pages per month, it would take years to build out the comprehensive page structure needed to compete in ecommerce.

The agencies lacked:

Efficient workflows for keyword research at scale
Templatized approaches for similar page types
Bulk optimization processes for existing pages
Automated systems for technical SEO implementation

They were treating each page like a precious piece of content when ecommerce requires industrial-scale content operations. You need systems to create hundreds of optimized collection pages, comparison pages, and landing pages while maintaining quality and relevance.

Gap 5: Most Agencies Didn't Understand How Ecommerce Actually Works

This was painfully obvious in every conversation. Agencies would propose strategies that made sense for SaaS companies or publishers but were completely wrong for ecommerce:

They'd suggest targeting top-of-funnel keywords when ecommerce sites need to focus on transactional searches
They didn't understand product taxonomy or how to structure categories for both users and search engines
They ignored crucial ecommerce elements like faceted navigation, product variants, and inventory management
They didn't know how to optimize for Google Shopping or how organic and paid search work together in ecommerce

For example, one agency suggested we "noindex all product pages to avoid duplicate content." Anyone who knows ecommerce SEO would laugh at this - product pages are often your biggest revenue drivers from organic search.

Another agency wanted to redirect all out-of-stock products to the homepage "to preserve link equity." They didn't understand that properly handled out-of-stock pages can still rank and drive revenue through related product recommendations.

These weren't minor misunderstandings - they were fundamental gaps in ecommerce knowledge that would tank an SEO campaign.

Gap 6: Agencies Used Outdated Keyword Research Instead of Modern Clustering Strategies

Most agencies still approached keyword research like it was 2015:

Target one primary keyword per page
Build separate pages for slight variations
Focus on exact match keywords

This approach doesn't work in modern ecommerce where:

Google understands semantic relationships between keywords
One page can rank for hundreds of related terms
Search intent matters more than exact keywords

Modern ecommerce SEO requires keyword clustering at scale. You need to:

Identify thousands of relevant keywords
Cluster them by search intent and semantic meaning
Map clusters to the optimal page type (category, collection, comparison, etc.)
Build a hierarchical site structure that captures all search demand

For example, instead of creating separate pages for "red dresses," "red dress," "red dresses for women," and "womens red dresses," you create one powerful collection page that ranks for all these terms plus hundreds of related long-tail keywords.

But most agencies were still stuck in the old "one keyword, one page" mentality, missing massive opportunities for organic growth.

Gap 7: Agencies Treated Blogs as Isolated Content Instead of Revenue Drivers

Even when agencies did create blog content, they didn't understand how to use it strategically for ecommerce. They'd create blog posts that:

Only linked to other blog posts
Never mentioned specific products
Didn't guide readers toward purchase decisions
Existed in isolation from the commercial pages

They didn't understand that in ecommerce, blog content should be part of your conversion funnel. Every piece of content should:

Link strategically to relevant product and category pages
Include product recommendations where natural
Guide readers from information to purchase intent
Support your commercial pages with internal links

For example, a blog post about "how to style ankle boots" should link to your ankle boot category, specific recommended products, and related categories like jeans or dresses. It should be designed to educate while moving readers closer to a purchase.

But most agencies treated blogs like a separate website, missing the opportunity to use content as a powerful driver of ecommerce revenue.

We Built Nordica Marketing to Solve These Problems

So with these gaps identified, we had the blueprint for building an ecommerce SEO agency that actually works. We knew that if we could solve these problems, we would have one of the only agencies truly specialized in driving revenue through ecommerce SEO.

Here's how we built our systems to address each gap:

Solution 1: We Measure and Optimize for Revenue, Not Just Traffic

From day one, we set up tracking to measure what matters:

Revenue from organic search (not just traffic)
Conversion rates by landing page (to identify top performers)
Customer lifetime value from SEO (to understand true ROI)
Revenue per visitor (to measure traffic quality)

We built dashboards that show:

For a fashion retailer:

Organic revenue grew from $125K to $480K per month
Conversion rate from organic improved from 1.8% to 3.2%
Average order value from SEO increased 24%

For a home goods store:

SEO-driven revenue increased 385% year-over-year
Revenue per organic visitor improved from $0.85 to $2.10
Organic search became their #1 revenue channel

We don't hide behind vanity metrics. Every report shows revenue impact, and every strategy discussion starts with "How will this drive more sales?"

Solution 2: We Prioritize Commercial Page Creation Over Blog Content

Our content strategy flips the typical agency approach:

70% commercial pages (collections, categories, comparison pages)
20% supporting content (buying guides, gift guides)
10% blog content (strategic pieces that drive conversions)

For example, for a jewelry client, instead of writing "History of Engagement Rings," we create:

"Engagement Rings Under $3000"
"Rose Gold vs White Gold Engagement Rings"
"Cushion Cut Engagement Ring Collection"
"Engagement Rings for Nurses" (targeting specific audiences)

Each page is designed to capture commercial intent and drive sales, not just traffic.

Solution 3: We Build Real Links That Actually Impact Rankings

Our link building focuses on quality and relevance:

Digital PR campaigns that get products featured in major publications
Influencer partnerships that result in authentic product reviews
Strategic partnerships with complementary brands
Resource creation that naturally attracts links

For example, for a outdoor gear client, we:

Got products featured in Outside Magazine's gear guides
Partnered with hiking bloggers for authentic reviews
Created a comprehensive trail difficulty calculator that earned 200+ natural links
Built relationships with outdoor brands for co-marketing opportunities

Every link we build could send actual customers, not just PageRank.

Solution 4: We've Built Systems to Create Content at Scale

We've developed proprietary systems to deliver high-volume page creation:

Keyword clustering technology that identifies thousands of opportunities
Page templates optimized for different commercial intents
Bulk creation workflows that maintain quality at scale
Automated optimization for technical elements

For a typical client, we can:

Identify 2,000+ keyword opportunities in the first month
Create 50-100 new commercial pages per month
Optimize 200+ existing pages per month
Implement technical fixes across thousands of pages

This isn't about cutting corners - it's about having efficient systems that let us operate at ecommerce scale.

Solution 5: We Live and Breathe Ecommerce

Our team isn't learning ecommerce on your dime. We:

Have worked in-house at ecommerce companies
Understand inventory management, seasonality, and margins
Know how to handle technical challenges like faceted navigation
Integrate SEO with your entire ecommerce ecosystem

We speak your language: AOV, LTV, conversion rates, inventory turnover. We understand that a 0.5% improvement in organic conversion rate can mean millions in additional revenue.

Solution 6: We Use Advanced Keyword Clustering to Find Hidden Opportunities

Our keyword research process is built for modern search:

Mass keyword extraction - We pull 50,000+ keywords from multiple sources
Intent classification - We categorize every keyword by purchase intent
Semantic clustering - We group keywords that should target the same page
Gap analysis - We identify clusters you're missing entirely
Page mapping - We determine the optimal page type for each cluster

This reveals opportunities like:

Underserved product combinations ("waterproof hiking boots for wide feet")
Emerging trends before competitors notice
High-intent long-tail keywords that convert at 5x your site average
Geographic opportunities ("winter coats for Chicago winters")

Solution 7: We Turn Content Into a Revenue-Driving Machine

Every piece of content we create is designed to drive revenue:

Strategic internal linking that guides users from content to products
Product integration that naturally showcases your inventory
Conversion optimization built into every page
Funnel thinking that moves users toward purchase

For example, a "How to Choose Running Shoes" guide will:

Link to specific shoe categories based on foot type
Include product recommendations for each use case
Feature comparison tables with "Shop Now" buttons
Guide readers to quiz tools or fitting guides
Connect to related commercial pages throughout

Content isn't separate from commerce - it's a powerful tool to drive more sales.

If You're Ready for SEO That Actually Drives Revenue, Let's Talk

If the above resonates with you - if you're tired of agencies that only care about traffic while your competitors are eating into your market share - we should talk.

We work with ecommerce brands doing $5M+ in annual revenue who are ready to make SEO a serious revenue channel. Our typical clients see: